Today is a HUGE day for Apple. The tech company managed to pack in so many updates across its ever-expanding product lineup. The Apple Watch, the iPad and iPhone families, and even the Apple TV all received notable boosts in functionality. There’s so much to discuss, so without further ado, let’s dive right into it. Jump after the fold for a comprehensive breakdown of the day’s events.
Apple Watch
Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off his company’s September 2015 keynote presentation with a quick update on Apple Watch. According to Cook, customer satisfaction with Apple’s wearable is at 97 percent; in other words, people who have it, love it. We finally got a release date for the Watch’s first major OS update, and new finishes and bands were unveiled, too.
• watchOS 2, with its new faces, third-party app complications, Time Travel, nightstand mode, and ability to reply to emails, releases for public consumption on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Explore most everything the new OS has to offer right here.
• In addition to those new features, watchOS 2 also comes with native third-party app support. This means that app developers will have direct access to the Watch’s hardware to create even more powerful apps for it. Today, third-party apps on the Watch rely on a paired iPhone; with the new OS, they’ll be able to run directly on the Watch itself and you can expect significant speed jumps as a result. These apps will be able to tap into the Watch’s microphone, speaker, and health sensor, in addition to being able to display video. Native third-party apps coming soon to Apple Watch include Facebook Messenger (send text and audio messages and share location) and iTranslate (speak into microphone to see and hear instant translations in over 90 languages).
• Just in time for the fall season, Apple is introducing new Watch finishes and bands. The Apple Watch Sport collection receives the new gold and rose gold anodized aluminum cases, and they come in the standard 35mm and 42mm sizes. Apple pairs the Gold cases with new midnight blue and antique white fluoroelastomer sport bands. Elsewhere in the Sport line, the silver aluminium case is now also paired with orange and blue sport bands. Moving over to the pricer Apple Watch collection, the stainless steel cases can now be customized with a two-toned classic buckle in black or saddle brown, as well as a (PRODUCT)RED sport band. Additionally, the popular space black stainless steel case is now available at a cheaper rate bundled with a black sport band ($599 versus the $1,049 link bracelet model). Last, the rich-and-famous Apple Watch Edition collection now includes an 18-karat rose gold case with a midnight blue classic buckle. Browse the new assortment of Apple Watches here. Already own a Watch? You can purchase any of these bands separately; other new sport band hues include fog, turquoise, vintage rose, and walnut. All available today.
• And for all you fashionistas out there with money to spend, Apple’s partnered up with luxury brand Hermes to create even more bands featuring signature leather including the Double Tour, Single Tour, and Cuff. Prices range from $1,100 to $1,500. These Watches will come preloaded with a special Hermes watch face. They go on sale starting October 5 at select Apple retail and Hermes stores around the world. Sneak a peek at the collection here.
iPad
Cook calls it “the biggest new in iPad since the iPad.” Enter the iPad Pro, with new accessories in tow.
• The iPad Pro, “the most capable and powerful iPad” Apple’s ever created, sports a 12.9-inch Retina display, with a 2732 x 2048 resolution (that’s 5.6 million pixels in total). This massively-sized screen will take full advantage of iOS 9’s new multitasking prowess that includes Split View. If you look at the width of the iPad Pro, it is the same as the height of the iPad Air 2, making it completely intuitive to run iPad apps side-by-side when you rotate the tablet and use it in horizontal orientation.
• It’s powered by Apple’s next-generation A9X processor, its 3rd-gen 64-bit chip. This chip outputs 2x the memory bandwidth of the last-gen A8X chip, 2x faster storage performance, and it runs 2x faster in general. Apple’s calling it a “desktop-class CPU,” and it’s paired with a “console-class GPU” that also runs 2x faster than the A8X’s. The company’s even going so far as to say that the iPad Pro with the A9X runs “faster than 80 percent of the portable PCs that shipped in the past 12 months.” And graphics-wise, it’s faster than 90 percent of them!
• More tech specs… It boasts a 10-hour battery life. It features a four speaker audio system that automatically balances the left and the right sound depending on how you’re holding the tablet. There an upgraded 8-megapixel rear-facing iSight camera (that’s up from 5-megapixels, and the front-facing FaceTime HD camera remains at 1.2-megapixels). Faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO technology and 150 Mbps LTE. In terms of size and weight, it’s 6.9mm thin (that’s only slightly thicker than the incredibly thin iPad Air 2) and it weighs 1.57 pounds.
• iPad Pro’s large canvas lends itself well to professional creatives, and so Apple’s gone ahead and designed two new accessories specifically made to work with it. Despite Steve Jobs’ reservations about the stylus, the Apple Pencil is born. It is indeed a stylus made to enhance the productivity capabilities of the iPad Pro. The tablet’s updated Multi-Touch surface is able to detect the Pencil’s precision, force, and tilt functions. It knows when you’re using the accessory, “scanning its signal at an astounding 240 times per second, giving it twice the data points it normally collects with your finger,” reports Apple. This translates to low latency, meaning it will pretty much feel like you’re putting a real pen–er, pencil–to paper. Artists should quickly pick up on the Pencil’s functions; the more pressure equals thicker lines, tilt for shading, and so on. The display supports and discerns simultaneous Pencil and finger inputs. Apple promises 12 hours of battery life, and when it comes tap to charge, slip off the Pencil’s magnetic cap to reveal a Lightning connector that can be plugged directly into the iPad’s charing port. Apple claims 15 seconds of charing equals 30 minutes of battery life. Apple Pencil is works with Apple apps like Notes and Mail, as well as third-party ones such as ProCreate and Adobe’s Photoshop suite. In a surprise entrance, Apple invited longtime competitor Microsoft to its stage to present Office for iPad and its Pencil support.
• The other new, less controversial accessory for iPad Pro is the Smart Keyboard. In a rare instance, Apple takes a page out of Microsoft’s playbook to produce its very own physical keyboard that pulls triple duty as a tablet stand and case protector. It’s a full-sized keyboard sporting keys with internal mechanics matching the “dome” technology built into the new MacBook’s keyboard. The keys are covered in “Apple-woven fabric” that is soft to the touch yet also durable. How does it connect to the iPad Pro? You’ll notice three small circles on the side of the new tablet; together they make up the new Smart Connector port. The Smart Keyboard clicks into place via magnets and the port carries power and data, eliminating the need for batteries or Bluetooth pairing. The tablet knows when you connect the keyboard to it, and iOS 9 will automatically adapt your virtual work environment accordingly.
• Pricing starts at $799 for the 32GB Wi-Fi model. If you require additional storage, a 128GB model costs $949. And if you’re looking for Wi-Fi + Cellular, you’ll have to dig deeper into your wallet for the top-of-the-line 128GB model which’ll sell for $1,079. All three models will come in typical finishes silver, gold, and space gray. The Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard are sold separately at $99 and $169, respectively. All available this November.
• Now let’s take a quick look at the current state of the iPad family. Under the iPad Pro, the iPad Air 2 (starting at $499) and iPad Air (starting at $399) remain. The iPad mini 3 has been discontinued and replaced by the new iPad mini 4 (starting at $399), which is basically a smaller version of the iPad Air 2 (the glaring difference being that the mini 4 is powered by the A8 chip, while the Air 2 has the fancier A8X chip). And on the cheaper side, there’s the still-lingering iPad mini 2 which starts at an affordable $269.
Apple TV
“We believe the future of television is apps.” That’s what Cook said before introducing the all-new Apple TV set-top box and Siri Remote. You’re dreams of an Apple-built TV set may be crushed, but there’s still lots to be excited about when it comes to Apple’s living room revolution. A hobby, no more.
• Let’s take a look at the hardware first. The new Apple TV set-top box retains its blocky, black physique, but it’s gained a few pounds and looks decidedly bulkier and taller. Not sure that we’ll be calling it a hockey puck any longer. Around the back there’s power, HDMI, and Ethernet. It supports 1080p video (no 4K here, sorry folks) and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1. It’s powered by the 64-bit A8 processor and has 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO on board. The new two-toned black on the front, silver on the bottom remote is called the Siri Remote and it most prominently features a Glass Touch surface along the top that provides a new way to navigate the user interface. Beneath that surface there are a number of buttons to access Menu, Home, and Siri and playbook controls including volume. The remote will be able to control your TV set’s volume and power your system on and off–the box has an IR receiver. It communicates with the box via Bluetooth, so direct line-of-sight for usage is not required. Apple promises a single charge lasts up to three months, and there’s a Lightning port on its bottom for juicing.
• The modernized user interface built on a new iOS-based operating system Apple’s calling tvOS. At first glance, it looks incredibly similar to what current Apple TV owners are already used to; Apple isn’t reinventing the wheel here, it’s merely making it faster, shinier, and easier to navigate and explore. The familiar home screen features easy access to movies and TV shows provided by the iTunes Store, as well as quick links to an all-new App Store, Photos, and Music. Splash pages for iTunes movies and TV shows have been updated with a focus on content; ratings, seasons, and contextual information are all laid out in an organized, simple-to-browse manner. In Photos, you can view all of your iCloud pictures and videos, and in Music you have access to your iTunes library as well as the Apple Music streaming service. Also included are new high-def motion screensavers shot by Apple exclusively for Apple TV. The scenic screensavers dynamically adapt depending on the time of day (sunny in the morning, dark at night), so that’s neat.
• All of the apps currently available on Apple TV are coming to the new box, and you can organize them the same way you do today. With the new box, however, obtaining apps is made better thanks to the inclusion of an App Store. Developers have access to tvOS so that they can create apps made specifically for Apple TV and its new remote. In addition to video content, video game publishers are making a big push now thanks to the remote’s touch capability, as well as its internal accelerometer and gyroscope (think Wii-like input). Co-op and competitive multiplayer gameplay is supported when you wirelessly connect iPhones and iPod touches to Apple TV via Bluetooth. Even specially-designed gamepads will be supported. If a game is available across iOS platforms, you’ll be able to continue gameplay right from where you left off as you jump from device to device–a nice perk. Major vid game devs such as Activision and Harmonix are bringing games to Apple TV, some of which will be exclusives. Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo, watch out.
• More on the new Siri Remote: touch and voice play major roles in navigating the new UI. The Glass Touch surface can be used to swipe and tap through content. A built-in microphone is included so you can command search queries to Siri. Tap the Siri button and say, “Show me funny TV shows” and Siri will intelligently display a list of TV comedies. Searches can be specific, too. “Show me the Modern Family episode with Edward Norton.” And there it is. You can filter searches based on cast, director, date, and age rating. Siri will perform a universal search across iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Showtime; Apple says more sources will be added over time (I’m looking at you, Amazon, though that’s not likely to happen anytime soon). This is a great feature because now if you’re looking to watch The Hunger Games and its available to stream on Netflix, you won’t mistakenly forget to look there and consequently pay for it on iTunes.
• In addition to finding movies and TV shows for you, Siri can also be used in other ways to bring up sports scores, weather conditions, and stock prices even during playback. The virtual assistant will automatically pause whatever you’re watching and show you what you’re looking for. She’s aware of what you’re watching and this makes it fun to ask contextual questions like, “Who stars in this?” Whenever Siri springs results on-screen, you’ll never lose your place; suggestions pop up from the bottom of the screen and layer on top of whatever you’re doing in the background. Swipe them down and away to resume playbook. Simple and intuitive. Here’s a cool one: When you’re watching something and miss a word or two, you can ask Siri, “What did she say?” and Siri will replay the last 15 seconds with captions temporarily turned on. Siri can also open apps when you command it, and using the remote you can sift through a carousel of open apps in a similar manner you’re used to on iOS.
• The new Apple TV, which comes bundled with the Siri Remote, goes on sale in late October in over 80 countries (it’ll be out in over 100 countries by year’s end). Two models are coming: 32GB and 64GB for $149 and $199, respectively. The existing Apple TV will remain on the market at $69, but there are no plans for Apple to update it with tvOS. The tvOS Developer Beta is out now, so devs are already hard at work on making all kinds of new apps primed to take advantage of the new touch, motion, and voice features packed into the remote.
• Quick note: At the end of this unveiling, Apple exec Eddie Cue said that Apple TV lays “the foundation for the future of television.” Perhaps this a quiet nod to the rumored cord-cutting service Apple is purportedly working on with cable companies and affiliates. Time will tell. In the meantime, it’s all about apps, apps, apps…and games.
iPhone
We’re in the next “s” phase of the iPhone’s lifespan, in-between the 6 and the inevitable 7. Though the new handsets look almost identical to their predecessors, there’s a whole lot of new going on in the inside. Let’s take a peek…and then a pop. (You will understand that lame joke in a second.)
• The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus aesthetically look the same as last year’s models, but they are a bit heavier. That’s likely due to the fact that they’re made out of the same durable 7000 series aluminum found in the Apple Watch Sport collection. The display glass is made from stronger materials, too.
• The new phones are powered by Apple’s next-generation A9 processor, its 3rd-gen 64-bit chip featuring a new transistor architecture and optimization for real-world use. Much like the A9X processor found in the iPad Pro, Apple’s calling the A9 a “desktop-class CPU” that is 70 percent faster than the A8 chip. There’s also a “console-class GPU” inside that performs graphics tasks 90 percent faster than before. The next-gen M9 motion coprocessor is now embedded into the CPU and is always-on, allowing more features to run all the time at lower power. This enables “Hey Siri” to work even if you’re not charging your device; she’s always listening for that prompt now.
• More tech specs… A 2nd-gen Touch ID sensor recognized fingerprints twice as fast as before. The rear-facing iSight camera has been upgraded to 12-megapixels (it had been stuck at 5-megapixels for quite some time), and it contains 50 percent more pixels with faster auto-focus. It shoots HD and now 4K video at 3840 x 2160 (that’s over 8 million pixels). The front-facing FaceTime HD camera has also been upgraded to 5-megapixels (up from 1.2-megapixels) and it utilizes the Retina display for flash. Apple’s appropriately calling it Retina Flash and it works similar to the way Snapchat flashes you when you snap a selfie; the screen goes bright and helps capture you in low-light conditions. Faster LTE Advanced with support for up to 23 bands is here, as is Wi-Fi that is twice as fast (up to 866 Mbps).
• For the new iPhones, Apple’s invented “the next generation of Multi-Touch” and it’s called 3D Touch. iPhone now recognized force, in the same way that Apple Watch and the new MacBook do with Force Touch. New force gestures allow for even more fluidity and efficiency when navigating iOS. A light press on the display allows you to Peek into content; a deeper press then Pops you into it. Peek is essentially like Quick Preview in OS X on the Mac when you press the spacebar quickly view a file; in iOS it similarly helps you preview content before diving deeper with a Pop. For example, when viewing a list of text messages in the Messages app, light press a conversation to preview it; press deeper to open it. And then there’s Quick Actions. 3D Touch provides shortcuts to the things you do most. For example, a light press on the Camera app’s icon will present a list of actions to jump into, such as taking a selfie or a video. Think of it as right-clicking an app and seeing a list of contextual actions to perform. Instead of diving into an app and digging around for what you want to do, these shortcuts will get you there faster. Apple’s placed a Taptic Engine in these phones–also found inside the Watch and Macbook–to provide slight haptic feedback when you apply force to the display. 3D Touch also comes in handy when you want to switch between open apps; simply force press on the edge of the display to enter a carousel of apps to scrub through. Third-party developers are working on incorporating this tech into their apps as well; Facebook will provide Quick Actions to update your status and check-in. Watch the video embedded above to see it all in action.
• The other significant update included in these new “s” iPhones is something called Live Photos. When you go to snap a photo in the Camera app, you’ll notice a new icon along the top, three concentric circles that are tapped on by default. When that’s on and you take a picture, the camera will capture a few seconds before and after the picture is taken. When you go to view the saved image, apply slight force on the display to make the image come to life (sound is optional). Apple says this is not a video; it is indeed a picture “capturing a moment in motion” that enables you to “enjoy a living memory rather than an instant frozen in time.” Apple says Live Photos don’t take up much more space than a traditional still. They can be saved as your wallpaper, and you can animate them whenever you like with a force touch. They can also be sent and viewed on other devices such as the Watch. Developers will be able to take advantage of Live Photos, too; Facebook will support them soon. See how it works in the video above. The 1.5 second animation reminds me of those newspapers from the Harry Potter movies.
• The 6s and 6s Plus come in four metallic finishes: silver, gold, space gray, and the all-new rose gold. They’ll be sold in the same configurations and at the same price points as the 6 and 6 Plus: 16/64/128GB models starting at $199 and $299, respectively. Silicon and leather cases will be sold in new old and new hues, as will matching Lightening docks; view the new accessories here. The phones can be preordered starting Saturday, Sept. 12, and then they’ll hit the market two weeks later on Friday, Sept. 25 in the following countries: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the US. Apple says they’ll be available in over 130 countries with over 400 carrier partners by year’s end.
• The current state of the iPhone family looks like this: The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus drop $100 and now start at $99 and $199, respectively; the option to get them in gold is gone, and they are only available in 16GB and 64GB variations. iPhone 5s is now the free model, also losing the gold coat and only offered in 16GB and 32GB capacities. The plastic iPhone 5c has gone the way of the iPod classic, to greener pastures.
• Few more things to discuss… Apple’s introducing an iPhone Upgrade Program at its US retail locations. It’s basically Apple’s version of carrier financing and lets you pick up a new iPhone without paying for it all at once. It allows you to get a new, unlocked iPhone each year, you get to choose the carrier, and it includes AppleCare+. It’s a 24-month installment plan, and it starts at $32/month for the iPhone 6s. Click here to learn more about the program. If you’re switching from Android, Apple’s offering a free app in the Google Play store called Move to iOS that makes data migration a snap. And last, there’s new iCloud storage options: 5GB still comes free, then there’s 50GB for 99 cents/month, 200GB for $2.99/month, and 1TB for $9.99/month.
Have to fit this in somewhere, too! iOS 9 releases Wednesday, Sept. 16, the same day watchOS 2 drops. It’s a free software update for iPhone 4s and later, iPod touch 5th generation and later, iPad 2 and later, and iPad mini and later. And for all you Mac OS users, El Capitan comes out two weeks later on Wednesday, Sept. 30.