Apple Event 2020 Update

Kenton Reynolds, Writer
@uxconnections

New watches, new tablets and new subscriptions: here’s everything you need to know from the 2020 Apple Event that took place on 15th September.

Let’s start with wearables, Apple are one of the pioneering businesses in wearable tech right now with the Apple Watch being at the fore of the market. It’s newest member of the family: Apple Watch 6. Boasting the new Always-On retina display, Apple are introducing a new health-centric watch to their array of products. The flagship feature is the watches ability to monitor the user’s blood oxygen levels; giving a reading in just 15 seconds. The watch is also available in blue and red, colours never available before. This product is available from £379 which is a pretty good price tag and is similar to the cost of previous generations at release. If the price is too steep however, consumers can pay just £269 for the new Apple Watch SE. This will offer similar features to those available on previous generations as well as an increased 50m of water resistance. Both watches also feature a hand washing timer that ensure users wash for 20 seconds, a nice added feature in the current climate. On top of this, the watch comes with 3 months of Fitness+ (“What is Fitness+?” I hear you ask! More on that very soon). These two additions may not be a huge developmental change in the Apple Watch’s life but are definitely a step forward for wearable tech and Apple. Those wanting to find out more about the new watches can here.

Moving onto the larger items being released, an 8th generation of iPad will come this Autumn. It’s faster, lighter and full of new features. The flagship tablet’s A14 bionic chip will work alongside iPadOS14 to create the fastest iPad yet. Weighing just 490 grams, the new iPad will still have a 10.2” retina display as well as 10 hours of battery life on a single charge. The new features include capabilities to work with an Apple Pencil or Magic Keyboard have also appeared as well as the ability to pair the device with an Xbox or PS4 controller for use with the Arcade app. All of this is encapsulated inside a 100% recycled aluminium casing and starts at £329. Consumers willing to fork out even more could even go for the new iPad Air which starts at £579. This includes an even larger 10.9” liquid retina display on the same A14 bionic chip. The impressive 12MP back camera and 7MP front camera allow for the creation of 4k videos and when editing these, users will enjoy 30% faster graphics. Similar to the new iPad, the iPad Air also supports the Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard. In addition to this, the touch ID used to enter the device is built into the top button to create a more efficient turning on. This flagship product is available in space grey, rose gold, green and sky blue.

The final focus was on new subscriptions. The new Fitness+ service is a new, unique fitness experience which provides users with access to workouts from the world’s top trainers. Powered by the Apple Watch’s metrics, the service monitors the user and measurements come to life on screen at key moments. This is the perfect mix of “information and motivation”. The aforementioned screen will be on an iPhone, iPad or – preferably – Apple TV. This is available for £9.99/month or £79.99/year. The next announcement is the Apple One service. This is the ultimate combination of Apple products, incorporating Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple News+ and Apple Fitness+. There are 3 available subscriptions: the standard comes at a cost of £14.95/month with 50GB of iCloud data but lacks Fitness+ or News+; next is the Family subscription which cost £19.95 for 200 GB of iCloud data for up to five members and still has no Fitness+ or News+; and the final, Premium model costs £29.95/month for all six subscription and 2TB of data. These save the consumer £5.80, £7.50 and £22.00, respectively.

There are the key points from Apple’s most recent announcement. Two new watches and two new iPads is very exciting for the Apple fans out there, plus the One service bringing the whole range together.