Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Apple's fall 2015 lineup

In its semiannual product roll out Apple made several significant announcements. Here's a short list
          • A 13" iPad
          • iPhone 6s and 6s Plus
          • A long over due version of Apple TV
          • iOS 9 with split screen
          • 3D Touch
          • A Smart back button

1 - a 13" iPad which could be a serious competitor to similarly sized laptops as well as the Microsoft Surface tablet. This last comparison is all the more interesting since a Microsoft employee came on stage at the Apple event to show how MS Office works on the iPad  - what were they thinking??

2 - iPhone 6s and 6s plus - significant improvements in several areas in spite of the "s" designation.

3 - A long over due version of Apple TV to compete with a variety of other Internet connection devices from the likes of Google, Amazon and Roku.

4 - iOS 9 - the latest version of its mobile operating system was released. Of the myriad of features included only one appeared "major" to me. Some Android devices have had a split screen for years and Apple played catch up with a great version of its own. I do a lot of writing on my iPad using a Logitech keyboard/case and now I can read or copy from a source (web page on the right) and compose a document or email (on the left). I have MS Office and Apple's office suite on my iPad so I have power tools at my fingertips wherever I am. I can also have email opened on the left and check or update my calendar on the right which makes scheduling a breeze.

5 - 3D Touch is likely to be the biggest one of all. It combines old style pressure touch with common capacitive touch.

6 - In another development that some would say is a "catchup" move iOS 9 now has a "back button" of sorts which I really like because it is tailored to the application. For example if you tap a date in an email message it will open your calendar to that date and display a "back to email" icon at the top of the calendar. The same thing happens if you click on a web page in a specific document - you will see a back to that source on the web page. I'm sure the debate will rage about whether the more generic Android version is better than the more tailored version of Apple.

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