Another year, another bunch of Apple products that you swear you won’t buy but, inevitably, you will.
This year was a particularly special one for Apple, marking 10 years since the first iPhone was announced back in 2007. The rumour mill was a-churning, and a much-publicised leak promised a special anniversary iPhone.
So what went down the Apple Event?
Steve Jobs
Kicking off with a tribute to the man himself: Steve Jobs #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/7KWfu1LDU2
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) September 12, 2017
Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off proceedings with a short tribute to co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs. “It’s taken some time, but we can now reflect on him with joy, rather than sadness,” Cook told the audience in the new Steve Jobs Theatre.
“Steve’s vision and passion live on here at Apple Park and everywhere at Apple. Today and always, we honour him.”
Apple Watch Series 3
Apple Watch Series 3 – with cellular built in. No need to connect to your phone. #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/EbOmUCXQ0U
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) September 12, 2017
After kicking off with some spiel about Apple’s retail department (they’re planning to expand retail stores into their new Town Square concept, which has more of a community focus than purely commercial), we get into the first major product launch: Apple Watch Series 3.
There’s a bunch of new health initiatives, including a heart research project that uses the Apple Watch’s heart monitor, but the main thrust of the presentation was to announce that Apple Watch now has cellular built in, meaning you don’t have to have it connected to your phone to work.
You can make calls, look up maps and stream music all independently of your phone, and even with all the stuff they’ve put in to make this possible, it’s still the same size as the previous Apple Watch.
How much? $329 without cellular, $399 with cellular, Series One dropping down to $249
When? Order from September 15, shipping on September 22
Apple TV 4K
Apple TV will now support not just 4K, but 4K HDR #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/k1speo5ry2
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) September 12, 2017
No one’s favourite Apple product, Apple TV has struggled to find its way into as many homes as the company would like, but Apple are hoping that making strides into 4K will get them ahead of the game, even though they’re actually a few years behind it.
Now that’s not just 4K TV we’re talking about, that’s 4K HDR, which Apple assure us is EVEN BETTER. They’ve secured a whole bunch of 4K content – movies, TV and Apple TV games. Live sport is making its way to Apple TV too, with a couple of nifty features for the sports fan in the house.
The good news is that the price for 4K content will remain the same as HD, and if you’ve already bought HD content, Apple will bump it up to 4K for free.
How much? Apple TV 4K starts at $179
When? Available from September 22
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 is here #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/p2FaNePriP
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) September 12, 2017
Yep, another entry in the iPhone family as we expected, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
It’s all-glass, comes in three colours (silver, grey, rose gold) and has a few little updates. The stereo speakers are 25% louder than iPhone 7, there’s the usual camera improvements, and it’s Apple’s serious entry into Augmented Reality, with an impressive gaming demo that, if it comes off, will be a whole heck of fun.
The big feature is the introduction of wireless charging, something some rival Android mobiles have had for a while now, but nevertheless will be welcome on iPhone. It works as you’d expect: put it on a mat and watch it charge. The best news is that you don’t need a specific Apple charging mat – it uses a universal charging standard.
How much? iPhone 8 starts from £699, iPhone 8 Plus starts from £799
When? Pre-order from September 15, shipping September 22
AirPower
AirPower – charge your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods all at the same time #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/zNbI1xnjly
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) September 12, 2017
Did you think Apple weren’t going to get in on the wireless charging mat racket? You fool! You utter fool!
This is AirPower, and it’s a wireless charging mat specifically for people with a load of Apple products that can be wirelessly charged. Stick your iPhone 8, Apple Watch and AirPods on the mat and they’ll all charge at the same time.
If you are the kind of person that has mortgaged their house for a third time to buy all of the above, you might as well go the extra mile and get one of these.
How much? We don’t know, but knowing Apple, it will be very reasonably priced
When? Next year sometime
iPhone X
The worst kept secret in tech: iPhone X#AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/rlKpOcjDLw
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) September 12, 2017
As the leak suggested, Apple were hiding one more treat up their sleeve, and it’s a very expensive (but very impressive) new addition to the iPhone family: iPhone X.
Featuring an edge-to-edge screen with a new Super Retina display and a whizzy new dual camera are not even the most amazing features of this new 10th anniversary iPhone. The Home button is gone, instead all you do is swipe up. What about unlocking the phone? You just look at it – new face-scanning technology called Face ID recognises your face and unlocks the phone.
Face ID has some amazingly useful applications, such as Apple Pay, and some amazingly useless applications, such as animated emojis – Animojis – that map your facial expressions and emulate them. Of course, unlocking iPhone X with Face ID failed on the demonstration, but knowing Apple, they’ll make sure it never happens again.
How much? An eye-watering £999.
When? Pre-order from October 27, shipping November 3
