Everything Apple Announced Today That Really Matters
Apple held a big press conference today that revealed all sorts of new details about the Apple Watch, unveiled the new MacBook, announced HBO wireless, and talked about ResearchKit. If you didn’t feel like spending the morning watching their press conference, we did it for you. Here’s what they announced that really matters.
Apple Watch launches on April 24
Today’s big news is the Apple Watch . The watch comes with a variety of dials that you can customize. Besides the different faces, you can also add specific information about your calendar, weather, and more. The watch also has a Glance feature that lets you swipe up to see a quick summary of useful information such as the weather, the music you’re currently listening to, and more. The battery life is promised – 18 hours.
The Apple Watch has all sorts of notification settings where you can read email, check messages, and even answer calls. Anything that you can receive notifications about on your iPhone can be seen on the Apple Watch. Likewise, many apps, including Instagram, Uber, ESPN and others, will have special versions of the Apple Watch. Apple Watch also has Siri integration and includes the same Hey Siri feature as the iPhone. The Apple Watch also serves a variety of tracking functions. It tracks movement, exercise, heart rate and reminds you to move more with the new Workout app.
Most importantly, Apple Watch is designed to work with your iPhone, not by itself. You will be using your iPhone to download and view apps through the Apple Watch app, available in iOS 8.2, which is available today. Apple Watch comes with a variety of bands in three different collections: Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch, and Apple Watch Edition. Prices range from $ 350 to $ 17,000 depending on which model you want. Gizmodo breaks down the somewhat convoluted pricing model for each watch version . Pre-orders will begin on April 10 and will be out on April 24.
New MacBook is lighter, thinner, and starts at $ 1,299
Apple today announced a new MacBook . It weighs just two pounds, is 13.11mm thick, has a 12-inch Retina display and a full-size keyboard. The new MacBook comes with a new Force Touch trackpad with built-in pressure sensors. Force Touch features four force sensors that detect how much pressure you apply to a surface and can trigger different parameters in OS X depending on where you press. For example, you can quickly move through a Quicktime movie at different speeds using more force, or load a word into Wikipedia by clicking on it with more pressure.
Plus, it has better battery life than other models, promising all-day power, 9 hours of web browsing and 10 hours of movie watching. The MacBook only has one port called USB-C. It works as a power adapter, USB, DisplayPort, HDMI and VGA.
The new MacBook will launch on April 10 for $ 1299 and $ 1599. The new MacBook comes in Gold, Space Gray, and Silver. The MacBook Pro and MacBook Air also received an upgrade with improved battery life and slightly more power. The MacBook Pro also features a new Force Touch trackpad. Gizmodo has all the details if you’re looking for more .
Apple TV is now $ 69 and gets free HBO
Apple and HBO have announced their new HBO Now service. The service will be available for all Apple products for $ 14.99 in April and, unlike HBO Go, does not require a cable TV subscription to use. The service will include both old HBO shows and new ones that will air. HBO promises to launch the service before April 12 when Game of Thrones launches. The service is exclusively for Apple products.
Apple TV is also dropping its price from $ 99 to $ 69 starting today. In case you’re wondering, Gizmodo has a few more details .
ResearchKit allows you to participate in research projects
Apple announced ResearchKit , which allows you to volunteer data about your activity and applications to various research projects. They showcased many different tools, including research projects on Parkinson’s disease, breast cancer, diabetes, and more. Apple also addressed a potential privacy issue, indicating that Apple will not see any of your personal information, you can decide. what data will be transferred and you can see exactly what data you are sharing at any time.
ResearchKit is open source, so it is not exclusive to Apple products. It launches in April, but five apps from the press conference are available today.