Apple conducted its latest event moments ago and showcased some of its upcoming devices. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, started this virtual event from the Apple HQ in California. He announced that this Apple event would focus on Apple Watch and the iPad and skipped the iPhone part entirely, thus confirming the theory that the iPhone 12 has been delayed by at least a month.
Nevertheless, we witnessed some of the exciting features of the Apple Series 6 smartwatch, the Apple Watch SE, and the latest iPad lineup. In case you missed the event, here is what Apple talked about in its latest event.
Apple Watch Series 6
The first product showcased by the Cupertino based tech company was the latest Apple Watch. The Series 6 Apple Watch becomes the first smartwatch from the company that tells its users about their blood oxygen level. The oxygen level in your blood helps you ascertain how nicely your cardiovascular system is working.
This new technology works by shining light beams through your skin to look at the color of your blood and determining the oxygen saturation. As a result, you no longer require a pulse oximeter to determine your blood oxygen saturation.
It will also be the first Apple Watch that comes in the Product Red version. You also get the Apple Watch Series 6 in seven different color options with two band designs. These silicone bands are made to slide over your wrist and feature no clasp or parts that come together.
What makes this latest addition to the Apple Watch family exciting is that its power efficiency, which allows you to keep the watch display always on. The latest Apple Watch will run on the newest S6 processor that is up to 20 percent faster than the previous-gen processor.
In terms of features, you get the blood-oxygen saturation indicator, a real-time altimeter, memojis, and fall detection. You also get a family feature that allows the cellular Apple watches (Series 3 and better) to link with a family member’s iPhone and give information about the watch wearer. This feature would allow parents to keep an eye on their kids when they leave for school or other outdoor activities.
The Apple Watch Series 6 will go on sale soon and will cost $399 in the US and around ₹41000 in India.
All the new Apple Watches will ship with the Watch OS 7.
Apple Watch SE
Apple also showcased the budget-oriented Apple Watch SE, which bridges the gap between the Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple Watch Series 6. It costs $279, whereas Apple Watch Series 3 will be available starting at $199.
The Apple Watch SE will feature the same display as the Apple Watch Series 6 and will be two times brighter than the previous-gen Apple Watcher. In terms of internal hardware, the budget-oriented Apple Watch SE will feature the S5 chip that powers the Apple Watch 3. It will bring some features from the premium Apple Watch Series 6 for the budget-oriented users.
Apple also made a huge announcement regarding the charging components of these watches. To reduce its impact on the environment, Apple will ship the watch without any charger. They took this step as most people have Type-C chargers, and shipping another charger serves no purpose except consuming additional natural resources.
iPad 8th Gen and iPad Air Revealed at Apple Event
After the Apple Watch, the next highlight of the Apple event was the iPad lineup. This new iPad 8th Gen from Apple features the A12 Bionic chipset, found in the iPhone XS, Touch-ID, and Apple Pencil & Smart Keyboard cover support.Â
In the US, the iPad 8th Gen will go for $329.
The next device in the iPad lineup is the iPad Air 2020. The redesigned iPad Air features a flat border to help it work with the all-new second-gen Apple Pencil. This iPad comes with a single rear camera, a 10.9-inch display, a fingerprint scanner embedded in the power button, and a new SoC.
The all-new A14 SoC that powers the iPad Air in 2020 is based on the 5nm architecture. This architecture allows Apple to put more transistors on the chip to offer better performance. As a result of this new design, the iPad Air offers a 40 percent better CPU and 30 percent better GPU performance when compared to the iPad Air from 2019.
The iPad Air will also support Magic Keyboard, better LTE, better camera, USB Type-C, a few other features present in the iPad Pro 2020. The all-new iPad Air 2020 will cost $599.
All the new iPads from this lineup will come with iPad OS 14.
Apple Fitness+
In this Apple event, Apple announced the Apple Fitness+ subscription that will go live in December. Apple will launch this service for Apple Watch users and offer them various tailor-made exercise catalogs when paired with the iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV.
You will get weekly videos from some of the most popular trainers in the world. Keeping privacy in mind, Apple has designed this service so that no personal information is shared with anyone. All your details and preferences stay on your device.
The activities suggested by Apple Fitness+ won’t require you to use any special equipment. This service is an attempt to integrate Apple Watch with a screen. As a result, you will also see your activity ring on the screen right next to the exercise video. You also get an option to create a workout playlist that you can play on your iPhone or other devices if you subscribe to Apple Music.
Apple will launch Apple Fitness+ at $9.99 a month, or you could pay $79.99 for a yearly subscription. If you buy a new Apple Watch, you will get a free three-month subscription to Apple Fitness+.
Apple One
In the latest Apple event, the Cupertino-based tech giant introduced a service that all Apple users were waiting for. A service that combines all the subscription-based services from Apple in a single package.
Apple Music, Apple News, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple TV, and Apple Fitness+ are some of the Apple services that you can subscribe to. Earlier, you needed to pay for individual services, but with the introduction of Apple One, you need to pay for one service and get all the subscription-based services from Apple at an affordable price.
The Apple One service starts at $15 a month and comes with Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB iCloud. If you want a family pack, you will need to shell out $20, and it will come with 200 GB iCloud. Finally, there is the Premium version of Apple, one that costs $30 per month, and it offers all the previous services, along with Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and 2TB iCloud.
Note: Some features and services are not available in all regions, so check the local website for additional information.
It seems we will get another Apple Event in October where might get to see the new iPhones and the ARM-based Macs.
What are your thoughts about the latest products from Apple? Which ones do you like and what did you expect from this Apple Event? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Stay tuned for the upcoming iPhone 12 series launch event to be held in the coming days.
