The March 9th Apple Event
Posted on 3/9/2015 by Nicholas Jones
Whether you love Apple or you hate them, it’s clear that they are a leader in their industry. In their event today, we learned more about the Apple watch, as well as the redesign on MacBooks.
Missed the event? No worries. Here is a great summary roundup from Mashable—
APPLE WATCH
We now know what we didn’t know about the Apple Watch.
Describing it as the “most advanced timepiece ever created,” CEO Tim Cook showed how customizable the watch face is, saying users would be able to add the date, weather, your next meeting and other informational indicators. Swiping up lets you go through various “glances,” widget-like screens to do things like checking your heart rate.
And yes, you can make calls on the Apple Watch. The built in microphone and speaker lets you make calls via the watch without needing to pull out your phone, and the “taptic engine” can vibrate your wrist to let you know about an incoming call, text or notification.
Cook also gave a little more on the Apple Watch’s fitness capabilities. The watch tracks your movements, letting you know how long you’ve been exercising or if you’ve been sitting too long. A workout app includes several different types of cardio exercise: running, cycling, elliptical, rower, stair stepper and others.
With a casing made of aluminum, the Apple Watch Sport starts at $349 for the small 38mm size and $399 for 42mm. It’s available in silver or space gray. The “regular” Apple Watch, with a stainless-steel casing, will range from $549-$1,049 for the 38mm size, and $599-$1,099 for 42mm.
The Apple Watch Edition, with a casing made of 18-karat solid gold, starts at $10,000.
iOS 8.2
THE NEW MACBOOK
One word: GOLD.
The new MacBook — available in silver, gold or space gray — has an all-metal enclosure and weighs less than 2 pounds. Just 13.1mm thick, it offers a brand new keyboard, with keys that are 40% thinner than the traditional kind.
The new MacBook, which ships on April 10, also has an all-metal case, with a keyboard that goes all the way to the computer’s edges. The keys were engineered to be less wobbly, moving away from the traditional “scissor mechanism,” for what Apple calls the “butterfly mechanism.” The keys are supposed to be more precise and accurate.
The retina 2304×1440 display comes in at 12 inches. Like everything else on this computer, the display is super skinny: 0.88mm thin. It’s also supposed to consume 30% less energy despite being prettier and thinner.
Even the trackpad is getting an update. It’s called the Force Touch trackpad, which has new sensors underneath. With this trackpad, you can click anywhere and get the same sort of balanced feel no matter where your fingers land. (Apple compared previous trackpads to working like a pool’s diving board.)
Mac users will also be familiar with that buzzing fan noise when the computer heats up. This MacBook has no fan inside of it — a first for an Apple laptop. Also inside the computer is an Intel Core M processor and a much smaller — but no less powerful — logic board.
Perhaps most exciting: new “terraced” batteries that offer 35% more battery. Apple claims the new MacBook has an all-day battery life.
APPLE + HBO
Signing an exclusive partnership with Apple is a bold move for HBO because it is essentially coupling its pure online service with living room platform. Conversely, HBO made its HBO Go service available to nearly a dozen different set-top device makers.
There you have it. Does anything from today’s event excite you? Let us know in the comments section below!
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