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Apple’s initial conference at WWDC brought out the usual media frenzy and fanboy excitement, with the official reveal of iOS 6 for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, Mountain Lion for Mac and the new MacBook ranges.
The Cupertino Company wowed with a new ultra slim, lightweight and fast ‘next generation MacBook’ which sports the highest resolution display on any notebook. It also announced upgrades to the regular MacBook Pro models, with new processors, graphics and USB ports. However, the eagle eyed Apple fan out there may have spotted that Apple only ever talked about the 13 and 15-inch models.
The 17-inch MacBook Pro has been around for some time now, and is a firm favourite with web designers, video and photo editors and digital types, for its portability and its large, clear screen. However, without as much of a line of text in a presentation slide, Apple has axed the 17-inch MacBook Pro going forward. It’s disappeared from Apple’s UK and US online stores, and when stocks dry up they will start to disappear from stores as well.
No Flyover or Turn-by-Turn for iPhone 4 Users
With iOS 6, Google Maps is out and Apple Maps is in. Apple acquired several companies to help build its own mapping solution from the ground up. The app’s user interface looks and feels like the current version, but new features such as Flyover – a 3D map feature – and turn-by-turn navigation make things different.
Flyover brings cities to life with very realistic 3D rendering of maps, but unfortunately it’s not going to work on older devices, even the iPhone 4. The same goes for the new turn-by-turn navigation feature, which seems more of a strange omission than Flyover. However, Apple says that both features require a fair bit of processing power which its older devices simply don’t have. The current iPhone 4S, iPad 2 and iPad 3 will support both features, as will the next generation of both products.
This comes from the small print on Apple’s site, which also advises that some features may not be available in all countries. We found this out earlier today when we tested out Apple Maps, only to find that major cities in the U.S seem to be the only places that offer 3D maps at the moment.
Are you a disgruntled Apple fan, or will this news simply make you want to upgrade more to a shiny new MacBook or iPhone?
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.
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