Apple's Special Event - 21 March 2016

Did you miss out following the Apple’s event yesterday? We have gathered all that you should know from the latest announcements.

Security & privacy is still top priority:

After the controversial US government- Apple fight over the iPhone hack order, Apple’s major focus is still privacy and security  and how much control the govt must have on data. Tim Cook initiated his keynote with the conviction that Apple takes customer privacy and security very seriously. iOS 9.3 will include major fixes to remove the security flaws like the iMessage security bug fix.

Environment friendly:

The keynote emphasized on the company’s efforts towards recycling and environmental issues. The company also puts forward initiatives to resell and refurbish used iPhones and other devices, recycling and use of renewable energy. Tim Cook said, ‘our solar farm in Hongyuan, China, will generate more renewable energy than is used by all our corporate facilities and retail stores in China’.

Apple also introduced us to Liam - their iPhone-recycling robot. Liam extracts metal and components from discarded iPhones so they can be reused.

ResearchKit and Health:

The keynote included a pretty effective segment illustrating how the scope of ResearchKit is enabling new kinds of data gathering for research scientists. Apple also discussed how medical researchers and doctors benefitted from ResearchKit. Apple helped launch the largest Parkinson's study using it within a day's time using ResearchKit. The iPhone can now be used to diagnose autism early in kids.

It’s also impactful that it comes close after their comments on data privacy, which is fundamental to building trust for this kind of health data.

CareKit:

After the popularity of ResearchKit, Apple now debuts Personal Health CareKit. Apple is hopeful that Carekit will receive the same appreciation as their ReseachKit.

Carekit framework helps build apps for about ongoing care of patients, provides data on how their conditions are progressing, allows doctors to evaluate how medications and surgery affect recovery and/or relief of symptoms - so empowers you to take an active role in caring for yourself/others. Care Card focuses on treatment monitoring, such as medications or physical therapy goal progress, using data collected by an Apple Watch or an iPhone. CareKit will be released in April and will be Open Source

iWatch easily fits into your pocket now:

If the price was something holding you back from purchasing an Apple watch, go ahead buy it now. Apple announces a huge price cut on the Apple Watch and it is now available starting $299.

Apple TV and tvOS -

tvOS gets some new features like folders to clean up your home screen, Siri for App Store, iCloud Photo Library etc. The latest  tvOS version of Siri now supports voice dictation - including spoken commands for your passwords - and voice-enabled App Store searches. Thank you for this Apple, it’s a pain typing things on the Apple TV. The OS updates were made available yesterday.

The new iPhone SE

Then came the most awaited and predicted announcement- the new iPhone SE. Apple positions it as ‘a big step for the small’. iPhone SE launches March 31, and will be available in 100 countries by the end of May 2016.

With iPhone SE Apple returns back to its 4 inch display genre. The phone has most features of iPhone 6S including Hey Siri, 12MP camera, true tone flash, new image processor, live photo, more lte bands and 4K video. Also has touch id, NFC. So a powerful yet compact successor of the iPhone 6 series. Not a bad deal for those thinking of moving to an iPhone for the first time

iOS 9.3, ready to install:

The latest iOS version is upgraded with many new features like 3D Touch, app suggestions for health, and better maps and music in CarPlay, but the most helpful new feature is the new Night Shift mode.

Apple’s Notes app gets more secure in iOS 9.3, letting you set a password or use Touch ID to keep your notes under wraps.

Apple also announced new software features for the iPad for classroom and education.

The 9.7 inch iPad Pro:

As Apple announced the new 9.7 inch iPad Pro, they mentioned that a majority of iPad Pro users are coming from Windows PCs. Apple sees the iPad Pro as a transition device for Windows machine users. They are calling it the ‘Ultimate PC Replacement’

The new iPad Pro features true tone display, 25% brighter and least reflective screen. It delivers incredible performance with the 64-bit A9X chip along with a four-speaker audio system that is twice as powerful, new 12mp primary camera for shooting live photos and 4K video, 5mp front camera. It also includes support for the Apple Pencil and a new Smart Keyboard cover.

“It truly is the future of personal computing.” – Tim Cook, on iPad Pro.

The new iPad Pro comes in 32Gb for $599 and 128GB for $749 and for the first time, $899 for a 256GB in WiFi configurations. The new gadget comes in silver, space gray, gold and a new rose gold metallic finish.

Some more announcements from the even. 

The iPad-specific Lightning to SD Card Reader gets upgraded with a newer version. It now takes advantage of the faster USB 3 transfer speeds supported by new iPad Pros and works with iPhones too

• Want USB on your phone? The new camera adapter provides powered USB too for accessories like microphones.