Today, Apple had a press event called their “Special Event” on March 21st 2016, where they unveiled the iPhone SE, the iPad Pro 9.7-inch, and a few loops and bracelets for the Apple Watch. Overall, a very uneventful event. But everything that was announced we basically knew about it so let's just talk about it.
iPhone SE
To kick things off right, Apple unveiled the iPhone SE, this long rumored 4-inch iPhone that was going to come back and hit the market. This is something that I thought was going to happen for a long time and it finally did happen. The iPhone SE is basically an iPhone 5 or 5S re-shelled and it comes in two new colors also with that Space Gray and Silver is now Rose Gold and the normal Gold. Though the internals are something that we didn't expect because it basically has the same internals minus the battery size of course as the iPhone 6S and the 6S Plus. That means it has the new A9 chip, 2GB of RAM, 12MP camera, Touch ID-- everything minus 3D Touch is on the iPhone SE.
Is it a necessary phone? Probably not. But at a starting price tag of $399 for a 16GB iPhone, it's still not that inexpensive iPhone everybody wants but it is more affordable than the iPhone 6S and some people just like the smaller sized iPhone.
Ipad Pro 9.7
The other news from the Apple event today is the new Apple iPad Pro 9.7-inch. It's a very interesting combination of pieces and parts and somehow it's even better than the iPad Pro 12.9-inch that was announced about 4-5 months ago, which is kind of stupid of Apple to do because everyone who has bought the more expensive iPad Pro now kinda wants the new iPad Pro in a smaller size.
Let's start with the basics. Basically, it looks and feels the same as the iPad Air 2. It has the same 9.7-inch display size, it weighs about a pound, adopts the four-speaker system from the iPad Pro. The one thing that's new with the iPad Pro 9.7-inch is the new true tone display. While it's the same pixel and resolution as the iPad Air 2, the display can automatically adjust its color balance depending on the ambient light that you're in. So if you're outside, it's going to be more bright and more light. If you're inside, it will be a little bit more warm and soothing and all those sorts of things to make you feel good and gooey inside. And while it's a nice feature, it's not exactly a ground-breaking innovation.
The internals of the new iPad Pro 9.7-inch is basically a carbon copy of the internals you'll find in the iPad Pro 12.9-inch. The same chip inside, A9X, 4GB of RAM. Everything that you found on the iPad Pro 12.9-inch you'll find on the iPad Pro 9.7-inch. One thing that's different is the camera, of course. So Apple decided to put the camera from the iPhone 6S and now the iPhone SE into this iPad Pro 9.7-inch. That means a 12MP 4K recording camera on the iPad Pro 9.7-inch and there's a hideous hump and they've now added a flash to the iPad Pro. Is that necessary? Absolutely not. But they also did update the front-facing camera to a 5MP camera, up from a 1.2 so there is a nice balance.
Also announcing are their price reductions for the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 4. The iPad Mini 4 now starts at $269 and the iPad Air 2 now starts at $399.
And last but not least, there are a few new bands available for the Apple Watch. Thankfully, there was no Apple Watch 2 announced today, which means anyone who has one of these can basically be happy for the next few months (at least) and the new bands are kind of interesting. They've also announced a price decrease on the Apple Watch. The Sport now starts at $299 for a 38mm and $349 for a 42mm.
So that's basically a recap of what happened today at the Apple event. Again, pretty anticlimactic. It wasn't anything that we weren't expecting. It was kind of boring and the iPhone SE is now a thing and the iPad Pro 9,7-inch is now a thing. They both launch on March 31st and preorders go up on March 24th.