O'Grady's PowerPage

Category: WWDC

  • Apple releases details about Swift Playgrounds 1.5, points to hardware that will be controllable via the update

    This could lead to something pretty neat.

    Apple released an update on Thursday in which it provided a detailed update as to Swift Playgrounds 1.5 will let students control robots, drone, and musical instruments.

    The announcement reads as follows:

    Apple® today announced that Swift Playgrounds™, its educational coding app for iPad®, will offer an exciting new way to learn to code using robots, drones and musical instruments. Swift Playgrounds is perfect for students and beginners learning to code with Swift™, Apple’s powerful and intuitive programming language for building world-class apps.

    Apple says Swift Playgrounds 1.5 will let students control Bluetooth-connected bots including “LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3, Sphero SPRK+, Parrot drones and more.”

    In the announcement, Craig Federighi says Swift Playgrounds already has over 1 million users around the world. Apple specifically details compatibility between Swift Playgrounds 1.5 and these products:

    — LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3 are incredibly popular in schools around the world and give students the power to explore coding through real-life problem solving as they create and command their own robotic LEGO creatures, vehicles, machines and inventions. With Swift Playgrounds kids can code and interact with their creations’ motors and sensors.

    — Sphero SPRK+, a popular robotic ball, rolls, turns, accelerates and changes colors. Sensors provide feedback when Sphero hits an obstacle, and all of it can be controlled with Swift code.

    — Parrot’s Mambo, Airborne and Rolling Spider drones can take off, land, turn and perform aerial figures like flips, all under the control of code users create.

    — UBTECH’s Jimu Robot MeeBot Kit lets kids program their buildable robot to walk, wave and dance.

    — Dash by Wonder Workshop is an exciting, hands-on learning robot for students, designed to teach the fundamentals of coding, creative problem solving and computational thinking.

    — Skoog is a tactile cube that enables children of all abilities to have fun exploring, creating and playing music with Swift code.

    Cool stuff, albeit this begs the question: Where was anything this nifty when I was a kid?

    Apple says the new version of Swift Playgrounds will be available starting Monday, June 5. Swift Playgrounds is available for free for the iPad and requires iOS 10.0 or later to install and run.

    Via 9to5Mac and the App Store

  • Rumor: Newly registered model numbers hint at products to be announced at WWDC

    When the new model numbers come out, Apple typically has something up its sleeve.

    The company has apparently registered new model numbers with the Eurasian Economic Commission. The assumption is that these numbers coincide with new Macs and new iPads being announced at WWDC next week. Russia requires companies to register all new products that utilize encryption tools.

    The new model numbers (A1289, A1347, A1418, A1419, and A1481) are thought to belong to a 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro, a 12-inch MacBook, and perhaps a refreshed MacBook Air. These have been pointed out to be new model numbers as opposed to current model numbers.

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  • Rumor: Apple begins manufacturing Siri Speaker, will debut unit at WWDC 2017

    Apple’s long-awaited Siri Speaker may already be going through the manufacturing process with a debut date at WWDC 2017.

    Per Bloomberg, sources have stated that Apple’s smart speaker system will feature “virtual surround sound technology” and deep integration with Apple’s current lineup. Prototype testing apparently began began months ago and the manufacturing company behind Apple’s AirPods will also be responsible for building out the new speaker.

    Sources have also stated that the audio technology within the speaker will be louder and “reproduce sound more crisply” then rivals, and that Apple has considered measuring room acoustics to adjust sound levels.

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  • Shipping times slip for 15-inch MacBook Pro, offering new hopes for updated model announcement at WWDC

    When the shipping times slip, odds are something new is around the corner.

    Apple has changed the shipping times for current 15-inch MacBook Pro orders placed today, the new estimates offering free delivery between June 6-8 in the United States, coinciding with its Worldwide Developers Conference next week.

    This delay lends support to the rumor that Apple is planning to announce both a new MacBook Pro and 12-inch MacBook notebook at the WWDC keynote on June 5. The notebooks are expected to receive internal improvements only, including an upgrade to Intel’s faster Kaby Lake processors.

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  • Rumor: Apple to announce refreshed notebooks at WWDC

    It’s a rumor, but it could be pretty nifty if it’s true.

    Apple is thought to be planning refreshes of its notebook lineup at its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference set to take place in June. New versions of the MacBook and MacBook Pro are expected to be announced, and Apple is also considering updating the MacBook Air, its most affordable notebook.

    The MacBook Pro, which was updated back in October with the inclusion of a slimmer design and a Touch Bar, will be upgraded with a faster Kaby Lake processor, an improvement from the Skylake processors in the current machines. The upgraded MacBook Pro will look the same as the current model, adopting only internal updates.

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