In Pics: Apple’s 5 big announcements at WWDC

Apple nodded to several up-and-coming technology trends, unveiling a new "smart" home speaker and device features touching on virtual reality, online privacy and a form of artificial intelligence called machine learning.

HomePod and Siri with new voice

The speaker unveiled on Monday is similar to devices from rivals, some of which have been on the market for years. Like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, Apple's HomePod speaker will play music while also helping people to manage their lives and homes.

Unlike those other smart speakers, Apple is positioning the HomePod primarily as a way to listen to and discover new songs and artists.

Siri, a digital assistant that has been on Apple's iPhone since 2011, will be voice activated to respond to requests for information and other help around the house.

New iMacs

New iMacs unveiled Monday at Apple's annual conference for software programmers are getting better displays and graphics capabilities.

Apple says that makes the Mac a great platform for developing virtual-reality experiences.

High Sierra

Apple's latest operating system for Mac computers, called High Sierra, recognizes more faces automatically, which should make it easier to organize photos, and will offer more photo editing tools.

New iPhone and iPad features

New features in iPhones and iPads include messages that sync to Apple servers in the cloud. iPhones will only keep the most recent messages on the device to save storage.

Apple is also bringing the ability to pay back a friend or other individual through its payment service, Apple Pay. Before, transactions had been limited to products and services from businesses and institutions.

Apple is trying to make augmented reality a reality with new tools for iPhones and iPads. Augmented reality is the blending of the physical and virtual worlds.

Apple is making software tools available for outside app writers to design apps with augmented reality. The tools will make hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads capable of the technology. This will be part of the iOS 11 software update for iPhones and iPads. It's expected in September.

Watch the watch

Apple Watch is bringing Siri front and centre. The smartwatch promises to learn about your routines to figure out what information to display. That could include a reminder to make a call or a flight reservation.

The operating system for Apple Watch is also being updated, including new watch faces, more personalized alerts that use machine learning to tailor information to you based on your routines and tastes.