Here are the most exciting product announcements from Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others so far in 2024
If you like gadgets and gizmos, there will be plenty of them at this year's product conference.We've taken a closer look at many of the launches from this year's biggest tech company and product shows so far and compiled them into this list. It contains items that we consider to be the most important or interesting. So far, the list covers Apple WWDC, Apple Let Loose, Google I/O, Microsoft Build, Mobile World Congress and CES. Please come back and we will update this content
Apple Worldwide Developers Conference
The most surprising thing about this show is a new feature called Apple Intelligence (AI, is that clear?). Apple will add its own artificial intelligence to many Apple apps by combining on-device and cloud processing, giving them features like typing assistance or image editing. Apple promised its AI will be highly personalized and built with safety at its core. Read more
Apple also revealed how developers will soon be able to bring the Apple Intelligence experience into their software allowing for things like image generation, or new prompts to Siri. Apple has also partnered with OpenAI to provide users of its devices with access to OpenAI, and plans to add opportunities for other LL.M.s in the future. read more
Apple's new password app
Although you can already use your iCloud account to save and sync passwords between devices, it's not easy to find out. The new password app includes new features, such as a new column on the left, which allows you to navigate the password collection. For example, you can see all passwords or just Wi-Fi passwords (new addition), passers-by or codes not related to the site or service. read more
MacOS Sequoia, iOS 18
The latest version of the operating system is called macOS Sequoia. One of the biggest features is iPhone Mirroring, which allows you to control your iPhone from your Mac. As for the latest iOS, iOS 18, a big new feature is that users will be able to lock an app when they hand over their phone to do things like show someone a photo or let them play a game.
iPad Air with M2 chip
The iPad series is being improved, and one of the most important additions is that it is now available in two sizes, an 11-inch screen and a 13-inch screen. The price is $599 for the 11-inch and $799 for the 13-inch. read more
iPad Pro with M4
The iPad Pro is said to be the thinnest iPad ever. Features include an OLED display in two panels called tandem OLED. It also has a nano-textured glass option to reduce glare. And it's powered by Apple's next-generation M4 chip, a step up from the M2. It also comes with new gestures for the 12.9-inch iPad Air and Apple Pencil. In the US, the 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $999 for the Wi-Fi model and $1,199 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The 13-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,299 for the Wi-Fi model and $1,499 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model.
Inside the M4 chip
The M4 chip is Apple's fourth-generation custom SoC. It has a new display engine and significantly updated CPU and GPU cores. Apple claims the new CPU is 50% faster than the M2 chips that powered the last generation of iPad Pros, while the GPU will offer 4x the rendering performance. read more
Internal tandem OLED
Among its many features, the Tandem OLED display can support an incredible 1000 nits of full-screen brightness for both SDR and HDR content and 1600 nits of peak HDR brightness. read more
Apple Pencil Pro
Shocking as it may seem, it's been almost a decade since the first Apple Pencil was announced in 2015. The stylus hasn't been updated that much since then. The most important is the magnetic charging technology that was introduced in 2018. Meanwhile, a cheaper model with fewer features and USB-C charging was launched last year. Many new features Apple Pencile Pro come from squeezing. You can animate, move and rotate objects or even unclear lenses. read more
Magic keyboard
Apple has released a new and improved Magic Keyboard, a keyboard accessory for the iPad. Apple says the Magic Keyboard has been "completely redesigned" to be thinner and lighter, and now includes a range of features that allow quick access to controls such as screen brightness. In addition, the new Magic Keyboard also has an aluminum palm rest and a larger trackpad. Plus, it also has haptic feedback, making it more responsive, Apple said.
The top new AI products and features unveiled
From generative AI to accessibility, Kyle Wiggers takes you on a journey of all of Google’s AI announcements. Read more
Wear OS 5
Google gave a developer preview of the new version of its smartwatch operating system, Wear OS 5. This release focuses on improving battery life and other performance improvements, such as more efficient training tracking. Developers also get updated tools for creating watch faces and creating watch apps. Google has launched its next generation – sixth generation to be exact – Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) artificial intelligence chip. They're called Trillium and will launch later this year. If you remember, it has become a tradition at I/O conferences to announce the next generation of TPUs, even though the chips will not be launched until this year. read more
Pixel 8a
The new Pixel 8a smartphone is a cheaper version, starting at $499, but packs a lot of features.
Pixel
Google Pixel tablet (called slate story) is now available. If you still remember it, Brian's heater from the TechCrunch Pixel tablet was subject to last year, and what he was talking about was the basis. Interestingly, the tablet is available without it. Read more
Gemini 1.5 Pro
Everyone can use a "half" every now and then, and Google obliges with the Gemini 1.5 Pro. Kyle Wiggers writes that this is "Google's most capable generative AI model" and is now available for public preview on Vertex AI, Google's enterprise-focused AI development platform. This new version of LLM supports more markers, makes it more powerful and has audio processing capabilities. axion
We don't know much about it, but what we do know is this: Google Cloud, along with AWS and Azure, has announced its first custom Arm processor called Axion. Frederic Lardinois wrote: "Google says its Axion instances based on Arm-based Neoverse 2 perform 30% better than other competitors like AWS and Microsoft, and 50% better than the comparable X86", based on examples.