Well, I was off by a day this year (I forgot to account for the Labour Day holiday) but Apple’s September event came along anyway.
TL:DR Version:
- New iPhones – look exactly the same but totally reengineered
- The iPadPro is a real thing and will be available in November
- The new Apple TV is bringing Siri and Apps to your tv
- Apple Watch OS 2 and iOS 9 are available on the 16th of September
As ever, the leaks and analyst’s notes have given us an insight into what was to come. Logic also helps there too, as features Apple releases over the year in other devices will no doubt make it’s way in to the rest of the device Eco system.
As this is a roundup post, it’s best to give you an insight in to which of those features have made their way through today.
First up, Apple Watch. With the WatchOS 2, there’s over 10,000 dedicated apps ready to land and shows there’s a really impressive platform to come. Apple Watch 2 is available on September 16th.
With the Apple Watch, there are two new colour options for the Sports watch. A gold and a rose gold. In addition to those, there’s new bands for the Apple Watch.
Next up, the iPad. I didn’t expect there to be anything about the iPad in this event, but it seems like Apple have bucked that trend.
The forever discussed iPadPro has arrived. Looking like the iPad Air 2, the Pro but with a 12.9 inch display with 5.6 million pixels.
The iPadPro comes with a new A9X processor. It is basically desktop class performance with console quality graphics. It’s pretty impressive, and according to Apple, it’s faster at CPU tasks than 80% of the shipping portable PCs today. The iPadPro comes with 4 speakers that give a dynamic stereo sound.
To come with the iPadPro, Apple have launched a smart keyboard. It uses similar button technology to the new MacBook. It connects using a magnetic connector. Also with the iPadPro, comes the Apple Pencil.
The Apple Pencil has force detection, tied with lots of sensors all linked to the iPadPro. Cleverly, the Pencil charges using the Lightning connector port on the bottom of the iPadPro.
One of the biggest things from the iPadPro section though, was having Microsoft as the first developer to demo the new capabilities of the iPad, iOS 9 multitasking and the Apple Pencil.
The second biggest was Adobe. The first being a layout app called Comp. it’s like InDesign but for a touch based device. As well as Comp, the project version of Photoshop was on display, along with Sketch.
Basicly, we now sit in a world from where, 5 years ago, the iPad was described as a toy, to now having the two biggest software companies in the world, moving their most important software to it. There’s some clam chowder that needs eating by a lot of people right now.
Next up, was the Apple TV. No, not that actual TV that people have been talking about for years, it’s the replacement for the Apple TV set top box. Apple attached this in two ways, the first is a new box and and the second is a completely new operating system, built on iOS.
(Just in case you were wondering, that now makes four dedicated operating systems, three of which are iOS based. )
The new Apple TV brings all the improvements you’d want to the user interface but it also comes with Siri and a new remote that contains motion sensors and a glass trackpad.
The biggest thing with the Apple TV though, is Apps. Not only gaming, using iPhones as extra controllers but shopping apps and the TV services apps. Using Siri when looking for content, it can find what you’re looking for and tel you if it is in Netflix, Hulu or the iTunes Store.
When Steve Jobs said that he thought that they had ‘cracked it’ when it came to TV, it’s easy to imagine this is what he meant. Making it do more, without being dreadful. Making it the new hub of the home.
The biggest thing (not literally) from today though was, as expected, the new iPhones.
The tried and tested Tick Tock strategy of Apple’s iPhone line has brought us the 6S and the 6S Plus.
As they look identical to last years devices, Apple say they are completely new. The body of the devices are made from the Aluminium 7000 alloy that the Apple watches are made from and the glass on the front is some new double ion type (still no sapphire).
As ever with the ‘S’ models, the internals are the most important. The first big change is 3D Touch. Like the force touch on which it is based, it allows the detection of pressure on the screen. 3D Touch however, has multiple levels of input detection. This tied with the operating system however, makes the this technology far more impressive. You can now access shortcuts for apps on the home screen and you can preview information with different levels of force. The 3D Touch technology with iOS gives the first real idea of a 3D interface as it gives you acces to the field of depth and feedback with a Taptic Engine, similar to that to be found in the Apple Watch
The iPhones have the new A9 processor and a new M9 motion processor built in. This now allows for an always on ‘hey Siri’ feature, to help you talk to your phone.
The biggest use for most people with their iPhones is the camera. The new rear facing camera on the 6S and 6S Plus has been updated and is now 12MP. This new sensor allows for good HD video and now 4K video.
On the front, there is a new forward facing camera is 5MP and with that, there’s a new chip that overdrives the screen to turn it in to a a True Tone flash, just like the one on the back of the phone.
The biggest software change with the new Live Photos. These are 12MP photos that have a little time before and and after the point the picture was taken. These are like little moments of time, saved for ever. (It’s almost like I called that some time ago).
The new iPhones are available for preorder on Saturday the 12th and will be available on the 25th.
The Tame Geek reviews are coming!