Newsletter Archives

• Parker: Apple announcements – the Bottom Line

  Posted on September 11, 2019 at 06:41 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  From Nathaniel Parker:

  Yesterday Apple’s “special event” included lots of announcements of interest to AskWoody readers. Here’s my take on the bottom line.

  iPhone 11: Available September 20, Preorder September 13. Successor to iPhone XR. New dual-camera system with ultra wide lens and night mode, improved portrait mode and smart HDR, QuickTake video recording, slow-mo selfie, all-day battery life, increased water resistance, A13 processor, and ultra wideband U1 chip. Also includes: spatial audio, Dolby Atmos, Wi-Fi 6, and dual-SIM with eSIM. Available in purple, yellow, green, black, white, and Product red. Price starts at $699. Available unlocked on launch day.

  iPhone 11 Pro: Available September 20, Preorder September 13. Successor to iPhone XS. New triple-camera system with telephoto lens and ultra wide lens, night mode and smart HDR, QuickTake video recording, slow-mo selfie, enhancements to OLED display, increased battery life,  increased water resistance, A13 processor, and ultra wideband U1 chip. 3D Touch has now been replaced with Haptic Touch. Also includes: spatial audio, Dolby Atmos, and Wi-Fi 6. Available in gold, space gray, silver, and midnight green, all with matte glass instead of gloss glass on the back glass. Finally includes USB-C charger and cable in box. Available unlocked on launch day.

  Apple Watch Series 5: Available September 20. Successor to Apple Watch Series 4. Now offers always-on Retina Display, built-in compass, plus the return of ceramic (white) and new titanium (silver and space gray) Apple Watch Edition models in addition to aluminum and stainless steel. There’s also a new way to purchase the Apple Watch color and band color combination customers want with Apple Watch Studio. No more purchasing an Apple Watch with a hideous band color and buying a separate band at purchase.

  iPad with 10.2” Display: Available September 30. Successor to the lowest-cost 9.7” iPad. Mainly good as an entry-level iPad or for educational use, which the iPad website seems to heavily promote as an educational iPad. New 10.5” Retina Display, now supports the Smart Keyboard, still supports first-gen Apple Pencil, comes with A10 Fusion chip.

  Updates on Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade. Apple TV+ coming November 1. $4.99/month after one week trial. One year of Apple TV+ also free with every new major device purchase (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, or Apple TV). Apple also announced some of the shows that’ll be on Apple TV+ on launch day, as well as what is coming soon. Apple TV+ will also work on the web on Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. Apple Arcade coming September 19. $4.99/month after 30 day free trial. Apple also previewed some of the games that will be on it.

  Updates on Apple operating system release dates: macOS Catalina arriving in October, iOS 13 available September 19 with iOS 13.1 available September 30, iPadOS arriving September 30, watchOS 6 arriving September 19 for the Apple Watch Series 3 and Series 4 (delayed for older models).

  Apple also discontinued the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 4, released new cases for the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro, priced the Apple Watch Series 3 now at $199, and rolled out a new 1M Apple Watch USB-C cable. Apple also releasing a Filmic Pro app and Apple Research heath study app later this year.

  I own an iPhone XS and Apple Watch Series 3 (LTE). Apple’s new models are nice refinements, but I’ll be hanging onto my current Apple gear for the time being. I am glad to see Apple continue to improve their products, and I am most excited about the new Apple operating system upgrades on their way. In terms of services, I may take a trial of Apple TV+ just to see how it goes (Snoopy in Space would be fun to watch). The price is quite inviting and one Apple has priced well if it wants to drive adoption of it. In terms of Apple Arcade, the price is also inviting for heavy gamers, but I don’t play games, so I’m likely not interested in it.

  Apple Apple, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, iOS 13, iPad, iPhone, Wapple Watch