Back to School 2020 Keynote Summary: Apple Watch Series 6, iPad Air, Apple One and other surprises

In a year 2020 made complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, Apple tried to maintain its course. The Cupertino company would have canceled a conference planned for the spring and maintained its WWDC event from last June, in a somewhat special way. Everything took place virtually, online, including the opening Keynote, a first for the Californian giant.

For this new September event, expectations were high. While we are used to seeing the company led by Tim Cook present its new iPhones with great fanfare at this time every year, in front of an audience of journalists and cameras broadcasting the event on the Internet, this time , everything was different. Many probably waited to see the presentation of the iPhone 12, while the format once again remained virtual.

It's gone forour announcement summary!

• Watch the full conference here on YouTube:

Introduction

Like the last WWDC conference, the event is introduced by Tim Cook in front of a camera, in Apple's premises and notably inside Apple Park. Surprisingly, after a brief speech on COVID-19 and its consequences, without elaborating, the CEO quickly moved on to the summary of the announcements, centered around two products, therefore, as expected:l’Apple Watchetthe iPad.

Not one, but two Apple Watches

Apple Watch Series 6

• Blood oxygen level measurement: thanks to light sensors on the back of the watch case, the watch can calculate the oxygenation rate in the blood in 15 seconds. It can also do this when the user is sleeping
• New S6 processor: dual-core processor, announced 20% faster than the Series 5 chip
• Screen improvement: clearer and more readable, especially in very bright environments
• Autonomy: identical to the Apple Watch Series 5, i.e. 18 hours
• Fast charging: complete recharge of the watch in one and a half hours

• New altimeter
• Dials: several new dials offered, including the “GMT” dial, the “Countdown” dial, the “Tachymeter” dial, the “Typograph” dial, but also the “Memojis” dial. There are also watch faces now suitable for different activities, photography, surfing, etc.
• New bracelets: introduction of two new bracelets called Solo Loop (without attachment buckle), as well as new colors for already existing models

• Family sharing: several watches can be used with the same iPhone, which can be practical for configuring watches for your children, for example. The feature also includes a way to send notifications and messages from the iPhone to one of the smartwatches, as well as control which contacts can be reached. Requires Apple Watch Series 4 or newer

• New colors: the new watch offers a new blue color, but also a PRODUCT(RED) version, in addition to the classic versions seen on the Series 5
• Rates: from €429 in GPS version, €529 in GPS + Cellular version

Apple Watch SE

Here is the new model announced by various informants in recent weeks. This is a more financially accessible watch than the last Series 6, but also a little less well equipped. Here are some of its features:

• Design: screen 30% larger than that of the Series 3
• S5 processor
• Fonction Talkie Walkie
• Fall detection support
• Rates: from €299 in GPS version, €349 in GPS + Cellular version

A range of Apple Watch now with 3 models

Note that watches are no longer delivered with a USB power adapter, for ecological reasons. The two new watches can be pre-ordered now, with first deliveries announced for this Friday, September 18.

In summary, here is the Apple Watch range from now on:

• Apple Watch Series 6: from €429
• Apple Watch SE: from €299
• Apple Watch Series 3: from €219

And two new generations of iPad

iPad 8th generation

Apple introduced the new 8th generation iPad. Here are some of its characteristics:

• Design: same design as the old generation, with 10.2-inch diagonal screen
• Processor: A12 Bionic, 40% faster than the old generation
• Integrates the Neural Engine
• Accessories: compatible with the Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil
• Colors: 3 variations, space gray, silver and gold
• Prices: €389 in 32 GB version, €489 in 128 GB version, add €140 for the respective Wi-Fi + Cellular versions
• Availability: from Friday September 18

iPad Air

The iPad Air is also entitled to a welcome refresh.

• Design: new design with narrower edges, in a style strongly reminiscent of what Apple has been offering with the iPad Pro for several years
• Screen: 10.9 inches diagonal, Liquid Retina panel supporting True Tone
• Touch ID: integrated into the Power button

• Processor: A14 Bionic, engraved in 5 nm, 6 cores for the CPU part, 4 cores for the GPU part. Announced with a performance gain of 40% compared to the previous generation in CPU and 30% in GPU
• New generation of the Neural Engine
• Connections: no more Lightning, but switch to USB-C
• Accessories: compatible with the Apple Pencil and the Magic Keyboard
• Cameras: 12 megapixels rear, 7 megapixels front
• Colors: 5 variations, space gray, silver, rose gold, green and sky blue

• Prices: €669 in 64 GB version, €839 in 256 GB version, add €140 for the respective Wi-Fi + Cellular versions
• Availability: from October

Services

After the iPhone, services constitute the most lucrative product category for the Californian firm. Here is what the latter has planned to go even further in this direction:

Fitness+

Apple also described some of the new sports activities offered on the watch, via the new Fitness+ service. This offers different types of programs with videos visible on the iPhone. The data recorded by the watch is displayed alongside the video. In particular, there is the possibility of following yoga, cycling, strength training, among others, with or without equipment.

Other Fitness+ features:

• Catalogue: new training programs will be added regularly
• Apple TV: programs can also be followed on Apple TV
• iPad: same for iPad
• Personalized recommendations: the app automatically offers training
• Rates: $9.99 per month, or $79.99 per year, free for 3 months for any new Apple Watch buyer. Otherwise, the trial period is one month
• Availability: at the end of the year, in half a dozen countries first (not in France, for this first deployment in any case)

This is a subscription bringing together different Apple services. Several options are available, with availability announced in fall 2020, including the following:

• Subscription "Individual": $14.95 per month, for Apple Music, TV+, Arcade and 50 GB on iCloud
• Abonnement “Family”: $19.95 per month, for Apple Music, TV+, Arcade and 200 GB on iCloud. Can be shared between 6 users
• “Premier” subscription: $29.95 per month, for Apple Music, TV+, Arcade, News+ and Fitness + and 2 GB on iCloud. Can be shared between 6 users
• Free trial: 30 days

Operating systems

Tim Cook ended the conference by announcing that all new versions of Apple OS will be available tomorrow. This includes watchOS 7, iOS 14, macOS Big Sur, but also iPadOS 14 and tvOS 14.

That's all for today. So what did you think of the announcements and this new 100% virtual Keynote?

Editor-in-chief for iPhon.fr. Pierre is like Indiana Jones, looking for the lost iOS trick. Also a long-time Mac user, Apple devices hold no secrets for him. Contact: pierre[a]iphon.fr.