By Erick Why am I commenting on Apple’s iPhone event when I have not made such a post about Google’s Pixel event, Samsung’s Galaxy event or any other event?
Valid question. There are two main reasons.
One is that the iPhone event was one of the first of its kind in the industry (RIP Steve Jobs). And for many years it has been the trendsetter of sorts, even today. It falls in ‘techtember’, almost without fail. And it still directs the tech industry overall in some way.
Plus, the Apple event – particularly the iPhone event – serves as a springboard for new features, or features that were introduced years ago but were adopted by Apple.
This year – the event that happened today – is more of the same, with a few subtleties.
So I thought I would put down my thoughts. Note that these are thoughts – I’m hoping to make you think. I’m not summarizing what was announced at the event, there are plenty of other tech bloggers to do that on X.
The Walls of the Garden Are Shorter
I credit The Verge for creating the term ‘walled garden’ that describes the Apple ecosystem beautifully. Apple is a control freak when it comes to its hardware and software, with a very high barrier to developers to enter. However this year it seems to realize, maybe after the Epic ruling and other antitrust rulings in the US, that it cannot shut all developers out all the time. For example, in the presentation about AirPods Pro and health apps, they referenced Ladder and other popular existing health apps which they have integrated with.
There was a lot of focus on health – especially on AirPods Pro and Apple Watch (with emotional presentation).
iPhone is not (always) Apple’s best products
The iPhone 17 did not disappoint – and the 17 Air seems to be an instant success. But man, the AirPods Pro 3. And the Apple Watch Ultra 3. We have grown to expect upgrades in the iPhone year on year, but are still awestruck (eh?) when Apple brings a sizable update to its other successful products.
Apple makes claims that are hard to verify – and legally defensible
Like, today they said that the Apple Watch is the most popular watch in the world, and AirPods is the most popular earphones in the world. I’m not sure the data exists to objectively verify that. But data also doesn’t exist to objectively prove these claims wrong. Anyway.
Trying to be as relatable as possible
Diversity in presenters, connecting with health, what you’ll do everyday, etc. I mean, just see the focus on high BP, hypertension, sleep and all.
The promise of software or upgrades
For e.g. they expect FDA clearance for certain Apple Watch features. Not here yet, and in my opinion shouldn’t have been in their presentation at all (the feature announcement not the disclaimer).
The SE Line is important to balance the pros and ultras
Every event has atleast one SE generation product announcement. Today it was the Apple Watch SE. The SE lines exist for balance, really. To balance out the lower priced SE with the ultra-priced Pro Max(s).
Miscellaneous
There are so many products now that it’s bit more difficult to keep track of generations. For example, few noticed that there’s no AirPods Max 2 yet.
Apple takes its time to implement features – sometimes too late. Only now does it have a 120 Hz phone. better late than never?
Liquid / frosted glass is here to stay.
Emphasis on connectivity – cellular, wifi, bluetooth and thread.
New colors, because why not.
During the camera presentation, the presenter lady said that iPhone users took 500 billion selfies last year. How the hell do they know that?!
That iPhone 17 Air though – thin AF.