It’s September 12, which means Apple has made some pretty big announcements at their Special Event. The event started with a video. It was an Apple employee trying, like mad, to get to the Steve Jobs Theater in order to deliver a package to Tim Cook. In the video, the employee is carrying a silver briefcase, and the impression that you get is she is trying to deliver some crazy new iPhone to Cook. What’s interesting about the video is that we get to see all the different Apple devices, like the Apple Watch, Airpods, Siri etc. But when it comes down to it, all that she was delivering to Cook was the “clicker”. It was a cute video, and a great way to start the event, but I thought it would be something more spectacular. I guess Cook has a better sense of humor than I do.
Apple Watch – Series 4
Tim Cook announced that the Apple Watch is not only the number one smartwatch in the world, but it’s the number one watch in the world. That’s an incredible accomplishment, isn’t it? Connectivity and health are at the heart of the Apple Watch. Apple has redesigned and re-engineered the entire Watch. Not only have they made the display 35% larger, they have also designed a brand new Watch face with 8 new complications. And my personal favorite – the Breathe App – is now available as a Watch face. I definitely use this feature a lot, so I am certainly happy to see this improvement.
A great new feature that I’m thrilled to see is the fact that the Apple Watch Series 4 can detect a fall. While that in itself isn’t helpful, what is great is that it can assist in getting you help. I think that this kind of feature will push for more seniors to get the device.
iPhone XS
To say that the iPhone X redefined everything we thought we knew about technology is a bit of an understatement. But how does the XS compare? The short answer is that there’s a lot more technology jam-packed into this new phone. But they have also made things better – like Face ID. Apple has also improved the speed at which the device itself performs. The big update to the phone is the fact that the iPhone XS now uses the A12 Bionic chip, which is able to process 5 trillion operations per second. That’s insane! What’s also insane is that you can now get 512 GB of internal storage on the iPhone XS. How is that even possible?
While these products look incredible, the big question is – should you purchase one when they are available? I am not going to tell you what to do, but the Apple Watch Series 4 does kind of look dreamy. The iPhone XS, does look great, but is there enough new technology in this to warrant going out to buy a new one? They definitely have improved upon the iPhone X. I hope things like Face ID actually end up working properly on this version, as that’s a bit of an embarrassment for Apple. Regardless, it’s great to see that Apple is thinking about the technology to help us have easier lives.