What does Apple's announcements mean?

Unless you live under a rock, you'd now be aware the Apple hosted its annual product announcements earlier this week at the new Steve Jobs theatre on Apple's new Californian campus. After months of hype, leaks, and speculation, the announcement saw three major product updates; Apple TV going 4K, a new Apple Watch, and three new iPhones. No surprise to the tech community, the announcements were near spot on the predictions, right down to the key features and inflated pricing.

As a common pattern in my career, the most common question I'm asked is 'What's the impact of X (insert some new tech) on Y(insert an industry)?'. Executives, investors, and Analysts fire a barrage of questions in an attempt to understand how the technology world can and will impact the world around us.

It's a logical question from both journalist and organizations keen to learn how Apple's latest box of tricks might change their world. Will Apple enter Banking? What does biometrics mean for security? Why does the Watch have a cellular chip? 

Looking purely at the technology, one shouldn't be too alarmed. Yes, we now have a more powerful Apple TV capable of 4K resolutions. Yes, we have cellular connectivity in the Apple Watch. And yes, we have an Infinity Screen with Face ID on the new iPhone X. But consumers don't really buy technology based on specifications. They seek a deeper meaning in their technology. While they may not be conscious of the bias, they vote with their money.

We have to go back to 2001 to understand the core of Apple's magic when Steve Job's announced the iPod. Apple wasn't the first to launch and digital music player, but it did take a very different approach to Creative's launch of the Zen Jukebox. Apple doesn't lead with tech specifics, it leads with the purpose of the technology. In the case of the iPod, it was "One thousand songs in your pocket". A value proposition that the market instantly understood. Coupled with the ecosystem Apple built around the iPod, mainly the iTunes Store, the iPod transformed the global norm on the buying and consumption of music.

So when we look at Apple's new products this week, we need to extrapolate our perspective to include a broader impact before we weigh up the value of these new gadgets. 

In order to do each new product justice, we need to extrapolate them on a broader canvas to draw hypothesis' on the scenarios of future market change. In hindsight, Apple's impact is easy to see; the disruption of the music industry, the dominance of consumer engagement, shifts into media, the evolution of personal computing. But seeing the future impact is less obvious. One needs to understand the Apple strategic habits, their market entry plans, and importantly, their end game.

In a four-part daily series, I'll be diving deep into the technology behind each product to extrapolate on the impact each is likely to have on society, industry and the technology landscape. 

Let's take a look at each of the announcements first:

• Apple TV 4K - Apply moves into the 4K era with both hardware and the media. The next-gen Apple TV will pack the power of the iPad Pro, play 4K and be supported by 4K media at the same price as existing HD
• Apple Watch Series 3 - The Apple Watch Series 3 shares a similar case to its forebear, but most crucially, comes with an optional built-in LTE radio. In addition, the internals are now faster, thanks to a new dual-core chip and other refinements to the overall system.
• iPhone 8/8 Plus - the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus isn't a complete redesign like the iPhone X. Their new glass back means wireless charging, and they have a new powerful chip. But it does come ready for Apple's entry in augmented reality.
• iPhone X - The "Super Retina" display is 5.8 inches, with a 2436 x 1125 resolution -- that works out to 458 pixels per inch, by far the highest ever seen on an iPhone. It stretches across the entire face of the iPhone. Touch ID has been dropped in favor of facial recognition, called Face ID. And Apple has squeezed in a dual camera. All for Apple's most expensive price tag ever,

So how do you think each of the devices will impact key industries likes media, telco, banking, insurance, and gaming?