2015/4/22 3:40:49
Source: Web
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Tim Cook
took to the stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and
laid out Apple’s path for 2015.
Throughout the event, Apple’s iterative approach to improving technology
was highlighted. But the key underlying message was not one
of specifications, it was one of a connected lifestyle that benefits the
user, with Apple acting as its glue.
While the media was eager to devour the details of the
Apple Watch (including an answer to the question of pricing, especially on the
higher end models), the real star of the show was the
new MacBook. As expected the 12-inch design mimics that
of the MacBook Air (but thinner) while bringing together the retina display of
the MacBook Pro range and Intel’s latest Core-M processor.
What was left almost unsaid was the use of Continuity to
pass information, status, and workflow between devices. This is the biggest win
of Apple’s ecosystem. All of the elements announced today (Apple TV,
ResearchKit, updates to iOS, the new MacBook hardware, and the Apple Watch)
create more opportunities and lifestyle choices for consumers, but the sum
of the parts is actual far greater. With every piece of hardware, Apple
draws you in closer to Tim Cook’s vision of ubiquitous computing.
Everything connects to everything else, in a way “that only Apple can
achieve.”
China Means Everything
Opening up the presentation was a subtle nod towards Apple’s activities in China,
with the opening of yet another Apple Store. Apple’s growth in China will
likely outstrip the saturated markets of America and Europe during 2015, so it
is vital that the high-margin high-priced devices are established as quickly as
possible.
I suspect that’s one reason why the new MacBook also comes in gold, but
there’s another subtle nod towards the Chinese market – the Apple Watch’s
ability to send sketched images between watches will be perfect
for chinese characters to be used as the basis of an IM conversation.
Apple TV
Increases Cord Cutting Potential
No longer a hobby, Apple
TV has been given a price drop to $69, putting it squarely in impulse buy
territory for the vast majority of consumers. More people are ‘cutting the
cord’ each week, which will see a continued rise in streaming and downloading
of television shows. With the arrival of HBO Now’s standalone streaming
service, expect cord cutting to become the new black.
And of course any rental or purchase hands Apple the typical 30%
slice from iTunes. That should be a nice little earner once the new
season of Game of Thrones starts. Naturally HBO’s service will be
available just in time for that flagpole event.
Remember The iPhone?
The world’s number one smartphone, the biggest growth of any
handset manufacturer, and it’s going to get even better? Tim Cook was like
a giddy schoolmaster reminding the world of the success of the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. Once the
numbers were out of the way, the handsets picked up new software and features.
HealthKit is a key feature that I expect to see improved over 2015 as more
developers come to grips with the sensors on the Apple Watch and the ability to
process that data. In a tangential release, Apple has been working with
Heatlhcare Research Professionals to put together ResearchKit,
an Open Source toolbox that will allow iPhone users to participate in
clinical trials and have a one-to-one relationship with the research teams. It
might bot be a profitable endeavour for Apple, but it is certainly one that
could deliver world-changing results.
It’s also worth nothing that ResearchKit ties in the Apple Watch,
the iPhone, OSX development tools, and more than likely OSX devices to
analyse the data captured. Not only is Apple working to bring together all the
elements in a consumer’s life, it’s also working heavily in the Medical
Enterprise space to do the same. you can be sure this is being replicated in
other areas (such as the automotive industry and CarPlay).
Gordon Kelly has taken a closer look at the updates to iOS
8.2. While the focus today was on the integration of Apple Watch into your
iPhone, Apple has taken the opportunity to update HealthKit, and address some
of the more notorious bugs that have been around since iOS 8 was launched in
September, including the GMT bug and the bluetooth connectivity issues.
Unfortunately there’s no word on updates to the WiFi connectivity. Read more on the iOS 8.2 updates here
on Forbes.
The 12-Inch MacBook
Apple’s love of three has finally come to pass in the
laptop line-up as we now have the MacBook Air, the new 12-inch MacBook, and the
MacBook Pro in trinity. While the MacBook took up almost all of the time
to show off its new technology to improve battery capacity and reduce the
volume required inside a case, all of the laptop-based Macs picked up
updates in some form, be it faster memory, the new TouchPad technology, or
improved pricing.
Apple’s Phil Schiller revelled in the MacBook with the gold version used in all the
demos to drive the coloring point home to everyone watching. As is
typical with Apple, we saw that every dimension was ‘a better number than the
last laptop’ and reminded at every moment that we will love it, that it is
fabulous, and that it’s almost impossible to believe what Apple has achieved.
In other words, the linguistics tricks of the master salesmen
were out in force. Questions over the use of a single port for charging
and connectivity remain, as does the impact of a fan-less design and
the apparently slow 1.1. GHz processor featured in the base model. This
will be an interesting device to review, as I am intruiged to see just how
much has been sacrificed to get the laptop to the required dimensions.
And So, To The Wrist
Cook knew exactly how long to tease. The anticipation had built the new
hardware was revealed, and it was time for the Apple Watch (…that pun is
never going to get old).
Anyone who has spent time with a smartwatch will recognise that
in terms of function, there was little that was
fundamentally new on offer here. The Apple Watch will have
a number of custom watch faces you can select from (and no doubt buy new ones
in via the Apple Store), it will show notifications for incoming messages
and emails and allow basic replies to them, the Apple Watch can be used as
a remote handset to make a phone call (just like Dick Tracey), and
third-party apps will run on the system (such as MLB’s At Bat news and
information app for Baseball fans).
The only real point of
differentiation between the Apple Watch and the current
generation of smartwatches currently on sale was in the watch to watch
messaging platform. While the heartbeat idea is cute and will play well
in advertising, I suspect a generation of children are about to learn morse
code again so they can pass messages between friends through the tapping
function. On top of that the ability to draw short graphical messages will be
seen as quirky by some, and invaluable to others.
The
battery life feels short. Apple has juggled numbers to get to an 18-hour day
with limited interactions; checking the time five times an hour, five incoming
notifications, forty-five minutes of app usage, and one thirty minute workout.
That seems rather limiting, and I await the real world numbers from the geekerati
with keen interest.
Pricing was mostly as expected,
with the entry-level Apple Watch Sport priced at $349 for the 38mm screen size,
and $399 for the 42mm screen. The stainless steel Apple Watch will start at
$549, while the Apple Watch Edition starts at $10,000, with some models
reaching $17,000. All of these prices will rise if users decide to choose the
more desirable watch straps. Apple is clearly aiming for the luxury watch
market with the Steel and Gold watches.
Bringing It All Together
Tim Cook is in the middle of pivoting Apple. Steve Jobs managed
this twice, once on his return with NeXT and the launch of the iMac, and once
with the launch of the iPhone. Many asked if Tim Cook was a worthy
successor to Jobs, and I think that today’s Apple event has brought
the answer in to sharp focus. The answer is yes. Apple utterly dominates the
markets that it is established in – not by market share, but by revenue share.
Yet there is only so far that hardware specifications alone can
take a company. Apple is moving into new realms. It is exploring
fashion and personal statements with the Apple Watch the first of presumably a long
line of desirable devices feted more for looks than functionality. It is
exploring connectivity and personal data without being locked into a
single device. It is exploring the space between technology and humanity to
change the way the world interacts with technology. It is exploring ways
to bring people closer together and to allow people to help each
other far more than ever before.
It’s also making it really easy to watch ‘Last Week Tonight’
with John Oliver.
Apple continues to shoot for the moon, but at the same time the
small steps it makes can have a huge impact on people’s daily lives.
Today’s event was more than ‘this is how much the Apple Watch costs’, or
‘here’s some new hardware’, it was about the possibility of changing the
future.
(Credit: Web)