18.09.2020
12:08
The computer giant presented its new products on Tuesday at a streaming event called “Time flies.”
By Desirée Jaimovich September 15, 2020djaimovich@infobae.com Share on FacebookShare Share on TwitterTweet Share on WhatsAppShare
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, during the presentation (Apple Inc / Handout via REUTERS)
” Time flies” is the name of the virtual event that Apple carried out from its headquarters in Cupertino, California. At this meeting, the company unveiled four products: its new high-end watch, the Apple Watch 6; a cheaper version called Apple Watch SE and two tablets: a new eighth-generation iPad and an iPad Air that closely resembles the iPad Pro that it launched a few months ago.
The meeting began with a virtual tour of Apple Park and a presentation by Tim Cook, CEO of the company where he emphasized the changes that came from the hand of the pandemic, such as remote work. “At Apple we feel the responsibility to continue innovating,” he said and anticipated that this event will focus on two products: Apple Watch and iPad.
During the presentation, some stories of users who managed to optimize their health and even save their lives were shared thanks to the use of Apple Watch, which, thanks to its constant monitors of different indicators such as heart rate, can help them anticipate any health problem.
Apple Watch 6
Cook also mentioned that thanks to Apple Watch monitoring, specialists are studying the psychological impact of Covid-19 on health workers.
The new Apple Watch 6 will measure the level of oxygen saturation in the blood in just 15 seconds. This new indicator is very important and is already available in other smart watches available on the market.
Apple Watch 6 measures blood oxygen saturation level
Oxygen saturation, or SpO2, represents the percentage of oxygen that red blood cells carry from the lungs to the rest of the body and indicates how well this oxygenated blood is distributing throughout the body.
The blood oxygen sensor uses four groups of green, red and infrared LEDs, along with the four photodiodes on the back glass of the Apple Watch, to measure light reflected from the blood. Then Apple Watch uses an advanced custom algorithm built into the Blood Oxygen app, which is designed to measure blood oxygen between 70 and 100 percent.
On-demand measurements can be taken while the user is still, and periodic background measurements are made when they are idle, even during sleep. All data will be visible in the Health app and the user will be able to track trends over time to see how their blood oxygen level changes.
In this way, this option adds to the possibility of measuring the heart rate that was already present in Apple Watch 5 and sleep monitoring that came from the hand of the software update.
The smartwatch comes in four new colors, including the blue we expect from the iPhone 12, red, gray, and copper. The new watch is 20% faster than the previous version, as highlighted at the meeting.
The new watch allows you to add new aesthetics to the watch, including custom memojis. In terms of design, new straps are also added.
Apple Watch 6 adds the possibility of adding memojis
In fact, Apple also developed straps called Solo Loop, which are continuous and have no direct adjustment. Another novelty is the possibility of viewing several Apple Watch with the same iPhone. This is useful for minors who can use a smart watch without having to have a cell phone.
The watchOS 7 operating system offers Family Settings, sleep tracking, automatic handwash detection, new types of exercises, and the ability to select and share watch faces.
Parents will be able to configure their settings, add alarms, verify location as well as restrict the notifications they receive when, for example, they are studying. This possibility of family settings or parental control will be available not only on Apple Watch 6 but from Apple Watch 4.
It should be noted that the watchOS 7 operating system offers Family Settings, sleep tracking, automatic handwash detection, new types of exercises, and the ability to select and share watch faces.
The new smartwatch includes an always-on or Always On screen, it will be available in two sizes (44mm and 40mm), and it will come in a Bluetook and LTE version. It also offers water resistance of up to 50 meters. The smartwatch costs USD 399.
Apple Watch SE
As anticipated, the company introduced a cheaper smartwatch: Apple Watch SE, which will be sold from USD 279. The two new models of Apple Watch can be ordered from today and will be available from this Friday.
Apple Watch SE
The model has many of the features of the Apple Watch 3, including fall detection, a compass, and a casing that is waterproof and can be worn while swimming. It also includes family settings, sleep monitoring, and other features that are also included in the new Apple Watch Series 6. The watch integrates the S5 chip, which according to Apple will allow a performance up to two times higher than that offered by Series 3.
Fitness Plus
Apple introduced a new service for Apple Watch called Fitness Plus. It is a subscription service for virtual workouts for yoga, cycling, strength exercises, etc. and other options to monitor physical condition.
It costs $ 9.99 per month or $ 79.99 per year. It can be purchased in a bundle with other Apple subscription services, such as Apple Music, News Plus, and TV Plus. You get the service free for three months when you buy new Apple watches.
The new Apple Watch 6 and SE, as well as all watches from Apple Watch 4 onwards will include the option of family setup or family setup
It should be noted that Apple One was introduced, a bundle that includes Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade, Apple News Plus and iCloud storage. There are three types of options: Individual, Family, and Premier.
The Individual plan offers storage for Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade and iCloud for $ 14.95 per month; While the family plan, which is worth $ 19.95, includes the same applications, but with more iCloud storage than the one offered by the individual plan.
Lastly, the Premier plan offers subscription to Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade, iCloud storage, Apple News Plus, and Fitness Plus for $ 29.95 per month.
iPad
Apple introduced a new 8th generation iPad.
Apple introduced a new 8th-generation 10.2-inch iPad that is compatible with the Apple Pencil and also has a keyboard. The system recognizes writing and figures and digitizes them. Integra A12, which offers 40 percent better performance than the predecessor.
The new 8th generation iPad integrates the A12 Bionic with Neural Engine
When taking notes on the iPad, the Smart Selection feature uses machine learning on the device to distinguish handwriting from drawings, so handwritten text can be easily selected, cut and pasted into another document as written text.
The new iPad is priced at $ 329 and $ 299 for teachers and students. The device’s pre-sale is available starting today.
iPad Air
iPad Air 2020
The company also unveiled a new iPad Air, which looks a lot like the iPad Pro that was introduced a few months ago. It has a Liquid Retina display with 2360×1640 resolution. It has Touch ID integrated into the power button and a small fingerprint reader.
It integrates A14 Bionic chip, the first five-nanometer processor that, thanks to its design, allows the inclusion of 11.8 billion transistors on this chip. This next-generation A-series chip features a new 6-core design for a 40 percent increase in CPU performance, and a new 4-core graphics architecture for a 30 percent improvement in graphics.
Machine learning options were also optimized: the A14 Bionic chip includes a new 16-core neural engine that is twice as fast and capable of up to 11 trillion operations per second, according to the company.
The company also unveiled a new iPad Air, which looks a lot like the iPad Pro that was introduced a few months ago.
The new iPad Air includes a 7 MP front-facing FaceTime HD camera, and the same 12 MP rear camera used in the iPad Pro for higher resolution photos and 4K video capture.
Another novelty to highlight is the incorporation of a USB type C connector to the iPad Air, which allows data transmission of up to 5Gbps. It has Wi-Fi 6 and LTE connectivity up to 60 percent faster.
As for the software, the iPadOS 14 will be available starting this Wednesday, September 16. This new version of the operating system incorporates new features and designs that take advantage of the capabilities of the iPad, such as the Multi-Touch screen.
This new tablet will come in a 64GB and 256GB version, and in silver, space gray, rose gold, green and sky blue. The iPad Air will be available starting next month on apple.com and in the Apple Store in the United States among 30 other countries and regions. IPad Air Wi-Fi models will be available starting at $ 599 and LTE models starting at $ 729.
