Thoughts on Apple Keynote September (2020)

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Apple Keynote September 2020

Contents

Intro

Today Apple help one of their famous presentation keynotes to announce new products or introduce new tools for developers and content creators. There were many new products today and I want to share some of my thoughts on how I think those products will impact the current technology space.

Apple Watch

Apple Watch Series 6

AppleWatch6

This was on par with the 8th-generation iPad for being the least impressive demonstration of the bunch. Apple really has not gone too far in changing their Apple Watch design since the first iteration. There was plenty of potential here for some radical new design (circular maybe?) or some impressive new screen but this just seems like the third year in a row with the same watch being released with minimal new features for $399.

The blood oxygen detection is technologically very impressive, but the average user will not be too compelled to purchase a brand new watch just because of this feature. With the addition of this feature, however, Apple Watch is becoming one of the best devices one can buy to have information about their health at a glance.

The most interesting part of the Series 6 in my opinion is the new S6 chip. How Apple can make such a powerful chip so small is incredibly impressive to me. I still see no reason, however, to upgrade from my Series 4.

Apple Watch SE

AppleWatchSE

The Apple Watch SE was one of the most interesting announcements that Apple made today. This is functionally the exact same watch as the Series 4 for only $279. This watch comes with so many key features that it almost makes the Series 6 seem impractical to buy.

The price on this watch makes this an incredible value and a worthwhile update for anyone with a Series 3 or lower.

Apple One

AppleOne This was another very interesting (but expected) announcement. Apple will start bundling some of their premium services together in what seems to be an attempt to get people to subscribe to their services. This way they would be following a model similar to Amazon Prime where users pay one price to get many different services. There are three types of plans for users to subscribe to:

Individual($14.95/month)

Family($19.95/month; shared between 5 people)

Premier($29.95/monthl shared between 5 people)

None of these plans really appeal to me, but I can see many users being interested in the Individual or Family plans. Not including their new fitness service in the lower tier plans is somewhat unfortunate, however.

Apple Fitness+

AppleFitness+ As someone who is getting in to fitness, the introduction of Apple Fitness+ is a very interesting announcement. I personally cannot find myself using this service, as I usually prefer to do my own workouts, but I can see many people being interested in this. It is also priced very competitively which makes it appealing to a wide range of users. At $9.99/month or $79.99/year this seems like a great deal for many users.

iPad

8th-Generation iPad

iPad8 This was easily the most underwhelming announcement from this whole presentation. They took the same iPad from last generation and updated it with a new A12 processor. There is nothing different about this product from last year besides the speed upgrade. Last year’s iPad was sufficiently fast so there is really no reason to upgrade if you have the current 7th-generation iPad.

For new buyers, $329 ($299 for students) is a great price for an iPad with this level of performance. Being able to get into the Apple ecosystem for this cheap is great for many people who may be on a budget.

iPad Air

iPadAir This was easily the most interesting announcement out of this entire keynote. A new A14 Bionic chip, TouchID in the power button, and a fullscreen display make this iPad Air a very interesting product in Apple’s lineup. For one, the new chip forecasts what Apple is capable of for its upcoming Apple ARM Macs.

The new A14 Bionic chip in this iPad is running on Apple’s 5nm process. Considering companies like Intel are struggling to put out 10nm desktop CPU’s, this is a huge step forward for Apple. If they can take this 5nm process and use it for more powerful laptop and desktop grade chips the computer industry as a whole might be completely changed. As an Electrical and Computer Engineering major, this is a technological marvel. 5nm is incredibly small and is pushing the levels of Physics (at least our current understanding of Physics). This could be huge for computers and technology as a whole.

The TouchID sensor in the power button could foreshadow what we might see on upcoming iPhones. If Apple is implementing this for their iPads, it may be a sign that they are looking to do this for their phones. In a world of masks, FaceID really is not as helpful as TouchID. Apple might scrap FaceID and move to TouchID only on their new iPhones.

With a starting price tag of $599, the new iPad Air is seriously a great buy over similarly priced products in the industry. There are no tablets (at least from other companies) that touch the new iPad Air in performance for this price. You would also be hard pressed to find a laptop that performs like the new iPad Air for $599. I can see the new iPad Air being a great options for students or content creators that need power but don’t want to shell out large amounts of money for a fancy new laptop. The new iPad Air also has support for the magic keyboard and the second-generation Apple pencil which makes it even more compelling for content creators.

Conclusion

Today was a great day for Apple fans. While we did not get any new iPhones, we got great leaps forward in the wearable and tablet space. The new iPad Air is sure to shake up the market and the technology inside is industry leading. The Apple Watch Series 6 bundles health features that no other wearable on the market has while the Apple Watch SE brings a similar Apple Watch experience at an affordable price. Apple is pushing the limits of the technology industry as a whole with these releases.

Oh and we also got a new old iPad.

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