Following this week’s media event, Apple announced an assortment of updated products, including an all-new iPhone 13 line-up, Watch Series 7 and updated Apple Fitness+ Workouts (they also introduced a new iPad and iPad Mini, but I’ll focus on the iPhone 13, Watch Series 7 and Apple Fitness+ in this round-up).
Apple Watch Series 7
Apple Watch Series 7 features a re-engineered Always-On Retina display with significantly more screen area and thinner borders, making it the largest and most advanced display ever. The narrower borders allow the display to maximize screen area, while minimally changing the dimensions of the watch itself.
The design of Apple Watch 7 is refined with softer, more rounded corners, and the display has a unique refractive edge that makes full-screen watch faces and apps appear to seamlessly connect with the curvature of the case.
Its user interface is additionally optimized for the larger display, offering greater readability and ease of use, along with two unique watch faces — Contour and Modular Duo — designed specifically for the new device. With display improvements, you’ll benefit from the same all-day 18-hour battery life and up to a 33% faster charging rate.
This latest and greatest is billed as the most durable Apple Watch ever, containing a stronger, more crack-resistant front crystal. It’s also the first Apple Watch to have an IP6X certification for resistance to dust and maintains a WR50 water-resistance rating.
Apple Watch’s electrical heart sensor and ECG app and Blood Oxygen sensor help you to stay healthy, active and connected through newly-designed workouts. There’s also a new Mindfulness app.
The line-up now introduces five new aluminum case finishes, along with a range of new band colours and styles. The entire Apple Watch Series 7 lineup will be available later this fall.
iPhone 13 Collection
Apple’s next-gen iPhone 13 features a design with sleek flat edges in five gorgeous new colours. Both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini feature major innovations, including the most advanced dual-camera system ever on iPhone, plus a new Wide camera with bigger pixels and sensor-shift optical image stabilization (OIS) offering improvements in both low-light photos and video capture.
There’s now a new way to personalize the camera with Photographic Styles, while Cinematic mode brings a new dimension to video storytelling. iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini also boast super-fast performance and power efficiency with A15 Bionic, a longer battery life, a brighter Super Retina XDR® display, enhanced durability with the Ceramic Shield™ front cover, double the entry-level storage at 128GB, an industry-leading IP68 rating for water resistance, and an advanced 5G experience.
The iPhone 13 Pro camera system gets its biggest advancement ever with new Ultra Wide, Wide, and Telephoto cameras that capture stunning photos and video. These technologies enable impressive new photo capabilities never before possible on iPhone, such as macro photography on the new Ultra Wide camera and up to 2.2x improved low-light performance on the new Wide camera.
New computational photography features include Photographic Styles to personalize the look of images in the Camera app; both the Pro and Pro Max now include Night mode on all cameras. Video takes a huge leap forward with Cinematic mode for beautiful depth-of-field transitions, macro video, Time-lapse and Slo-mo, and even better low-light performance.
[Apple iPhone 13 Pro A15 Bionic Video screen]
Both models also offer end-to-end pro workflows in Dolby Vision, and for the first time, ProRes (only available on iPhone). iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max also include 5G with more bands for better coverage, big improvements to battery life for the best battery life ever on iPhone (with iPhone 13 Pro Max), new storage capacity of 1TB, and a Ceramic Shield front cover, tougher than any smartphone glass to date.
iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will be available in four finishes: Graphite, gold, silver, and the all-new Sierra blue. Pre-orders begin tomorrow, with availability starting on Friday, September 24.
Apple Fitness+
You’ll now have a way to practice mindfulness anywhere and anytime with Apple’s guided meditation program. Pilates, a new low-impact, body-conditioning workout type, will be available on September 27.
Fitness+ is also introducing a new program, Workouts to Get Ready for Snow Season, featuring and designed with two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion skier Ted Ligety, along with Fitness+ trainer Anja Garcia. Inspired by winter sports, the program can help build strength, balance and endurance for more fun on the slopes.
Later this fall, Fitness+ will introduce Group Workouts with SharePlay™, allowing users to work out with up to 32 people at once.
Towards the end of 2021, Fitness+ will be available in 15 new countries with the addition of Austria, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates. Fitness+ will be available in English with subtitles in six languages, with workouts led by a diverse and inclusive team of trainers to get you fit no matter your fitness level. Visit Apple online for more info.
