Just a
few days ago, Apple held their Spring keynote, in which they announced their
plans for the upcoming year. The majority of the presentation focused on
hardware. Apple announced their newest model iPad as well as a new variant of
the iPhone.
The new
iPad is simply called the iPad Pro 9.7’, not to be confused with the larger
tablet the company announced this past year. This new iPad packs everything
consumers loved about the iPad Pro from months back into a smaller body. Some of
these key features include 4-outward facing speakers, as opposed to the single
speaker found previously on the iPad Air 2.
Additionally, the new iPad features what Apple has dubbed the “Smart
Connector” which will allow the device to connect to a range of new accessories
such as the “Smart Keyboard Cover”. This new iPad also adds support for the
company’s pressure sensitive stylus accessory, the Apple Pencil. There is even
some tech in this model that didn’t find its way into the larger iPad Pro,
called the “True tone display”. This uses the iPads external sensors and
cameras to detect the light around you. The color of the screen then adjusts
the color to match the warmth of the light in environment around you for a more
natural looking display. The new iPad starts at $599 for 32 GB of space.
The
other piece of hardware Apple announced was named the iPhone SE. According to
Apple, many consumers just love smaller phones, so this is the company’s
attempt to attract that market. The iPhone SE is essentially the specs and power
of the iPhone 6S packed into the body of the iPhone 5S. The phone houses new
antennas, an improved camera, an NFC chip for use with Apple Pay, and retains
the company’s popular Touch ID. It is important to note however that this model
lacks the pressure sensitive display of it’s bigger brother, so 3D-Touch is not
available. Even so, this may be a competitive option for customers who want a
cheaper, smaller phone. The new phone starts at $399 for the 16 GB variant.
Finally
the company announced some new bands for the Apple Watch, as well as gave a
preview of the newest watchOS. iOS 9.3 was announced as well, which is being
called the biggest “dot” upgrade for the company in years. The update is
available for current devices today.
