Apple has held, for the first time in three years, a key note face-to-face inside the Steve Jobs Theater. She has done it through the front door, inviting a massive group of journalists and communicators from all over the world —including hypertextual— so that we have contact with your new iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro. Also its new smart watch proposal, the Apple Watch Ultra and the AirPods Pro 2the new version of one of the most successful products in the company’s history.
And if there is something that Apple achieves perfectly, it is make yours their proposals, although they are not necessarily the first to arrive, nor the second, nor the fourth. The iPhone 14 Pro is not the first smartphone with screen perforations to avoid the inclusion of a notch. Not even the first with 48 megapixels of resolution in the camera. It is also not the first phone with a screen always on, nor are they the first to make a smart watch for sports and extreme situations. And they’re definitely not the first to offer noise-cancelling headphones.
But it is the only company that, through a very deep integration of hardware and software, offers all this and more. They do it in ways and means that no other manufacturer could, unless they decide to go down the Apple product development path.
Yeah, I doubt a person would upgrade their iPhone 13 to iPhone 14 just for the dynamic island, the proposal to integrate iOS 16 with screen perforations. Or that the temperature sensor is enough for someone with an Apple Watch Series 7 to opt for a Series 8. But it is the constant evolution, the imperative need for Apple to always improve what was already considered an industry standard, that the makes unique.
Someone with an iPhone X, iPhone Xs, or iPhone 11 will see significant additional value when they opt to upgrade to iPhone 14. People with an Apple Watch Series 3 or Series 4 will see a massive jump in quality with a Series 8. But then again, we’ll see the rest. of the industry take note and try to catch up with what Apple presented during its September event.
The iPhone 14 Pro, a leap that contrasts with the continuity of the iPhone 14
The iPhone 14 Pro It’s a bigger jump than I expected. The leaks, when viewed individually, don’t do justice to the entire product and all that Apple has managed to pack into such a slim and small device. A significantly better camera, a screen that leaves the notchwhich is always on and other almost science fiction-like features like satellite connection for emergencies, prove that the smartphone is simply unrivaled.
They continue to hit the table with the advances and improvements of their processor division. The A16 Bionic is faster than ever, and they are not exaggerating when they express dominance in terms of performance and speed over all the competition.
But iPhone 14 contrasts with its continuity. Maybe no more is needed. But Apple has chosen to showcase its great innovations—across almost its entire product line—with its professional line of products. It seems that it is the new normal within Apple.
The Apple Watch Ultra surprises but the Apple Watch Series 8 is in the same situation as the iPhone 14
The Apple Watch Ultra also surprises. I keep the same surprise behind the ability to pack so much technology and innovation into devices as small as a smartwatch. The list of news behind the device is longer than anyone would expect.
I am also surprised that this is a device that is aimed at a relatively narrow audience: people who exercise very actively. Thus, Apple enters to compete with companies like Garmin, which maintain a fairly strong control of that market. And beware, anyone who thinks that the price of the Apple Watch Ultra will not be a bestseller, you just have to look at the price of its new rivals.
But the Apple Watch Series 8 is in the same situation as the iPhone 14. Design, features and continuous offer with the only addition of a new sensor to measure temperature. The big news, apparently, will be reserved each year for the new line Ultra Of the device.
In both cases it is not necessarily bad news. But it is inevitable to ask the question: Is it really necessary to change the hardware version every year, if there are no notable improvements? do we really need a sets new every 365 days?
AirPods Pro 2: it’s about time
Apple’s line of headphones meets the maxim of not being updated every year. AirPods were introduced in September 2016 and have only been updated three times. The AirPods Pro were presented on October 30, 2019 and it is in September 2022 that we receive the first hardware update.
Three years later we finally have the long-awaited update of the device. More autonomy, easier to find them if we lose them, but above all, better sound quality through new internal components, gestures to raise and lower the volume and a much more efficient noise cancellation system.
The AirPods Pro have been, for these three years, the best headphones I’ve had for daily use. They are small, practical, with good sound, and quite good noise cancellation, considering the size of the headphones. The AirPods Pro 2 apparently improve in all aspects. And my first tests during the hands on behind the key note they confirm it.
In a post-pandemic world, Apple’s stance is starting to get a little disconnected from reality
If the presence of journalists, communicators and developers during the WWDC 2022 keynote was a pilot test, the Apple Event of the iPhone 14 has been the company’s triumphant return to a post-pandemic world where the way we look at technology is not the same.
Behind all those innovations that, for any fan of technology, it is impossible not to get excited about, there is a reality that is still hidden but that is becoming more and more present: we are no longer the same. We no longer see that new iPhone with the same eyes. We don’t get excited anymore. The sales figures for technology products reflect this. Our priorities have changed, as consumers, but also as communicators.
During this trip, for the first time, I have had moments of relative discomfort during the event. The positive message in key note how an Apple Watch can change your life or how an iPhone 14 can save it disappeared among the maelstrom of journalists who needed to take photos and videos. We find ourselves with a complicated reality: there are few devices to photograph or record video.
Again, there’s a dissociation between what’s going on inside Apple Park and what’s going on out there in reality. After a pandemic that affected everyone, a little more demo products and more space to do our work would have helped a lot. Also less unnecessary insistence to finish our work – come on, take photos and videos – from the Apple team. After all, it is one of the largest companies in the world, on one of the most impressive campuses ever built. There is room for more.
Also, this time more than ever, I have felt how the team of Apple specialists who make the demos in the area hands on, was actively trying to sell the most superficial features of the products that had just been introduced. Or maybe it has always been like this, and the one who has changed is me.
I believe that Manzana – like practically any multinational today – is facing a crossroads, where they will have to re-evaluate some of the principles for the next thirty or forty years. That dissonant tone that is sometimes felt in their ads or their way of communicating new products was not there before. I insist, maybe it’s us.
But if Apple wants to keep our attention and our interest, in this post-pandemic world that we live in now, they will have to learn to change with us.