The Apple Announcement
I know this is long overdue, but here it is. In case you missed it, Apple held is annual ‘Apple Announcement’ this past Wednesday, September 9th – held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. As usual, the entire tech industry was a buzz as all journalists and reporters had they ears and eyes glued to the event. This year, Apple live streamed the entire event for those who couldn’t attend, through their Website. NOTE: You had to have a verified Apple Product (iPhone, iPad, Mac) using Safari to be able to view it. Thankfully, I have an iPhone, so I was able to view the entire stream. No different than any of its previous announcements, Apple started off going straight into business. To get a really good full summary, check out TheNextWeb’s article here. (FYI – TheNextWeb is one of my favorite tech news sites)
Image credit: 15minutenews.com
First up: Updates to the Apple Watch. Apple announced a new Watch OS, along with additional new bands with color variety, and OH – a partnership release with the luxury brand Hermès. ( Pronounced ‘Er – mees’ 🙂 ) There’s no change with the starting price for the Watch, as it still stands at $349 for the basic standard one. See below for a screenshot via TheNextWeb regarding the watch.
Apple Watch Image via TheNextWeb
Next: iPad PRO. A ridiculously HUGE 12.9′ iPad. This HUGE bad boy comes with a new A-Chip, higher resolution than its little brothers, and much more kick. The thing is hella big, yet – I kind of want one. HOWEVER, here’s the kicker – you can’t just buy the iPad Pro alone, or you won’t be able to use all of its features. Why? Well….after immediately showcasing the new iPad Pro, Apple followed up with 2 crazy new accessories that you should purchase with it: Apple Pencil & iKeyBoard. Let me just say this – soon as these two were unveiled, Twitter was on fire. If you’re wondering why, again – see TheNextWeb’s article.
Starting price for the big bad boy, pencil, and Keyboard: $799 for 32GB, Pencil for $99, $169 for Keyboard.
Image via TheNextWeb
After this, the next update was about the newly updated Apple TV. With its new updates, you can now use Siri to look up shows, play or pause, skip back a few seconds, and much more. They’ve also added a new ‘touch’ feature to the remote for the TV. You can now use it to scroll, search, and hell – even play games! Again, if you want the full breakdown, click on the TheNextWeb article here. Below is a GIF by TheNextWeb that shows the new Apple TV off.
Starting price for Apple TV: $149 32GB
GIF via TheNextWeb
Lastly, Apple saved their bread and butter for last – updates to the iPhone and the newest iOS 9. They officially announced the 2 newest iPhone models: iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. Along with the new iOS 9 and iPhones, Apple also unveiled their new ‘3D Touch’ – a new innovative feature that allows for quick views of emails, images, and much more. OH – forgot to mention, they’ve also added a new color to their lineup – Rose Gold Pink! In addition to all the newest features for the new phones; new A Chip, faster processor, better camera, etc., – they’ve also added a new ‘Live Photos’ features. This basically just turns your photos into a GIF with sounds. To learn more, click here.
Prices: iPhone 6S & 6S Plus – $199 16GB, $299 16GB
Live Photos GIF via TheNextWeb
Finally, the last announcement they made was something NEW. Apple will now, for the first time, offer ‘upgrade’ plans. Basically, following the model of Mobile Service Providers, Apple will now allow users to update their phones on a yearly basis, directly through Apple Retail stores. Starting at just $32 a month, users can pay off their new devices on a monthly basis, and upgrade to a new iPhone every year. Not too shabby I guess.
OK – I’ve saved the best for last. If you’ve read my post up to this point, you’re probably wondering – “Hey, what about that Jony Ive guy, who’s Chief Design Officer at Apple? – We love his voice and videos!” Well, don’t worry, keeping with tradition, he narrates the new iPad Pro and its features. I’m including the video below :).
geeky_yang 