Apple is Changing the Technology World Again
The Apple September Event was absolutely spectacular. They showed once again why they lead the industry in innovation and creativity. Most of their new releases and products are truly amazing, while one of their products didn’t really do anything to impress me.
Apple Watch
Overall, I was unimpressed by the watch. The watch is fine as it is, but the only real change is a new operating system and adding a few colors and watch faces. The watch is a fine product already, but they didn’t do anything to really make it sing like they did for the other products they announced today.
iPad Pro
Probably the most impressive and exciting item that Apple announced today was the iPad Pro. This is a new, bigger, faster, and more powerful version of the iPad. The iPad Pro is almost 13 inches, so basically the size of the standard MacBook screen. It also comes equipped with a the new A9X processor, which is 1.8 times the computing processing power, along with double the graphics power of the iPad Air 2. So what is the price? It is coming out in 3 models, 32GB for $799, 128GB $949, 128GB with Cellular option for $1079.
Coming along with the new iPad Pro, we have the new Apple Pencil. It is a beautiful piece of engineering. It is finally everything we have wanted from a productive stylus. Note, that this is NOT a stylus; it is a pen and it is used for writing, drawing and special apps that use it in its full capacity. The Vice President of Microsoft Office actually came out to do the demonstration for the apple pencil, which is very exciting, considering Microsoft is in direct competition with Apple. Office will be amazing with this new pen.The Apple pencil is starting at $99.
Another accessory to go with the iPad Pro is the Smart Keyboard. This is similar to Apple’s Smart Case that they have released for the regular iPads, which one key feature. Yep, you guessed it, a keyboard. The design is beautiful, and the hardware looks solid and great, as usual. I know what you’re thinking, how much does it cost? How much MORE am I going to have to give Apple to get all this stuff? The Apple Keyboard will cost you $169
Now, I know you’re starting to add all this up in your head $950, $100, and $170, it starts to add up very quickly. You are right, however, look at it this way. To get all of that $1220 for a 128GB, which I will admit is about 200 dollars more expensive than a MacBook Air, however, this is touchscreen, a tablet (with the keyboard option), and has the potential to be incredible. Apple mentioned it in their keynote on the iPad Pro, this is the computing technology of the future. The way we interact with our technology and the ability to take it anywhere, especially if you opt for the cellular version for just $120 more.
Apple TV
The way we watch television is changing rapidly. Everything is going to an app, Netflix, Hulu, HBO, MLB.tv and many more. Apple TV is taking advantage of this new era in TV and releasing a newer and much better version of their already loved product.
The Apple TV comes with a Siri enabled remote, so you can simply press the Siri button and tell it to search for what you want. You can be very general while searching or extremely specific and Siri is going to try to find something for you. The remote also has a touch screen track pad at the top, which is easily maneuvered with your thumb. No more searching by clicking buttons, just a swipe of a finger.
Perhaps the coolest feature of new Apple TV is when you search for a TV show or movie, it will show you which app the show or movie is available in and let’s you pick which app to use.
The new Apple TV will have a 32GB and 64GB models at $149 and $199 price points respectively.
iPhone
In the past when the S model iPhones have come out, there is very little to talk about, which is exactly what I was expecting. However, there were a lot of changes to the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. The phones do look just like the original iPhone 6 models, but the changes are incredible.
Apple has released what they are calling, 3D Touch. Normally when you press on an app, or on your screen at all, it is a simple tap. Now you can press and then press harder to open more options with what you pressed on. For example instead of just opening the camera app to take a photo, you can 3D touch, and you get additional options to take a selfie, record a video, record in slo-mo, and take a photo. That way you open the camera in the exact way you want from the get go, and don’t have to modify the app once you’re in it.
The new iPhones have also been equipped with a better camera. They now come with a 12 MP camera, which some people think it’s about time. However, if you understand how megapixels work, it’s a good thing that Apple waited until they increased it with perfect precision.
The new camera also comes with what Apple is calling live photos. Basically the camera will capture a very short video before and after the still photo. It gives you the option to capture some of those candid moments without trying to do it. Facebook will be enabling live photos later this year, likely soon after the release of the new iPhones.