The Apple Special Media Event rundown (The wot wot)

So there we have it. Tim Cook yesterday presented the Keynote at Apple’s special media event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. The outcome? Some very nice, shiny new toys are coming our way.

The keynote was a little long, but it was also stuffed to the brim with changes (mostly predicted beforehand) that Apple are making to their current line of of products and services.

So, what’s the hit list? We’ve got ourselves:

*An iPad Pro (with the ever so slightly controversial Apple Pencil), as well as an iPad Mini 4

* Shiny new fourth-generation Apple TV

* iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S models, as well as a new upgrade program.

* Some new Apple bands (including a joint venture with Hermes) and new gold and rose gold anodized aluminum finishes for the Sport version of the Apple Watch.

*The announcement of the release of both Watch OS 2 and iOS 9 on September 16th.

Overall the event was pretty rad. Click on the links above to get an extensive rundown as well as pricing and release information. If you want to watch the keynote, click here. 

Just for kicks, we decided to ask Siri for some more hints during the live stream. Cheeky little devil, her.

The iPad Pro

As predicted, Apple announced the impending release of their biggest iPad yet – the iPad Pro. Not only is it big, sizing in at a respectable 12.9 inches, it also has 5.6 million pixels, which is more than any other iOS device.

It also comes with some pretty power. Weighing in with a 64-bit A9c processor, it provides a performance 1.6 times faster than the iPad Air 2 and, according to Apple, a performance 80% faster than portable PC’s. Fancy.

The Pro comes equipped with a 4-speaker audio system, with 2 speakers on each side, that will put out 3 times the audio levels of the iPad Air 2.  It also comes with an 8 megapixel iSight camera touch ID, Smart and lightening connecters, duel microphones, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, is 6.9 mm thick and weighs an it-feels-lighter-than-it-should 1.57 pounds.

The word coming from those who got to play with it is that it’s a beautiful device, but that it would remain to be seen where exactly in the marketplace it will sit – some believing it’s too big, some noting that you it’s possible position as a competitor to notebooks is unrealistic.

Alongside the iPad Pro Apple announced 2 new accessories- the Apple Pencil, and the Smart Keyboard. The Apple Pencil is their new Stylus (yes, a stylus) which is apparently remarkable in it’s ability to produce different strokes and allows the user to touch a single pixel. The battery will last for 12 hours, and it will sell for (an initially difficult to swallow) price of $99.

The Smart Keyboard connects magnetically to the iPad Pro and, by all reports, works nicely with the device.It will retail for $169. Both the Apple Pencil and the Smart keyboard will be available alongside the iPad pro.

The iPad Pro will be released in November in Silver, Space Gray and Gold, starting at $799 for a 32GB Wi-Fi only model. A 128GB Wi-Fi only model will also be available for $949 and a Wi-Fi + LTE 128GB model will retail for $1,079.

We also have a new iPad Mini 4, 7.9-inches,  6.1mm in thickness,  18% thinner than the previous generation. The tablet also weighs just 0.65 pounds with a 30% faster CPU and 60% faster graphics than the iPad Mini 3.

iPad Mini 4 is available in Space Gray, Gold, and Silver for $399 (16GB), $499 (64GB), and $599 (128GB), including cellular options. Apple has dropped the iPad mini 3 from its lineup, while the iPad mini 2 is available for $269.

Ch-check both the iPad Pro and the Apple pencil out for yourself in the very Appley vid’s below!

The new & improved Apple TV

Well, everyone was right One of the main announcements of yesterday’s keynote was the reveal of the new and improved fourth Gen Apple TV.

As predicted, the upgraded device comes equipped with significant changes that make it, in Apple’s words ‘the future of television’.

The user interface has bene overhauled, making it apparently more intuitive. We also have Siri, an App Store, new search functionality and a brand new shiny remote.

The device looks similar to the previous model, however it is a little thicker and heavier at 425 grams.

The Siri feature with the upgraded Apple TV looked pretty swanky, with the ability to ask her who’s in a movie, bring up other information like weather details whilst in a movie or TV show, replay parts of the content and ask her to recommend something to watch based on certain details such as actors or what’s popular in comedy.

The new remote has a glass touch surface for swiping through content smoothly and there is a built in Siri button as well as dual microphones. It also has Bluetooth 4.0, an IR transmitter, accelerometer and gyroscope, Lightning connector for charging and a rechargeable battery lasting months on a single charge.

You will also be able to play games with the remote, with the glass touch surface doubling as a controller.

While we think the upgraded Apple TV is a definite, solid upgrade, it seems like calling it the future of television might be a little far reaching… What do you think? Check out the video below!

The new Apple TV will be available at the end of October for $149 (32GB) and $199 (64GB).

The iPhone 6S & The iPhone 6S Plus

iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus were both introduced to the world yesterday, and boy, do these kids have some shine to them. Although a large upgrade was not expected, the minor changes were not as minor as previously predicted, with fancy new 3D touch being one of the sleeper winners of the day.

Both phones look the same as their predecessors, with 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch screen sizes, although as predicted, both iPhones do come equipped with stronger ion strengthened glass and series 7 aluminum. We also, as predicted, get a shmick new Rose Gold option for both.

Both phones come with a 62 bit A9 chip and M9 coprocessor that give them a 70% faster CPU performance than the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.  The 3D touch  gives users the option to ‘pop’, ‘peek’ and bring up hidden menus, some incredibly complicated and impressive technology that makes it so different touch pressures brings about different functionality.

The rear-facing cameras now have 12 megapixels and can take 4K video. The front FaceTime camera is 5 megapixels and has a display based Retina Flash. The iPhone 6S Plus will also come with Optical Image Stabilization.

Touch ID will apparently be 2 times faster than previously.

So, who’s getting one?

iPhone 6S
– 16GB: $199 (On Contract), $649 (Full Price)
– 64GB: $299 (On Contract), $749 (Full Price)
– 128GB: $399 (On Contract), $849 (Full Price)

iPhone 6S Plus
– 16GB: $299 (On Contract), $749 (Full Price)
– 64GB: $399 (On Contract), $849 (Full Price)
– 128GB: $499 (On Contract), $949 (Full Price)

iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus pre-orders begin on Saturday, September 12 at 12:01 AM Pacific ahead of a Friday, September 25 launch in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Check out the new iPhone models below!

Watch the keynote from yesterday’s Apple Special media Event

Did you guys catch the Apple Special Media event yesterday? It was pretty rad.

We’ll be putting out an extensive round up of all the shiny new Apple products and services heading your way very soon. Until then, if you have a spare few hours (it’s long but worth watching if you do) here’s where you can watch the keynote.

Streaming video requires Safari 4 or later on OS X v10.6 or later; Safari on iOS 4.2 or later; or QuickTime 7 on Windows. Streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 5.0.2 or later.