Apple just wrapped up its big fall iPhone event where it announced new iPhones, AirPods and Apple Watches. Here’s what it announced:
- iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
- Satellite emergency service for iPhones
- Apple Watch Ultra
- New AirPods Pro
- Apple Watch Series 8
- The new Apple Watch SE
The new iPhones will be available to order on Friday, and Apple didn’t increase the prices as some analysts had expected. The new Apple Watches will be available to order on Wednesday and the new AirPods Pro launch on Sept. 23.
New Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Ultra
The new device will be called the Series 8, Apple COO Jeff Williams said. It’s more durable than previous models and has a new temperature sensor the company will use to help track women’s health including ovulation.
It will come in four colors in aluminum — black, gold, aluminum, and red — and three colors in stainless steel. It costs at least $399 for an aluminum model and $499 for one with cellular connectivity.
Apple says that the device is designed to keep data secure and private and that health data will only be shared with explicit permission from the user.
Apple also added new safety features powered by two motion sensors. The new car crash detection that can detect if you were in a severe car crash and automatically call emergency services.
A new mode on Apple Watches can extend the Apple Watch battery life from 18 hours to 36 hours by temporarily disabling the always-on display and workout notifications.
Cook started by airing a video highlighting letters people have written to him about how the wearable has helped them get help in emergency situations.
Moreover, Apple has announced a redesigned Apple Watch SE, which is a lower-cost version of its mainline Series 8.
This year’s model includes:
- A bigger screen
- A new plastic design on the underside of the watch
- Heart rate notifications
- Fall detection
It will retail for either $249 or $299 starting on Sept. 16. Apple is marketing it as a device for children who might not need their own iPhone.
Also, it announced the Apple Watch Ultra, new high-end watch with a new design, bigger screen, and titanium case. The product is aimed at outdoor athletes.
It will cost at least $799 and will hit store shelves on Sept. 23. Preorders are available on Wednesday.
It comes with a new watch face with more information, including a compass. It also has a new orange “action” button for quick use while working out or wearing gloves. It can also show how deep the user is diving under the water while swimming.
Apple says that the watch can get as many as 60 hours of battery life with a software update this fall.
“Every detail has been engineered to make the most rugged and capable than ever,” Apple COO Jeff Williams said in a promo video.
AirPods Pro
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced a new model of Apple’s AirPods Pro, which wireless earbuds with noise-cancelling.
They cost $249 and will go on sale on Sept 23.
They have better sound quality and clarity, Apple said, due to an Apple H2 chip on the inside, an upgrade from the earlier model’s H1.
New features include:
- New touch control to adjust volume
- Longer battery life with up to 6 hours listening time
- A smaller extra-small ear tip
- A speaker added to the case
- Can be charged with MagSafe chargers.
Apple said that the noise cancellation on the new models is twice as good as before.
iPhone 14, 14 Plus and 14 Pro
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the iPhone 14. So far, Apple has announced two new models— an iPhone 14 Plus and an iPhone 14.
The iPhone 14 Plus replaces the older “iPhone 13 mini” model with a bigger model with a 6.7-inch screen.
The iPhone 14 will start at $799 and the Plus will cost $899. Preorders start on Sept 9 and the smaller version will go on sale on Sept. 16. The Plus model won’t ship until October, though.
Apple said that all U.S. iPhone 14 models will no longer use physical SIM cards, replacing them with a digital eSIM that can support multiple phone numbers and is better for security.
Features of the iPhone 14 include:
- True -tone OLED display
- Five colors including a new light blue
- Improved battery life
- Ceramic screens that are more durable
- Better low-light performance on the front-facing camera
- Action Mode that stabilizes video
- Safety service called Emergency SOS via Satellite that can connect to emergency services even if the user is outside of cellular or wi-fi range. It’s free for iPhone 14 users in the U.S. and Canada and launches in Canada.
It announced a long-rumored capability to connect its iPhone 14 series to satellites for emergency services during its event on Wednesday.
The feature is designed to connect an iPhone 14′s antennas directly to a satellite, to send a message in areas unconnected by cell towers.
Apple’s manager of satellite modeling and simulation Ashley Williams said an algorithm in the phone compresses text messages to a size that will “take less than 15 seconds to send” to a satellite, before its relayed to a ground station and on to an emergency service provider.
The emergency satellite service launches in November, and is included free for two years with an iPhone 14.
Satellite communications — which has several existing networks that support specialized, purpose-built phones — is undergoing a new era of investment. Companies including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and AST SpaceMobile have previously announced partnerships with mobile service providers, with a similar goal of providing similar satellite services directly to traditional consumer smartphones.
Also, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the iPhone 14 pro, the high-end models for this year.
The smaller model with a 6.1-inch screen is called the iPhone 14 Pro. The bigger model will be called the iPhone 14 Max.
The iPhone 14 Pro will start at $999, and the bigger model starts at $1099. That’s the same price as last year’s models. They go up for preorder on Friday and will ship next week.
These devices have a new front design with a smaller cutout for the front-facing camera which expands the device’s screen. Apple calls the cutout a “dynamic island” and it can essentially display notifications or other system information, such as baseball scores.
The iPhone 14 Pro has a lot of new features:
- An always-on display which doesn’t turn off when it’s not in use.
- Apple also introduced a new low-power mode to make the battery life last longer.
- It uses Apple’s latest A16 Bionic chip, which Apple says was built on a 4-nanometer process.
- A 48-megapixel camera thanks to a bigger sensor.
- Better low-light photography.
- Redesigned flash.
It comes in four colors, space black, silver, gold, and deep purple.