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Highlights from WWDC (pictures)

Take a look at the newest MacBook Pro, Mountain Lion, and the features from the latest iOS release.

James Martin
James Martin is the Managing Editor of Photography at CNET. His photos capture technology's impact on society - from the widening wealth gap in San Francisco, to the European refugee crisis and Rwanda's efforts to improve health care. From the technology pioneers of Google and Facebook, photographing Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai, to the most groundbreaking launches at Apple and NASA, his is a dream job for any documentary photography and journalist with a love for technology. Exhibited widely, syndicated and reprinted thousands of times over the years, James follows the people and places behind the technology changing our world, bringing their stories and ideas to life.
Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
James Martin
Josh Lowensohn
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Siri kicks off the show

How important was Siri? Apple thought enough of its sassy voice assistant to let her kick off the show. The short featured cracks at competitor Google, as well as references to Siri features.

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Cook takes to the stage

Apple CEO Tim Cook takes the stage to a big applause.

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Apple refreshes its notebook line

Apple announces changes to the entire MacBook lineup, including the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro.

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512 GB Flash Storage

One of the biggest features came on Apple's Air line, which can now have up to 512 GB of flash storage, twice the limit of previous model.

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Apple's new top of the line Macbook

Apple then took the wraps off the latest entry in its MacBook lineup, a new top of the line model, which was revealed at the center of the stage.

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Apple announces bump to Retina Display screens

The crowning feature of Apple's new MacBook is its display, which features pixels close enough together that you can't discern them from one another in normal use. The feature garnered a big reaction from the crowd.

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Apple's new display detailed

Just how does that work out size-wise? The new screen is 2880 by 1800 pixels, equaling 220 pixels per inch.

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Comparing sizes

Apple sticks the two machines next to one another to show how the size stacks up. The machine on the left is the current MacBook Pro, next to the newer Retina model.

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More flash storage

Apple notes that the new machines can have up to 768GB of flash storage. However that comes at a premium. Buyers of the top of the line model, for instance, need to dole out an extra $500.

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Retina MacBook battery life

The big question, of course, was how much the Retina Display screen would pull on the battery. Apple says the machine gets up to 7 hours of battery life and 30 days of standby time.

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Lots of ports

Unlike the MacBook Air, the new Retina Pro sports a bevy of ports, the least of which is a new spec of MagSafe, called MagSafe 2. Apple says it had to make the plug thinner to account for the size.

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And it costs how much?

Apple finally lists the price of the machine, which starts at $2,199 and runs up to $3,749 with every possible bell and whistle.

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Lion uptake

Apple says 40 percent of Mac users are running the latest version, which was released last July.

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And the next OS X will have dictaction

Moving onto what's coming in the next version, Apple surprises by announcing that dictation is headed to OS X.

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Apple taps iCloud in Safari

Apple announces a new feature that stores and syncs Safari tabs across multiple devices.

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Apple debuts Power Nap

Apple surprised by announcing a new OS X feature called Power Nap. It keeps data up to date, even when your computer is asleep. The feature is only available for Macs with flash storage, meaning Apple's Air and latest MacBook Pro with Retina Display.

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$20 upgrade

Apple surprised again by dropping the price of Mountain Lion, which will cost $19.99, down ten bucks from Lion's $29.99. Apple also said the upgrade would work for both Snow Leopard and Lion users, unlike previous versions of the OS, which encouraged (but didn't always enforce) being on the last major version.

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Onto iOS, where most are on the newest version

Apple took a swing at Google's Android, noting that the vast majority of iOS users were running the latest version of the software.

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Apple announces Siri for iPad

Apple announced plans to bring Siri to the third-generation iPad, a big move considering Apple left that detail out when debuting the product a few months ago.

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Siri gets smarter

Apple added a handful of new features to Siri, mainly pulling out information about actions for people on the go. That includes deeper information about restaurants, while pulling in new information from the Web like sports scores, and movies. Apple also gave Siri more control over the OS, letting users launch apps.

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Siri to get more car friendly in the next 12 months

Apple said it's working to make Siri more car friendly, and is working with various major car manufacturers to add built-in Siri voice control. A big part of that is a new feature called Eyes Free that is aware that you're driving and doesn't light up the screen.

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iOS gets Facebook

Apple says it's adding Facebook integration in iOS. The feature syncs things like birthdays and calendar events, while also adding sharing features from within apps. Seen here is "liking" apps within the App Store, a new feature Apple hopes will bolster exposure.

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Stop bugging me

Another new iOS feature that garnered some hoots and hollers was a new Do Not Disturb tool that keeps your phone from going off during certain times of day. Particularly noteworthy was a feature that can limit who can call during certain hours or allow certain calls through if someone tries more than once within a few minutes.

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FaceTime goes wireless

Apple finally untethered its FaceTime video chat feature from Wi-Fi. The feature will work on 3G and 4G networks in iOS.

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Apple makes photos a little more social

Apple added some rudimentary photo sharing features to its Photo Stream feature. A new option lets users share individual photos, or an album with others. Those photos can be seen from within iOS, or to the Web and in iPhoto. The feature, which was rumored, is seen as a minor competitor to standalone social photo sharing sites like Instagram.

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Apple surprises with Passbook

Meet the one thing announced during the show that nobody knew about: Passbook. The new feature lets users store things like loyalty cards, gift cards, boarding passes and tickets in a digital app. Apple's built in some smarts like geo-awareness and information updates.

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Apple ditches Google for Maps app

The rumors were true: Apple introduced a new version of its Maps service that ditches Google's map tiles in favor of its own.

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New Map tiles

The new mapping tiles look very different from the ones provided by Google.

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The big new feature: 3D

As exciting as new map tiles are, the new, big feature is 3D. Apple said it's been working on creating its own 3D city maps, with plans to do many more.

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One more thing: Turn by turn directions

To top off its new Maps app, Apple said it's added turn by turn driving directions, a feature Android users have been enjoying for quite some time. The feature requires Apple's latest model iOS hardware, and taps into Siri to take incoming voice commands.

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