Yep, that was surprising.
Thursday morning Lamia wrote:
Lamia: They made a pink iPhone
Leo: They’ve done WHAT?!
Turns out this was rose gold and it looks quite nice. But I did not know this when Lamia wrote.
Lamia: They also have pressure touch screen but who cares… when it’s in pink
The touch screen is very cool. But one after the other.
Apple Watch
Disappointing start of the event. Hardly any time spent on the watch and watchOS 2. While I love they offer new bands, I hope that watchOS 2 will bring more than they have demoed up till now. I love my Apple Watch, but I want to see progress on some fronts, especially with the advent of the very viable (if the hype can match reality) Samsung Gear S2 watches.
iPad Pro and Apple Stylus
Hm. When the first iPad came out, I was not blown away by it. This changed quickly and I have to say that I totally see the value of a tablet in a household that already has a laptop and a phone. I do not get people who think they can get the same out of a 4.7 inch phone that they get out of a 9.7 inch iPad. But it’s admittedly mostly a convenience and luxury aspect.
There are many reasons why iPad sales have tanked recently, but I do not think the iPad Pro is going to massively change that. It’s productivity apps that would turn the ship around, but these are arguably hampered by the way iOS is designed. The stylus is great, but if I wanted a better tablet drawing experience right now, I’d buy a Cintiq and connect it to my Mac.
So the iPad Pro might be just the first step towards a powerful iOS overhaul with version 10 next year when Mac desktop applications become suddenly available on the iPad. Will this really happen, e.g. through a merger between OS X and iOS – maybe, but I would not bet the farm on it. The missing element is how to avoid the misstep Microsoft did with the Surface and Windows 8. They are getting there act together with Surface 3 and Windows 10, but I still do not see a solution how you can run your desktop apps on an iPad and be happy with it…
So, overall and as impressive as it is, I was not blown away by the iPad Pro at all, much like when the original iPad came out. And I see less customers for it, too, and the only thing to change this might be said merger of Apple’s desktop and mobile operating systems with a needed smart twist to make them easy to use.
I will stick to my iPad Air 2, which I love dearly.
Apple TV
Interesting. I thought this would be the main part of the event, but it wasn’t. I like the new Apple TV interface, games are interesting for a non-hardcore gamer like me and I think the Siri integration is fantastic (Siri has become extremely usable for me in the past year and even more so since I have an Apple Watch).
The device itself is butt ugly, though. It’s the same design as the last iteration, but taller. I guess that’s okay because it’s going to be hidden under your TV, but I am surprised that they did not come up with something beautiful.
iPhone 6s and 6s Plus
These were the key devices of the event which I guess should not have surprised me, but it did – a year ago the new, larger screen iPhones were sort of quickly covered before things moved to the watch. I expected something similar with Apple TV.
But I got to say that the new phones are great and are worthy to be showcased as headliner of the event. 3D Touch is fierce and I love the new camera and the new tricks it can do.
Funny enough, even though I like the new phones better than I expected, I am not sure anymore whether I want to upgrade from the 6. Maybe I will keep my 6 until next year, when the 7 comes out. Or not.
You’ll know soon enough.
