Apple's 'California Streaming' keynote: thoughts

We're heading towards the end of the year again, and that means it's time for a new iPhone announcement, and therefore time for many of us to look at our current device (however young) and wonder if it's worth an upgrade. I'm not so sure this year's offering excites me personally, as my iPhone 12 Pro is doing the job just fine! There's lots more than just iPhone to cover today, and there's some really cool stuff to go through. Let's get into it!

Overall event thoughts:

I wonder if in person events will ever make a comeback. I think I prefer the pre-recorded ones- no need to stop for often unnecessary clapping, and the transitions can be a lot cooler when you can do some editing in post ??. Is this a really boring Apple announcement? Lots announced, and they managed to talk for an hour, but I'm not sure how much of it was actually news-heavy. There were a couple of highlights though, so dig in and enjoy!

Intro

The intro video is extremely polished, as you'd expect, and includes a bunch of nature and urban shots around what is assumedly exclusively California and members of a band dotted through these scenes singing a song about California (California Soul by Marlena Shaw), before transitioning oh so smoothly to Tim in Steve Jobs Theatre.

Apple TV+

We start with Apple TV+. Tim talks to the fact that Apple TV+ has some great content, and after talking to some Apple TV+ stats, gives us a long preview of some of the shows coming to Apple TV+ in the near future. Can I just say here that after having Apple TV+ for about a year I'm still impressed with the quality of content on the service- in my opinion the hype is real. I've watched quite a few shows, and enjoyed pretty much everything I've seen so far. I'm currently enjoying For All Mankind and Ted Lasso, and looking forward to seeing Morning Wars Season 2 when it comes out, as well as CODA (which I haven't gotten to yet). Central Park, Defending Jacob, and Mosquito Coast are others I enjoyed watching on the service.

iPad

The new entry-level iPad is 20% faster in every aspect of the chip, including the CPU, GPU, and neural engine than the previous generation of this device. Note that it is the A13 Bionic; every other iPad in the lineup has a newer and more powerful chip than this one- it's entry-level for a reason. That doesn't mean it won't do everything its target market needs to, but just something to be across. The 9th generation iPad is only available with Wi-Fi connectivity, meaning there is no model with mobile connectivity. Both cameras are improved in the new generation of iPad, with a new 12MP Ultra Wide front Camera with Center Stage, a feature that was only available on higher end iPads previously. Center Stage tracks people in the frame, and allows for a more dynamic camera experience. TrueTone is also coming to iPad, which is another great quality of life addition. This iPad only supports the 1st generation Apple Pencil.

It ships with iOS 15 (who'd've thought), and is available next week (order today!). This iPad starts at $499 for 64GB and is also available in a $729 256GB variant.

Next up is iPad mini. The new iPad mini has an upgraded enclosure with a full screen design, and comes in four new colours. It has an increased screen size of 8.3 inches, while retaining the same enclosure size. Touch ID has been moved to the top button, where it already sits on the iPad Air. Compared to the previous generation, CPU performance is up 40%, GPU performance is up 80%, and the neural engine is up to two times more performant than the 5th generation iPad mini. iPad mini gets a USB-C port, like the rest of the iPad family (excluding the iPad above), as well as 5G mobile connectivity. the iPad mini gets two new cameras, including a 12MP rear camera with True Tone flash and Smart HDR and the ability to film in 4K. The front camera seems to be the same as the one on iPad mentioned above, meaning Center Stage is available here too. A new set of speakers rounds off the hardware side of things. It supports the second generation Apple Pencil (which can magnetically attach itself to the side of the iPad mini), and there are also all new accessories to go with it. The iPad mini comes in 4 colours, including space gray, pink, purple, and starlight. This is actually a huge and really impressive update!

Both new iPads announced have 100% recycled aluminium enclosures, meaning that every new iPad across the lineup now meets this environmental standard.

The new iPad mini starts at $749 for the 64GB Wi-Fi only model, and runs all the way up to the 256GB cellular model at $1209. It's available next week with orders starting today.

Verdict:?The 9th generation iPad?is clearly being positioned more and more as a budget device, but the standout story by far here is the 6th generation iPad mini. It looks so great and the feature set has been upgraded in so many meaningful ways with this update- if you don't need a phone or have a use case for an iPad but don't want the big screen this could be a good option! Will definitely win some users that might otherwise have gone with an iPad Air or even an iPad Pro.

Apple Watch

We're straight into watchOS 8 features, including better bike riding support, along with other features that have previously been announced. After talking about this for a minute, Jeff Williams (COO at Apples) shows us our first look at Apple Watch Series 7.

It's introduced with a video of it getting hit by all manner of dirt and dust, showing off its new IP6X dust resistance rating. It has 20% more screen area over Series 6, and the borders now sit at 1.7 millimetres- it looks ??. The case has softer, more rounded edges, and looks great- so much for the rumours about hard edges on the new Watch. It's 70% brighter indoors when your arm is down (still not sure why I would need this- I don't really get why I need the screen to look good when I'm not looking at it). Buttons on watchOS have been redesigned, and the screen can display up to 50% more text. A full keyboard can now appear on the Watch, and there are new watch faces designed specifically for Series 7 Watches. It charges 33% faster than previous watches (nice quality of life, but let's be honest, not life changing).

It's available in a whole range of new colours and materials, including midnight, starlight, green, and a new blue and (PRODUCT)RED as well as titanium and stainless steel models. It does look really great, I have to admit. Series 7 Watches are backwards compatible with all existing bands, something that some users were worried about. The cases for Aluminium Watches are 100% recycled, as are all magnets used in Apple Watches.

Apple Watch Series 7 will start at $599, with an amazing number of price combinations depending on the case material, bands, storage, and of course, cellular connectivity. You can't buy it right now- it should be available sometime in the next couple of months.

Verdict: Series 3 watches are still for sale, and the line-up is completed with Watch SE and of course, the Series 7 Apple Watch. There's still a major focus on Health, which is great, and the new watch is a nice upgrade, but I'm content with my series 4 for now- it still does everything I need it to! Maybe next year with the Series 8 will be time to upgrade.

Apple Fitness+

We move from Apple Watch to Apple Fitness+. Apple Fitness+ is expanding from being available in 6 countries, to being available in 21. All workouts will be in English, with subtitles available in 6 languages.

Pilates is coming to Fitness+, as well as Guided Meditation. Workouts to Get Ready for Snow Season is an interesting touch, and will make a very limited set of people very happy (I think?). Group Workouts are coming soon, meaning you will be able to workout with up to 32 of your friends at once over FaceTime. I'm not sure how many people will use this, but there's a limited use case for it I guess? We get an ad for it to finish off- their ads are always great, but not sure it convinces me on this one.

Verdict (copy pasted from when Fitness+ got announced, because I'm still of the same opinion):?At this price point, it's going to be a workout for Apple to get users on board. If you have the self motivation to use it consistently and it means you can skip the gym membership, however, this might just work for you.

iPhone

Quick spiel about how great iPhones are and then we get an announcement video for iPhone 13.

iPhone 13 looks similar to iPhone 12 on the surface, but the camera lenses are arranged diagonally this year (so that those in the know can tell you've got the latest device ??) and there's something interesting on the lower right of the phone (as can be seen above). Could be to improve cellular connectivity, but I'm not clear on that just yet. The notch is 20% smaller- some will see this as a win, but I'm not sure how much it will affect my experience with my phone until the notch is gone completely.

iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini are both 28% brighter than last year's screen. The A15 Bionic makes its appearance. It uses 5nm technology, and has 6 cores (2 high performance, 4 high efficiency). It's the fastest CPU in any smartphone, and up to 50% faster than the CPU in leading competitor devices. Interestingly, there's not much talk about how it compares to the CPU in iPhone 12- maybe not too big of a step between the two?

The Wide camera has been given an update, with 47% more light coming into the lens, and sensor-shift OIS is coming to iPhone 13 and 13 mini - this is pretty cool. The Ultra-Wide camera has also been upgraded. Cinematic mode is a new video feature coming to iPhone, bringing rack focus to iPhone. This allows for subjects to automatically come into and out of focus as they are the focus of the shoot, regardless of other subjects that might be in the frame. You can even change the focus on videos after the fact. This seems cool! Totally seems software driven though, I'm not sure why this couldn't come to other older iPhones. Cinematic mode works on the rear camera setup as well as the front camera. Note that Cinematic mode seems to only be available when filming in 1080p, not 4K.

5G will be supported in many more bands, which is great for those who don't have it yet (don't think that's an issue in Australia). Battery life is up, with the mini coming in at 1.5hrs longer than iPhone 12 mini, and iPhone 13 at 2.5hrs longer than iPhone 12. New cases, as well as a new MagSafe Wallet with Find My support, are announced alongside the new phones. Interestingly, we end on a video of iPhone 13 being used on and around a motorised scooter, just a few days after Apple said you shouldn't mount iPhone directly onto high-powered motorcycles as it could affect the camera. Hopefully they were using a vibration dampening mount!

iPhone 13 mini starts at $1199, and iPhone 13 for $1349. iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini will be available in 4 colours including pink, blue, midnight, starlight, and (PRODUCT)RED. The storage options come in at 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. The 128GB base level storage is one of the biggest talking points for the device in my opinion! A big win for users that don't need more than that, but much more comfortable than 64GB with the amount of storage space media takes in 2021. It's available from next Friday with preorders this Friday September 17!

Now over to iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max. It looks pretty much exactly the same as iPhone 12 Pro, outside the smaller notch and four colours, including graphite, gold, silver, and the new Sierra Blue. The A15 bionic for iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max has a new 5-core GPU, up to 50% faster than the leading competition, and the fastest GPU in a smartphone ever. iPhone 13 Pro has a new display, which supports up to 1000 nits brightness outdoors- this is 25% brighter than iPhone 12 Pro. ProMotion is coming to iPhone Pro - finally. This means the iPhone's frame rate (screen refresh rate) is responsive and will range from 10hz to 120hz depending on what you're doing with it. This is a pretty great addition, but for most people it shouldn't be the reason you buy the device.

The cameras have been updated across the board, in what is being called Apple's biggest camera upgrade ever. The new Telephoto lens has 3x optical zoom for both photo and video. The Ultra-Wide lens has a 92% improvement in low light, and for the first time on iPhone allows for macro photography (shooting subjects at close range). Photographic Styles seems to allow you to pick from one of four photo styles (which you can further customise) to have all your photos processed in a certain way, according to your tastes (this is coming to iPhone 13 as well). ProRes video is an advanced video codec coming to iPhone for the first time- apparently it's often used for commercials and movies. ProRes is only available in 1080p for the 128GB Pro models, but is also available with 4K once you move up to the 256GB model or bigger- my understanding is that this might have to do with the slower read/write speeds of the storage system on the smaller device. Battery life is up similarly to the iPhone 13, with iPhone 13 Pro 1.5hrs up on iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max up 2.5hrs on iPhone 13 Pro Max.

They're removing the plastic wrap from the iPhone packaging, which if I heard correctly. will reduce Apple's use of plastic by 600 metric tons ??- yep, that's the wrapping around your phone box that weighs basically nothing. I wonder how they will keep the box closed? We'll have to wait and see.

Storage is available in 4 configurations, including 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB variants. 1TB storage appears for the first time, one thing I like about the new models. iPhone 13 Pro starts at $1699, and iPhone 13 Pro Max for $1849 with models running all the way up to a mouthwatering $2719 for the 1TB Pro Max ??. iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will be available September 24 and preorders open this Friday September 17.

Verdict: Some minor updates, but nothing that really gets me excited. Highlights are probably the 128GB base storage and the 1TB option (not at that price though, that hurts), and ProMotion.

Other news

The only other note worth mentioning is that iOS 15 drops to consumers on September 21! I've been beta testing the OS since just after it dropped and there's a lot for users to look forward to.

Closing:?

An underwhelming event, with some interesting features. The iPad mini is the standout, it's an awesome little device now. The new Apple Watch is beautiful but not a must upgrade, and the iPhones feel like they're virtually identical to the iPhone 12. Definitely not worth upgrading from iPhone 12 for the vast majority of people. Likely another event to come in the next few weeks, with a look at new MacBooks (yes please!) and possibly other things like AirPods. See you then, excited for it!