As expected, Apple unveiled several new products during its annual September event today. The highly anticipated next generation of the iPhone (12) was missing from the bucket though.
A number of other hardware like the iPad and Apple Watch along with some new apps and features were announced instead.
Similar to most of the events this year, the event was held virtually, signifying a major change from the physical fanfare held last year. Despite the change, the event was quite interesting as Apple unveiled several new additions to the family.
In case you missed the live event, here is a list of everything that was announced.
New A14 Bionic chip
Although iPhone wasn’t announced today, Apple unveiled the new chip that will power the next generation of its hardware. Starting with the new iPad Air, the A14 Bionic will increase the speed of apple products.
The chip has 11.8 billion transistors, 40% up on the previous iteration of chips, and has a 16-core neural engine for apps that rely on machine learning and artificial intelligence.
According to Apple, this will translate to 11 trillion operations per second capacity.
Suggested read: Here is a Roundup of All that Happened at the #AppleEvent!
The new iPad Air
For the 10th anniversary of the iPad, Apple has announced a completely redesigned iPad Air. The fourth generation of the Air spots a next-generation Touch ID sensor built into the power button.
The look iPad Air series is also new, but resembles the Pro, with flat sides, and camera bump. The new iPad has a whole of bunch of hot new colours like pink and green.
The new slimline iPad Air lands with a 10.9-inch 2360×1640 resolution Retina display and replaces the Lightning port with a USB-C cable. The new iPad Air also comes with a new 12-megapixel, 4K-capable rear camera.
The starting price for the new iPad Air is $599, and it will available from next month.
An upgraded iPad was also announced. The popular iPad which is in the eight generations got a computing power bump to the A12 series of chips, but no real exterior changes. Its starting price was set at $329.
Suggested read: New iPhones, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV+ and Arcade – A Review of Major Announcements from the 2019 Apple Event
Apple Watch
Apple’s wearable watch also got its own upgrade in both hardware and software. The new Apple Watch Series 6 comes with a new silicon chip with an always-on energy-saving display.
It also comes with a whole blood oxygen sensor and a Solo Loop option for those who want to drop the standard clasp in favour of stretchy silicon. Its starting price is at $399 and will start rolling out September 18.
To assist those with limited budget Apple also announced a newer low-cost wearable, Apple Watch SE, which is priced at $279.
Apart from the new-look, Apple added some features like Family Setup to lets families stay connected. It also launched into the fitness app world with the new Fitness+.
For $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year. The Fitness+ is available from inside the Activity app and takes aim at in-home fitness services which have bloomed during the pandemic.
Apple One
Asides hardware, the announced some soft changes like the subscription package. Apple revealed plans to roll all the individual subscriptions into one place under its new Apple One plan.
With the new plan an Apple subscription for TV, music, games, as well as iCloud storage charges, will be paid under 3 tiers. The Apple One has three tiers from individuals, to families, and the top-tier which include the full package of Apple’s subscription services.
iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 14, and tvOS 14
During the event, Apple revealed that the anticipated software updates will arrive on September 16.
That release will include iOS 14 for iPhones, iPadOS 14 for iPads, watchOS 14 for Apple Watch wearables and tvOS14 for Apple TV boxes.
What major highlight did we miss?
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