I See USB-C! A Recap of the September Apple Event

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At the annual September Apple Event, dubbed “Wonderlust,” the company announced the change of a decade to its phones, effectively killing their proprietary port known as “Lightning” introduced in 2012, and replacing it with the USB Type-C port found on virtually all electric gadgets these days. It was a change long in the making, though only fueled by a new requirement set by the European Union for a standardized charging port by 2024. However, it would be unnatural for a two-hour-long event to include merely this one announcement. Today, we’re summarizing all the new things announced at this event and one major step for Apple’s 2023 “special goal”.

Let’s enter the iPhone 15 series. Notably, the Dynamic Island feature exclusive to the iPhone 14 Pro models has been brought to the standard iPhones this year, and the latest operating system, IOS 17, is included in the release. The Pro and base models have a 6.1-inch screen (diagonally), and the Pro Max and 15 Plus have a 6.7-inch screen (diagonally). The Pro models also feature an Always-on Display.

The Pro models feature a titanium finish, with matte sides compared to the stainless steel of the iPhone 14 Pro. The Action Button has phased out the Silent Button (launched in the original iPhone). It can be customized to perform actions ranging from recording a voice memo to opening the camera app. The Action Button effectively is the differentiating factor between the Pro and standard models in 2023. The Pro cameras received their annual upgrade, now having five times optical zoom (120 mm) on the Pro Max. Both have a default of 24 megapixels, an improved Portrait mode, and support for “spacial video” capture that supposedly could be viewed on the upcoming Apple Vision Pro. The USB-C connector supports faster USB 3 transfer speeds. And then comes the thing that does it all, which Apple calls the “A17 Pro chip.” It is the first Apple-made chip that uses a 3nn processor, making it possible to fit an extra 1 GPU core and enabling a “10% faster performance” compared to the flagship A16 Bionic of the previous year. The battery on the Pro is 23 hours of video playback and 29 hours of video playback on the Pro Max.

Then there are the standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models. Although without those premium features, they still have some upgrades. Unsurprisingly, the two phones have had their yearly change from the A15 chip to the A16 Bionic chipset (exclusive to the 14 Pro in 2022). Although their overall design hasn’t changed compared to the iPhone 14, the colours could be worth the upgrade for some, coming in black, blue, green, yellow, and a new pink.

Furthermore, two Apple Watches were also released, the Ultra 2 and Series 9. Both now feature the renewed S9 SiP chipset, the Always-on Display, the improved 2nd gen ultra wideband chip, and a “Double-tap” gesture. The latter is a feature confirmed exclusive to watches with the S9 processor and is used to answer calls, send messages, and perform other actions without tapping the touchscreen. However, it isn’t anything particularly new, as any Apple Watch can activate a similar feature in Accessibility Settings. Meanwhile, the new ultra-wideband chip enables precision finding and distance detection with the iPhone 15 series.

I’ll tell you this: The Apple Watch Ultra 2 isn’t that much of an upgrade from its predecessor. Besides the upgraded chip and double-tap, there are just two other upgrades. One is a brighter 3000-nit display (versus the 2000-nit on the Ultra 1), and the other is double the storage to 64 GB, providing more space for storing music and other data. There are the features the previous generation also had, like the orange Action Button, an 86-decibel siren, dual-speaker system, raised Side Button and deeper-grooved Digital Crown, and a 36-hour battery life.

The Series 9 is in a similar situation. Versus the Series 8, Apple didn’t bump up its health sensing specs or anything, though the Series 9 did get double the brightness of the former 1000 nits. The only factors worth considering on this watch are the faster performance, display, and tapping feature.

Overall, whether these new products are worth it is up to you. However, there’s always the option of a worthy alternative, discounted at most Apple-authorized sellers, and that is the last generation.

But there is still one thing that hasn’t gotten addressed: That goal of Apple’s. Well, the company is proud to announce this year that the 2023 lineup of their smartwatches are the first carbon-neutral Apple-manufactured devices. The company marked this achievement on its website as “a major step in the company’s journey toward its ambitious Apple 2030 goal to make every product carbon neutral by the end of the decade, including the entire global supply chain and the lifetime use of every device Apple makes.” It also announced the expansion of recycled materials used in the new iPhones. That may be the most influential thing announced at the “Wonderlust” event.

In conclusion, there’s no doubt that Apple has put a lot of effort into this September event. What do you think? Would you be considering an upgrade or waiting until next year? That’s the end of this production from the New News Newsminute. Thank you for reading, and tune in next time for more news updates.