Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) warmed up the audience at its Worldwide Developer Conference not with a new device or an interactive TV, but a new company.
But, more predictably, chief executive Tim Cook unveiled the latest Mac operating system, iOS version and what some see as a late-to-the-game addition to iTunes.
The next OS X sequence will now be named after Californian cities with the latest dubbed after a surf town in the northern part of the state.
Mavericks promises extended battery life because of technology that allows apps to be dormant. It also features document tagging, which assigns characteristics to a file beyond the name.
The iPhone map application, which has frustrated many users, and the iBooks store will now be on Macs. Facebook events will appear on the Mavericks calendar.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned company, known as Anki, will integrate iOS devices with artificial Intelligence and robotics.
The first product to be released will be Anki Drive, available this fall, on display as self-driving miniature cars going around a race track.
Apple's new mobile operating system counterpart will be iOS 7, what Cook called “the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone.” Most notable are the stripped-down design changes. There will also be a control centre that brings up commonly-used settings.
The mobile version of Apple's web browser, Safari, will have a smart search bar that lets users pick amongst different search engines.
The highly-speculated music streaming service will be called ITunes Radio. Like Pandora, iTunes Radio builds playlists based on the song that is currently on and lets users share them with friends.
The service is free with ads and ad-free for those with Apple’s paid iTunes Match service.
In product news, the new MacBook Air will be equipped with Intel's Haswell processor, which has also powered computers from competitors. A new 11-inch version will have up to nine hours of battery life, while the 13-inch version will have a 12-hour battery. Both are already available on the online store.
Rounding out the announcements so far, in an idea that is similar to Google Drive, Apple is giving users the ability to work on documents in a web browser via iCloud. iWork for iCloud will also function on other browsers aside from Safari, and on PCs.
It is unlikely that Apple will come out with a new iPhone or a wearable device at WWDC, something Cook hinted at last month at the All Things Digital conference.
Apple's stock was last traded at US$442 a share.
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