Here are the quick take-aways from the Apple Keynote September 14, 2021. Many more details available at:
Radical new designs were not expected. Apple clearly did enough to hold serve considering: its iOS base remains ‘aged’ and it will see considerable upgrades, consumer satisfaction of its hardware remains super high, there are more sticky services and improved complementary devices, and there continues to be (very small) Android – iOS migration.
There is a small change in form factor with a flat edge design. The power and efficiencies of the A15 Bionic chip and a larger battery will be a welcome addition. Pricing remains the same as last year and there is more memory with 128GB the new entry memory configuration. Other items:
- Will have to wait until the iPhone 13 family is tested in the wild, but on paper, the upgrades of the A15 Bionic are significant. The 5nm TSMC built chip with a new 6 core architecture has good speed and power efficiency improvements. 15 million TOPs for those of you keeping score at home of trillions of operations per second.
- OLED displays: 5.4”for the iPhone 13 mini and 6.1” for the iPhone 13. The ‘knotch’ is not gone but is smaller.
- Dual camera configuration is different. The camera modules are diagonally placed to help improve focus.
- Fast charging improvements: 80% charge in 40 minutes. Battery life improvements of 90 minutes to 2.5 hours. More accessories are available including a 20W power adapter for $20.
- Video brags include “Cinematic Mode”. This includes the ability to focus on the person in view. As the person looks away, there is the ability to focus on where the subject is looking. Great application for media monsters.
- Privacy: anti-tracking options which are gaining value in the eyes of users. There are also smart data modes to reduce mobile data needs.
- Great trade-in options to reduce the price of an iPhone 13. This is where Apple is above competitors---value retention of used devices. Apple will have the help of global mobile operators offering significant upgrade offers.
The key differences of the Pro and Pro Max models vs. the iPhone 13 are a souped-up camera experience and a display which supports 120Hz. Other key specs include:
- The iPhone 13 Pro sports a 6.1” OLED super retina XDR display which boasts almost 30% more brightness and 120Hz adaptive refresh. The iPhone Pro Max is 6.7” in size.
- Better protection of the display with better, more protected design and a ‘ceramic shield’ layer.
- iPhone Pro and Pro Max have the tailwinds of 200 operators in 60 countries wanting to roll out 5G. Apple now has two generations of 5G devices to help sell 5G. mmWave remains reserved for US operators.
- Larger sensor and improved wide and ultra-wide angle lens with better low-light performance are the key brags. More of these details after we put the devices through some tests.
- Apple spent considerable time going through ‘Cinematic Mode’ enhancements.
- Starting price for the Pro is $999 and $1099 for the Pro Max.
- Memory options are bumped up to 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB.
A new Apple Watch was unveiled with a 20% larger display over the Series 6. The display is 70% brighter and the buttons are larger---both should improve usability. Other key specs:
- Large power and performance gains. However, waiting until we test the device in-the-wild before comment.
- Waterproof for swimming improved to WR50. Look forward to how the touchscreen works in a pool setting. Not a great experience in the Series 6.
- More sport apps including cycling with fall detection and eBike fitness tracking.
- Full keyboard with quick path input.
- Improved durability and battery life. Charge the device to 80% in 45 minutes. Large improvements getting it on par with other sports watches.
- ECG and blood oxygen level should be improved after a year of it in the market.
- New content for group fitness within “Shared Play” where up to 35 people can workout together virtually.
- New get-in-shape for ski season workouts were highlighted.
- Three months of free Apple Fitness service with the purchase of Series 7 watch. Good for service revenues.
Apple Watch price points:
- Series 7 starts at $399
- SE starts at $279
- Series 3 starts at $199
iPad and iPad Mini updates
iPad volumes increased 40% during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are some new power and performance updates from the A13 Bionic chip in the new iPads which should resonate with consumers. Key specs include:
- 20% performance gains of the A13.
- iPad sports 10.2” retina display with 2x the memory over last gen iPad.
- 12MP ultra-wide camera for 122-degree field-of-view.
- GB LTE supported in the new iPad.
- ‘Center Stage’ front-facing camera for better viewing during video calls. The video-calling app keeps a user in the center of the frame even while moving.
- iPad Mini now has a USB C port for 10x faster data transfers.
- Mini supports 5G.
- 4k recording capable and 500 nits brightness.
- Mini comes in four new colors and supports a larger 8.3” display within same form factor.
Apple continues to add more content into its TV+ content. There is more compatibility between devices and better integration and performance from owning both hardware and software. Apple has done enough to keep its faithful content and also skim, ever-so-slightly, some Android subscribers over to its camp.
More details at www.counterpointresearch.com?
