Apple has just released the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in grand fashion, in both reception and stature, but Apple separated the iPhone news from its other ventures. Today, Apple unveiled a slew of new updates to its devices, with a pretty cheeky attitude.
As a quick aside, it’s interesting that Apple was able to keep the entire keynote light. Calling Steven Colbert, while Steve was creating a “slideshow†poking fun at their recent leaks ahead of this event, was a pretty neat idea to keep away from the usual cringe-worthy moments. Onto what really matters, the products.
Yosemite 8.0 (and 8.1)
The newest update to Apple’s OS comes in the form of Yosemite. Yosemite has been available to those that signed up for the public beta since July. While looking more streamlined than its previous version, the new OS also have better spotlight functionality, allowing you to use spotlight while within the Safari browser. For instance, say you are looking for Apple products, it will not only search the web and your computer, it will also provide a snapshot of pertinent articles, thus decreasing speed times. Since Mac is trying to, and for the most part succeeding in making a Mac-centric environment Yosemite will also feature hand-off. This is a feature that allows you to be working on a project such as one in Keynote and picking up exactly where you left off on your iMac without exiting/saving the project. The biggest feature however, is the ability to make and receive SMS and MMS through the Messages app (available on 8.1 releasing Monday), as well as having the ability to make and receive iPhone calls through your iMac. Also available is the ability to send larger files through AirDrop, a nice addition, although I am not sure how many people actually utilize AirDrop. Yosemite 8.0 is available to download as we speak and 8.1 will be available Monday. Both of the updates are free.
iPad Air 2
If you ever had the feeling that everyone has an iPad, or you are seeing them everywhere, there’s a reason for that. As of today, there are over 225 million iPads sold worldwide. To note, Apple sold more iPads in the first four years than any other device they have sold prior.
Onto the juicy news! The iPad Air 2 was revealed, and it’s 18{3a19833c997fa52158a43c449fe089ff048ac0506a335cac10721cfa396ff282} thinner, once again. When displayed, it looks just about as thin as a thicker piece of construction paper. I’m not sure how much thinner they can even go, but knowing Apple, they will always go thinner. The iPad Air 2 features the new A8X chip which comes with a bevy of updated benchmarks which can be seen below.
Although not really recommended unless you want to be a “glasshole,†you can take even better pictures with the iSight camera in the iPad Air 2. Thanks to the A8X chip, the iPad Air 2 iSight Camera boasts 8Mp, 1.12 micron pixels, and 2.4 focal point. For the first time, you can take burst mode photos, timelapse and 48 megapixel panoramas. The A8X chip also allows you to record video up to 120fps at 720p. To round out the iPad Air 2 reveal, Apple Id is in the iPad for the first time. With the introduction of the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3, the older iPad versions were cut in price. Pre-orders starting at $499 begin tomorrow and will ship at the beginning of next week.
iMac
Introducing the iMac with retina display featuring 14.7 million pixels on one display, which is a resolution of 5120 X2800. 4K who? For comparison, 4K features 8.8 million pixels. The new iMac features what is being called 5K. This display has 67{3a19833c997fa52158a43c449fe089ff048ac0506a335cac10721cfa396ff282} more pixels than 4K. While being a powerhouse on the outside, with new technology inside the iMac, it is now a mere 5.5 mm in thickness. The iMac will also perform at a more efficient rate and with a nice increase in speed. Featuring a quad core i5 processor at 3.5 ghz, upgradeable to ani7 at 4.0 ghz, the newest iMac is its fastest iteration to date. The new retina display 5K 27″ iMac starts at $2499.
A brief word was also mentioned about the Mac Mini. The new Mac Mini will feature better internals, upping its speed and efficient and will come in at $499 vs the usual $599 price tag.
If you missed the Keynote, you can view it here.
