So we’ve had two Apple events in less than a month and some interesting products and about faces were announced.
The October 10 event started in the usual fashion… slick cinematic vistas, funky music that sounds just left of Muzac and a zoom into Tim Cook standing with his hands fixed in a prayer.
Without any delays caused by clapping and cheering (remember the live events) they launched straight into Apple TV+.
I’ve never been a big fan of Apple’s streaming service – its just never had anything I really wanted to watch – but now that they are showing Foundation (based on the Asimov novel), it might be worth a trial. The show is epic in its scale and looks beautiful.
A quick yawn and and a second cup of coffee (it was 3am after all) and I was able to focus on the next section – iPad.
In short, a new entry level iPad that now sports some of the features that only the Pros have enjoyed up until now but in the old form factor. The most notable of the new abilities is centrestage, the phenomenal, black magic like, technology that has the FaceTime camera change focus and attention depending on who comes into frame and who is talking. Then, much to my wife’s drooling delight, came the new iPad Mini. This time around the iPad Mini shares the design and features of the iPad Pros but a still within the familiar dinky package.
Next, the Apple Watch Series 7. The rumoured new design was only half right. The body, with its rounded edges remains unchanged, but the screen is ever so slightly larger and now – practically – goes edge to edge. It is a small difference but you notice it. The screen is also the toughest they have ever offered so, in theory at least, it is harder to scratch. The other good news was that despite the slight increase in size, old straps will continue to be supported.
Finally, the new iPhone 13. For us mortals it is pretty more of the same. Better cameras that let in more light, faster processor and tweaked design. So anyone with an iPhone 12 will struggle to justify the upgrade but anyone else could do a hell of a lot worse than getting this phone.
Fast forward to October 19 and we had the event that I was personally looking forward to but was ultimately let down.
I was sure this event was going to usher in the long awaited iMac 30 inch with the M1 chip.
Sadly no. Not even a hint. Not even a suggestion that it even exists anymore. The only hope I have are rumours from the usual suspects that ‘claim’ to have inside knowledge. They swear, based on pillow talk, that Apple are coming out with the new iMac with a new design and the M1 Max chip in the first half of 2022. Cannot come fast enough.
But it was the M1 Max and M1 Pro chips that were the stars of the Oct 19 event. Wrapped around these, quite frankly other worldly chips, are the new 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pros.
In practical terms these MacBooks mean very little to people not in the movie/sound/graphics world because the kind of power these beasts can unleash is way beyond browsing the internet, writing a letter or sorting photos. But if you want the best to this kind of everyday admin… these are the laptops for you.
For the rest of us we still have the standard M1 chip and thats no slouch… so don’t discount the speed improvements of the MacBook Air and the 13 inch MacBook Pro in light of these shiny new laptops.
But what will interest every user going forward is the new stance on ports and keyboards.
You see, in 2016 Apple moved away from ports in order to make the laptops thinner and lighter. If you wanted to connect a monitor you needed an adapter. USB stick, yep another adapter. SD card… well you get the idea so at the end of the day your laptop looked like it had exploded all over your desk.
This, and the fact that if you needed a new battery it could cost hundreds of dollars for an entirely new upper case, didn’t go down well with customers.
Apple listened and these new laptops reflect that. These laptops have ALL the ports and the return of MagSafe, the magnetic power plug that meant if someone tripped over your cord it didn’t take the laptop crashing to the ground.
Also on the scrap heap is the touch bar… that gorgeous but ultimately useless little screen atop of the keyboard that was meant to replace the function keys. Now, the physical keyboard is back.
I think these are great things, wonderful even and a rare about face for Apple.
But the best thing – in my view – is that the battery can now be removed easier than before meaning that, come years from now when Apple no longer support it and you need a third party repairer, they can replace your battery without risking the whole unit with dangerous chemicals.
With some luck, all these about faces will filter down to the lower spec models because we mere mortals need love too.
