Apple held its annual September Keynote last night, announcing its portfolio of new devices for the year ahead. As you might suspect, we’re getting a new iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Not only that, it seems that Apple is doubling …
Apple held its annual September Keynote last night, announcing its portfolio of new devices for the year ahead. As you might suspect, we’re getting a new iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
Not only that, it seems that Apple is doubling down on software this time too. We got more information – including launch dates! – for Apple Arcade and Apple TV+, Apple’s upcoming games subscription and TV services respectively.
We also learned the cost, and they’re very reasonable indeed. We’re not just going to reveal everything in the opening few paragraphs though. Let’s take a look at all of the announcements below.
We already knew about Apple Arcade, the upcoming games subscription service that will provide you with a ton of games for a single monthly fee. The best part? There won’t be an advertisement, IAP, or nasty gacha mechanics in sight. Just games the way they used to be before the world lost its mind.
At the Keynote, Apple announced that you’ll be able to get your hands on Apple Arcade as early as September 19. It will be available in 150 different countries, and cost as little as $4.99 for month with a free trial for those still on the fence.
Apple, take our money!
Apple TV+ is Apple’s answer to Netflix, and the company is going big on the exclusives. We saw more of these at the Keynote, including talent like Reese Witherspoon, Oprah, Game of Thrones’s Jason Momoa, and Steve Carrell.
We also learned that it will launch on November 1, costing exactly the same as Apple Arcade at $4.99 per month. Also, whenever you purchase a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV, you’ll get a free year of Apple TV+. That’s decent value.
Okay, we’re going to say it: there are far too many iPad models out there now. We’ve got the standard iPad, iPad Mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro – and that’s all without mentioning the different sizes for each of them. That’s officially too many iPads.
That hasn’t stopped Apple announcing another one though, and it’s a refresh of the entry-level iPad model. It’s getting a screen bump from 9.7″ up to 10.2″, which places it right alongside the 10.5″ iPad Air.
It also features Touch ID, the A10 Fusion chip, up to 128GB storage, Apple Pencil compatibility, and it supports the Smart Keyboard and Bluetooth keyboards.
The Apple Watch Series 5 is a notable bump on the Series 5. The best feature is the always-on display, which does exactly what it says on the tin. When your arm is lowered, the screen will automatically reduce the brightness and refresh rate to conserve your battery but you’ll be able to check the time at a glance.
It also features a compass and the ability to call emergency services in 150 different countries with a simple hold of the side button. The best part? It will maintain the 18 hours charge of the Series 4, despite cramming in all of these new features.
Also, the Series 3 watch is getting a drop in price to $199, which remains a bargain.
You thought Apple wasn’t going to announce a new iPhone? Think again! It saved the best for last, announcing two new models: the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11 Pro.
The iPhone 11 features the toughest glass, a new dual camera system – both of which feature 12MP cameras, a 36% brighter flash, a night mode for low-light snaps, and a far superior 12MP front camera. The latter supports 4K video at 60 FPS, which will vastly improve the quality of video calls.
There’s also the new A13 chipset, which is the fastest Apple has ever released and puts it ahead of the iPad Pro models. It will cost $699 and come in a variety of colours: black, green, yellow, purple, red, and white.
The iPhone 11 Pro doesn’t so much as double-down on the cameras as triple-down. There are three cameras on the back now, each of which is 12MP and is capable of shooting video at 4K and 60FPS.
It comes in two different form factors: standard and Max. The standard features a 5.8″ display, with the Max at 6.5″. Both of the Pro models house the same A13 chipset as the standard iPhone 11 model and will apparently get four / five hours (Pro Max) more respectively from a single charge than the iPhone Xs Max.
