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To our surprise, it turns out that Apple managed to host an online launch event in September after all. We were convinced that this would be pushed back to October 2020 due to issues with the supply chain caused by the ramifications of COVID-19 however, as it transpires, Apple succeeded in putting together an event to announce the launch of some of their new products and services.
While Apple discussed products such as new Apple watch models and a new iPad, there was a matte glass and stainless steel elephant in the Apple Park room. There was no mention of the iPhone 12 series at all. We imagine that these new models will be launched later in the year instead as mentioned above, but only time will tell. We could not help but feel disappointed though, we were hoping that Apple would give us one last surprise this year.
We will be discussing exactly what Apple showed us at their ‘Time Flies’ event which was on Tuesday the 15th of September 2020 at 6pm.
Image credit: Apple
Apple gave their event the tagline ‘Time Flies’, which alluded to the launch of the new Apple Watch: the Apple Watch Series 6. The marketing for the Apple Watch Series 6 focused heavily on health, with Tim Cook aggrandising the effectiveness of the Apple Watch as a device that can save people’s lives by alerting them to problems with their heartbeat, calling an emergency telephone number after a fall has been detected, etc. According to Apple, a woman was also alerted by her Apple Watch that she had gone into septic shock.
While Apple watches have helped a small number of people when their lives have been at risk, we would advise that you do not rely on wearable technology alone to monitor your health. While this might seem obvious, Apple are advertising their products as capable of empowering their customers to completely take control of their health with their products, which is an exaggeration that we would advise that you take with a pinch of salt.
Image credit: Apple
The watchOS 7 software that will come with the Apple Watch Series 6 that focuses on health includes a hand washing feature to encourage you to wash your hands for the recommendation of 20 seconds (as we are living in a pandemic after all), VO2 max value (the maximum amount of oxygen that you can use while exercising), a health sensor to measure blood oxygen levels (which can be useful for people with health conditions such as asthma or heart disease) and Apple Fitness+, which is Apple’s fitness app service powered by the Apple Watch. Fitness+ comes at a cost of £9.99 per month/ £79.99 per year.
Image credit: Apple
The colour options for the Apple Watch Series 6 are Space Black Titanium, Gold Stainless Steel and Silver Aluminium, with case options of red and blue aluminium. Apple also boast a variety of personalisations for watch faces, plus the bands also got a new design with what they refer to as a Solo Loop. This is one seamless strap without a clasp or buckle. Apple's yarn band options are also made of recycled materials.
Image credit: Apple
Apple have also developed a feature on the Apple Watch Series 6 known as Family Setup. This allows you to pair Apple watches between family members, including those who do not have iPhones. Some other features include a new Memoji app, Activity rings for children, Schooltime mode to help children to focus, larger font for elderly users and Find My for location sharing. Helicopter parents rejoice.
Image credit: Apple
The Apple Watch Series 6 starts from £379, depending on what case and strap you select as add-ons.
As well as the Apple Watch Series 6, the Apple Watch SE was also unveiled. This is the more affordable alternative to the Apple Watch Series 6 this year. The prices for this watch model start at £269. It runs watchOS 7 like the Apple Watch Series 6, meaning that you will be able to use much of the same software, however this model comes with lower specs and not all of the features of the Apple Watch Series 6 like the ECG or the health sensor to measure blood oxygen levels. The Apple Watch SE will provide more of a basic health tracking experience, but this could be perfect for someone who does not require all of the bells and whistles of the Apple Watch Series 6.
Image credit: Apple
Lastly, Apple announced a new standard iPad (2020), as well as a new iPad Air: the iPad Air 4. The iPad Air 4 is a mid-range tablet with some notable features, including the brand-new A14 Bionic chipset with a 16-core Neural Engine, a LiDAR scanner for depth-sensing, a new gesture based system and the option of the Apple Pencil if you want to write or draw on your iPad. The iPad Air 4 also has a great selection of colour options which include Silver (see below), Space Grey, Rose Gold, Green and Sky Blue.
The iPad Air 4 will cost £579 and will be available to order sometime in October.
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