9 years ago Apple came, Apple saw, and Apple conquered. Every year since then Apple has either pushed the bar higher or managed to surprise most well informed skeptics. By the time this year’s much awaited Apple event began not everyone was expecting Apple to deliver as per the industry’s expectations. So the Apple event came and went. Apple didn’t disrupt the market but it was still nothing short of a blitzkrieg.
Apple introduced its much awaited iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus smartphones along with unveiling the new Apple Watch, which is rather sportingly named the Apple Watch Series 2.
Apart from these expected introductions Apple also unveiled its wireless earbuds which come, in typical Apple Inc. style, with a fancy name – AirPods.
All of these are of course great products on their own but let’s not forget that Apple has been building an ecosystem of interconnected products and services. Apple’s USP has always been giving the customer what they don’t know they need yet. Once Apple creates the product or service it finds takers fairly quickly because using that product or service makes life in the ecosystem easier. Apple has often disrupted the market by creating demand where there was none.
Some of the essentials of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are as follows:
- iPhone 7 comes with Apple’s A10 Fusion chip
- iPhone 7 is water and dust resistant
- Apple has introduced wireless earbuds called AirPods for Apple devices
- The physical Home button at the bottom of the iPhones has been buried
- The iPhone 7 Plus comes with two primary cameras
- The iPhone 7 will last 2 hours longer than the iPhone 6S
- The iPhone 7 Plus will last 1 hour longer than the iPhone 6S
Not only are the AirPods wireless earbuds but they will connect seamlessly with your Apple ecosystem device, whether it be your iPhone, your Mac, or your Apple Watch.
The only catch is that the AirPods will only run with devices powered by Apple’s latest Operating Systems – iOS 10, macOS Sierra, and/or watchOS 3. However, now that the demand has been created Apple expects its ecosystem user base to adopt the AirPods as soon as possible and in all likelihood the ecosystem will oblige.
The Apple Watch Series 2 was also quite a talking point in social media corridors. Here are some quick Apple Watch facts:
- The S2 chip on the Apple Watch Series 2 has a dual core processor that’s 50% faster than that on the previous Apple Watch
- The original Apple Watch will now be called Apple Watch Series One
- The Apple Watch Series One will now ship with the latest S2 chip
- The prices for the Apple Watch Series 2 start from $369
- The price for the Apple Watch Series One is $269
- Pre-orders begin on September 9 and the Apple Watches become available in late October
- The Apple Watch Series One will get the watchOS 3 upgrades starting September 13
Other than this Apple did manage to create more buzz with some of its other announcements.
- iOS 10 officially launches on September 10th
- macOS Sierra officially launches on September 20th
- Nintendo’s Super Mario Run is coming exclusively to the iOS later this year
- Nintendo’s Pokemon Go is coming to the Apple Watch Series 2
- The AirPods will ship in October for $159
- Apple also introduced the Lightning Earpods at the event
- Apple Music has 17 million paid subscribers
- The AppStore has 140 billion downloads and is growing at 106% YoY
- The AppStore made 2x more global revenue than its closest competitor
Throughout the Apple event the company made it loud and clear that this was the best iPhone ever. After watching the reactions to the Apple event on social media I now understand why stating the obvious might have been necessary.
Much to the chagrin of the anti-Apple crowd Apple isn’t claiming that this is the best smartphone in the world, or that they have invented the AirPods, or that the A10 Fusion is just the most amazing thing ever. Apple is making it aptly clear that this is the best iPhone ever and if that’s the measure of your favorite phone so be it.
Those who think the Apple event was only about, or mainly about, the iPhone 7 launch, need to start re-evaluating their understanding of brand Apple. While the iPhone launch may have created the most buzz it is not likely to remain the numero uno Apple product to watch out for in the not so distant future. That maybe a likely scenario many can comprehend but what most people don’t take into account is the meteoric rise of the Apple Watch.
The argument that smartwatches are still not a widely accepted consumer electronics product may lose its sheen by this time next year. One simply needs to look at what the Apple Watch has achieved since its launch in 2015 to come to that realization.
The Apple Watch is not only the top-selling smartwatch thus far, it was also second best selling watch globally in 2015. Yes, you read that right. The Apple Watch became second best watch by sales worldwide in its debut year. Only Rolex sold more watches than Apple in 2015. That should give you some pause.