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IN WHAT WAS probably one of Apple’s busier events in a long time, we got three major product launches last night.
Alongside the standard upgrade to the iPhone, now the 6S and 6S Plus, we got a new version of Apple TV and a signficant iPad upgrade in the form of the iPad Pro.
But while the products themselves take up the most attention, there are a number of other points that should be noted.
3D Touch could solve one of iOS’s biggest problems
Compared to other rival OSs like Android and Windows Phone, iOS can feel rather rigid and stodgy at times. It’s hard not to feel that way when the likes of Android is able to move between apps fluidly and allows more customisation.
Apple tried to solve this a little with widgets and while that didn’t quite work out (to be honest, it was the least of iOS 8′s problems), 3D Touch could be the way it solves this without messing up the simplicity that iOS is famed for.
By including a right-click like interface to iOS, it not only gives users more options, but it speeds up the process in which actions are completed. That might seem like a roundabout way of solving the problems, but for Apple, it could be the perfect compromise for users who might want to switch over.
The big iPhone changes are under the hood
As mentioned many times before, the S series of iPhones usually focus on refinement rather than introduce major changes and this time is no different. Yet while the cosmetic changes are tiny at best, it’s the software and hardware that gets the biggest upgrade.
3D touch will get the headlines, but it’s the A9 processor and M9 co-processor, the 12MP camera with 4K video, a faster Touch ID and WiFi that’s two times faster will show it’s more than just a slightly improved iPhone 6.
On paper anyway. How this will all add up in practice remains to be seen, but these changes look more significant than they appear to be at first glance.
There’s still one huge problem with the iPhone
For all the nice features introduced like 4K video, 12MP camera, live photos and the likes, the minimum storage space you can get is 16GB.
It doesn’t need repeating that 4K video, while nice to look at on the big screen, takes up a lot of space and you can see a situation where you will run out of space relatively quickly when you factor in apps, games and other downloads.
iOS 9 does have ways to save space with apps, and says that live photos won’t take up much space, but it’s hard to see this being the case from first look.
The iPad Pro is basically Apple giving the middle finger to everyone, including itself
Yes, Microsoft was there first with the Surface Pro – and it should be mentioned that both the 3 and Pro 3 are genuinely fantastic devices – and many Android tablets have included keyboards as well, but it was hard to watch the iPad Pro announcement and not think back to past moments featuring Apple and its rivals.
A few years ago, the late Steve Jobs said “If you see a stylus, they blew it” back at an iOS 4 event in 2010 and while it’s not exactly fair to hold a company accountable to something a former-CEO said five years ago, it does highlight the approach Apple takes.
It doesn’t care about the past, what was said or done or what rules it created, it only sees the direction it needs to go and makes no apologies for it when it does so. Even when you bring it up, the company justifies why this is the right time for said features. This is one of Apple’s biggest strengths and why it’s able to dominate certain areas.
Although if you really wanted to be anal about it, you could argue that by naming the stylus Pencil, it doesn’t exactly break its own rule. On a related note, Microsoft was one of the companies that featured during the iPad Pro demos, showing off Office so even they broke rules.
Apple still has a long way to go when it comes to diversity
Compared to its developer event, Apple’s launch was a disappointment if you were expecting it to follow up from June.
All but three speakers during the event were white and male and while three women featured, a major faux-pas came during Adobe’s demo which fixed a female model’s neutral expression to a smile because they “weren’t happy with it”.
It was tone-deaf on a number of levels – the audience applauding certainly didn’t help matters – and while Adobe’s demo was impressive as a whole, these little things don’t help when you’re trying to position the company – and the tech industry as a whole – as an inclusive and welcoming place.
There are those who will argue that it was small and there was no harm intended, but even if we accept that to be the case, little actions like these tend to have the biggest effect since they accumulate alongside bigger ones like speaker diversity.
If we’re really thinking of making the industry inclusive and diverse where everyone works to their strengths, highlighting things like these is worth it in the long run. There is certainly no shortage of great people from different backgrounds within Apple’s own ranks – or tech in general – so why not make more of an effort to reflect that?
There were some positives though. Apple TV’s Jennifer Folds did a great job in showcasing Apple TV’s new features and there is another person and an Irish startup that warrants attention.
It took an Irish startup to show what the iPad Pro could really do
Of the demos that featured during Apple’s event, the best one came from the Dublin-startup 3D4Medical.
A medical company that develops a range of apps for professionals, patients and students, its head of design, Irene Walsh showed the world just what could be done with the iPad Pro when it’s put in the right hands.
The app itself adds a layer of detail that allows users to properly illustrate the human body, and it was a technically impressive demo. When you get a chance to showcase your product to a global audience, you should take it with both hands and Walsh did just that.
Apple TV is not the gaming device you’re looking for
When rumours about Apple making gaming a major part of its revamped set-top box, some wondered if it would signal the beginning of the end with consoles like the PS4 and Xbox One.
While such questions weren’t exactly unfounded, it was unlikely that Apple TV would become a solid gaming device on its own and that is still the case now.
What it does right is use its vast catalogue of iPhone/iPad games and rely on multiplayer for its TV experiences but that creates its own problems. If you want to play a game at home, playing it on your phone is easier, and how often will you have two or more people playing together?
And then there are the controls. A motion sensor remote with trackpad does give these games an element of simplicity, but it’s an uneasy alliance between the features that made gaming on the iPhone and Wii a success. There are specialised controllers in the works for it, but realistically, how many will bother?
If you’re into casual gaming, you have your phone for it, and if you’re more serious, you’ll likely have a console or PC. Either way, it’s a good thing it has other features like TV to fall back on.
There’s finally an Apple app on Google Play…
But it’s not Apple Music. Instead, it’s an app that allows you to quickly transfer your data from your old Android phone to your new iPhone should you make the switch. Cheeky or smart? The answer, as always, lies somewhere in the middle.
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How outraged were you that the speakers were white, and that they digitally made a woman smile. Seriously, guys. It must be hard being part of the Liberal media. Outraged at the sight of white people, and women’s smiles apparently
and how exactly did the audience applauding not help matters? This has to be the worst example of faux liberal outrage in awhile.
Pathetic sh!t stirring. It’s a self parody.
That’s the journal for you dude. Fake PC bolloxology of the highest order.
I really really hope you are as unhappy in life as you sound Duck.
Well whos a cranky sod wishing unhappiness upon other dont like the fact his right is it?
Thus will surely affect their share price.
How discriminatory to assume such a thing!
Have you personally asked them, what race and gender they identify with? Just because they LOOK white and male doesn’t mean they ARE…
The article was fine apart from that one paragraph :D The smile thing was a stupid stunt though everyone’s calling it tone-deaf. The only thing I take issue with is that out of context Jobs quote. He was referring to using a stylus as a primary input device being a failure.
lol your very right they could identify as asexual trans dragon kin for all he knows.He should be ashamed for judging them on looks and skin colour alone.
Just had to inject bullshit about diversity.
Seriously. The presenters are usually the senior manager who oversaw the development of the product being shown as they know most about it. Should Apple hire disabled black lesbian actors next year to present the products? Would that make people happier or just be a disservice to both Apple and ‘minorities’?
More journal nonsense. You’d swear most of the staff that write for this rag were mixed race transgendered pansexual multi species spectrum-kin with a degree in women’s studies and Islamic travelling community diversity.
Every single article.
If you don’t like any of the journal’s articles, or their approach, why do you still read it?
I think conveniance would be the main reason or maybe he just wants to see what nonsense they come out with next.curiosity did kill the cat after all.
Haha I know yeah! The staff of the journal.ie is such a bastion of diversity after all! This thing is I’m perpetual decline at this stage, noticeable on an almost daily basis.
A whiter than white staff member of a whiter than white team of journalists being outraged at a lack of diversity at Apple Corp based on a showcase; what a f*cking parody. Get your act together lads; the joke’s barely funny anymore.
The comments are fun, AR.
Samsung and Huawei’s product launches had a shocking lack of Mauris.
Hey Quinton, is it illegal to be a white Caucasian?
lol – “Quinton”.
It’s true that Apple (and the tech industry as a whole) has massive issues with diversity. However, Apple themselves readily admit that are nowhere near diverse enough, and are transparent about their efforts to address the issue (http://www.apple.com/diversity/). I think it’s more than fair to point out that Apple are not diverse, because they’re not, but probably harsh to criticise them about it, because they are making, what appears to be on the surface at least, a genuine effort to address it.
e.g. this quote from Tim Cook:
“But we know there is a lot more work to be done. Some people will read this page and see our progress. Others will recognize how much farther we have to go. We see both.”
They are largely in line with the racial and gender make up of the candidates available. Unless they start crowbaring other demographics into tech and eng courses that’s the best they can do.
Quinton, one time I told a woman a joke without her consent and she involuntarily smiled. Did I assault her?Am I a misogynist now?
you pig!
You’re a monster!
It was unusually boring, I must agree. The same bunch of dudes (or perhaps not, but they all look the same) going on about how “we changed everything about the phone”… it looks identical to the previous one, with an identical screen!
The state of that controller.
Did they purposefully remake the first generation Xbox controller for the hipsters?
They anounced the option to use a right click. ..??? That exists for the past 25 years in windows..
But that is Apple’s main skill, and that is: marketing something that already exists, and is such a basic and blindingly obvious function, to be as important as man’s first steps on the moon.
Indeed John B and the fools will still buy it
you can (and always have been able to) right click on apple computers. they’re talking about the iOS. can you right click on your mobile phone or tablet device right now? most people would answer no. is it a mind-blowing update? no…. but might be useful to some people.
The naysayers will say what they will but graphic designers and artists will love that iPad Pro. Compared to some graphic tablets, it’s not bad value.
The bleeding hack of that joy-pad, seen better Atari pads.
Would they ever get lost with this idea of eliminating proper gaming consoles? Serious gamers want fully immersive, complex games and are happy to pay for it. The angry-birds brigade have accountants calling the shots and unless the game makes trillions in profit, it’s an utter waste of space, apparently. I lack the time these days to play, but some of the more recent titles seem to be getting very simplistic, at first glance.
“Serious gamers want fully immersive, complex games and are happy to pay for it” and they build a PC (or have a friend do it)
we are on the last generation of consoles. Serious gamers on console will move to PC, while casual players will move to mobile devices. The console market has been split by mobile device gaming and cannot sustain with only the more serious players. The consoles have traditionally had a larger market exactly because it appealed to the more casual player but with many of those people moving to mobile devices the market is shrinking and that is evidenced by the lack of games on the new generation.
If we imagine that this generation lasts another 5 years, I cannot imagine the demand existing to support a new generation (although the consoles are essentially cheap, restricted PC’s now).
Oh new Apple TV. You shall be mine!
I’ll be very interested in comparing the digital inking experience between the IPad Pro and the Surface Pro 4, when released.
Examining the videos and technical assessments of the iPad pencil indicates that there is minimal latency and high accuracy with a reasonable replication of the handwriting experience on paper. It might be a good OneNote digital notebook device although the Surface Pro 4 has the potential to be even better. Time will tell.
I would love a highly accurate voice to text device with an inbuilt high quality array microphone with noise cancellation, superior OCR so as to scan typed and handwritten material, an iris recognition security and a good native file management system.
Yeah me to. The surface pro 4 will have a 64 bit Sky Lake processor so is likely to be much more powerful (and a similar price), but Apple have this amazing habit of making things work better despite lower specced components. And because it won’t be trying to run a full desktop operating system in the background I suspect both experiences will be very similar. I hope Microsoft learns that a stylus should look like that though. The pro 3 had a big fat pen like thing.
Daniel Wilson: They make things work better despite lower specced components by completely locking the system down and not letting you make use, as you see fit.
Grand if what they provide (allow) is all you need but not so much otherwise
The Ipad Pro wont even be in the same league as the Surface Pro for power users. IOS is not meant to compete with Actual operating systems to say that it can/will is laughable. Apple have the habit of hampering usability for the appearance of fluidity.
Hilarious as to why they are not putting OS X on something like this, but i suspect as with everything apple they are just ringing the last few dollars out of the captive audience until they release something useable next year.
In the mean time, buy the Surface Pro next month. Microsoft are the only ones coming out of this battle looking like winners, In fact the Ipad Pro validates the surface to Apples own audience. Probably a shot in the foot type of situation.
I smiled broadly when I saw the iPad Pro, “pencil” and keyboard. It’s suspiciously like a trimmed down Surface Pro.
Good comments above. IOS is not really an operating system and the Surface was an original innovation. I’d be inclined to see the Surface Pro 4 and what the digital ink experience on that is like first. Skylake processors and a better pen make it already appear promising. A bigger screen, say 14 inches, and I find it hard to reject it.
The only temptation for me in the iPad Pro would be as a dedicated digital note taker but I would have to see how OneNote is implemented and do you get the full functionality that you would get on a Surface Pro 3? For now, the Surface Pro 3 digital ink experience is not bad but I would like something more paper like and with longer battery life. When you start writing, it’s nice to have a larger screen. 14 inches on a Surface Pro 4 would suit me very well.
I think that it’s probably horses for courses but the iPad Pro is not a laptop or hybrid substitute. It’s still an accessory. The absence of native file management makes it a kind of terminal.
Yeah. I’m certainly waiting for the SP 4, for me the issue will probably be price though. The ipad pro will probably be around 700, the highest spec SP3s are 2500 which is an enormous price tag. I’m sure you could get similarly specced laptops for 900 (sans-touch / stylus). Definitely worth waiting though there’s about be a lot of competition in this area. Toshiba’s Satellite 12 is another interesting proposition.
The 128Gb version of the IPad Pro will also be very expensive but likely considerably less expensive than a reasonably specced SP 4.
It’s a real killer when you add the cost of keyboard and stylus or pencil to both.
I have an SP3 Pro and I’m going to have to wait a long time to upgrade to either. Right now, I’m strongly leaning in favour of a late stage SP 4. I use a 3 year minimum cycle for upgrading and I like to skip one generation, if I can, which would mean waiting for an SP 5.
I never opted for an iPad, I saw it as a consumption device from the start. The iPad Pro is the first version which might actually have a content generating capacity. The Surface just seems to have so much more going for it.
My problem is that I feel that digital inking is not quite as fluid and perfect as I would like. It’s tantalisingly close.
Microsoft showing Office on an Apple platform breaks a rule? Office has only been on Apple devices for…..oh about 20 years.
Interesting. Anthony you might find this interesting re the stylus, I never realised the SP3 had the ‘digitised’ surface removed to cut costs: http://www.engadget.com/2015/09/10/apple-ipad-pro-pencil-designer-reaction/
Every reporter picks up the stylus remark from Steve Jobs in 2010 as a major break with the Apple philosophy.
Jobs referred to the Windows phones with tiny UI elements, needing a stylus to reach as the interface just didn’t work for finger touch.
Here, the stylus is used as a Wacom style input device… You don’t need it to use the device, its an optional feature for people who want to create or hand-write. Hardly a break of philosophy…
Really? Pissed off that they were white? Really?
And I think that making a model smile in the photoshop did a brilliant job of showing what is now possible! Do you know what a pain it was to do that before? Is it really only a problem that the model was female? Would it have been a problem if they were making a man smile?
Come on.
Ha ha, obvs an android fan boy, the diversity thing is only on people’s radar when MS ceo made a slur about Women’s pay. While I’m not disagreeing on the diversity topic, the presentation is about products and what is coming to market, there is no technical aspect to the presentation. Go to Velocity in NYC if you want that. Overall another great display from the Cupertino gang; we’ll have MS and Samsung bringing about 20 different products to market just to try and keep up, also all devices are premium there is no $99 price point here.
“android fan boy”
Why would any one be a fanboy of an OS, it’s an OS…….
Tablets are soo 2014. The whole article is as boring as the event.
Tablets are not as popularly as they were and laptops and ultrabooks are regaining lost ground. It depends on the person but very few people that type a lot are going to use tablets.
You can get a slim 13.3 laptop , 4gb ram, 1TB HDD and an I3 for 380-450 now.
It’s Jen Folse. If you’re going to complain about the lack of diversity try to get people’s names right. Otherwise it looks like you’re not really interested in them as individuals which sort of defeats your anti-sexist point.
New iphone 6S and new ipad pro dont have Mirco sd up to 128GB.if broke or accidentally fall into water goodbye all picture/video gone.apple company need wake up that should access Mirco sd.i dont trust icloud some already hacker.i wont buy new iphone 6S dont have mirco sd
Whoever wrote obviously is not an Apple fan.. Regardless half of the content he mentioned is just stupid. It’s not really a stylus pen that Steve jobs was talking about its more than just that, Steve didn’t want the whole interaction of a touch screen to be used with a stylus.
Secondly iPhones are more than just taking pictures and 4k video it’s an awesome business tool, not everyone will be using these features therefore a 16gb option is ideal for them. If your a photo enthusiast etc etc get a larger GB, or use iCloud simple as,
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