Apple’s annual September event for its iPhones happened last night and the tech giant unveiled new gadgets including the iPhone 14 series and, new Airpods and the Apple Watch Series 8.
Apple started out the event by sharing the new Apple Watch Series 8 with compelling videos of people reading letters addressed to Tim Cook about how the Watch saved them – the plane crash scene was strange.
“If I hadn’t had the Apple Watch, things could have been much worse.”
The Apple Watch Series 8 features a bigger and brighter screen but maintains the same design with new health, safety and connectivity features plus a temperature sensor, new cycle tracking to track ovulation and crash detection(thanks to an improved gyroscope and a new accelerometer) that works only while you’re driving. The wearable will also alert you of irregular period symptoms which can show underlying health issues.
Apple added that they’ve made these features with privacy and research in mind saying the data is encrypted on the watch which is only accessible with a biometric ID or a passcode.
You get 18 hours of battery life and a low power mode that extends it to 36 hours. Other features include a medications app and multisport workouts.
Apple also launched a new SE that uses the same S8 chip that powers its more expensive sibling. We also got the Apple Watch Ultra for the fitness buffs which features a 49mm titanium case and a new orange action button. It is cellular and its crown and buttons can be used while wearing gloves.
We have a second speaker plus 36 hours of battery life and 60 hours extended. There’s a red mode for more visibility in the dark. You are getting 2000 nits of brightness for the display, improved multiband GPS(new L5 frequency), three built-in microphones, a trackback feature, a new Compass feature that supports Compass Waypoints, EN 13319 certification, WR 100 water resistance and a new Oceanic Plus app.
The Apple Watch Series 8 starts at $399, Apple Watch SE starts at $249 and the Ultra starts at $799.
For the audiophiles, we got to see the new AirPods Pro 2 launched that kept the same design as its predecessors but with improvements in software and hardware inside like the new low-distortion driver and custom amplifier. They also feature Apple’s H2 chip, touch controls on the stem, adaptive transparency, a 33% increase in battery life(6 hours per charge), and a new case with MagSafe that has a bottom speaker to find them easier and a lanyard. Apple says that the second-generation AirPods Pro have twice as better noise cancellation than their predecessors.
They start at $250
The most awaited part was the unveiling of the new iPhone 14 series – the regular iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max starting at $799, $899, $999 and $1099. They’re all dual eSIM(two active but support for six and eight for the Pro) with no trays – at least in the US. It’s worth noting that Safaricom and Faiba support eSIM. Other countries will get new iPhones with nano-SIM slots.
They have Super Retina XDR displays(LCD 60Hz) and the 6.1″ iPhone 14 and the 6.7″ iPhone 14 Plus keep the notch. They also have dual 12MP lenses – Wide and ultrawide. At the front, they have a 12MP TrueDepth selfie camera now with AutoFocus. The two keep the same A15 Bionic chip.
The Pro and Pro max versions get the new A16 Bionic chip, a 48MP main camera, new always-on-displays(OLED 120Hz) that shows information widgets and the much anticipated pill-shaped cutout that Apple calls Dynamic Island for live activity widgets, alerts and notifications.
The cutouts host the Face ID components in the pill shape one while the circular one has the 12MP front-facing camera.
The new cinematic mode now supports 4K shooting at 24fps and 30fps.
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