Apple's 'Far Out' keynote: thoughts

This is the first Apple event I have ever been able to watch during the daytime! Given I'm in North America at the moment I get to be in the same timezone as the keynote- that's enough to make me happy for today. I'm super excited for everyone to get iOS 16 into their hands, there are some real fun features you'll get to experience with it. If you've forgotten what they are, you can read my writeup from WWDC in June where I covered a number of its major features. But today is about way more than just iOS 16. Along with the new software, we're expecting lots of hardware, particularly in the iPhone category. Let's go!

Overall event thoughts:

It was an event with a couple surprises, which is good! It seems in person keynotes are done forever, which makes for clean but less organic keynotes. I don't think there is anything in here that I will buy off the bat, but there are a couple things that do look pretty cool and which I'll be keen to enjoy at some point.

Intro

The stream starts with a graphic of the universe (I guess) which zooms into earth until we reach Apple's spaceship campus in California. Tim immediately comes out and says we are going to talk iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch. And we're straight into it.

Apple Watch

Tim shares a video of a number of people who used their Apple Watch to contact emergency services when they needed help. It's one that pulls at the heart strings- something Apple does very well. Apple has really leaned into the healthcare aspect, along with the ability to contact emergency services, in recent times. I've seen similar videos before in events like this.

Now to the Apple Watch lineup. It is still the top selling smartwatch in the world- no surprise here. Announcing today is the Apple Watch Series 8. The body seems to be the same as the Series 7, so no new shiny if that's what you're looking for.

A temperature sensor is the first new feature we get, and it seems it is built with a focus on women's health. Using the temperature sensor, women can be more informed of their cycle, including getting a good idea of when they ovulated. Apple Watch will sample wrist temperature every 5 mins overnight each night to make this indication. For those who don't wear their watch at night but who would like this feature, there might need to be a habit change (obviously not relevant for me, but I don't wear my Watch at night). There are two temperature sensors in the device, one on the wrist (back of the watch), and one on the front of the Watch, just under the display (to account for ambient temperature). The Watch can also advise of possible cycle deviations using this new technology. As usual, this data will be end to end encrypted.

Crash detection means that the new Apple Watch can detect when you've been in a serious car crash and will automatically initiate a call to emergency services. It's a cool touch, but not something I'd buy the new Watch for.

Low Power Mode is coming to Apple Watch, which will extend battery life to up to 36 hours on the new Watch. It continues to do most things in this mode, and just stops things like automatic workout detection and always on display, so it's a fair tradeoff for me.

International roaming is coming to Series 5 cellular models and later.

The new Apple Watch aluminium comes in 4 colours including midnight, starlight, silver and (PRODUCT)RED. Stainless steel finishes include silver, gold, and graphite. A number of new bands are coming across regular, Nike, and Hermes product lines. Nike watch faces can also be used on any Apple Watch with watchOS 9.

It'll start at $629 AUD ($399 USD) and it comes with 3 months of Fitness+ free.

Apple Watch SE, Apple's budget Watch, is getting an upgrade. The new SE is available in silver, midnight, and starlight. The back of the case is now made of a nylon composite, which I assume is cheaper to manufacture than the regular Watch back.?

Otherwise, it has a lot of the same features as the other Apple Watch models- the big one it's missing is the temperature sensor. If you're in the market for an SE, I'd get the new one as it's cheap enough that you might as well. It starts at $399 AUD ($249 USD).

There's a new Apple Watch announcement! The Apple Watch Ultra looks awesome.

The case is made from titanium and extends up to surround the sapphire crystal screen, It has the biggest screen ever in an Apple Watch. It has a new button, called the 'Action button', and it has a bigger crown so that you can use it with gloves. It has an extra speaker to ensure you can use it even with loud noises around you, and every Apple Watch Ultra has cellular connectivity. It has up to 36hrs of battery on a single charge, and up to 60 hours with a new battery optimisation setting coming later this year. It has a new face and also a night mode (which looks great). There are three new bands that can be purchased with the Apple Watch Ultra, the Alpine Loop, the Ocean Band, and the Trail Loop- their names give away what they are each designed for. It has an improved GPS functionality for use in urban or forested areas. It support temperatures from -20C to +55C. It has an emergency beacon siren. It is certified WR100 and EN13319 (dive computer certification), and comes with a dedicated scuba diving app.

It looks great but I'm not sure how big the market is for this- some will definitely use the features as designed, but how many will buy this purely as a status symbol?

The Apple Watch Ultra starts at $1299 AUD ($799 USD), and is available in just the one colour.

Verdict: The Apple Watch Series 8 is a snooze-fest outside the temperature sensor. The Apple Watch SE is fine, but the Apple Watch Ultra is far and away the standout here. A surprise announcement (for me at least) and it is a beast. I wonder if it'll become the new 'status symbol' watch, but I'm sure it'll help some people do things they haven't been able to previously!

AirPods Pro

The new generation of AirPods Pro has a H2 chip, as well as a new audio driver and a custom amplifier (read better audio quality). With iOS 16 you can use the TrueDepth camera to create a custom Spatial Audio Profile, which is cool. I wonder how many people will take the time to do this. Noise cancellation is up to 2x as effective compared to the last AirPods Pro.?Adaptive Transparency supports Transparency Mode, and will lower the volume of harsh or sudden sounds while still allowing you to hear what is going on around you. The battery life has been improved, with 6 hours listening on a single charge and 30 all up with a full case. You can also use your Apple Watch or MagSafe chargers (as well as any other Qi compatible wireless charger) to charge your AirPods- this is nice. The case has a speaker for if you lose it (and for playing a number of other sounds), and it will also now be locatable using Find My. It has a lanyard connector (yuck, looks very un-Apple), The AirPods have a capacitive sensor on the stems so that you can change the volume on your AirPods with a simple swipe of the stem.

AirPods Pro 2nd generation will be priced at $399 AUD ($249 USD).

Verdict: This is a great step up for AirPods Pro, but they are pricey. I will probably pick up a pair once my current AirPods have had it, but for now they do everything I need them to.

iPhone

The iPhone 14 (6.1") and iPhone 14+ (6.7") seem to be a light refresh of the iPhone 13. It comes with the A15 Bionic, which was introduced last year in the iPhone 13 Pro. The iPhone 14+ has the biggest battery ever in an iPhone. It features camera improvements like lowlight improvements (49% on the rear camera), a faster aperture, and autofocus on the front camera (for the first time, to focus on multiple subjects at once). Deep Fusion has been moved left (earlier) in the post-processing flow, meaning better quality photos at the end of the process. Action Mode when filming video helps to make videos look more smooth without a gimbal (this is awesome, I wonder how it will look in real world reviews). The SIM slot has been removed (at least in some countries), meaning that ESIM will be the only way to add cellular connectivity to your phone. You can add multiple ESIMs to your iPhone. I'm keen to see how this plays out- the process of adding and removing ESIMs have been problematic in the past.

iPhone 14 brings crash detection to iPhone, but it also has a big new feature that seems pretty innovative. This feature allows you to connect to emergency services even if you don't have cellular of wifi connection. It allows you to connect to a satellite to send an SOS out to emergency services as well as some basic information (the connection can't process data very quickly so it's minimal). It also allows for users to share their location on Find My even when they're offline. The Emergency SOS via Satellite feature will be available for free for 2 years with the purchase of iPhone 14 (you'll have to pay after that?). It'll launch in November and is only available in the US and Canada for now.

The iPhone 14 will come in five colours, including midnight, starlight, blue, purple, and Product Red. It's priced starting at $1399 AUD ($799 USD), but can get much more expensive than that depending on your config.

iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max is where it's at. It has the much rumoured 'pill' shaped notch, meaning the old notch design is on the way out. The new Dynamic Island (lol at that naming) seems to actually integrate the hardware and software very well- it looks really nice. The Dynamic Island support up to two elements- I wonder how it prioritises background processes when you have more than two running (timer, sports scores, phone call for example).

The display is awesome, with brightness of up to 2000 nits (2x as bright as previous iPhones), and iPhone 14 Pro will be the first iPhone with an Always on Display (AOD). I'm not sure I like this honestly- do I want everyone to be able to see my phone along with notifications as they come in?

The iPhone 14 Pro comes with the A16 Bionic, the first chip using a 4nm process- this basically means more performance with less energy usage.

The main camera on the iPhone 14 Pro supports both 1x zoom and 2x zoom, meaning that the Telephoto lens can be used for a hardware 3x zoom. The main camera lens is 65% bigger than previous iPhones, which is a pretty cool step up. There is an improvement in low light situations of up to 2x.

The iPhone 14 Pro starts at $1749 AUD ($1099 USD) and runs all the way up to a cool $2769 AUD ($1599 USD). It comes in four colours, including Space Black, Silver, Gold, and Deep Purple.

Other News

iOS 16 is out September 12, and it couldn't come soon enough! I think many of you will have a lot of fun customising your lock screens.

The only other fun tidbit is that Helly (from Apple TV+'s Severance) makes a cameo in the event. Many didn't notice her (me included), but she does appear right at the end of the event in a more obvious way. It's cool to see the cross marketing here though!

Closing

The Apple Watch Ultra is the standout product here, and for me personally the AirPods Pro are a nice upgrade. The media attention will likely surround the AOD and the Dynamic Island though. The Apple Watch Series 8 and SE are both unimpressive. The iPhone 14 is fine but nothing special. The iPhone 14 Pro has some nice touches, including the screen and specifically the Dynamic Island. I wonder how the transition to 100% ESIM will go- I hope carriers are ready for it. I'm happy with my iPhone Pro 12 Max for another year, but I'lll look forward to enjoying some of these features once I do upgrade. Until the next event, enjoy your Apple products!