The Apple Keynote was…good

Last week, I was able to see the Apple Keynote. I have watched and blogged back on the things that happened. Last week I made a few predictions about what would happen, and I figured I should let you know how I did with the predictions.

The Introduction

The Introduction video that they had was a bit more reserved than the ones that we have seen in the past. It was a relatively quick video, just a white background with a few animation transitions. It was a quick history of the ways that people have physically interacted with their Apple Devices. It went from the click wheel on the initial iPod’s to Apple’s thumbprint authorization for purchases. I have to admit, I was expecting something a bit more grand for an intro, but the point of the Keynote isn’t the introduction, it’s the content.

Assurance about privacy

I’ll be honest. I was a little surprised that Apple didn’t do a big song and dance about data privacy. They did cover it when they were talking about the new health data studies that Apple is doing. They did make a big deal about how the data that they collect in the studies is entirely anonymous, so there is that. I would have assumed that they would have talked a bit about how they don’t (or shouldn’t) be listening in on the things that people say to their HomePods.

New Tech

Introducing Apple’s newest technology is, was, and I would imagine will always be a corner piece of the Apple Keynotes. This one was absolutely no exception. They made great hay about the Apple Watch 5 and the new series iPad. Something else that came of their new tech was the new ipadOS. This is to be different from the standard iOS which run the iPhones. Until recently they have run both the iPad and iPhone off the same operating system. Now with the new iPadOS, they will be able to take advantage of the size of the screen that the iPad has. Previously because they have been relying on the iOS which runs the phones, there has been some Screen size dimension issue. Now they will be able to take full advantage of the size of the screen that the various iPad have.

The other tech that they came out with was the new series of iPhones. The new iPhone 11 looks cool. I like that it comes with a bunch of different colours and naturally has a faster and more powerful chip. With the 11 they also promised another hour of working battery life. With the 11 Pro, they offer an additional 4 hours of battery life. What was also cool was the new camera they offered. Typically I’m not that impressed by the updates they make to the cameras. The reason for this is because usually there is an addition to the Pixel count. This would work well with photographers, but as a humble tech blogger, I don’t know that much about photography. That being said, the camera’s that are on the new iPhones are quite cool. the new cameras allow for a wide and ultra-wide lens. It’s cool because it will allow for better and wider angle pictures. Something that I always struggle with when I’m taking pictures as to how far away I need to be to get everything that I want. With the wide-angle abilities of the new iPhones, you will be able to get a much better angle on your wide-angle pictures. They also made a pretty big deal about how the news iPhone 11/11pros are built out of 100% recycled aluminum. At the risk of being labelled an “environmentalist,” I do like the fact that they are focusing on using recycled resources for their products.

New Games

For the Games that they demonstrated, I was quite impressed with what they had to offer. One of the things that I have always wanted was the ability to play games with synced data across my devices. Now Apple is coming out with Apple Arcade, which will allow certain games to be played on all Apple devices. This service, being given as a subscription service, adds to their list of “service-based” products. While for sure they are still about their physical products, the environment is heading to subscription services, and Apple is apart of that charge.

More info on Apple TV+

They did talk more about Apple TV+. I liked the preview of “see” the new show starring Jason Mamoa (if you want to check it out you can see it on you-tube). There is also an official launch date for the new Streaming Service, November 1. The price that they put on it per month was $4.99/ month (USD so more like 6-ish dollars CDN). What is interesting is the deal that they are putting out to get people using Apple TV+. They said that they are going to be giving a year of free Apple TV+ to anyone who purchases a new device. This means iPhone, iPad or Mac. That’s a cool incentive to buy a new Apple device.

I think that it was an excellent Keynote. It may not have had the most interesting opener, but they did cover a range of topics which allowed them to demonstrate all of their various products they wanted to highlight. The only thing that I’m left to wonder about is that all the new services that they have put out they have prices at $4.99/month (again USD). So Apple Arcade is $4.99/month, and Apple TV + is $4.99/month. With Apple News being $9.99/month, you have to wonder when and or if Apple will start introducing bundling for each of their services. This is something I certainly take advantage of with my mobile/internet/home phone/cable provider. It only makes sense that Apple, who is breaking into the Services section with a battering ram, would have a bundle to take full advantage of all they have to offer.

I am looking forward to the products coming out. I got a text from my phone provider telling me of a deal that I would get if I were to get the iPhone 11 Pro…So HOPEFULLY I will be able to do a review of the iPhone 11 Pro :).

What if you like about the Apple Keynote? 

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