Apple releases iLife '11

Apple has unveiled iLife ’11 at its Back to the Mac event in Cupertino, demoing three of the suite’s updated applications- iPhoto, iMovie, and Garageband.

iPhoto ’11

Describing iPhoto ’11 as “the best version yet,” Phil Schiller- Apple’s Senior Vice President- started his presentation by showcasing the program’s newly redesigned full-screen mode.

New slideshow templates offer auto-generated transitions, labels, and background music; Schiller previewed several themes, including one called Places- similar to iMovie ’09’s Maps- as well as a Reflections and Holiday theme.

Photo sharing, too, has been simplified. “Share via Email” allows users to select a group of photos, click the option, and have iPhoto automatically create a postcard within the program. Choose from several different templates; drag, drop, and resize photos within; and choose whether to attach the full-resolution photos or just the postcard. A new sharing panel links Flickr and Facebook accounts and shows the user’s sharing history.

Book creation, meanwhile, has undergone a complete carousel-inspired redesign. Users can pick an album, click Create, select Book, and are brought into the new full-screen book creation view. Choose a type of book, and iPhoto will auto-fill photos, using information about the album selected to create the pages.

With iPhoto ’11, users can also create and order letterpress cards in addition to the flat and folded options previously available in earlier versions of the program. An introductory video built into the Cards creator explains letterpress techniques. Cards can be personalized with both photos and words.

iMovie ’11

Improved audio editing- which Apple CEO Steve Jobs called "the number one request we got after the last version of iMovie”- led the changes to Apple’s entry-level video editing program.

Randy Ubillos, chief architect for Apple's video applications, led the demonstration highlighting new audio editing capabilities, as well as “one step effects,” which provide instantly rendered visual compositions; easy-to-build movie trailers with fifteen template themes, original scores created by the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road; People Finder, which uses face detection to distinguish the number of people in your photo and the framing of the shot; and direct sharing with Facebook and Vimeo.

Steve Jobs had this to say after Randy's presentation “Isn’t that awesome?” Jobs joked after Ubillos had finished. “You know Randy along with his team has invented all of that stuff.”

GarageBand ’11

The final program to get an on-stage demo Wednesday was GarageBand, shown off by Xander Soren, product marketing manager. Soren focused on GarageBand’s new recording and instrument tools, including new Flex Time, Groove Matching, and “How did I play?" features, more guitar amps and effects, and new piano and guitar lessons.

iWeb and iDVD

While these will be included in iLife 11 it is not clear wether they have been revamped in anyway.

Some shots from the new iLife