September 12’s big Apple announcement
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- New Steve Jobs Theater
- New Apple Park & Visitor Center
- New Retail Store concept
- Apple Watch Series 3 – Pre-order Sept 15 / Available Sept. 22
- Apple TV – Pre-order Sept. 15 / Available Sept. 22
- iPhone 8 – Pre-order Sept. 15 / Available Sept. 22
- iOS11 – Sept 19 available for download
- iPhone X – Pre-order Oct. 27 / Available Nov. 3
- AirPower – 2018
Everyone is going to be talking about the iPhone X – the newest, FaceID iPhone due to arrive in November 2017 with pre-order in October.
But what I want to talk about are two other significant strides in the Apple announcement: The Apple Watch and AppleTV.
I am an early adopter to the smart watch. I was a Kickstarter backer of the Pebble Watch. Anyone remember those from 2012? Even though I am a big Apple fan, I do not own an Apple Watch. The idea of having to have my phone on hand to do all the interesting watch features turned me off of the device.
But, today, I heard the magic word I’ve been waiting for: “Cellular.”
Apple has integrated cellular service into the Apple Watch. This cuts the cord to the iPhone. I can now use all the features of the Apple Watch without having to carry the phone around too. This is a game changer for me and I will be one of the first to pre-order the new Apple Watch on Sept 19.
This is one of the devices I’ve always embraced. I enjoy the connectivity of my Apple devices to the Apple TV. I had one of the first large silver Apple TVs back in 2007. I now have upgraded AppleTVs on all the TVs in my home. And, after today’s event, I am thrilled to hear about the new features. It’s about time AppleTV and Amazon came together. Now I can watch my Amazon Prime video on all my TVs. I don’t have to have two devices to accommodate my binge watching.
Also, Apple is venturing into ripe territory with the addition of Live Sports and Live News. I have cut the cable cord for the most part at home, except for one TV that will not work with an antenna. I like having my news live. I’m ready when you are, Apple, and will be pre-ordering on Sept 15.
We do need to talk about the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. If you can wait for the iPhone X, wait. Even Apple wants you to wait. They put the iPhone X above the iPhone 8 on their website immediately after the announcement. The iPhone 8 didn’t knock my socks off. As for the price on the iPhone X, here’s what you’re paying for:
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- FaceID – no more Home button means no more fingerprints which means your face is your password to unlock your phone
- Water and dust resistance
- Super Retina display – crisp clear visuals
- Upgraded camera system
- Animojis – Cute, but not worth all the hype at the event
- 2 more hours of battery life – Yes, for an extra $300 I’d take more battery life
- Starts with 65G of storage – Thank you Apple for no longer offering a 16G iPhone to anyone…
- And a bunch of other geeky tech stuff that make the iPhone faster and prettier
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Lastly, there was actually One More ‘One More Thing’ that Apple introduced. That was the AirPower, a power charging mat for the new iPhone, Watch Series 3, and AirPod headphones. The mat arrives next year. In the meantime, Belkin and Mophie will be leading the “charge” (pun intended) if you want wireless charging in 2017.
Overall, the show was a nice ode to Steve. It’s days like this that I really miss him.