If you weren't hiding under a rock, you likely heard all the big announcements at Apple's September 15 event like the iPad Air 4, Apple Watch Series 6, and more.
If there's one thing we know from covering Apple events all these years, its that some smaller details get missed if you aren't paying close attention. Here are five things you may have missed today is you were only skimming the news!
Apple Watch Series 6 gets the U1-chip
While Apple focused a lot on the Blood Oxygen app, new processor, brighter screen, and the new fancy colors you can get the Apple Watch Series 6, they weren't a lot of attention on Apple's U1 chip being a part of the new hardware.
Of course, the U1 chip is an ultra-wideband chip that is meant to have improved location tracking features and was included in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models last year. This is the first Apple Watch model to get the chip and the only one. The newly announced Apple Watch SE does not have the chip.
Lots of speculation that the U1 chip is what will be needed to work with the rumored AirTags Bluetooth trackers to be able to locate the items.
Apple Watch SE is a great value
For the first time, the SE designation is being used on an Apple product that isn't a phone. By now, you've likely heard about the Apple Watch SE, but what you may have missed is just how great of a deal it seems to be.
It has almost all the features of the Apple Watch Series 6 — only missing Blood Oxygen and ECG apps — but it does come in fewer colors and materials. It may have the old Apple Watch Series 5 processor, but all-in-all, the $120 price difference makes it a compelling product.
The death of the Apple Watch charging brick
We've been hearing rumblings of Apple getting rid of charging bricks in its products for a while now, but there's been a ton of speculation that the upcoming iPhone 12 would be the first product to do so —turns out that was wrong.
As stated at Apple's September 15 event, the Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch SE, and surprisingly, the Apple Watch Series 3 all will now ship without the power brick it typically comes with. You will still get the USB charger in the box that you can plug into an existing charger you own or a USB port on your computer, but that's it.
Apple has cited that it's doing this to cut down on its environmental impact, as it says the AC adapter has an increased chance of becoming electronic waste.
iPad Air 4 Touch ID changes
The iPad Air 4 is certainly starting to look a lot like the iPad Pro, with its thinner bezels that ditch the home button and inclusion of USB-C, but the iPad Air 4 still has Touch ID.
That's right, the TrueDepth camera you see on the iPad Pro that gives that device the ability to use Face ID isn't included in the iPad Air 4. If you get the new iPad Air, you'll be unlocking it via Touch ID as before, but the sensors have been moved to the sleep/wake button on the top of the device. It's the only device that has ever had a Touch ID sensor in such a small button.
Apple One prices and services
The Apple One part of the presentation was super short, and if you blinked at the wrong time, you might have missed precisely what the different Apple One bundles includes and how much each bundle will cost — here's a quick breakdown to get you up to speed.
- Individual includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage for $14.95 per month. Savings: around $6/month.
- Family includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 200GB of iCloud storage for $19.95 per month, and can be shared among up to six family members. Savings: around $8/month.
- Premier, where available, includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and 2TB of iCloud storage for $29.95 per month, and can be shared among up to six family members. Savings: $25/month. If you're an individual, you're still saving about $20/month here.
Anything you think a lot of people missed?
Let us know in the comments down below!
