Apple held its fall event in its home town of Cupertino under the motto “Far Out”. The innovations reveal a lot about the course of the group.
After a forced break of three years, it was that time again today: Apple invited people to its home country of Cupertino to renew its most important product categories in the Steve Jobs Theater. “It’s a special day,” said CEO Tim Cook in the opening speech. And he had a lot to show.
Right from the start, Cook made it clear what they wanted to talk about: iPhone, Apple Watch and Air Pods – and how they work together in everyday life. They want to make that even better, explained Cook.
Apple presents the Ultra watch for the first time
It all started with the Apple Watch. The Group placed particular focus on the health functions. The new watches with new temperature sensors support body temperature detection. This should make it possible to track the female cycle and even reliably identify fertile days.
Apple also focuses on security elsewhere. Since the older watches can already recognize falls, the new watches can even recognize car accidents as such and, in connection with the vital data, recognize an emergency and report it automatically. It might be one of the few features that Apple says, “We really hope you never need.”
The fact that the cheap Apple Watch SE also got the feature was quickly forgotten when Apple showed the real star of the evening: At 49 millimeters, the Apple Watch Ultra is not only Apple’s largest watch, but also the most versatile. With countless features, Apple has increased the resistance of the watch and optimized it for use in extreme conditions. The watch is aimed specifically at extreme athletes such as trail runners or divers. At $799, Apple’s price isn’t as high as feared. Unfortunately, in Germany it’s 999 euros – and thus considerably more.
Also read: Apple Watch Ultra presented: This is behind Apple’s new giant watch
Fresh AirPods Pro
The new second generation AirPods Pro also got a prominent spot. With better sound, improved implementation of noise canceling and transparency mode and personalized spatial sound, Apple has improved just about every audio feature compared to the original, with around 33 percent additional runtime and the new touch control there are strong new features. The fact that you can now find your charging case more easily with sound signals and location is also pleasing. The price increases only slightly at 299 euros. The headphones will be released on September 23rd.
iPhone 14: Everything at max
As expected, Apple has introduced four new iPhone 14. Instead of a mini model, there is now a 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Plus. This is the same size as the Max models.
The new devices widen the gap between the Basic and Pro models. While the new Pros get a new processor, a completely new camera system and an always-on display, the innovations in the basic models are significantly smaller. Learn more here. The Pro even has an advantage when it comes to software: With the now pill-shaped display cutout for the camera, Apple has also revised the notifications. The feature is not available on the basic models.
Unfortunately, one of the most important iPhone innovations is not coming to Germany for the time being: In the USA and Canada, the iPhone will be able to connect to satellites from autumn so that a connection can be established without reception in the event of an emergency. Since other companies and providers are also working on it, it should only be a matter of time before the function becomes possible in other countries.
Also read: From Plus to Max: These are the new iPhone 14
Clear focus on premium
With the event, Apple has made a clearer commitment to the strategy of recent years than ever before: the stars of the group are the premium models. With the new iPhone 14 Pro, the second-gen AirPods Pro and the Apple Watch Ultra, Apple has widened the gap to the simple mass-produced devices like never before, the base models look really old in comparison.
But you also have to want to afford it: Compared to the previous year, Apple has increased its prices significantly, significantly more than in the USA. The basic iPhone now costs 999 euros, for the cheapest iPhone Pro Max even 1449 euros are due. Apple’s devices have never been so expensive.