Apple conference preview: Apple Watch is bigger and more expensive, and there may be a big surprise domeet webmaster

This article comes from Ai Faner

This year’s Apple event is a little earlier than usual.

Last Thursday, Apple officially announced that this year’s autumn new product launch conference will be held at 1:00 a.m. (Beijing time) on September 8.

Moreover, this conference is different from the ‘online’ mode of previous years, but the autumn conference is held offline for the first time. However, the format will be similar to WWDC 2022, with the media and audience invited to watch the launch video live at the Steve Jobs Theater (Jobs Auditorium).

The release of the new iPhone on September 8 is the earliest Apple has held a press conference since the epidemic (2020), almost a week earlier.

There are many speculations about this. Bloomberg’s Tim Culpan believes it is due to ‘Apple’s unique fiscal year’, in short, the early release of the iPhone 14 series, and some of its sales will be included in Apple’s fiscal 2022 revenue.

It will make the figures in Apple’s financial report this year look better, which will be good for Apple’s stock price and also good for the downturn in the smartphone market. Seeing the market demand brought by Apple, other manufacturers will also market hard and compete together to revitalize the market.

In fact, before 2020, the date of Apple’s autumn conference was quite stable (unchanged), almost all set on the second Wednesday in September of that year, that is, around September 10, which is not much different from this year’s time.

At the moment, we are not completely free from the impact of the epidemic, but with the advent of vaccines and some solid policies, some of Apple’s big technology companies are also trying to get back on track, canceling working from home, returning to the office, and so on.

The reason why Apple’s autumn conference is ‘early’ this year is actually more of a choice to get back on track.

However, in order to get back to the so-called ‘on track’, Apple also postponed the release of iPadOS, which is routinely updated in the fall, to October, and skipped the version number of iPadSO 16.0, and then directly updated iPadOS 16.1.

Apple is determined to get back on track.

One More Thing: Far Out is a forward-looking product?

There are only two single Far Outs on this year’s invitations, which translate to ‘Far Out’.

But from this word, it can almost be predicted that the products, functions or features at this conference will be a bit ‘near future’.

Combined with the deep and changing starry sky, and finally merged into Apple’s Logo, it is speculated to have three meanings.

First, the iPhone may be introduced to the function of 3D and starry sky photography.

Second, the iPhone 14 series supports off-screen display.

The third is virtual reality.

At the same time, Bloomberg recently found that Apple has begun to register Reality-related trademarks, including Reality One, Reality Pro, and Reality Processor (thought to be the M2 chip).

And earlier, Apple has shown AR/VR glasses-related products to its board members, and it seems that everything is ready and only owed to the wind.

Apple’s series of actions, as well as the prediction of Far Out (super-forward-looking), have reason to believe that it may be displayed or released in the One More Thing section at the autumn conference.

It doesn’t matter when it will be sold (the price is definitely not cheap), the announcement is enough to give the relevant industry a boost.

Even the 3D photography that may be introduced on the iPhone 14 series is very likely to be used to create AR-related content. Apple’s layout in the field of virtual reality is quietly closing the Internet.

iPhone 14 series: mini or Max?

The characteristics of the iPhone 14 series are basically clear, and the biggest suspense is actually about the mini model.

Whether it is the previously exposed CAD design drawings of the iPhone 14 series, or many well-known whistleblowers, they all say that in this year’s iPhone 14 series, Apple will launch a large-screen version of the digital series, with Max (or Plus) as the suffix .

With a 6.7-inch screen size, it can almost be considered a non-Pro version of the Pro Max.

However, last week, “91Mobile” quoted the veteran whistleblower Evan Blass as saying that Apple is preparing new iPhone and iPad sales with the largest distributor in the Asia-Pacific region, including the iPhone 14 mini and iPad 10.

91Mobile is also certain that at the autumn conference, Apple will still launch the mini model instead of the larger-screen Max (Plus).

As soon as this news came out, the situation became more complicated.

The iPhone mini product can be said to have won the volume, but the sales have not won, just like the ‘crock pot’ model that fans have been calling for, the sound is loud, but there are not many people who pay for it.

In the current sluggish smartphone market, for Apple to cancel the mini with a larger Max, it is in line with mature business operations, and will also bring more beautiful sales results (large screen, high price).

But if the mini is not cut and appears in the iPhone 14 series, then this may be Apple’s last stubbornness on small-screen mobile phones. Small-screen lovers, let’s do it and cherish it.

Going back to the iPhone 14 series itself, in fact, the positioning of the iPhone 13 is actually quite like an enhanced version of the iPhone 12 (that is, the iPhone 12s).

From various exposures, it seems that the iPhone 14 series is also quite like the S-enhanced version of the iPhone 13.

Similarly, the iPhone 14 series may also introduce a new purple color scheme to replace ‘Far Peak Blue’, and the rest of the color matching should be consistent with the iPhone 13.

The appearance size of the fuselage has not changed much, the camera module has become larger, and the bangs of the screen have been ‘upgraded’ to become’! ‘Dig hole screen.

The ‘hole digging screen’ makes the display area of ​​the screen larger, but in the iOS 16 system display, the display area is not much different from that of the notch screen, but in order to keep it parallel with the digging screen, the status bars such as signal, battery, time, etc. down trim.

The main camera of the iPhone 14 Pro series may be upgraded to 48 megapixels. As previously speculated, after upgrading the pixels, Apple is likely to introduce 6K and 8K professional video shooting functions into the Pro series.

In this way, the iPhone has opened up another position in the video creation tool attribute of the Android device.

In the past, each new generation of Apple’s iPhone will be equipped with a new A-series processor, and its numbers also represent the first generation of iPhones in Apple’s history. (For example, the iPhone 13 with A15 Bionic is the 15th generation iPhone)

But with the iPhone 14, Apple may break with that tradition. Perhaps because of the lack of cores, Apple only intends to carry the A16 Bionic on the iPhone 14 Pro series, while the iPhone 14 series for the public is equipped with the A15 Bionic chip.

However, due to the excellent energy efficiency ratio of the A15 Bionic, after a lapse of one year, it is still a top mobile processor, and the experience is not very different in daily use.

However, if the iPhone 14 series with the old core is still listed at the original price, it will be a little bit unkind. It should be a good idea to double the starting capacity while maintaining the original starting price.

Before the release of the iPhone 13, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said that Apple was developing satellite connectivity for the iPhone, so that the iPhone could send an emergency signal without a cellular network.

After more than a year, Mark Gurman said that Apple is still developing the function of ‘satellite communication’, not only the iPhone, but also the Apple Watch will support this function.

In fact, before the release of the iPhone 13, Apple had already completed the corresponding hardware development for satellite communications. What hindered the launch of this service was actually ‘commercial considerations’. To introduce satellite communications on the iPhone, Apple actually needed to cooperate with operators to improve and implement it. corresponding business model.

In February of this year, Apple’s potential partner satellite communications operator Globalstar announced the purchase of 17 satellites, with the aim of providing continuous satellite services to potential customers.

Yesterday, T-Mobile and SpaceX announced a partnership on satellite connectivity that Tim Farrar, a satellite communications consultant at California-based research firm Telecom, said was nothing more than ‘headline grabbing’.

In addition, Farrar also said that the satellite communication function that is very likely to be launched on the iPhone 14 series, or only allow text messages to be sent to emergency contacts or authorities in an emergency, is also very likely to be limited to the United States.

In general, even without the function of satellite communication, the iPhone 14 series can still rely on enough ‘recognition’ to trigger a certain wave of replacements, not to mention that it may take a big step forward in camera specifications.

Apple Watch: The key is the Pro

The Apple Watch Pro could be the next growth point in the Apple Watch line.

The iPhone Pro series has a better screen, a better camera system, better materials, etc. Pro-level equipment. For the Apple Watch, a health device, Pro represents the promotion of ‘health and exercise’ features.

In recent years, Apple’s Pro-level devices have begun to return to ‘utility’ in design, as will the rumored Apple Watch Pro.

The Apple Watch Pro, whose dial size is increased to 47mm, may no longer use 3D glass to highlight the borderless, but instead is equipped with a flat screen similar to the iPhone to increase the protection of the screen and prevent it from being scratched during strenuous exercise.

It will challenge professional sports watches such as Garmin. In order to make the body stronger and reduce its own weight, the case will be made of titanium alloy similar to the Edition.

However, the increased size of the Apple Watch Pro does not affect its backward compatibility with 45mm straps, which can still be replaced by themselves.

The appearance has been greatly upgraded, but in terms of internal specifications (especially sensors), the Pro may be consistent with the Series 7. The previously rumored blood pressure and blood sugar sensors may not appear in the Apple Watch until 2025.

With a larger screen, more special materials, better sports performance, and maybe even satellite communication, the price of the Apple Watch Pro may be on par with the iPhone Pro series, directly around $1,000.

However, compared to the Edition series, the Apple Watch Pro is still a little more cost-effective.

As for the regular upgraded version of Apple Watch Series 8, the appearance may not change much, and the improvement may only be the details. It also provides two sizes of 41mm and 45mm, and it may be difficult for old users to be interested in changing the phone.

For those sports enthusiasts, the Apple Watch Pro may be the real ‘iterative upgrade’.

AirPods Pro 2: Supports LE Audio Bluetooth Low Energy

AirPods Pro was released on October 30, 2019, 1035 days ago.

Before the Apple conference in the past three years, there will be quite a lot of rumors about the second-generation AirPods Pro. As for whether Apple can update as scheduled this fall, it will still be a big question mark.

In Mark Gurman’s report, the new AirPods Pro may adopt a new design, cancel the headphone handle to reduce the volume, and the more rounded body can be more easily inserted into the ear.

But then it said that Apple would have difficulty packing the hardware of the AirPods Pro into a smaller body, and may eventually abandon the plan to cancel the headphone handle.

The new AirPods Pro may use the same design style as the original AirPods Pro, avoiding new ‘molds’ and saving a development cost.

Last year, Apple Music launched Apple’s lossless audio as scheduled, but it needs to use the Hi-Res Audio high-definition lossless audio decoding amp, and connect it to headphones in a wired form for listening.

At that time, Apple’s full line of AirPods could not support lossless wireless playback due to the use of AAC encoding, and could only listen to ‘spatial audio’, which was also considered the biggest reason for Apple to upgrade the sound quality of Apple Music (lossless is just a gift).

The second-generation AirPods Pro may improve this embarrassment, possibly supporting Bluetooth 5.2 with LE Audio.

The main features of LE Audio are low power consumption and high sound quality, which enables AirPods Pro to support Apple Music’s lossless music wirelessly, which is a big step forward for Apple’s true wireless earphones.

iPad and Mac: iPad 10 only, see you in October

Due to the delay of iPadOS 16, it is almost certain that MacBook Pro and iPad Pro will not be seen at this conference. They may come together in October.

But the non-M chip and iPad 10 without pre-stage scheduling may come with the new iPhone and the new Apple Watch.

And the iPad 10 may be the biggest change in the look of the entry-level iPad in recent years. In the previously leaked engineering documents, the iPad 10 uses a right-angled edge design that is similar to the iPad Air and iPad Pro, and also has a colorful color scheme.

The use of right-angled edges does not mean the use of a ‘full screen’ design, the front is slightly wider up and down, and the TouchID physical buttons are retained.

The back camera style is closer to the iPhone X, but it is not a dual camera, just a main camera and flash on the bump.

In addition, the body interface will also bid farewell to Lightning and turn to USB-C, and the configuration of the right-angle side allows the iPad 10 to support the second-generation Apple Pencil, which also means that the first-generation quasi-physical Apple Pencil will be eliminated.

In terms of core configuration, the iPad 10 may be equipped with an A14 chip and add support for 5G network standards.

Overall, the iPad 10 designed in this way will be the entry-level iPad that has changed the most in recent years, and the coexistence of right-angle bezels and TouchID will also be a rare combination.

In this way, while introducing a new design, it also has a certain distinction from product lines such as the iPad Air, which is a bit wonderful.

In addition, the starting price of the iPad 10 may be increased on the basis of the previous work, so it does not rule out that the iPad 9 will continue to be sold at a reduced price. This strategy is also wonderful.

Whether it is the recently announced financial report or some investment strategies, Apple’s growth is also slightly ‘weak’, the financial report growth is not as expected, the investment is obviously conservative, and there are always some voices recently that the halo of Apple’s products is no longer.

But it is undeniable that Apple is still the most successful (revenue, influence) technology company at the moment. Apple products still have a high degree of attention, and they are also one of the few that can trigger new trends and competitions through new features. One of Dow’s companies.

The theme of Apple’s Far Out (the most forward-looking) conference is like a declaration of opening a new track after a few years of precipitation on the traditional product line.