Apple has taken the wraps off the latest iPhones this week at it’s By Innovation Only event this week. Sadly, in my personal opinion, the event was very underwhelming.
In my preview for the event, I made a few guesses based on the rumors out there. And for the most part, I was mostly right. But there were a few surprises to be had.
So let’s kick things off!
Services – Good
Apple made good on its promise of revealing more about their services today. They announced pricing and availability of Apple Arcade and Apple TV+.
Apple Arcade – Good
Apple Arcade will launch its gaming service on September 19 and cost $4.99 a month. We also got some details about some of the exclusive games on stage, but honestly, nothing blew me away. Sure they looked good, but nothing screamed got to have.
Still, Apple arcade will come with a one-month free trail so we can test it out to see if it’s worth the money. The amazing thing is that the $5 applies to family accounts, so you don’t have to get one for every Apple ID. Parents everywhere rejoice
This service will live and die by the games, but the games won’t be there if people aren’t there. It will be interesting to see how this develops.
Apple TV+ – Good
The video streaming service Apple is planning to launch will come November 1. It will also cost $4.99 a month unless you buy a new iPhone, iPad, or Mac. If you purchase a new device, you get a year of the service for free.
I’m still not as excited about this service as I am about Disney’s. Apple doesn’t have the back catalog to entice me Like Disney or Netflix. Offering it for free for a year is a great move though to get people in the door. I’m planning on upgrading my iPhone, so I’ll let you know in November.
As far as what as been shown so far, I’m not excited like I should be. We got a preview for See, the high concept show starring Jason Momoa (Aquaman!).
I’ll check it out, and let you know if these shows pull me in when it launches though.
New base model iPad – meh
Apple announced the new base-model iPad and it came with 2 big improvements
To begin with, Apple increased the standard iPad screen size. It now boasts a 10.2-inch screen, up half an inch from the previous 9.7 model. More screen size will definitely make a difference once iPadOS comes out later this month. Split screen apps and the redesigned home screen will benefit from the extra space.
The other big change is the addition of the smart connector. Now, if you want to have a hardware keyboard with you, you can use the same smart keyboard as on the iPad Air. It will fold up and always be with you. I love having mine on my iPad all time.
The price of the iPad remains the same, and I think that’s a smart play. The insides of the device haven’t changed much over the 6th generation anyway. But this iPad is a little confusing in the line-up now since it is almost the same size as an iPad Air.
If you are looking for your first iPad and you are keeping the cost down, I think this is a great deal. If you are upgrading or looking for something with a bit more speed, you might check out the iPad Air or even the iPad Pro.
These were fun editions to the line-up, but like the rest of the event, it felt pretty standard.
Apple Watch Series 5 – meh
Incremental updates are the name of the game this year. For the 5th generation Apple Watch, Apple added a compass, an always on screen, and a couple of new case materials.
I was very underwhelmed with the Series 5 Apple Watch, but of course, the series 3 and 4 brought such big changes to the iWatch (I hate that term, but I’m using it for search results – don’t kill me). It was okay to take a slow year.
Many people have said that they’ve wanted an always on screen since the first Watch came out. I haven’t really been bothered by the way things are now, but this seems like a good feature to bring to the device. Apple’s engineers did it right too. The screen dims and slows down the refresh rate so that the watch doesn’t burn through your battery. Not mentioned on stage, when your watch goes into this mode, you lose the second hand on dial faces. The second hand goes away because the refresh rate of the screen will only refresh once a second, which would make the second hand appear jerky.
Personally, I’m okay with a screen that goes off. It really doesn’t take much to make my screen illuminate, but I hate when the screen comes on when I’m driving in the dark. It distracts me. I wonder how powerful the screen will be in the dark. Will it light up a movie theater?
The Apple Watch Series 5 also added a compass this year. For those that need that, I bet you’re happy. I can’t say that I ever really wanted on.
The best part of the entire Apple Watch section though came at the very end of the event while they talked about Apple Retail. Now, instead of choosing an Apple Watch and band in predetermined packages, you can use Apple Watch Studio to customize your watch and band combination. It’s easy to use and you can see how it will look before you order it. So now even though you still can’t order just the watch without a band, at least you can choose a face and band that you don’t have.
All in, the Apple Watch Series 5 is a good upgrade for those with a Series 3 or earlier, but I wouldn’t run out to get one if you have a Series 4 Apple Watch. I know I’m going to skip out on this years update.
Apple Watch trade-in – bad
As a side note, I did attempt to see how much I could trade my currently Series 4 watch in for to upgrade to the series 5 (but I’m not doing that). This year, Apple only offered $100 on the trade in. Compare this to last year where I was offered $225 for my Series 3 to upgrade. I find that very interesting, and I wonder why they aren’t offering more for the better watch.
iPhone 11 – Good
Then Apple announced the new iPhone 11. The iPhone 11 is the spiritual successor to the iPhone XR – which I thought was the best phone for most people. This year doesn’t change too much.
There’s the new A13 Bionic chip inside which I believe is the same chip inside the iPhone 11 Pro. Apple went into more details about the chip when it discussed the Pro model and didn’t really say much about if there was a difference in the chip. If anything, I might could see the Pros having just a little faster clock-speed, but I really doubt it. Honestly, the iPhone has been so fast and so far ahead of the pack that you’d be fine with the XR still.
The new iPhone 11 does get a second camera, and to almost everyone’s surprise the second camera is a super-wide angle lens and not the telephoto that we thought it would be. Inside the software, Apple has done an amazing job of making the switch between the two cameras seamless and cool. When taking a standard picture, you can see what is in the Wide angle picture in the edges of the camera interface to make sure that you aren’t missing anything. Of course if you take the regular photo, I believe the wide angel does tag along in case you want to crop it larger later.
Finally, I’m not thrilled with colors this year. With the iPhone XR, Apple offered some fun and exciting colors. This year, Apple has nixed the Coral and Blue color iPhones and brought in Purple and green. Everything this year feels very pastel and Easter-ish.
iPhone 11 Pro
Apple finished off the product announcements with the iPhone 11 Pro. If the iPhone 11 is the iPhone XR upgrade, then the iPhone 11 Pro is the iPhone XS upgrade.
The iPhone 11 Pro still comes in two sizes the regular and the Max version, 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch screens and the fit and finishes are mostly the same. Instead of a glossy phone though these have a matted finish that makes these look fresh to me. Oh and there’s a new color that’s not grey, white, or gold! This year, Apple is pushing a new Midnight Green color. From the pictures, it looks very classy.
In a rare move, Apple has actually made a device thicker. While we won’t be sure why it is bigger until we get some tear downs, but right now, the theory is that there’s a larger battery. The new Pro model iPhones get an extra 4 and 5 hours based on the screen size here. I’m sure if you’re like me, you’ll welcome that extra battery life. My XS Max can make it through a full day, but lately it’s getting pretty close to dying by the end of the day (and I have 99% health on my battery still).
Apple claims that the new chip will be faster as well. This year, Apple really showed off how far ahead of everyone they are when they went into details. I’m sure if you watched, then most of the processor talk was dull, but for those in the know, I’m sure you know what you got here. I’m sure that this new chip, while more powerful, is another reason for the great battery life on the phones. My question about the chip though: Is the chip in the 11 the same as in the 11 Pros?
Additionally, the Pros will be getting 3 cameras on the back and an updated self camera – the normal 11 is getting the same improved self camera as well. the only difference on the Pro is that it will retain the telephoto lens that has been the other camera on the iPhone since they added the second lens.
The most mind blowing demo of the entire event for me was the Filmic Pro. They showed off on stage the ability for the app to capture video from every camera on the iPhone at once. As an aspiring filmmaker, my mind was blown away. The app seemed fluid and easy to use. If everything pans out when it upgrades everything, this could be a game-changer for mobile videography.
No One More Thing
And that’s all. Everything wrapped up without a one more thing. Without bilateral wireless charging in the new iPhones. I’m sure Samsung will poke fun at Apple for that soon enough.
Apple’s AR glasses didn’t appear. Nor did their Tile tracker, but the funny thing is that the iPhone got new chips that are supposed to be for that tracker, I’ll have more on that soon (I hope).
Apple didn’t even have time to announce on stage when iOS 13, iPadOS, HomePodOS, WatchOS, or MacOS 10.15 Catalina would be released. It did release that information later, but it’s weird and staggered. Parts wild be coming out in the coming months, but not at the same time. In fact, WatchOS 6 will come out for series 3 and later watches and then later in the month it will be out for Series 1 and 2.
Things seem odd.
My Thoughts
This wasn’t a groundbreaking Apple Event. Still, the company did what it always does – it makes great products.
It’s weird. I wasn’t excited for this Apple Event like I normally am. I chalked it up to me being so busy at work right now, but I think the products might have had something to do with it.
The iPhone is a mature product now, and I don’t think much will change like it has in the past. The Apple Watch is checking off boxes every year.
So that leaves me to question where Apple goes from here? I know they are working on things for the future and they have a plan but until we get to that future, I think we are entering a lull.
Of course, I could -and hope I am- very wrong. I think there could still be one more Apple Event this year, but I’d imagine it focuses more on the Pros than the average consumer. Still, maybe in a few weeks we will have a better idea of what the future holds.