The new iPhone 6s is pretty much just the same as the 2014 iPhone 6 in every way but two things. First, you can now get it in pink, er rose gold, with a charging cradle that matches the color of the phone.
The new iPhone 6s now has a taptonic feedback engine under the screen. This means the screen can detect how hard you are pressing the screen and provide a little vibration as feedback so that your finger feels the touch. This technology is a neat gimmick and is one of those innovative technologies that only Apple could pull off and pull off well. It is not entirely a new technology as Apple put it in the touchpad on the Macbook line last year but putting it under a touch screen display is new so I give credit where credit is due. Apple gave it a new name too:
3D Touch. The name is new.
12.9" iPad Pro. This is the largest tablet ever from Apple. The sheer size of it is new. Unfortunately it still runs only iOS even though it has the computing power under the hood to run full desktop operating systems. This means it is still limited to the touch screen interface and very limited multi-tasking. There were improvements to iOS 9 but not so much that one would ever choose an iPad instead of a desktop or laptop computer. The biggest iPad ever is new.
AppleTV box. This is the first year they have released a new AppleTV in the fall announcement so the timing is new. It is clear from the way that they went through the announcement that Apple is taking this product seriously giving it the time it deserves in the spotlight. Apple added Siri to AppleTV for searching and navigating channels. Siri is a gimmick but a well done gimmick and a voice controlled TV (that works well) is new. Sorry, XBox One, I don't think you got it right with your stalker interface. AppleTV is now the only real contender to Roku in the market. With an AppleTV you can get HBO Now without a television provider subscription and Hulu Plus through which you can subscribe to Showtime without a television provider subscription. Comcast, Verizon, Time Warner, and DirecTV please take note that this is the future of TV; get on the bandwagon now while there is still room for your large posteriors.
So what was released today that was not great, not so much innovative, and generally just not new?
With a new year and updated hardware with more resolution and an updated OS with more features Apple needed a new CPU, the A9X. Yes, this is the 3rd generation 64-bit Apple mobile processor and it may have 1.8x CPU performance and 2x GPU performance compared to the A8X in iPad Air 2 but CPU performance doubles every year anyway. A faster CPU is really not new.
With a new year and updated hardware Apple also needed an operating system upgrade. Every year there is a new version of iOS, that is really not a new thing. What are the new features in iOS? A shortcut bar, new built-in apps, and multi-tasking. The shortcut bar and the updated apps are nice but there are little updates like this every year and even in lesser version upgrades. The last version iOS 8.1 upgrade offered a screen reader which can read your eBook for you using Siri's voice which IMHO is a much bigger update then a shortcut bar or new apps. Then there is the "multi-tasking". Slide over, split view, and picture-in-picture are three different gimmicks that will allow you to use two apps at the same time. I wouldn't call that multi-tasking. Duo-tasking is more like it. There was more multi-tasking in Windows 3.1 (released in 1992) and MacOS 5 (released in 1987). Multi-tasking is not new and neither really is iOS9.
Smart keyboard? What is smart about it? Was it smart for Apple to copy Microsoft Surface and offer a keyboard cover? Ok, well maybe that was smart but Apple used to be an innovator and leader in the market. It is disheartening to see Apple become a follower. The new "smart connector" that attaches keyboard to power and data is clever and well done but also not something new. PC tablet makers have been fiddling with laptop / tablet hybrids the last few years that do all that and even offer a backup battery and additional connectors inside the detachable keyboard. A keyboard cover is hardly new.
Apple pencil is a stylus. Steve Jobs always said that the human hand comes pre-configured with 10 styluses already so there is no need for another. Steve is not in charge any more so this year Apple puts out a $99 stylus that works with a single device which will cost you no less then $799. This may be the best stylus ever designed but you better have a real need for it to justify a thousand dollar replacement for pencil and paper. Apple demoed some very high precision artwork and CAD apps for it but the people doing this kind of work already have high precision Wacom tablets and 30" professional monitors; these folks are really not going to be happy doing this kind of work on a 13" screen. BTW Wacom also offers a
really nice stylus that works on all capacitive touch screens for only $60. An expensive fancy stylus is not new.
And what about all of the other iPads that are not "Pro"? Does that make them amateur? This year Apple put all of their attention into the iPad Pro and literally ignored the other iPad models. iPad Air and iPad Air 2 get a $100 price reduction this year and nothing else, not even rose gold. iPad Mini 4 gets the guts of the iPad Air 2 which means A8X processor and fingerprint scanner but it should have gotten that last year. In the Steve Jobs years Apple was not afraid to cannibalize their own markets, releasing iPhone directly competing with iPod and then continuing to upgrade iPod Touch with all the latest goodies available in the iPhone. Since last year the trend for Apple has been to protect the market for the new hotness by intentionally ignoring upgrades on the old and busted. This year every iPad but the iPad Pro is suddenly the old and busted.
And what about the upgrades to iPhone 6? The 6s and 6s Plus got the 3D touch and pink paint job but are in all other ways just the same. There was no highly anticipated 4" iPhone 6c and nothing innovative about the s models. These phones should have been labelled s6 and s6 Plus for "still 6" and "still 6 Plus". They are in almost every way exactly the same as last year's iPhones and join the amateur iPads now in the rank of the old and busted.
It was astounding to me that iCloud got stage time this year for paid storage upgrades. All of the other cloud storage solutions have been offering more storage for cheaper then Apple for years now. A 1TB cloud storage upgrade is not new.
Ok, so what should Apple have released this year? What would I have done if I were directing Apple product management? Well first and foremost the 2015 Fall product release should not have been focused on the biggest and most expensive iPad ever. Instead, this product release should have been focused on the Apple pencil. Breaking the mold of a Steve Jobs run Apple and releasing a stylus should have been the first thing they talked about at the event before rolling into the iPad lineup. The first demo of the pencil should have been on the iPad Mini 4 which could have been in all ways the same as what was actually released except with support for Apple Pencil. Following iPad Mini 4 should have been iPad Air 3 with an A9X processor and support for Apple Pencil. Then roll into iPad Pro showing the amazing things you can do with Apple Pencil on iPad Pro. The iPad Pro should also have come with something else entirely new. iPad Pro should have been offered with a mobile version of OS X with full support for all Apple Desktop apps and support for pointing devices. Connect a bluetooth pointing device (mouse) and a cursor appears allowing you to use it just like a laptop. The keyboard cover is a nice gimmick but they should have also offered a full keyboard dock that contains a trackpad, backup battery, and additional I/O ports. Put the iPad Pro in the keyboard dock and put it next to a MacBook and you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. But wait, there is more! That mobile version of OS X and the full version of OS X should get support for running iOS apps (in a window or full screened) so that new iPad still runs all of the apps you are used to and then they just eliminate the pre-installed redundant desktop applications like iTunes favoring the lightweight iOS versions instead. Microsoft has already gone through this transition with the abysmal metro / tablet apps in Windows 8 that you can now run in traditional windowed desktop mode in Windows 10.
As it stands the iPad Pro is a 12.9" retina display version of Microsoft Surface RT with a fancy stylus option. The Surface Pro and countless other Window 10 tablets that will be released over the course of the next year will come with built-in support for all legacy Windows desktop applications. Apple is falling behind Microsoft lacking a unified experience like Windows 10 which offers with the same interface and apps available on desktop, laptop, and mobile devices.
To round out this article I will give my personal computing recommendations for the year.
First, if you do not already have a primary desktop or laptop computer then start with a good quality desktop computer. If you like Apple desktops then the 2014 line of iMacs are still quite excellent and you can even get one with a beautiful 5K display. If you don't have iMac budget then get a good desktop PC with an i5 or i7 processor. Don't buy a laptop / notebook computer. If you need to sometimes take your work on the go then a tablet is good enough companion device for now, just not good enough to be your primary personal computing device.
If you are looking to buy your first tablet then get either the iPad Air 2 or iPad Mini 4 depending on your size preference. I have an iPad Mini now which I love because I can fit it in my front pocket and it mounts nicely on the dashboard of my commuter car without blocking my view of the road. Don't buy an Android tablet, you will wish you got an iPad instead.
If your contract is up and you are in the market for a phone then consider your options carefully. Do not get a 6s or 6s Plus. The best phone to get at the moment would be the iPhone 6 which just got $100 cheaper. If you are not interested in the fingerprint scanner or Apple Pay then the iPhone 5c is a smaller and even less expensive choice that will work just fine as well. If you are familiar with Android devices and Google applications then consider Android. The Nexus 5X and 6X come out next month and are just as good as iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. The new Moto X is another solid offering just as good as a 6s. Don't buy a Samsung phone or a Windows phone.
If you can wait before forging into the laptop / tablet market or upgrading your current laptop / tablet then wait. Later this year and early next year you can expect to see some very solid Window 10 tablet options. Look for these specs: 7" - 12" screen, i5 or i7 CPU, 8-16 GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and 8 hour battery life for no more theb $1000. Think about that. The Windows 10 tablet you will be able to buy soon will be twice as powerful as iPad Pro for the same price and will run all of your desktop apps.
