Leaks are a good thing. They temper your expectations, so you sort of know what to expect. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably knew that the new iPhone wasn’t going to be unveiled as part of Apple’s big September reveal. Tim Cook set the tone, this event was essentially about two products – the Apple Watch and the iPad. And then there were the new service offerings and a complete overhaul of the user interfaces across the Apple ecosystem that beta testers have already experienced. Part of this new subscription services overhaul is Apple One, a single plan that will soon make Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage for Rs 195 per month. But it’s the new iPad Air and the sixth-gen Apple Watch that were the showstoppers:
The iPad Air; Version 4.0: probably the most interesting addition to the Apple product portfolio is the new iPad Air. The home key gets a boot, the display gets way better – it’s now a larger 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with 3.8 million pixels. It’s the first device to be powered by Apple’s all-new A14 bionic chip that we’re most likely to see in the next iPhone. This new chip includes a new 16-core Neural Engine that is twice as fast. We also dig the location of the Touch ID sensor – it’s the first time it’s integrated into the top button or power on/off key in an Apple device.
This iPad also makes the switch to USB Type-C offering for flexibility, faster transfer speeds, and connectivity. This one’s ready to pair with Apple’s Magic Keyboard and a whole lot of accessories including the latest Apple Pencil. It closes the gap between the Air and the top-of-the-line Pro and comes in a choice of five colours including a brilliant new sky blue. The iPad Air 4 starts at Rs 54,900 and will be available in October in India.
Blood Oxygen sensor, the headline feature in the new Apple Watch 6: Blood oxygen levels (Oxygen Saturation or SpO2) have become a key wellness metric in a post-COVID world. It comes as no surprise that this is a big part of the Apple Watch pitch as a fitness-ready device. The Apple Watch already boasts of an ECG feature. This smartwatch is powered by the new dual-core S6 that runs 20% faster and an improved always-on display that’s 2.5 times brighter even under direct sunlight. There’s also a cool new always-on altimeter that can be pretty handy on your next trek. Apple has also unleashed a slew of new watch bands including a clever Solo loop band that’s easy to strap on. The Apple Watch 6 will debut soon in India and costs Rs 40,900 and upwards.
More for less: the entry-level iPad has become a key player in a WFH and school from home scenario. Apple makes improvements and manages to keep the starting price at Rs 29,990. The eighth-generation iPad is powered by an A12 bionic processor and offers support for the first-gen Apple Pencil. It’s the Apple Watch SE that we’re excited about. The first watch to wear the SE tag, this one might be all the Apple Watch most users need. It skips three key features available on the Watch 6 – Always-on display, ECG, and the Blood Oxygen sensor but includes most of the features that you need on your watch at a price tag of Rs 29,900 (onwards).
