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Apple Watch Is So Good It’s Hard To Improve 
 
Apple’s latest event included a new watch, new iPad offerings and announced it will release iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7 and tvOS 14 on September 16th. The Apple Watch is so good that there is little room for change as indicated in the list of new features. But the company did learn from the popularity of the iPhone SE and announced a lower priced version of the Watch.
 
Apple Watch Series 6

• The new Apple Watch Series 6 is powered by a new S6 chip, which Apple says is a dual-core processor based on the A13 Bionic in the iPhone 11.
• New to this model is an SpO2 sensor, to measure your blood oxygen saturation, which Apple says will take about 15 seconds. Also new is an altimeter, and it has a new U1 Ultra-Wideband chip, which is now in iPhones. 
• The always-on display is now 2.5 times brighter, and with support for 5GHz WiFi networks (not 5G, in case you’re skimming this).
• It starts at $399 for the GPS version.
• It won’t come with a USB power adapter in the box, Expect the same for the next iPhone box, too!

The lower-cost Apple Watch SE:

• What’s missing is the S6 chip S5 chip, no 5GHz WiFi or the blood-oxygen sensor, and no ECG either (a Series 4 feature from 2018). Also missing is the always-on feature.
• It is the same size as Series 6 though. 
• It starts at $279, 
• Apple is still selling the Series 3 for $199.
• Won’t come with a charger in the box, either.

 
Figure 1: iPad Air Display

New iPad Air is much better, and almost as good as the iPad Pro for now:

• The iPad Air is hot again, with a refresh across the board. 
• It’s now a 10.9-inch display, has less bezel than before, and looks like an iPad Pro, with a 2,360 by 1,640 resolution. 
• The fuller screen is created by moving the Touch ID fingerprint sensor and button to the side, next to the top power button, a first for Apple.
• It’s the first device on Apple’s very latest A14 chipset, a 5nm process A14 Bionic, ahead of the iPhone 12 later this year.
• Apple says it’s faster than ever, with six-core CPU, four-core GPU architecture for the first time, and 16-core neural engine, with 11.8 billion transistors in use. 
• It also uses a USB-C port, not Lightning, and it’s added Magic Keyboard support. 
• There’s five colors now, including sky blue and green, and availability is from next month.
• It starts at $599 but that’s for a 64GB storage version, for 256GB the price is  $699. Add in the cellular option and the price is $829, 
• It competes with the higher priced iPad Pro, which does have a 120Hz screen, Lidar sensor, and Face ID, but now less power. 

iPad (8th generation)

• It now has a new processor with an A12 Bionic on board, from 2018’s iPhone. It still has the slightly outdated but it’s entry-level.
• The $329 starting point remains but only for 32GB storage, which will limit apps.
• The 128GB model is $409

Fitness+

• Apple Watch owners have enjoyed the closing the rings fitness tracking, and now Fitness Plus takes it further.
• It’s a new premium subscription service that integrates with iPhones, iPads, Apple TV, and Apple Watch, and there’s 10 different workout types now, with more being added. It’ll run you $10 a month.
• As a session is started metrics like heartrate and calories burned are provided
• It’s coming late 2020 and seems to be moving in on the likes of Peloton’s space. 
• Crucially, the sessions aren’t live.

Apple One subscription bundle

• Apple One brings together a bunch of Apple services in a single subscription.
• $14.95 per month: Apple Arcade, Apple Music, Apple TV+ and 50GB of iCloud storage.
• $19.95 p/m: Families (up to six) can access the same services and 200GB of iCloud storage. 
• $29.95 p/m: Premier tier for all the above, plus access to Apple News+, Fitness+ and 2TB of iCloud storage.
• Rivals aren’t happy. Spotify complained that "Apple is using its dominant position and unfair practices to disadvantage competitors.” (Apple Insider)
• Apple, believe it or not, said it’s not unfair (The Verge).