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The September Apple Keynote – My Thought
I thought I should clear the air before you read on and suffer from apoplexy. I am an Apple fan boy, but that doesn’t mean I will dismiss Microsoft out of hand as they do indeed make some excellent devices – Zune excepted — and software, some of which are available for iOS and OS X.
I will start with the really big announcement and that was the iPad Pro. We all knew it was coming; don’t you just hate all these rumour sites, but it was a fine device. The quad speakers which adjust automatically to whichever way it is held was a smart move that no-one else seems to have thought about, but that is where the good news ended and the disappointments began.
As beautifully designed as it is with the lovely glass and aluminium finish, the drilled speaker vents and the new — haven’t I see that three pin connector before? — Keyboard connector pins, it really is just too big for everyday use. Watching a movie will be nice due to the super sharp display and four speaker stereo system — finally stereo sound from the left and right sides of an iPad, and not from one end — but you will be looking for a stand to put on due to its size and weight in a short time.
The new keyboard with its nice soft feeling material and springy keys isn’t a new idea and has been seen before such as the one available for the Surface Pro 3, but that has a built in mousepad which adds to functionality of that device. Neither of the keyboards are perfect and you could even say both are a bit of a bodge when you compare them with a laptop such as the Macbook Air, Macbook or Macbook Pro as these at least have a keyboard and trackpad as part of the device, and do not need a support such as the flip out stand happily holding the screen up for extensive use: you only need to watch the review videos showing how awkward the Surface Pro devices are when placed on a lap with the keyboard attached.
Then we come to the Pencil: I think Apple might just be a photo finish ahead on this one. The Surface Pro 2 had a software that worked exceedingly well but with the latest incarnation, Microsoft changed it for one of their own designed software. The one that Apple has developed is acknowledged as being very good indeed as it recognises how the Pencil is being used with little to no lag: all good news for a Professional user of the device.
So why is it I feel Apple has stumbled with the iPad Pro? Well, if we compare the iPad Pro with the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 we begin to see some of the problems. The advantages of the SP3 is as follows: it has a full desktop OS which allows it to run Adobe’s Photoshop and Lightroom 6, it has USB3 allowing it to accept devices such as an external hard drive and it has a kick stand built in plus it can be used just like the iPad. Along with the optional keyboard which has a trackpad built in, it has the added advantage of allowing you to use a mouse too. In my mind, the iPad Pro should have either been a dual OS device — iOS 9 & OS X or just OS X – have a built in stand, a trackpad in the soft touch keyboard and have the ability to use a mouse! Time will tell if I’m proven wrong but I feel the iPad Pro is trying to be to much like a laptop, plus at the price too, it is an expensive purchase if you add the Pencil and Keyboard cover into the total — very much in the Macbook Pro price range and too expensive for what you get.
Now, how many of you, and that includes myself, thought we were about to see an Apple television with the Apple TV built in. I would wager a bet that the vast majority of people in the theatre, and watching the keynote thought finally, Apple has made the Steve Jobs TV breakthrough television. Disappointment aside, I have to say I liked what I saw. Yes, it was still the hockey puck device as before if a little taller but it seemed to be saying this is no longer an Apple hobby device — it had finally left the experimental stage and had become a proper Apple product. I laughed at the Crossy Road app demonstration, smiled at the voice command controls and the handsfree searches. My only worry is what results it will throw up when I ask it to find something with my Scots accent, aye.
The Apple Watch updates were, well, ok but come on Apple, who the heck wants a strap that wraps around the wrist twice, oh, you do! Sorry…Finally, we get to the best part of the keynote and that was the iPhone 6s. The 6s & 6s+ are probably the biggest overhaul of all iPhone s updates. What we saw was in all reality, an iPhone 7 in every way but name and that pleased me as I am a big fan of the current design. In the end, I thought it one of the better keynotes with much to mull over, but little in the surprise factor to really wow us. I do wish the rumour sites would just stop leaking the details before the show though – I even got an email from a case manufacturer showing their new iPhone 6s & 6s+ cases before Apple had even announced them!
Posted by Ewen for Listener James T Ormiston
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Ewen Rankin