It was a usual case of the Mondays that had an underlying small buzz thanks to a keynote event from Apple. Now normally you don't hear much of a fuss surrounding Apple events until about June, when the tech giant has it's WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference) or in September when they announce new products. But this event confirmed what rumors had been saying for weeks....
You don't have to wonder any longer, Apple indeed decided to make a smaller 4-inch iPhone, the iPhone SE. Now of course my first thought was didn't you just really make the jump to bigger phones? But according to Apple there is a demand for a smaller phones. Now smaller doesn't necessarily mean lower end in terms of what you're getting. The iPhone SE pretty much has the technology of the 6S just in a smaller package. 64-bit A9 chip for fast processing, a 12MP iSight camera, it can take 4K video and is touting improved battery life. Like the 6S it also comes in silver, gold, space gray, and rose gold. The pricing for the iPhone SE is $399 for the 16GB and $499 for the 64GB. It's available to order starting 3/24.
Apple also announced a smaller version to it's iPad Pro that debuted last year. The new iPad Pro (which will be in addition to the original one) is 9.7". The idea is that since they can provide all the great features that you get in the iPad Pro but in a smaller package (anyone sensing a theme here?). Apple also noted that they've sold over 200 million 9.7' iPads, so making the iPad Pro smaller would in turn get those older iPad users to upgrade. It has four speaker audio and the A9X chip for faster processing. The processor and graphics capability being one of the best things about original iPad Pro, as they want it to serve as a laptop replacement. Oh and they've got some new lightning adapters one for USB camera as well as a SD card reader adapter. It also like the iPhone SE has the 12MP iSight camera for better pictures (but am I the only one that thinks it looks weird when you take pictures with your iPad no matter what the size?) But unlike other iPad versions, this one comes in a 256GB size! That's alot of space, making it a seemingly more feasible replacement for your laptop. It will also be available in silver, gold, space gray, and rose gold. Like the iPhone SE , iPad Pro 9.7" orders can be placed March 24th and will be available March 31.
iPad Pro 9.7" features (photo: Apple Keynote)
iPad Pro 9.7" pricing (Photo: Apple Keynote)
CareKit
The smaller (no pun intended I promise) announcements but still kind of a big deal included the announcement of CareKit, which will be an open source platform for people to develop their own health care apps and will be available in April. Some apps are already being developed using it, Apple even showed one that will help those that suffer from Parkinsons.
iOS 9.3
iOS 9.3 is now out, which is a much smaller update so you should be safe in downloading and if you have a 5S or later you will be able to take advantage of the Night Watch feature that will adjust the lighting on your phone so you can sleep better. There will also be the added ability to password protect your Notes.
Apple Watch
Now there isn't a new edition or anything like that but they've created some new mesh bands and color bands for the Apple Watch so you can add more versatility to the styling of it.
I love my iPhone 6S so I don't think there's a chance that I'll ever get the iPhone SE but I do still have my iPad 2 (which still works great by the way) and maybe the iPad Pro 9.7" could be an upgrade option? Do you think the smaller products will catch on? Are you planning on buying any of them?
~ChicDivaGeek