iTogi WWDC-2017: premieres of interesting devices

The smart speaker for the Apple HomePod home is notable for the fact that the technology of orientation in space has found application in it — the musical gadget is able to adjust the sound, starting from the volume of the room and its location in it (on a bedside table, in a corner, on a shelf, etc.).

The automatic sound optimization involves 6 built-in microphones, which are used to study the reflection of sound waves in the room. They are also designed to implement the voice control function of the speaker and communicate with the Siri voice assistant. The manufacturer promises that the user's commands are correctly recognized by the system even at the maximum volume of music playback and there is no reason not to believe him.

The mini-system consists of 7 multidirectional speakers and a subwoofer, providing a volume sound of the speaker. The Apple A8 chip, familiar to the general public from the Apple iPhone 6 and Apple iPhone 6 Plus smartphones, is responsible for sound processing, as well as for the operation of the software platform.

The model syncs with the Apple Music service. Moreover, in addition to playing tracks, she analyzes the musical tastes of her owner and periodically invites him to get acquainted with new compositions of his favorite genres of music. Another important intellectual component of the speaker is the support for voice control of the components of the Apple HomeKit smart home. That's just most of the voice functions are implemented in English. However, what is not an incentive to start studying it more closely?..

The 10.5-inch version of the Pro series tablet from the Cupertino company Apple has practically not changed its dimensions in comparison with its predecessor in the face of the Apple iPad Pro 9.7. It's all about the smaller frames around the display, the thickness of which has decreased by as much as 40%.

As you know, the key element of any tablet is the screen. So he is the real pride of Apple iPad Pro 10.5. The display with a high margin of brightness supports the display of images in the extended dynamic range (HDR) and has a refresh rate of 120 Hz. In fact, such a high figure allows you to achieve not only smoother animation rendering, but also a more accurate response when working with graphics, especially when using the Apple Pencil stylus. At the same time, such a high refresh rate is not always required, so the tablet screen changes its value based on the displayed content, automatically switching between operating modes 24/48/120 Hz. The technology of dynamic adjustment of the refresh rate is called ProMotion, and its application allows you to optimize the level of power consumption of the device.

Apple iPad Pro 10.5 is powered by a 6-core A10X Fusion chip, which provides high performance in any tasks — from games to close work with graphics. For the latter purposes, a 12-core graphics accelerator is included in the tablet's equipment. Powerful hardware is a very good foundation for the future and is unlikely to lose its relevance even a couple of years after the announcement of the device.

The tablet has got advanced cameras: the main 12-megapixel module with a maximum aperture of f/ 1.8 and optical stabilization produces very decent photographs and is capable of recording video in 4K format, and the front-facing camera with a resolution of 7 MP handles well with taking self-portraits. And although it is believed that taking pictures on a tablet is a bad thing, with such cameras, you can safely close your eyes to this prejudice. All this exposes the device in the light of an advanced gadget that can perform any tablet tasks.

Just six months after the release of the line of laptops with the Pro index, which have a multi-touch panel with a Retina display installed on the computer case instead of the F1-F12 function keys, the public was shown an update of the entire family. Externally, nothing has changed in it, but in terms of hardware there are significant improvements.

The key innovation in the updated Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2017) Touch Bar was the appearance of several configurations based on the seventh generation Intel Core i7 processor (Kaby Lake architecture). Also, an important role in improving laptop performance is played by a twice faster SSD drive with a maximum volume of up to 2 TB. And if the level of performance is not enough, you can always look at the top version of the laptop in the face of Apple MacBook Pro 15" (2017) with a seventh-generation Intel Core i7 processor and Radeon Pro graphics on board.

As for the touch panel, the set of information that is displayed on it varies depending on the running applications. For example, when working in the Safari browser, bookmark icons are displayed on the Touch Bar, and in the case of photo processing in Photoshop, filters and other image editing tools are displayed. The presence of a Touch ID fingerprint sensor to the right of the panel will allow you to get rid of passwords and make the payment confirmation procedure in the Apple Pay system more secure.

Everything is not so rosy only with ports — four USB Type-C connectors paired with a 3.5mm audio output in some cases is not enough to connect the required number of third-party devices. And for these purposes, anyway, you will need to get a set of appropriate adapters.

The bright and contrasting laptop screen with a resolution of 800x1600 pixels does not cause any complaints about the correctness of colour rendering, because MacBooks' displays have long been famous for their high image quality. Well, for supporters of conservatism in the MacBook Pro model range, a junior representative was left without an OLED panel and a fingerprint scanner. Apple MacBook Pro 13" (2017) is also the most affordable laptop in the updated family.

Big, powerful and black! It is the colour that distinguishes the monoblock, focused on professional use, from a number of ordinary Apple iMac PCs.

The computer is based on the Intel X299 platform, which can use an 8-, 10- or 18-core Intel Xeon chip as a processor, and AMD Radeon Vega pro-class graphics cards with 16 GB of video memory are responsible for graphics processing. This bundle of hardware can perform the most difficult tasks, including creating realistic VR content with high fps or 3D rendering. The computing power of the iMac Pro reaches as much as 22 teraflops (it is issued with the most "pumped" configuration when processing half-precision numbers), which really amazes the imagination.

The device is equipped with a 27-inch Retina display in 5K format (with a resolution of 5120x2880 pixels). A similar screen is used to display the image in Apple iMac 27" 5K 2017 . The set of interface ports of the device includes a 10-Gigabit Ethernet port, four USB 3.0 outputs, as well as four Thunderbolt 3 ports (USB Type-C). In addition, there was a place for a FullHD Face Time camera above the monoblock screen.

With such data, even a minimal PC configuration will cost the user at a cost equal to the price of a used car. But taking into account the significant power reserve for the future, the purchase of Apple iMac Pro 27" 5K 2017 will serve as a good investment for performing resource-intensive tasks that require a lot of computing power.