‘Time Flies’: Everything Apple announced at WWDC 2020
Earlier last week, we covered an article on rumours about iPhone 12 release date and its features. We also mentioned “Time Flies”, Apple’s first fall event this year which didn’t feature the most awaited iPhone 12. As expected, Apple didn’t announce any new iPhones during the event but still had plenty of new devices to share. These include two new Apple Watch models and an iPad Air with a novel design. Additionally, Apple elaborated on its new Apple One subscription bundles and more important update about Fitness+. Let us discuss each new device and update it in detail.
Apple Watch Series 6
Apple commenced the “Time Flies” event on Tuesday by announcing the Apple Watch Series 6. It has a novel health sensor that enables you to measure your blood oxygen saturation with the new watch. The Apple Watch Series 6 is equipped with a new S6 chip. Apple suggests that it is a dual-core processor based on the A13 Bionic in the iPhone 11.
Apple claims that the Watch Series 6’s screen can get 2.5 times brighter when you are outdoors along with an always-on altimeter. The new watch series 6 comes in a variety of new colours: a blue aluminium case, gold stainless steel, grey stainless steel and a Red model. Moreover, there are a number of watch faces consisting of a watch face that displays a Memoji.
Apple also confirmed a new type of watchband, naming it the Solo Loop. A Solo Loop is a silicone watch band without a buckle. The Solo Loop is available in various sizes and in seven vibrant colours. For fashion enthusiasts, there’s also a braided Solo Loop available in five colours.
The Apple Watch Series 6 is a premium watch priced at $399 for a GPS version. It is available for pre-order now.
Apple Watch SE
Besides the Watch Series 6, Apple announced a new, more economical version of its wearable. The Apple Watch SE has more or less the same characteristics as its more expensive counterpart, including fitness tracking, heart rate monitoring and fall detection. It features the S5 chip, similar to Watch series 5 but has an extravagant display similar to Series 6.
The only feature missing in the Watch SE is the latest sensor to measure the blood oxygen level of the user. We think it was bound to happen with the price slash at $279 for the Watch SE. It is now available to pre-order on Apple’s website. All in all, we think it is one of the best announcements from the “Time Flies” event.
New iPad Air
This year, the iPad Air got a significant makeover. To begin, iPad Air introduced an iPad Pro-like design that will be offered in five dynamic colours. It also includes two new colour variants: a blue and a green hue. It also consists of a new 10.9-inch Liquid Retina IPS display with 2360×1640 resolution on Apple’s True Tone Technology. This is in addition to the latest A14 chipset.
This year, Apple has included a new fingerprint sensor into the top power button to unlock the device. Additionally, now iPad Air also supports second-gen Apple Pencil and the much-hyped Magic Keyboard. Apple has also switched to USB-C with the new iPad Air. For pictures, the iPad Air has a single 12-megapixel camera. The surprise element is the stereo sound included in iPad Air’s speakers when it is placed horizontally.
Apple intends to release the new iPad Air along with the iPhone in October. It will be priced at $599 for a 64GB model with Wi-Fi only connectivity. The LTE model will be priced at $729 along with an upgrade to include 256GB storage for an additional $150.
Fitness+
Apple is about to offer yet another subscription model. This year, it is a workout service termed Fitness+. Tentatively, it will have 10 different exercises like cycling, strength training, yoga etc. that you will be able to access on your iPhone, iPad or Apple TV. Your Apple Watch will track the progress of your workouts. As you work your way through the session, you will notice the vitals like your calories burned, heart rate and pace etc. Apple has promised educational videos for the training beginners and also personalised recommendations.
Fitness+ will be available for $10 per month or $80 for an annual subscription. If you purchase a new Apple Watch, you can avail Fitness+ for free for the first three months. Moreover, you can also avail Fitness+ through one of the new Apple One Subscription bundle offers.
Apple One
Ever thought of paying a single price for all your major Apple Subscriptions. Well, with Apple One, you can now bundle all major services together to save on your monthly subscription. It begins with an individual subscription for $14.95 which includes 50GB storage, Apple Arcade, Apple Music and Apple TV+. You can buy a family bundle for the same services + 200GB storage for $19.95 per month. Additionally, there’s a Premier bundle where you get all the above plus Apple News+, Fitness+ and 2TB storage for $29.95 per month.
iOS 14
In the end, Apple revealed it will release iOS 14 to the general public tomorrow. In the past, major iOS updates have been released on the same date as Apple’s latest iPhones but not this year. One of the best additions with iOS 14 is an App Library where you can have home screen widgets and the organisation of all your apps. It will be available on the iPhone 6s and above.
Now, we are hoping that iPhone 12 will be released sometime soon in the next month as advised by Apple. Once we have an official announcement from Apple, we will do an official article on iPhone 12 and its features.
Dhruvil is a Writer & Marketeer for Nimblechapps, joining December 2014, based out of Sydney, Australia. He has worked briefly as a Branding and Digital Marketing Manager before moving to Australia. At Nimblechapps, he worked on Social Media Marketing, Branding, Email Marketing and Blogging. Dhruvil studies Business at University of Western Sydney, and also handles Operations for the company in Australia.