Apple today announces their latest products – Apple 14 Series, Apple Watch Series 8, Watch SE, Watch Ultra, and the AirPods Pro (2nd Gen). There were a few innovations in the products. So, let me summarize them.
For ease of navigation, here is the menu: –
Apple Watch Series 8/SE/Ultra
Apple Watch Series 8
The Apple Watch Series 8 is swim-proof, dustproof, and crack-resistant. It comes with a few new features. It has a temperature sensor that can monitor menstrual details and even calculates ovulating timing.
It has a crash detection feature that combines hardware and AI to call for help when needed. When a crash is detected, it will automatically connect you with the emergency services, provides your location, and contact your emergency contacts. The reason it can do so accurately is that Apple has added two sensors to it – the improved gyroscope and a high g-force accelerometer. Combined with other sensors and AI, it is able to determine if it is a crash. This is one feature I would not want to use.
And another feature that I think is interesting is that it will be able to ride on your cellular plan for international roaming. I do not have many details but this feature will be available soon. Here is a summary of the Apple Watch Series 8.
Apple Watch SE
The Apple Watch SE is the cheaper version of the Watch Series 8. It has a lot of features from the Watch Series 8. Here is a summary of the Apple Watch SE.
Pricing and Availability
- Customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UAE, the UK, the US, and more than 40 other countries and regions can order Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch SE today, with availability in stores beginning Friday, September 16.
- Apple Watch Series 8 starts at S$599 and Apple Watch SE starts at S$379.
- Apple Watch Nike bands and Apple Watch Hermès bands will be available to order today from apple.com/sg/store and in the Apple Store app, with availability in stores beginning Friday, September 16.
- watchOS 9 will be available for Apple Watch Series 4 and later on Monday, September 12, and requires iPhone 8 or later and iPhone SE (2nd generation) or later running iOS 16. Not all features are available on all devices and in all regions.
Apple Watch Ultra
The Apple Watch Ultra is a surprise for me. Finally, Apple has made a rugged Apple Watch. It has a similar shape as other Apple Watch. However, it has different straps for outdoors and has an additional Action Button that can be customized.
And it has a bigger battery of 36 hours (2x the usual battery of Watch Series 8). Overall, it comes with titanium casing and is rugged (100m water resistance, IP6X dust resistance and etc). It has a precise dual-frequency GPS, and only comes with cellular version. Pricing-wise, it is also more expensive. Here is a summary of the Apple Watch Ultra.
Pricing and Availability
- Customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, the UAE, the UK, the US, and more than 40 other countries and regions can order Apple Watch Ultra today, with availability in stores beginning Friday, September 23.
- Apple Watch Ultra is S$1,199.
- watchOS 9 will be available for Apple Watch Series 4 and later on Monday, September 12, and requires iPhone 8 or later and iPhone SE (2nd generation) or later running iOS 16. Not all features are available on all devices and in all regions.
Apple AirPod Pro (2nd Generation)
The 2nd Generation of Apple AirPods Pro is powered by the H2 processor chip (upgrade from H1). It has an improved Spatial Audio that you can personalized. The Active Noise Cancellation is 2x more than the previous model. Volume is now controlled by sliding your finger along the stem of the earbuds. It also has adaptive transparency that allows you to sense the environment while wearing it.
The battery life is now longer at 6 hours and with the battery from the casing, it goes up to 30 hours. And lastly, if you ever lose your AirPods Pro, there is a precision finding feature to track it. Here is a summary of the Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation).
Pricing and Availability
- AirPods Pro (2nd generation) will be available to order for S$359 from apple.com/sg/store and in the Apple Store app in Singapore starting Monday, September 19, with availability in stores beginning Friday, September 23.
- AirPods (3rd generation) with Lightning Charging Case are now available for S$259. AirPods (3rd generation) with MagSafe Charging Case remain available for S$269.
- Customers now can add Memoji engraving to AirPods (2nd generation), AirPods (3rd generation), and AirPods Pro (2nd generation) cases for free, exclusively in the Apple Store app. For more information about Memoji engraving, utilise the Apple Store app.
- New subscribers can get Apple Music free for six months with the purchase of any AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max. See apple.com/sg/promo for details.
- For full feature functionality, use AirPods Pro (2nd generation) paired with an Apple device running the latest operating system software. Personalised Spatial Audio profiles and Find My will be available with iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura in October.
iPhone 14 Series
This is the most important announcement during the keynote. The latest iPhone 14 series comes with a few variations:-
- iPhone 14 (6.1-inch)
- iPhone 14 Plus (6.7-inch)
- iPhone 14 Pro (6.1-inch)
- iPhone 14 Pro Max (6.7-inch)
iPhone 14/iPhone 14 Plus
The iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are similar except for the screen sizes.
They are powered by the A15 Bionic Processor. Both have the same camera system.
- 12MP Main: 26mm, ƒ/1.5 aperture, sensor‑shift optical image stabilisation, seven‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels
- 12MP Ultra Wide: 13mm, ƒ/2.4 aperture and 120° field of view, five‑element lens
They also have a TrueDepth front-facing camera.
- 12MP camera, ƒ/1.9 aperture, Autofocus with Focus Pixels, Six-element lens, Retina Flash
There is a new Photonic Engine to process the photographs with better results than previous models. And for video recording, there is a new Action Mode that can stabilize the video in very shaky environments.
It has the Crash Detection feature that can work seamlessly with your Apple Watch. And it has a new Emergency SOS via Satellite feature. It is a subscription-based service that will be available in US and Canada when launched (2 years free). This feature allows you to locate the satellite when cellular signal is unavailable. You will be able to transmit simple preset messages to get help.
BTW, all US models will only have eSIM and will not have SIM tray.
Pricing and Availability
- iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will be available in midnight, blue, starlight, purple, and (PRODUCT)RED in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage capacities.
- Customers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, the UAE, the UK, the US, and more than 30 other countries and regions will be able to pre-order iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus beginning at 5 a.m. PDT on Friday, September 9, with iPhone 14 availability beginning Friday, September 16, and iPhone 14 Plus beginning Friday, October 7.
- iPhone 14 will be available in Malaysia, Turkey, and 20 other countries and regions beginning Friday, September 23.
- Emergency SOS via satellite will be available starting in the US and Canada in November, and the service will be included for free for two years with the activation of iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus.
- Customers can get iPhone 14 for S$54.13 a month for 24 months or S$1,299, and iPhone 14 Plus for S$62.46 a month for 24 months or S$1,499 from apple.com/sg/store, in the Apple Store app, and at Apple Store locations. iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are also available through Apple Authorised Resellers and select carriers.
- iOS 16 will be available as a free software update on Monday, September 12.
- Customers who purchase iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus will receive three free months of Apple Arcade with a new subscription.
- Leather Wallet with MagSafe and iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus Leather Cases will be available in five new colours: midnight, forest green, ink, umber, and orange. iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus Clear Case and Silicone Cases will be available in midnight, storm blue, red, chalk pink, lilac, elderberry, succulent, and sunglow.
iPhone 14 Pro/14 Pro Max
Using the area around the cut-out, Apple innovates by adding very dynamic graphics around it. Apple calls it Dynamic Island. With different scenarios, Dynamic Island will display different icons and graphics. I think it really looks good.
Here is some information about the Apple iPhone 14 Pro screen.
BTW, the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max are powered by the A16 Bionic Chip using the 4nm process. Here are details of the cameras:-
Pro camera system
- 48MP Main: 24mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture, second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, seven‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels
- 12MP Ultra Wide: 13mm, ƒ/2.2 aperture and 120° field of view, six‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels
- 12MP 2x Telephoto (enabled by quad-pixel sensor): 48mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture, second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, seven‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels
- 12MP 3x Telephoto: 77mm, ƒ/2.8 aperture, optical image stabilisation, six-element lens
- 3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 6x optical zoom range; digital zoom up to 15x
As you can see, even though it is a 3-camera system, it has 4 cameras as output. The reason is that Apple uses the output from the 48MP camera to extract the details and hence, you get a 2x Telephoto picture.
TrueDepth Camera
- 12MP camera, ƒ/1.9 aperture, Autofocus with Focus Pixels, Six-element lens, Retina Flash
And same as iPhone 14, it has a Photonic Engine to process the pictures. BTW, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max can output images in ProRAW format at 48MP.
For video recording, it can take ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 128GB storage).
Here is a summary of the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Pricing and Availability
- iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available in deep purple, silver, gold, and space black in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage capacities.
- Customers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, the UAE, the UK, the US, and 30 other countries and regions will be able to pre-order iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max beginning at 5 a.m. PDT on Friday, September 9, with availability beginning Friday, September 16.
- iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will be available in Malaysia, Turkey, and 20 other countries and regions beginning Friday, September 23.
- Emergency SOS via satellite will be available starting in the US and Canada in November, and the service will be included for free for two years with the activation of iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.
- Customers can get iPhone 14 Pro for S$68.71 a month for 24 months or S$1,649, and iPhone 14 Pro Max for S$74.96 a month for 24 months or S$1,799 from apple.com/sg/store, in the Apple Store app, and at Apple Store locations. iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are also available through Apple Authorised Resellers and select carriers.
- iOS 16 will be available as a free software update on Monday, September 12.
- Customers who purchase iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will receive three months of Apple Arcade with a new subscription.
- Leather Wallet with MagSafe and iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max Leather Cases will be available in five new colours: midnight, forest green, ink, umber, and orange. iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max Clear Case and Silicone Cases will be available in midnight, storm blue, red, chalk pink, lilac, elderberry, succulent, and sunglow.
Summary
Overall, not a lot of “wow” factors based on the products launched. They are upgrades from previous models. Now I understand why this event is called the “Far Out” event (Satellite).
I am not sure if this is coincidental or not. Huawei launches the HUAWEI Mate50 Series in China and has a feature to communicate with their Satellite (call and messages) too.
Anyway, I hope we can see a foldable iPhone in near future. Let me know which features you like for the new products.