Another September, another interesting Apple Event. September has become known in the Apple universe as the busiest month of the year. This is where all the hard work from the previous year culminates into some pretty large announcements. Let's break down everything that was announced and all the key features for each product.
iPad Pro
The iPad Pro has been rumored for years now and it finally became a reality. I'm actually surprised it's taken Apple this long to embrace the productivity side of the iPad. Due to the price point of this model and how close it gets to the Macbook line I would prefer to upgrade my Macbook before owning an iPad Pro. Here are the features and specs:
- Color Options: Silver, Gold, Space Gray
- Pricing: Wi-Fi Models - 32GB, $799 / 128GB, $949 Wi-Fi + Cellular Models - 128GB, $1079
- Wi-Fi Models: 32GB, 128GB
- Wi-Fi + Cellular Model: 128GB
- Weight: 1.57 pounds (Wi-Fi Model), 1.59 pounds (Wi-Fi + Cellular Model)
- Dimensions: 12 inches long, 8.68 inches wide, 0.27 inches thick
- Display: 12.9" Retina Display, LED backlit. 2732-by-2048 resolution at 264 pixels per inch
- Fingerprint Resistant, Fully laminated display, Antireflective coating
- A9X chip with 64-bit architecture, M9 motion coprocessor
- Back Camera: 8MP iSight Camera, Autofocus, 2.4 aperture, Five element lens
- FaceTime Camera: 1.2MP, 2.2 aperture, 720p HD video
- Video: 1080p HD video at 30FPS, Slo-mo, Time Lapse
- Wi-Fi: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual channel
- Cellular: UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA, GSM/EDGE, CDMA, LTE
- 10 hour battery life
Check out a promotional video highlighting all the iPad Pro features here.
Apple TV
It's been years since the Apple TV received any type of major overhaul as we've only seen small refreshes here and there and actually saw a model lose features. Apple revealed the next iteration of the Apple TV and while it adds features that were already available on competitor devices it's nice for people who are in the Apple ecosystem to enjoy things such as universal search and an App Store. While not much was said at the event I was hoping to gain more information on home integration. Here are some features and specs:
- Capacity and Price: 32GB, $149 / 64GB, $199
- Siri Remote: Bluetooth 4.0, IR Transmitter, Accelerometer and gyroscope, Lightning connector, months of battery life
- Ports: HDMI 1.4, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, 10/100 BASE-T Ethernet, USB-C
- A8 chip with 64-bit architecture
- 1080p, 60fps
Check out a promotional video highlighting all the Apple TV features here.
iPhone
The new iPhone, like all "S" upgrades, received some minor spec bumps in the processor, camera and GPU. The key attraction to the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus has to be the new 3D Touch (think Force Touch) which allows for deeper menu integration and functionality of iOS. Here is a breakdown of all the features:
- Color Options: Silver, Gold, Space Gray, Rose Gold
- Capacity Options: 16GB, 64GB, 128GB
- Weight and Dimensions: iPhone 6s - 5.44 inches long, 2.64 inches wide, 0.28 inches thick, 5.04 ounces / iPhone 6s+ - 6.23 inches long, 3.07 inches wide, 0.29 inches thick, 6.77 ounces
- Display: iPhone 6s - 4.7" Retina HD with 3D Touch, 1334-by-750 resolution at 326ppi / iPhone 6s+ - 5.5" Retina HD with 3D Touch, 1920-by-1080 resolution at 401ppi
- A9 chip with 64-bit architecture, M9 motion coprocessor
- 12-megapixel iSight Camera, Live Photos, Autofocus with Focus Pixels, True Tone Flash
- 4K Video recording at 30fps, 1080p video recording at 30 or 60fps, 720p video recording at 30fps
- FaceTime HD Camera: 5-megapixels, 720p HD video, Retina Flash, 2.2 aperture
- Touch ID
Check out a promotional video highlighting all the iPhone features here.
Peripherals
Apple introduced a few accessories to go along with the new iPad Pro including a new smart keyboard and Apple's custom stylus called Apple Pencil. The pencil is a pretty neat piece of tech and includes a hidden lightning connector under the cap so you can recharge the pencil with the iPad Pro. 15 seconds of charging gives you a mind blowing 30 minutes of battery life. You read that correctly. If only they could figure out a way to make this happen with the iPhone. Watch the Apple Pencil video here and check out the details of the smart keyboard here. Apple also introduced some new watch bands and new colors for the sport version of the watch. Apple announced a partnership with Hermes to bring some new, designer bands and watch faces.
Availability
Here is when you can expect to get your hands on all these awesome pieces of technology.
- iPad Pro - November
- Apple TV - Coming Soon
- iPhone - Pre-order 9/12/15, Available 9/25/15
- Apple Pencil - November
- Keyboard Case - November
If you missed all or any part of the keynote you can now watch it on Apple's website here.