Did Apple deliver on September 9, 2015

Apple has finally set the rumor mill to rest.

There was so much speculation on the next iPhone that you could print all the blog posts and compile a thick book. But as the rumor for the next iphone was going on, slowly rumors about the next version of Apple TV started showing up. The writers wrote that Apple has a new streaming service lined up with some original content. It was soon followed by more speculations during the first week of September that the next iteration of iPad, the iPad Pro was going to be announced and that is the reason why the chose such a huge venue. Then came the leaked images of the Force Touch display, saying the device would be thicker than the previous version to accommodate this new tech.

Cult of Mac wanted to beat the crowd so they did on rumor on iPhone 7! Too soon?

You know what, now it’s all laid to rest. So this is what happened.

Did Timmy deliver?

The day came, saw and conquered every media outlet possible. Tim Cook was at his best. He was comfortable and knew where he was leading the crowd to. He took all the viewers through a great storyline and stitched it all up and ended the event with One republic singing “Counting Stars” which was a fitting end.

But let’s take a step back, let’s break it down and look at each product announcement objectively.

iPad Pro

Initial impression was it was a big iPad. But slowly it started to fade away when they showed the lengths at which Apple took to showcase iPad Pro beyond a consumption device to a creator device. Phil Schiller shared a lot of numbers and stats as to why this is a redefined desktop class device rather than your regular iPad. They showcased the ease of editing movies to music creation and even rendering on Autocad!

Man! I’e used Autocad when I was in school and even my PC couldn’t keep up with it.

So who was it made for?

I seriously am still confused on who is their target audience. Its a tablet and not a PC. Microsoft’s Surface has been there and done that. Only time will tell what is it finally going to be used for. So far, Apple has gained the support of IBM and Cisco as their Enterprise customers and that is a good thing.

With the iPad Pro, they introduced a sidekick called the Apple Pencil. I initially thought it was a joke and Phil kept his cool, then we knew it was real. Apple Pencil has a nice touch to the entire iPad Pro storyline.

I recently invested in a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 inch just to replaced by diary because I love to write. I love styluses because they take note taking to a whole new level.

Every tech blogger started reminding us on how Steve Jobs hated styluses at the iPhone launch. But when you look at the context, he was referring to using a stylus for all touchscreen input. This was so common back then with the Windows touchscreen phones.

I think Apple was wise in introducing a stylus but does it justify the price and how does it affects the future of Adonit, Paper and Evernote is yet to be seen.

Apple TV

Finally, after so many year Apple decides to take on TV again. It morphed itself from a setup box to a fatter set top box with Amazon Fire like features. It didn’t feel ground breaking at all. Apple basically borrowed ideas from everywhere and created a hybrid device with a refreshed interface. Nothing new here.

iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus

As usual they stuck to the iPhone routine. Every “S” model would follow the predecessor in terms of hardware design and then would upgrade everything internally. This time with the “6S” they improved the cameras, processor, display and so on. The biggest announcement was the introduced of “3DTouch” aka “ForceTouch”.

They showcased mobile screen interaction to a whole new level. By applying a little bit pressure you could have a sneak peek into what was underneath and press a tad harder it will launch you directly into what you were peeking at. It reminded me a lot of Samsung’s Air view feature which was deemed a gimmick.

I don’t know why whenever Apple does the same no one calls it a gimmick?

The question in every consumer head is, “Why should I buy this phone?”. Apart from 3D Touch, they have some neat features on the camera front. It was the 12 megapixel, 4K shooting, Live Photo holding phone was the one that made people go quite. It was beautiful.

There were surprises and it didn’t come form Apple.

Let’s just say Microsoft was invited. Apple has had a long standing love-hate relationship with Microsoft and this event seems to me that this was a sign that they have moved on and have buried the hatchet.

Even though Microsoft delivered a great product and a cringeworthy performance on stage, its good see them play nice.

Conclusion

Overall, it was a great warm fuzzy event but it lacked the “WOW” factor that I’ve experienced before. It was an update or “catch up” to times and didn’t feel revolutionary.

May be my expectations are high or may be Apple is saving it for something bigger for a better time.

The future of Apple lies in the watch

Apple has done extremely well over the past few years. Even after the passing of its visionary leader and brand icon Steve Jobs, Tim Cook has steered the ship to even greater unknown territories without flinching a bit.

The death of Apple was greatly exaggerated

There might be a couple of reasons why Apple remains successful;

1. Apple is following through the roadmap they have worked on with Jobs for the next 10 years. So nothing changes and company’s got Jobs blessings.
2. Jobs was just a father figure and it’s still business as usual after his passing.

The reason for this posting is nothing to do with Apple’s future as a business because we all know that they are gonna be fine. Even if Apple makes a terrible move, they can still ride the wave with the kind of cash reserves they have. My intent of this post is to serve as to where Apple is headed  as a consumer and how do I see it coming. Previously it was the iPhone that pointed to what we could expect for iPad, iPod and so on. But I feel iPhone is just going to follow something else, a new entrant.

A few days ago I purchased the Apple Watch Sport. I was a bit skeptical at first because I’ve read various reports about Apple Watch’s dwindling sales but then I thought you know what! Let’s do this!

My Take

The Apple Watch is weighty & porcelain piece of art. The software was a beast by itself. There is nothing familiar about the OS, it was something new. It was smooth, fluid and personal. It told me to stand up, told when my email came and even took my heart rate! I was not blown away instead I finally understood where Apple was heading.

I was watching the introduction of iOS 9 at WWDC 2015 and I finally saw how this is all gonna make sense for the experience that Apple is looking to bring to the masses. Previously, the iPhone always pointed what iPad would be receiving in future but now it’s the Watch that is going to show what the iPhone and the iPad is going to get.

Here are the features that we are going to see on the next iPhone & iPad;

1. Hey Siri voice activation
2. Circle UI App management
3. Force Touch for revealing additional features
4. Magnetic wireless power charger
5. Lift to activate phone from sleep
6. Proactive contextual alerts
7. Digital crown (I wish)

fin.