The Apple Watch Series 9
Personally, I was a little gutted with the Series 9, I was expecting a little more but at the same time I am happy that the next generation still uses the same watch strap system. (That’s mainly because I love to collect the straps themselves).
So the biggest NEW feature on the Series 9 will of course be the new “Double Tap” gesture system. A feature that I think if you own a series 6 or below IS worth the upgrade to the 9 otherwise leave it. A feature that I also think if you don’t own an Apple Watch (And never have) Won’t understand how cool / USEFUL this feature is! I thought it was awesome when I see it. A perfect example of when I would be if I’m in a shop, hands full and an important notification pings up on my watch. With my hands full this new gesture makes using the watch even easier.
It will be interesting however to see how accurate the gesture feature is and as they mentioned that the gesture learns using the neural engine I imagine that you will have to give the accuracy a bit of time to learn. All of this above is powered by the S9 Apple Silicon chip which is new and personally I can’t be bothered to talk about other then obviously its faster & battery is better ect ect… (The S9 chip is also on the new Apple Watch Ultra 2)
Something which sounded small was now using the S9 chip means Siri requests are done “in-house” just like on your iPhone. It is kind of rubbish in my opinion that this really is exclusive to the S9 chip as how much processing power does Siri really need but none of the less it is a massive improvement!
In-case you’re not sure what this change does I can think of the best example, I have been there many times where I’m working with my phone connected to a speaker system & I’m away from my phone. I then raise my wrist ask Siri “On my phone, play ** album” This was often followed by a lengthy delay (Whilst the watch connected to Apple’s servers for the Siri or sometimes followed by Siri saying she can’t complete the action. This change solves all those problems.
The Watch it’s self is now 2x Brighter which again a small change but a great improvement!
So to sum up my thoughts on the “Apple Watch Series 9”. Only around 2 major features that are great improvements from the series 8. If you have the series 8 currently personally I would keep your series 8 and wait till next year’s watch. If you have the 6 or below YES get the upgrade! It’s currently the same starting price as the previous year’s ($399) and if you really love the Apple Watch like me then consider splashing out the extra cash for the “Apple Watch Ultra 2” to get the extra features like a bigger screen, the action button & bigger battery life. That start’s at $799.
The Next Generations of iPhone’s
When it came to writing about what’s new with the iPhones from the September event. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what to write. So wish me luck and I’m gonna start by talking about theiPhone 15 pro.
It’s clear from the September event& from their website that the feature they’re pushing the most with the 15 pro is the fact it’s made from titanium. Now with this to the average user, they wouldn’t even understand as someone who has a 14 pro I saw it as” Apple has been listening to their customers” I thought this was because I love my 14 pro nothing wrong with it. I have however only one complaint with it and that is the weight of the phone it is simply TOO heavy my phone before this was 12 pro and even then a new model was noticeably heavier. The 15 pro being made of titanium will mean that the phone will weigh considerably less, which is awesome.
When it comes to what else is new with the 15 pro, realistically all it is, is the action button. this replaces, the mute toggle switch & is a customisable button to launch simple tasks. Even the camera this year, which for me is a major selling point with the iPhone and I know I will not be alone there. Even the camera updates were disappointing this year.
I was sent to see the mute top switched, go from the phone, mainly because it has been there since the original iPhone and dinner way it was an iconic feature of an iPhone. But the idea of the action button I love it. It is a awesome feature but all I’ve talked about above worth upgrading my 14 pro to the 15 pro? No, not.
Before I move onto talking about just the iPhone 15, First I want to get something out the way regarding a change to all new iPhone’s. That of course is the removal of the lightning port & the change to USB-C.
We all knew it was coming to be honest, From the clips I’ve seen of the keynote that was streamed to the media in the Steve Jobs theatre in Apple Park. I’m also not surprised that this didn’t get any applause when it got announced. I’m not surprised either with the multiple different tweets I’m seeing about how when the extension on iCloud Storage got increased (Now you will be able to go up to either 6TB or 12TB, the previous limit was 2TB.)
The change of iPhones using USB-C like a lot of people wanted is something I was happy to see, It’s now easier as I am able to charge my phone off the same lead as my laptop which also when travelling means one less one thing to carry but also it really is a better step for the environment. Considering how much Apple spoke about the environment during the keynote I’m surprised they didn’t point that one out.
Now the iPhone 15, It looks very similar to the previous generation, but I do think it’s going to sell extremely well and a lot better than the 14 did. I’ve got 2 reasons for this the first being the Dynamic Island which has now come to the base iPhone range. It’s a feature that sounds like nothing but really does improve the iPhone experience.
The second reason being the change to USB-C. A lot of people I reckon will have been waiting for just this feature holding on to phones like the iPhone XR for just this moment. Prices for the iPhone 15 start at the same price as last year at $799
That’s all for my Summary on the Apple Event but with iOS 17 coming out next week check out my review I wrote on it after using it for a month -> https://kylewilkinson53.wixsite.com/kylewilkinsononline/post/one-month-into-ios-17-time-for-the-review
Thanks for reading
Kyle Wilkinson
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