The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is usually held at Apple Park in California. The event is usually used to showcase new software and technologies in the macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS families as well as other Apple software. WWDC is also an event hosted for third-party software developers that work on apps for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other Apple devices. Attendees can participate in hands-on labs with Apple engineers and attend in-depth sessions covering a wide variety of topics.
Stevenote is a colloquial term for keynote speeches given by Steve Jobs, former CEO of Apple, at events such as the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, Macworld Expo, and Apple Expo. Because most Apple product releases were first shown to the public at these keynotes, "Stevenotes" caused substantial swings in Apple's stock price.
The Apple community is a group of people interested in Apple Inc. and its products, who report information in various media. Generally this has evolved into a proliferation of websites, but latterly has also expanded into podcasts, either speculating on rumors about future product releases, simply report Apple-related news stories, or have discussions about Apple's products and how to use them.
The iPod Nano is a discontinued portable media player designed and formerly marketed by Apple Inc. The first generation model was introduced on September 7, 2005, as a replacement for the iPod Mini, using flash memory for storage. The iPod Nano went through several differing models, or generations, after its introduction. Apple discontinued the iPod Nano on July 27, 2017.
The iPod Touch is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a music player and a handheld gaming device, but can also be used as a digital camera, a web browser and for messaging. It is similar in design to the iPhone, but it connects to the Internet only through Wi-Fi and does not use cellular network data, so it is not a smartphone.
iOS is a mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. It was first released as iPhone OS in June 2007. iPhone OS was renamed iOS following the release of the iPad, starting with iOS 4. With iOS 13, Apple began offering a separate operating system, iPadOS, for the iPad. iOS is also the foundation of the newer audioOS and tvOS, and shares some of its code with macOS. New iOS versions are released every year alongside new iPhone models. From its launch in 2007 until 2010, this occurred in June or July, since then, new major versions are released in September or October.
A dock connector is a connector used to attach a mobile electronic device simultaneously to multiple external resources. The dock connector will typically carry a variety of signals and power, through a single connector, to simplify the process of docking the mobile device. A dock connector may be embedded in a mechanical fixture used to support or align the mobile device or may be at the end of a cable.
Apple Inc. has produced and sold headphones since 2001, available for standalone purchase and bundled with iPhone and iPod products. Apple's current product line consists of EarPods, AirPods and AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max.
FaceTime is a proprietary videotelephony product developed by Apple Inc. FaceTime is available on supported iOS mobile devices running iOS 4 and later and Mac computers that run Mac OS X 10.6.6 and later. FaceTime supports any iOS device with a forward-facing camera and any Mac computer equipped with a FaceTime Camera. FaceTime Audio, an audio-only version, is available on any iOS device that supports iOS 7 or newer, and any Mac with a forward-facing camera running OS X 10.9.2 and later.
AirPlay is a proprietary wireless communication protocol stack/suite developed by Apple Inc. that allows streaming between devices of audio, video, device screens, and photos, together with related metadata. Originally implemented only in Apple's software and devices, it was called AirTunes and used for audio only. Apple has since licensed the AirPlay protocol stack as a third-party software component technology to manufacturers that build products compatible with Apple's devices.
iPadOS is a mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. for its iPad line of tablet computers. It is a rebranded variant of iOS, the operating system used by Apple's iPhones, renamed to reflect the diverging features of the two product lines, particularly the iPad's multitasking capabilities. It was introduced as iPadOS 13 in 2019, reflecting its status as the successor to iOS 12 for the iPad, at the company's 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference. iPadOS was released to the public on September 24, 2019. The current public release is iPadOS 16.3, released on January 23, 2023.
The following outline of Apple Inc. is a topical guide to the products, history, retail stores, corporate acquisitions, and personnel under the purview of the American multinational corporation Apple Inc.
Lightning is a proprietary computer bus and power connector created and designed by Apple Inc. and introduced on September 12, 2012, to replace its predecessor, the 30-pin dock connector. The Lightning connector is used to connect Apple mobile devices like iPhones, iPads, and iPods to host computers, external monitors, cameras, USB battery chargers, and other peripherals. Using 8 pins instead of 30, Lightning is much smaller than its predecessor, which was integrated with devices like the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2. The Lightning plug is symmetrical, so it can be inserted into a Lightning receptacle in either orientation. The plug is indented on each side to match up with corresponding points inside the receptacle to retain the connection.
The iPad is a tablet computer produced and marketed by Apple Inc. Compared to its predecessor, the third-generation iPad, the fourth-generation iPad maintained the Retina Display but featured new and upgraded components such as the Apple A6X chip and the Lightning connector, which was introduced on September 12, 2012. It shipped with iOS 6, which provides a platform for audio-visual media, including electronic books, periodicals, films, music, computer games, presentations and web content. Like the third-generation iPad it replaced, it was supported by five major iOS releases, in this case iOS 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. iOS 11, which was released on September 19, 2017, does not support the fourth-generation iPad as that update does not support 32-bit devices and apps.
The fifth generation iPod Touch was unveiled at Apple's media event alongside the iPhone 5 on September 12, 2012, and was released on October 11, 2012. A mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-based user interface, it succeeded the 4th-generation iPod Touch. It is compatible with up to iOS 9.3.5, which was released on August 25, 2016.
HomeKit, also known as Apple Home, is a software framework developed by Apple Inc., made available in iOS and iPadOS that lets users configure, communicate with and control smart-home appliances using Apple devices. It provides users with a way to automatically discover such devices and configure them. By designing rooms, items, and actions in HomeKit, users can enable automatic actions in the home through a simple voice command to Siri or through the Home app. With HomeKit, developers are able to create complex applications in order to manage accessories at a high level. HomeKit is simply a communication protocol, which integrates and operates several types of accessories within the home.
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are smartphones that were designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the tenth generation of the iPhone. They were announced on September 7, 2016, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco by Apple CEO Tim Cook, and were released on September 16, 2016, succeeding the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus as the flagship devices in the iPhone series. Apple also released the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in numerous countries worldwide throughout September and October 2016. They were succeeded as flagship devices by the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus on September 12, 2017, and were discontinued with the announcement of the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro on September 10, 2019.
iPadOS 13 is the first major release of the iPadOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc. for their iPad line of tablet computers. The successor to iOS 12 on those devices, it was announced at the company's 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 3, 2019, as a derivation from iOS, with a greater emphasis on multitasking and tablet-centric features. It was released on September 24, 2019. It was succeeded by iPadOS 14, released on September 16, 2020.
The iPhone's hardware is designed by Apple Inc. Apple directly sub-contracts hardware production to external OEM companies, maintaining a high degree of control over the end product.
