APPLE LAUNCH EVENT: First Impressions

dhruvtalksstech
Sep 10, 2022
7 min read

Updated: Dec 5, 2022

Woah !!! Apple just concluded its flagship event of the year on September 7, 2022. There were a lot of hits and misses (mostly hits) and we saw updates in 3 product categories - Apple Watch, AirPods and iPhone. There were no updated iPads or MacBooks but we didn't expect them to see any at this event. They are probably reserved for the latter part of this year or in early 2023. This Apple event was a spectacular way to kick off tech-tember and tech-tober. It was the most anticipated tech event of this year and I still remember people laughing with joy that it took place on the 7th and not on the 14th because that would mean waiting for 1 more senseless week. Although, September 14 would have made a nice date. iPhone 14 - September 14. Get it?

Let's start with AirPods Pro. We've got an updated set of the most powerful wireless buds on the planet and they are called AirPods Pro 2. They bring a slew of minor (and some major) changes that refine the product. The theme at this year's event was "If it ain't broke, don't fix".

The AirPods Pro 2 come in the same white colour option but the case is now compatible with MagSafe, Apple watch chargers and all other Qi-compatible wireless pads. Seems like Apple is making people accustomed to MagSafe before ditching the Lightning port on the iPhone next year. Noise cancellation has been improved by an alleged 2X and the transparency mode is now adaptive to accommodate different sounds and environments.

This would be helpful on busy streets and in a room full of people where the transparency level would automatically scale up and down based on the environment. The stem of the AirPods now supports touch gestures which can be used to increase or decrease volume. The case now supports Find My, has connections for a loop and can also make pinging sounds to notify you of its location kind of like AirTags. The new H2 chip is more powerful and efficient than before which has led to improvement in the battery life of the AirPods. 250$(27,000Rs)

The Apple Watch is more interesting not because of the new features but because of an entirely new product - The Apple Watch Ultra. It is a rugged version of the Apple Watch that we all knew was in the works and had to be released at this event. This watch is a professional athlete's and extreme adventurer's dream. These people were relying on Garmin till now but Apple is going to change that very soon as it does in every category it forays into. The Apple Watch is huge!!! 49mm to be precise. It only comes in titanium casing and cellular configuration and is geared for the outdoor harsh environment such as diving, hiking, dessert voyaging and every extreme adventure you could imagine. It has specially designed bands to stay put and has up to 60 hours of battery life.

The display goes up to 2000 nits and is vibrant. It has a night mode to reduce the strain on the eyes in dark conditions and can be turned on with the rotation of the crown. There's a new bright orange action button on the left side of the watch that can be configured. The watch is in a squared-off titanium casing and its GPS and compass have been tweaked to be more precise. It can also alert others in cases of emergency by producing sounds that can be heard as far as 160ft from the speakers. There are also 3 specially designed microphones to improve sound connectivity. It costs an exorbitant $800(90,000Rs).

The Apple Watch SE got its price slashed by 30$ and now costs 250$(30,000Rs). There are a few new features such as new colours and casing, more workouts with WatchOS 9, crash detection and period tracking. Crash detection, as the name suggests, uses gyroscopes and g-force accelerometers to detect a high-impact car crash. It can automatically connect you with emergency services and notify your emergency contacts after the impact. It also uses a microphone, a barometer, GPS and an advanced sensor-fusion algorithm trained on over 1 million hours of real-world crash data to detect if you’re in a severe crash.

The Apple Watch Series 8 sells for the same $400(46,000Rs) for GPS 41mm and $500(56,000Rs) for the 41mm GPS+Cellular version. In addition to the changes in the SE, there are a few new watch faces, bands and advanced sensors. The biggest update was the retrospective ovulation estimates the watch can now provide its female owners. It achieves this by using a temperature sensor and a host of other scientifically-approved strategies and technologies to estimate ovulation dates. It keeps all the data collected remotely stored on the device in a bid to increase privacy and restrict access to such personal information to Apple itself and more importantly, government agencies in the US. All the new watches are more environment-friendly than before and utilize 100% recycled metals. Also, Apple has eliminated plastic wrappings on all boxes of the new products in a bid to protect the environment. This seems like a better move than trying to justify saving the planet by removing the charging brick from the box.

Now the ones you have all been waiting for - iPhone 14 lineup. They were honestly kind of a mixed bag and some of the rumors were not true while most were spot-on accurate. The Mini was dropped in flavor of a plus-sized 6.7-inch iPhone 14 model that I believe will be hugely popular as a lot of people want a big phone but can't afford $1100 for the Pro Max. The 5 fingers on my hand would seem overkill to count the number of changes in the 14 and 14 Plus over the 13. Crash detection, new colors, and SOS messages via satellite communication (available only in USA and Canada as a subscription-based service) and slightly improved battery life and cameras. I would hardly label these improvements. They are more like small tweaks that nobody is ever going to notice, let alone appreciate. The only good thing is that they did not hike prices across the lineup. What's worst is that Apple is shipping the same garbage A15 bionic chip which is a year old. I never expected Apple to stoop to this level and cut corners when it came to quality and prestige. I know for a fact that Steve Jobs would be utterly disappointed to know this and is probably weeping in his grave right now.

14 - $800(80,000Rs) for the base 128GB model

14 Plus - $900(90,000Rs) for the base 128GB model

The Pro lineup is far more exciting, impressive and involving. They created a lot of hype even in the rumors and everybody knew that all changes were going to be concentrated on the Pro models. The models were the saving grace of the Apple event which had seemed too bland for over 60 minutes after people saw products that were mildly tweaked but were being hailed as "revolutionary" in typical Apple fashion. The notch was dropped to make way for what Apple called "Dynamic Island". The true depth sensor, selfie camera and all of the sophisticated Face-ID tech were now housed in a small pill-shaped area. But Apple went one step further beyond the aesthetic of the pill to make it an integral part of the phone and incorporate new ways to interact with the phone. There's a wildly upgraded camera system with a new 48-megapixel camera, video stability mode and the equivalent of 4 cameras with substantially improved low light performance and can now capture more detail.

There is a new deep purple colour and the phone is available in a 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch configuration. $1000(130,000Rs) for the Pro model and $1100(140,000Rs) for the Pro Max. The battery life has been improved and the lock screen now also features an always-on display that barely sips the battery as the display panel can refresh at a rate of as low as 1Hz. It gets the new A16 Bionic chip that is over 20% faster than the A15. All iPhone 14 models also get a Crash Detection safety feature just like the Apple Watch. I would want to touch upon the fact that Apple has gone wrong with their pricing in India this time in a big way. All the products except the iPhone 14 have been made more expensive that the predecessor despite no change in prices in the US. The Pro models are more expensive by 10,000Rs, the Series 8 by 5,000Rs and AirPods Pro by 2,000Rs.

They may not be feeling the effect of it now but it is a big misstep. It is becoming harder and harder to recommend the Pro iPhones in India which are getting pricier despite no excess tax being levied by the Government. Apple is making its products more inaccessible in a market where even a 50,000Rs phone can be bought by only the wealthy class of the country. The increase in prices is unjustified and the exchange rate has seemed to surpass 100Rs according to Apple. Apple should seriously consider assembling the Pro iPhones at its Foxconn plants in India. Most people are not considering the 14 lineups and are instead looking to buy the iPhone 13 during the upcoming Amazon and Flipkart sales. All of these hikes make India, the world's 2nd largest electronics consumer, the most places to buy Apple products. India does not seem to be a priority for Apple despite witnessing strong growth and record-breaking sales in the last 2 years.