Today Apple held a press event which saw the release of a new iPhone, iPad and more. Here is a summary of the details:
- Tim Cook started by talking about Apple's 40th birthday on April 1st, and discussed the ongoing security case in the US
- Lisa Jackson talked about Apple and the environment, and their ambition to use 100% renewable energy. To date 93% of worldwide facilities run on renewables and 100% in the US (people may question the purpose of this presentation but this is a big aspect of the Apple brand)
- Jeff Williams presented update on HealthKit, used in the iPhone, iPod and Apple Watch. He showed how medical research can be improved by HealthKit due to the large number of participants. He also announced CareKit, which helps to monitor patients, especially those recovering from treatments/operations
- Tim Cook reported that Apple Watch is the top selling smartwatch, and introduced new woven bands, plus new sports bands. There are also new black Milanese Loop and new leather bands
- The price of the Apple Watch also dropped to $299
- On Apple TV, from today you will be able to organise apps into folders, enter text through dictation and view Live Photos
- Greg Joswiak introduced the new low end 4" iPhone- the iPhone SE. It comes with the A9 chip, 12MP camera, ApplePay, better battery life, Live Photos. It is twice as fast as the 5s.
- iPhone SE begins at $399 (16GB) or $499 (64GB) and starts to ship by the end of March
- iOS 9.3 is due out later today and includes Night Shift to help with use at night, Touch ID to protect Notes, Health update, top stories section to Apple News, improved CarPlay support, plus Education app for classrooms
- Phil Schiller introduced the new 9.7" iPad Pro. It weighs less than 1lb, comes with an A9X chip, new speakers, 12MP camera with support for 4K video and Live Phots, plus it works with a new Apple smart keyboard and Apple Pencil
- iPad Pro 9.7" prices: 32GB: $599, 128GB: $749, 256GB $899. The iPad Air 2 stays around but drops in price
- Tim Cook ended by saying he expects Apple to move to their new campus in 2017 and so this was the last event held in the Apple Town Hall venue
This event was not a blockbuster- and was never intended to be. It was an incremental update of the iPhone and iPad lines, along with formally launching the new tvOS and iOS updates. The next event will be WWDC, probably followed by an iPhone 7 launch in the Autumn.