For consumers, Apple announcing a new iPhone or iPad is an event that occurs each year. Typically, the California-based computing giant announces a new set of devices in the summer or fall of a previous year, while an internally-updated—yet externally similar—device is announced the preceding year.
Between the announcement of a new iPad, a high-tech stylus peripheral, as well as a new digital media player aimed at throwing Apple into the gaming world, this year’s event, on Sept. 9, was another strong showing for CEO Tim Cook and Chief Design Officer (CDO) Jony Ives.
iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, and iOS 9
As every subsequent phone in Apple’s arsenal tends to be, this year’s iPhones are faster and better looking than last year’s offering. However, what’s interesting is that Apple, typically known for touting the light-weight and thin proportions of their mobile devices, actually added weight and thickness to their new phones. This is perhaps a result of last year’s “Bendgate” fiasco, where users reported that their devices were bending under pressure.
Though this year’s iPhones are almost identical in terms of design, their internal structures are almost entirely different. The new phones sport an Apple A9 chip that Apple claims will produce 70 per cent for CPU performance and 90 per cent more graphics performance than their previous A8 chip. Coupled with yet another Retina display, the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus offer users a dazzling feast for the eyes.
What’s new to this year’s iPhone is the addition of a feature Apple calls 3D Touch. Similar to the Force Touch feature present on all MacBooks and certain MacBook Pros, 3D Touch provides users with additional contextual depending on the firmness of a tap. A firm tap produces context-sensitive menus, allowing users to access more content depending on the app.
In spite of these additions, there is little to distinguish the new iPhones from their predecessors, with Apple’s latest mobile operating system—iOS 9—focussing more on under-the-hood optimizations.
iPad Pro and Apple Pencil
As Apple’s market share has slowly fallen to its chief competitor Samsung, it has responded by releasing a wider variety of its already existent devices. The iPad Mini was meant to bridge the gap between iPhone and iPad as a device small enough to hold in one hand, but large enough to perform productive web-browsing, note-taking, while also accessing popular apps. This year, Apple released the iPad Pro, a gargantuan device catered to a professional crowd of users.
It’s easy to disregard iPad Pro as just another iPad, but its mammoth 12.9-inch display is clearly intended to appeal to a generation of users looking for desktop-quality performance in an even more portable device. The new device features a Retina display, four audio loudspeakers, as well as front and rear-facing cameras. The device is powered by an Apple A9X chip—a variant of the A9—that offers what Apple claims is desktop-level performance.
The iPad Pro is stylistically similar to the Microsoft Surface and a number of Samsung tablets, and the comparison is even more striking with the introduction of the Apple Pencil, a digital stylus that can be used as an input device with the iPad Pro. While former CEO Steve Jobs famously rejected the notion of mobile devices relying on styluses for input, the modern Apple is clearly looking to competitors like Microsoft and Samsung in order to find new ways to diversify their product portfolio.
Apple TV
Prior to the Sept. 9 event, rumour mills were churning out speculation regarding a sequel to Apple’s set-top box answer to digital media players like Roku or Google’s Nexus Player. As many blogs speculated, Apple announced a new Apple TV. The device is a digital media player running a custom skin of iOS—aptly named TvOS—capable of streaming television, movies, music, as well as video games.
The fourth generation of Apple TV also comes equipped with Apple’s personal assistant Siri, who is able to not only act as a search engine within TvOS, but also as an assistant to guide users through Apple TV.
Everything else
While the majority of the keynote focused on Apple’s device introductions, presenters also took time to focus on software updates to the Apple Watch. While there are still few ardent reasons to invest in an Apple Watch, the company seems intent on increasing functionality in order to arrive at a product that consumers will truly be unable to live without. However, until such a point, the Apple Watch will continue to suffer from the same fundamental issue that plagues all similar devices: There’s simply no crucial reason to own a smartwatch.
In addition, Apple also unveiled a monthly payment plan to allow more buyers to get their hands on the latest iPhone sooner.
The plan subsidizes the cost of the iPhone over the course of 24 months, allowing users to swap out their old phone for a new one—so long as they continue paying. The iPhone Upgrade Program is in response to carriers subsidizing the cost of new phones through similar programs, and looks to be Apple’s way of bypassing carrier restrictions, as well as providing more users an opportunity to use Apple products.