SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off the company’s annual conference for software developers on Monday. He was expected to show off new iPhone software and updated Mac computers and provide more details on future releases of Mac software.
In recent years, Apple Inc. has used its Worldwide Developers Conference as an opportunity to announce new software for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Such an announcement has been confirmed by banners that appeared at the Moscone conference center in San Francisco on Friday, reading “iOS 6.” The conference runs through Friday.
Here’s what’s coming out of the show on Monday. All times are PDT.
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10:27 a.m.
Apple announces a next-generation MacBook Pro model that is less than an inch thick while closed – about as thin as the MacBook Air. It will have a sharper display, akin to what the iPhone and the iPad now have.
Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, calls it “the most amazing computer we have ever made.”
The “next-generation” model will have a 15.4-inch diagonal display. They will have processors from Nvidia Corp. and promise up to 7 hours of battery life.
The other models announced earlier Monday are largely updates to current models with more memory and better processors. They won’t have the thinness or the sharper display that the “next-generation” model has.
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10:17 a.m.
Schiller appears on stage to discuss changes to the company’s lineup of MacBook laptop computers.
He begins with an update to the ultra-thin MacBook Air and says the devices will have new Intel Corp. processors that sport up to 60 percent faster graphics and up to 512 gigabytes of flash storage memory. MacBook Airs do not have hard drives.
Prices for the version with an 11-inch diagonal screen will range from $999 to $1,099.
The MacBook Pro, which do have hard drives and are thicker, will also get the new Intel chip. Prices for the 13-inch model will be $1,199 to $1,499, while a 15-inch model will be $1,799 or $2,199, depending on the amount of storage.
The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models will start shipping Monday.
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10:09 a.m.
A video shown on stage shows an app that helps blind people explore the world. After the video ends, Cook thanks the developer community for building the variety of apps for Apple devices.
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10:05 a.m.
Cook boasts of more than 650,000 apps in its mobile store, including 225,000 optimized for the iPad tablet computer. The number of apps made by third parties, which extend the functionality of mobile devices, is one area where Apple has an advantage over Android, BlackBerry and other systems.
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10 a.m.
The conference opens with greetings from Siri, a virtual assistant that interprets voice commands and talks back to the user. A few minutes later, Cook walks on stage to standing ovation and announces, “We have a great week planned for you and some really cool stuff to show.”
