LET’S GET PHYSICAL
Apple’s new Fitness+ service was just one of the highlights from its latest big reveal...
EVEN a global pandemic can’t slow the Cupertino juggernaut that is Apple down – it’s expected to release a slew of new products before the festive season begins, and this week saw the first big reveal.
There was no new iPhone in the Time Flies special event beamed directly from the Bay Area in California around the world.
A live event with an audience – the form these things usually take – was obviously not possible.
What we got instead was a slickly produced showcase of several new products and services.
Here’s what was on the menu...
FITNESS+ SERVICE AND APPLE ONE BUNDLE
ONE of the most intriguing announcements was the reveal of a new service – Fitness+.
You will only be able to use this service if you have an Apple Watch, but if you do it might be your key to a future of better health.
The Watch already allows you to track various metrics while doing a wide number of workout types – from running to dancing, walking to surfing.
Fitness+ takes that a step further with guided video workouts of various kinds that you watch on screen on iPhone, iPad or Apple TV.
Those metrics being tracked by the watch are displayed in real time on screen as you follow along.
The workouts initially include sessions for cycling, treadmill, rowing, HIIT, strength, yoga, dance, core, and something called mindful cooldown, and all are run by well known workout gurus.
The service will launch later this year and costs £9.99-a-month, or £79.99-a-year, but can also be bought as part of a new Apple subscription bundle.
Called Apple One, this new bundle gathers together all Apple’s services in one payment.
There are three tiers – pay £14.99-a-month for individual access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage, or £19.99 for access to the same plus 200GB of iCloud storage for up to six family members.
There is also a Premier tier, which includes Apple Music, Apple TV+,
Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and 2TB of iCloud storage for £29.95 per month, which can be shared among up to six family members.
All levels represent a considerable saving from buying all the services individually.
Apple One launches “this fall”.
APPLE WATCH SERIES 6
THE new Apple Watch is a perfect example of the company quietly improving its devices year on year – the two flagship features are a new sensor that can detect your blood oxygen level to aid with health and fitness tracking, and a faster processor to speed everything up.
Almost everything else remains the same – so perhaps not worth the upgrade if you have a Series 5, but quite a big jump from the Series 3 (which Apple continues to sell as its entry level watch starting at £199).
The Series 6 is also available in new colours – the aluminium case version now has blue and Product(RED) options to join the silver, space grey, and gold aluminium cases. Obviously, there is a new range of bands to join the party – with new colours and a new kind of single-piece loop option with no fasteners made out of stretchy polyester and silicone.
The Series 6 starts at £379 for the GPS version and £479 for the GPS and cellular version. They are available to order now.
APPLE WATCH SE
A NEW low-cost Apple Watch has been introduced – largely modelled on the Series 5, but without the always-on screen or EGC capabilities. It doesn’t feature the blood oxygen monitoring of the Series 6 either, but it is a lot cheaper – starting at £269 for the GPS version and £319 for the GPS and cellular version.
Both new Watches will run watchOS 7, the latest version of the operating system, which brings a new family feature to the ecosystem – you can now use your iPhone to set up watches for people who don’t have their own phone, specifically aimed at allowing you to set up watches for your children.
Like the Series 6, the SE is available to order now.
iPAD AIR
THE new iPad Air (pictured below) is a radical change from the previous model – it looks more like an 11in iPad Pro with flat edges and an all-screen design.
It doesn’t use Face ID to unlock, though – Apple has got rid of the Home button on the front by integrating the Touch ID fingerprint sensor into the sleep/wake button on the top edge of the device. Aside from that (and the support for the second generation of the Apple Pencil, which is new to this model), the big news is that the Air features Apple’s new screaming fast A14 Bionic chip. This new chip, which we will surely see powering the iPhone 12 later this year, brings pro-level capabilities to the Air – video editing in 4K, for example, will be no problem.
The Air comes in some great new colours, too, including green and sky blue, and the device will be compatible with the Magic Keyboard with trackpad that debuted with the iPad Pro earlier this year.
The Air starts at £579 for the wi-fi version, and £709 for the version with wi-fi and cellular connectivity. The new iPad Air will be available next month.
iPAD
FINALLY, Apple has also upgraded its entry level iPad, now in its eighth generation, right.
Still costing the same £329 as the previous model, the device is improved by the upgrade from the A10 chip to the A12 Bionic previously found in the iPhone XS, XR, and last year’s iPad Air. It is no slouch and brings dramatic performance improvement to an already good-value device.
ALL NEW OPERATING SYSTEMS AVAILABLE NOW
IN ADDITION to the new products available, Apple also revealed that all the new versions of its operating systems for iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, and Apple TV are available now. If you haven’t updated yet, check the Software Update section of your settings and explore all the new stuff.