By Seth Bogardus
Can’t be bothered to watch the 90-minute video? Here’s the run down.
On September 13th, the iPhone 15 was released. Just like everyone expected, the amazing “new and innovative design” is the same as the 14. Can you tell the difference?
Well, the design is the same, but a lot of new features are being added- such as a better camera, a better camera, a better camera, and, you guessed it, a better camera!
In all seriousness though, a lot of things have been added to the phone. It’s made with the same Stage 5 titanium as the Mars rovers (for some reason), making it practically indestructible without needing a case- even if dropping the screen on the ground will destroy it. Speaking of screens, it has a new protector making the screen more immune to dust and water. Even with this, you still have to watch out for your charging plugs!
It has a lot of upgrades; a much brighter display, videos in 4K60, double the micro adjustments per second, and quadruple the camera resolution, now in 48MP (8K/6K) rather than 12MP. If you don’t know what that really means, we’re about halfway to the camera used for Oppenheimer.
The phone is made of mostly recycled copper & aluminium- and finally uses USB-C chargers thanks to the EU complaining about the lightning cables. Luckily, they haven’t increased the release price from the iPhone 14- it’s sitting at $1,499 for the lowest storage, but a trend we’ll probably see in the future is the price being a model’s name multiplied by 100.
Moreover, the Dynamic Island (that little bar on the top of your screen that shows your calls) has received a huge update: now you can add your flight gate number and terminal, and it now shows alerts and live activities! The phone has a better CPU, all day battery life (streams high-res videos for up to 20 hours) and has next-generation portraits, showing everything down to the shadows of leaves.
Apple is also no longer limiting their car crash detection to watches: the phone has it too, along with many roadside assistance features in case you get locked out of your car, it breaks down, or anything of the sort. You can now find your contacts when they’re near you and when they allow it, so if you get lost you can find your way right back.
But wait- there’s more! The new MagSafe accessories were released, which can allow technologies with the software to wirelessly charge on the back of your phone; such as watches and AirPods (Apple products only), and you can attach anything magnetic to it, so you don’t have to lose your wallet all the time. Unfortunately, the MagSafe must be with your case, so if you have a case now, to get this new feature you’ll have to buy a new one with the MagSafe on it.
That’s all for the phone, so if that’s all you’re reading for, you can click off now.
If you’re still here, then that means you want to hear about the new Apple Watches: Series 9 and Ultra 2.
Our pricing comes at $649 for the Series 9 in aluminium (and $1,199 in stainless steel) and the Ultra 2 sitting at A$1,399 only in the same material as the iPhone 15: Grade 5 titanium.
Like the phone, the new watches have countless new features. You can tap your pointer and thumb together twice to answer calls, respond to messages, play and pause music, stop timers and more!
First up, I’ll be covering Ultra 2. For the price of $1,399, it has 3000 nits of brightness (3x the previous watch and 1.5x the Series 9), lighting up everything everywhere. It has an 86dB siren with crash detection, so anyone can hear you from up to 180m (about two football fields) away! It has up to 36 hours of normal use before being charged, and it now tracks all your stats while biking- like your own portable Peloton! It shows heart rate zones and lets you customize workouts and has an upgraded compass showing incline and altitude. The flashlight is twice as blinding, so it’s twice as effective as a weapon (and a tool). It functions from –500m to the peak of Mount Everest, and from –20C to 55C. All features work for up to 40m deep underwater, and of course have all your previous Apple Watch features.
The Series 9 has 2000 nits (2/3 of the Ultra 2) and is completely carbon-neutral! It has low-carbon shipping, innovative materials and clean energy. It has the same heart rate zones and customizable workouts like the Ultra 2. And with a carrier plan, you can do it all without your iPhone nearby! It’s water-resistant up to 50 meters, and now works with AR. It obviously also has all the previous (non-ultra) Apple Watch features, priced at just $649.
Anyways, that’s all for the Apple event! A bit overpriced? Yes, but I think the new features more than make up for it.
Thanks for reading!