Yesterday, Apple released a number of it’s products which we’ve anticipating over a long period of time basically, since the release of the last one. Usually, right after a product is announced or hits the stores around the world, new stories about their updated version of future releases starts swirling around the cyberspace which can be exhausting right.
Well, enough of that at least for now as Apple executives announced on Tuesday (September 15th) a number of it’s products during the “Time Flies” event. Here, we got to see the newest Apple Watch 6, the iPad Air (2020 version) and the iPad 8 as well as the report that the iOS 14, iPadOS 14, TvOS 14 and WatchOS 7 all going to be available for download by devices that supports them a day later which is today (September 16th).
But what makes the event memorable or why is it so special and what are the important things you should know about the releases and the event, well here are our top take on the Apple’s “Time Flies” event.
First off, Apple Watch is built to save lives
Maybe that seems to be big for a tiny piece of wrist watch to handle you might think but the new Apple Watch 6 is specially built for this time and season when devices that can save people’s lives is much more needed.
Take for instance, the COVID-19 pandemic which is a respiratory disease that had infected millions of people worldwide, one of the key values the new Apple Watch 6 is delivering is the fact that it has the feature that helps in detecting blood oxygen level.
The new hardware had been tweaked out to enable this feature as well as an accompanying Blood Oxygen application that works with it. The key feature of this is to help provide some important details into general health of the user and keep monitoring your blood oxygen level all by yourself.
10 years ago, this type of technology is not available to everyone talkless of being on your wrist but a quick 15 seconds test can let you a big warning of something wrong with your respiratory system and could help you giving alerts of serious underlying illness.
There is also the Apple Fitness+ services which allow you to workout without needing to physically access a gym as the world is currently under a lockdown (though some are slowly but gradually creeping back into normalcy) but you get the point.
And not to forget the fact that the researchers stated that Obesity is a key COVID-19 comorbidity and so the need for regular exercise is so important. There will be classes taught by “World class” trainers which could help people.
The we have the Apple Watch SE which as you might have guessed is a mid-range smartwatch which has some cool features as well boasting the Watch Series 4 features which includes the fall detection and being affordable with only a US$278 price tag.
There is also a new feature whereby parents can better monitor their kids without necessarily having to bug their smartphones. The service allows family members without their own iPhones to benefit “he connectivity, safety and fitness features of the Apple Watch” according to the company’s press release. (Note: Family Setup requires a pricier cellular Apple Watch, Series 4 or better.)
iPad Air 4 and iPad 8 bring real upgrades
The iPad sits at the top of tablet product lines around the world and with that, Apple has been always trying to deliver a much better version of the device each year and the new iPad Air 4 makes sense. While there is a much different look and feel to this new version much like we’ve seen on the iPad pro just a scaled down model of it, this seems to be a cool thing about the device.
But again, it’s 2020 when everything is getting bigger and better and for that, the new iPad Air gets a bigger 10.9-inch display with smaller bezels which gives it the edge-to-edge look and feel like the “Pro” variant released eaelier.
Specifications includes the same second-generation Apple Pencil , a USB-C port and four speakers like the Pro version and can use a version of he Apple Magic Keyboard much like the Pro!
Most amazingly, this is the first computer of any kind with the Apple A14 processor. That puts its chip two generations ahead of the most recent iPad Pro.
But the changes in the iPad 8 isn’t so incredible especially in terms of the specifications. Sports a 10.2-inch display just as the previous model and has the older A12 Bionic chipset onboard which although is an upgrade from the previous A10 Fusion chipset all which is meant to further enhance its performances even better.
The asking price for the iPad Air 4 is US$599 while the iPad 8 is just US$329 but the performance of the iPad Air might be the justification for it’s hiked price tag who knows.
Apple moving to it’s own chipset
This is probably not the first time you’ll be hearing this about Apple moving away to create it’s own chipset for it’s Mac computer line, hence the Apple Silicon although it’s not going to be here just yet but should be the powering brain behind future releases. But then there is the new Apple A14 Bionic chipset which powers th new iPad Air 4 which is also said could be what would power up the first Macs with the Apple Silicon chipset
This chip is made with 5-nanometer process and has 11.8 billion transistors which enhance performances and power efficiency.
This chip was made with a 5-nanometer process, and is packed with 11.8 billion transistors. Shrinking the space between these brings improved performance and power efficiency.
In the case of the iPad Air, the chipset has a six core processing units while the A14 processor includes a new 16-core Neural Engine capable of 11 trillion operations in a second as well as it’s second-generation machine learning accelerators. Plus, the chip has a new 4-core GPU for enhanced graphic performance. These will benefit iPad, iPhone and (probably) Mac.
All this is intended to make it a machine-learning powerhouse for image recognition, natural language learning and more.
Apple’s Services
Apple has been trying to diversify it’s portfolio into both hardware and software services which includes the likes of the Apple TV+ and Apple Music, Apple Arcade and so forth. All which makes sense considering the time we’re in now where the world is being sent online and basically, there is an unending need for services-only system to accompany the company’s hardware products.
Then voila the Apple One bundles which is a combination of all the existing Apple services but at a discounted rate. The basic bundle service includes the Apple Music, TV+, Arcade as well as 50GB of iCloud storage all for US$14.95 per month which saves you US$6.01.
While there is also the Family and Premier plan which has more storage spaces as well as including other major Apple services like the News+ which saves you about US$24.99.
Then not to forget the new Apple Fitness+ service which offers exclusive workout videos and works seamlessly with the Apple Watch and goes for about US$9.99/month or US$79.99/year.
The Virtual event was a banger
The success of the Apple’s virtual product launch is a success and that’s a good thing to hear. The introduction is an infomercial but was fun to watch anyway.
On Twitter, some lamented the lack of an in-person show, worrying that the pre-recorded format would come up short. But the slick production values, rotating cast of presenters, seamless transitions and well-designed segments made for an informative keynote that moved along at a brisk pace. It was almost too brisk: blink, and you could easily miss important info. But never mind, the keynote was immediately available for replay.
One of the good thing about the event also includes the fact that everything is right under the controls of the company’s CEO, Tim Cook and the fact that the company’s US$5 billion HQ was used as the backdrop all make sense from my point of view.
Although virtual announcements might not be the best time to test things such as drop test (let’s ask JerryRigEverything for that) but you get the point, there is basically COVID-19 everywhere and there is the need to socially distance yourself from others in order to not spread the disease any further and well, Apple isn’t the only one going this route as majority of the top tech companies around the world have bought into the idea.
No iPhone 12…seriously?
Yeah…I know what you’re thinking because usually, the iPhone series always get released around this same period and you might be thinking the same is going to happen this year as well but unfortunately, the COVID-19 kinda disrupted everything which is why the release was shifted further to October.
So in short, expect another Apple event in October where we’ll get our first real look at the iPhone 12.
