Apple kicked off its annual three-day developer conference by unveiling a smart speaker, a new iMac Pro, a major deal with a rival and its first attempt at taking on Venmo.
At the event, held in San Jose on Monday, Apple (AAPL, Tech30) touted a new peer-to-peer payments service and announced a deal to bring Amazon video content to Apple TV after years of tension between the two companies.
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is usually where Apple previews its software updates. But Apple also used the event to introduce a new piece of hardware and give some major upgrades to existing products.
HomePod
Apple is taking on Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) and Google (GOOG) with its very own smart speaker, the HomePod. The 7-inch high speaker looks like the top of a microphone. Available in white and black, the $349 device is being marketed as a smart speaker with higher quality audio than its competitors.
It has six microphones that are always listening for the trigger phrase "Hey, Siri." It works with Apple Music and your existing iTunes library to play tunes or podcasts. If you have other devices connected to Apple's smart home app, you can control them though the speaker as well. It also does the usual smart speaker tasks, like playing the news, setting timers and answering basic questions.
Apple TV adds Amazon
While Apple is going after Amazon with the HomePod, it's offering an olive branch with Apple TV. Amazon's Prime Video app will soon be available on Apple TV. CEO Tim Cook said Apple was pleased about the partnership, and mentioned some original Amazon content like Transparent.
The announcement marks a detente of sorts between the two companies, which have been locked in a streaming rivalry for years. In 2015, Amazon went so far as to pull listings for the Apple TV from its online store.
The Mac
Apple is pushing the Mac as a machine that's made for virtual reality, with new hardware and software updates built for VR.
The company is releasing a new version of its operating system for Macs. Coming this fall, macOS will be called High Sierra.
The OS is getting VR support, said Craig Federighi, including support for Unity, Unreal and Metal for VR.
There are number of small changes in High Sierra. Safari is adding autoplay blocking, so videos don't start playing without your approval. The browser is also adding "intelligent" tracking prevention in order to cut down on ads that follow you around the Internet.
The Photos app is adding new filters, and Apple says it has improved the face detection feature. Categories, faces and favorites will be synchronized across devices.
Apple is porting its Apple File System to macOS. It's a mostly under-the-hood change, but users will notice a difference. For example, duplicating a file will be nearly instant. Video compression will be higher quality, according to Apple.
"It's time for a more modern file system," said Federighi.
An iMac for pros
Apple really wants to hold on to its professional users. Its Mac Pro hasn't been updated since 2013, and Apple says the next version will be available some time next year. To bridge the gap, it's built a superpowered version of its all-in-one iMac that will be available in December.