Update: The video of the keynote is now available here.
Well, today was a very exciting day for Apple fans. For once, most of the rumors that were circulating around the past few days turned out to be true. All in all, today's keynote had many unsurprising, yet satisfying announcements.
New Aluminum iMac
The most anticipated announcement came to fruition today when Steve Jobs showcased the first major computer design revision since the switch to Intel processors: The new iMac. The new design bares a close resemblance to the form-factor of previous models, but is far slimmer. Taking cues from the MacBook Pro line, the iMacs now feature glossy screens and smooth aluminum front panels and stands with a black screen border and black rear panel.
Models come in 20" screens with 2.0 GHz CPUs, 20" with 2.4 GHz, 24" with 2.4GHz, and 24" with 2.8 GHz at $1199, $1499, $1799, and $2299 respectively. All models come with the latest ATi Radeon HD cards and are built on the Core 2 Extreme processor platform. Firewire 400 and 800 ports are available. Built-in iSight cameras are also still standard. The new iMacs have 802.11n-compatible wireless cards. The computing casing is made of easily recyclable materials, and its energy consumption rating meets Energy Star approval, making it the first Mac to receive the approval since standards were recently increased. The people over at the Greenpeace community should be pleased about the new iMac's eco-friendliness.
Click here to see the new iMac ad.
New Slim Keyboard
Bundled with the new iMacs comes a radically redesigned ultra-slim keyboard, available in both wired and wireless bluetooth variants. Featuring a new key layout, the keyboard comes with special buttons to control brightness, volume, eject, play/pause, exposé, dashboard, and more. It comes with two USB 2.0 ports for easy accessory connection. The keyboard is also immediately available for purchase separately for use with any existing Apple computer.
Surprise, surprise. It seems those leaked photos earlier this week were authentic after all.
iLife '08
Last-minute rumors proved true today when Jobs also announced a new version of the iLife suite.
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iPhoto '08 now has "event" sorting, allowing pictures to be automatically grouped by day and classified as a single event. If photos are taken from two different events on the same day, the user can select a key photo from the day's shots and "split" the photo group, creating a new event. Event browsing creates a much more optimized way of browsing through large photo albums. Users can also temporarily hide certain photos or groups of photos to reduce clutter. An all-new "skim" feature allows for photos to be quickly browsed. A new .Mac feature allows for instant publishing of web galleries online, allowing friends and family to view, download, and upload photos. The web galleries use web 2.0 standards to imitate several features of iPhoto from within a browser to create the ultimate photo browsing experience.
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GarageBand '08 has received numerous updates from its previous version. "Multi-take recording" allows bands to repeat a section of their performance several times and choose their best recording. An all-new visual equalizer lets artists graphically change frequencies of tracks to fine-tune their songs. Tempo and equalizer effects on instruments can also be automated now, giving a professional touch to any song. A new mini-application called "Magic Garageband" lets all people, professionals and common users alike, experiment with a virtual band based on specific genres to help inspire new songs, plan real performances, or just have fun.
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iMovie '08 features a newly redesigned icon to symbolize the immense transformation it has undergone since iMovie '06. Video libraries now let users browse their video clips in much the same way iPhoto handles pictures. Support for the latest high-definition cameras and formats has now been added. New video export options now support Apple TV, iPhones, and even automated upload to YouTube. New text effects and professional video transitions allow for high-quality movies to be produced in under 20 minutes without the need of Final Cut Pro. Just as iPhoto has a new "skim" feature, iMovie also allows quick, smooth video skimming for easy editing.
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iWeb '08 comes with a plethora of new, fun features. New dynamic web widgets allow for stocks, videos, google maps, and more to be displayed from your web page. Google, who has grown close to Apple over the past year, has now partnered to include AdSense options built into iWeb, allowing users to preview ad layouts before publishing. Several new professional design themes have been added to iWeb, allowing for quick page styling. In addition, iWeb finally supports personal domain names, allowing users to use any ".com" ".net" (etc) name they please.
- iDVD '08 has also received a couple new features. It comes packed with 10 new themes, available in both standard 4:3 and wide-aspect 16:9 resolutions. From a back-end perspective, the application's code has been cleaned up, making iDVD less sluggish than in the past. New drops zones allow for DVD menu customization like never before. Making video and picture slideshows (or hybrids of both) is now easier than in previous versions.
iWork '08
People will also be happy to know that Apple's iWork suite was refreshed, along with the inclusion of an all-new application.
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Pages '08 now features two different viewing models: "Writing" and "layout" mode. When using layout mode, an object formatting box pops up to the side of Pages, allowing text boxes, images, and styles to be added to documents in seconds. Pages is also more powerful than previous versions when writing primarily textual documents, touting an all new "formatting bar" similar to what Microsoft Word has had for a while. The contextual format bar is a feature that is honestly long overdue. Additionally, Pages now recognizes typed lists and outlines, automatically formatting them on-the-fly. A new set of tracking tools helps view changes made to a document, which is especially useful when editing a document collaboratively with other people. Last but not least, Pages '08 comes with a bunch of shiny new layout themes.
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Keynote '08 has received a handful of improvements, including new instant alpha transparency. Now image backgrounds can be removed with the click of a mouse, allowing the picture's contents to blend in seamlessly with the background of your presentation. New themes, visual transitions, textual animations, and special effects have also been bundled with this application. Finally, Keynote now supports pre-recorded audio, allowing you to deliver stellar presentations without actually being there at any time, any place.
- Numbers '08 is a the newest member of the iWork family. After bashing the mundane use of spreadsheets in its famous "Get a Mac" ad campaign, Apple has made crunching numbers fun again. All the basic features of a spreadsheet program are present: Tables, data cells, functional formulas, and charts. Of course, data is not simply displayed in a boring 2-D graph. They are done the "Mac" way, complete with special professional templates for homework, office work, educational purposes, and more. Numbers also comes with an "Interactive Print View" feature, which allows users to see exactly how documents will look before they print. Changes can be made accordingly from within the dynamic preview itself. However, the key feature of Numbers is its ability to import and export to Microsoft Excel formats, making it practical even in an office full of beige-box Windows machines.
Apple's Dot Mac plans have received an update, allowing users to purchase up to 10GB of storage for single users and 20GB of storage for family packs, at $99.95 and $179.95 respectively. The new .Mac also takes advantage of many new features found in iLife 08, including dynamic web 2.0 photo and video galleries. However, there is no word if .Mac now performs any better than in the past.
Mac Mini Refresh
Although Jobs's main focus was on the iMac today, the Mac Mini also quietly received a refresh. Featuring new Core 2 Duo processors, they are now 39% faster than previous models. Although it has been rumored that the Mini will soon be discontinued, it seems that the product line still has some life left in it after all.
Hints at Future Products
During a Q & A session, a reporter asked jobs, "[You] introduced multitouch on iPhone, what about for the Mac?" In classic Steve-o fashion, Jobs replied, "Makes sense for the iPhone, not sure it makes sense in the Mac. Classify that as a research project." A "research" project might explain all the new patents Apple has been making for new, larger multi-touch displays. Is a touch-screen Mac a feasible future product? Maybe. Only time will tell.
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