Big news for Apple fans – or is it?
The company recently announced their new product line featuring two new phones, a new tablet, an update to their Apple TV and a curious new feature called “Live Photos.” And with each Apple announcement comes the usual wave of hype and grandstanding.
So did Apple just unveil the next wave of innovation – or are we looking at rehashes of the same? Helping us sort through it all is Omar Gallaga, digital savant at the Austin-American Statesman.
“There wasn’t really anything shocking or out of the ordinary,” Gallaga says. The Apple Pencil, a smart stylus selling for $99, may be a sign that they’re getting away from the all-in-one touch interface of the iPad, he says. The new iPhone 6 and 6S, out September 25, will stay the same size but have improved internal specs – a better camera with a 4K camera and a model in rose gold.
Apple TV is getting a revamp, with a touch remote control.
“They’re opening up the platform, they’re making it more geared to gaming and, unfortunately, jacking up the price to $149 and $199,” Gallaga says. It’ll have more storage and more apps from outside Apple, but with competitors like Roku available for much cheaper, Gallaga says it might be off to a slow start.
In the post-Jobs era, there haven’t been any new, breakthrough products. “That’s not really Apple’s style these days,” Gallaga says. “It’s more to improve the products year after year, boost sales, and they’re having no problem selling this stuff.”