The Apple Event
For a minute let’s forget all the fancy drone work and the CGI transitions!
As expected, Apple just released their 21–22 lineup of devices last night and I have really mixed feelings.
Let’s start with the A15 Bionic. It’s very clear that Apple engineering is slowly hitting the theoretical limits of chip design. For almost every other launch, Apple used to compare the A chip with their previous generation. This time they did not. That speaks a lot in terms of the upgrade. If Apple, has nothing to talk about the A15 Bionic it means that it’s more similar to the A14. Even if it’s 2.2x, Apple likes to share and show off that info. Apparently not yesterday!
Okay, let’s leave the internals. Product. Yes. Leaving the iPad aside (I had mentioned in the last article that I’ll not be talking about the iPad’s unless iPadOS is more mature than what it is now) iPhone’s were mostly “meh”! I mean you really got distracted with the drone shots right? I did. That’s exactly what Apple has been doing. Make a kick-ass 1-hour event with incredible production value and marketing will take care of the rest.
The iPhone 13 is barely an upgrade over the 12. If the features didn’t impress me then it’s very likely that the real thing will not. I’m purely talking from the perspective of someone already using the 12. Apple has a huge generation cycle gap which is also partly the reason for their continuing success. There are at least a million (definitely more) still using the iPhone 7 and 8. Those people are mostly going to get the 13 and oh boy, they will surely be in for a treat. They would be using FaceID for the first time, curved display, the swipe to go home UX, the improved cameras! It’s already improved in the last 4 years they missed out. Another smashing success! Right?
I’m actually struggling to write something positive about the event as I sip my tea with heavy rainclouds approaching from the distance. Oh, wait. Cinematic camera. Yes. Eh, no. That’s a very niche audience. I mean 70–85% of people are not going to even use the camera for heavy-duty cinematic shots. Instagram mostly. Coming to the iPhone 13 mini, it’s getting an additional battery life of 1.5 hours bringing the full capacity to 3 hours. Roughly. Mini was the only device I cared about but unfortunately, the battery tech just doesn’t keep up! So that’s a complete no even if you like the small form factor. Not talking about the Pro either. If you have the 12 Pro it’s super good enough. Even the 11 Pro! (Starlight is a nice name for such nude colour though 🧐 ).
Apple Watch
Apple watch already does a lot. The series 6 was and still is perfect. It does everything the 7 series does. I’m not sure how the small bezel is going to feel in real life but I’m guessing very little. Unlike what they showed (again great marketing) it seems like a minor change to me. Correct me if I’m wrong but they didn’t mention anything about the always-on display. I’m guessing that’s gone now? And absolutely nothing about the processor in it? Is it really the S6 in a new shell? That would be a shame. Unsure because I almost slept off during the Apple Fitness part of the event. Why bother when 80% of the world has no access to it.
No mention about Apple Pay coming to more countries. India is a huge market still missing this feature.
What else.. hmm. 🤔
I think that’s about it. I’ll be updated to the RC version of iOS 15 today. iOS15 packs quite few interesting changes and I’m happy there is at least one department at Apple making useful things. Except for the iPadOS of course. F*cking hate it.
Thanks for reading this lovely people. Wear a mask and stay safe ❤️
