Apple unveils new Apple Watch, iPad products, subscription plan

World Wednesday 16/September/2020 16:39 PM
By: Times News Service
Apple unveils new Apple Watch, iPad products, subscription plan

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple on Tuesday unveiled Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch SE, two new iPad models, and Apple One subscription plans during its virtual September 2020 event.

Apple Watch Series 6 can measure the oxygen saturation of users' blood, so the users may better understand their overall fitness and wellness.

To compensate for natural variations in the skin and improve accuracy, the Blood Oxygen sensor employs four clusters of green, red and infrared LEDs, along with the four photodiodes on the back crystal of Apple Watch, to measure light reflected back from blood, the company demonstrated.

Apple Watch uses a custom algorithm built into the Blood Oxygen app to measure blood oxygen between 70 percent and 100 percent.

Its new operating system "watchOS 7" also brings new features such as Family Setup, sleep tracking, automatic handwashing detection, new workout types, and the ability to curate and share watch faces, the company said.

Apple Watch SE features the same accelerometer, gyroscope and always-on altimeter as Apple Watch Series 6, and with the latest motion sensors and microphone. It offers robust health and safety capabilities including fall detection, Emergency SOS, international emergency calling, and the Noise app, the company said.

"Apple Watch SE combines elements of the Series 6 design with the most essential features of Apple Watch, all at a more affordable price," said Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer.

Apple introduced the eighth-generation iPad, featuring the A12 Bionic chip that brings the Neural Engine to the entry iPad for the first time.

"For the first time on iPad, A12 Bionic introduces the Neural Engine for next-level machine learning capabilities, including people occlusion and motion tracking in augmented reality (AR) apps, enhanced photo editing, Siri performance, and more," Apple said.

The new iPad Air features an all-screen design of 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, with upgraded camera and audio, a new integrated Touch ID sensor in the top button, and the A14 Bionic chip, the company said.

"This is our strongest iPad lineup ever, giving our customers even more ways to enrich their daily lives," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

Using 5-nanometer process technology, A14 Bionic is packed with 11.8 billion transistors. The latest-generation A-series chip features a new 6-core design for a 40 percent boost in CPU performance, it added.

Starting this fall, customers with Apple subscriptions will be recommended the Apple One plan, which includes all of Apple's subscription services, the company said.

"With a single subscription, customers in over 100 countries and regions can enjoy their favorite Apple services across their favorite devices, including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, and Mac," the company said.

The Individual plan includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage for 14.95 U.S. dollars per month.

The Premier plan is for 29.95 dollars per month, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, and 2TB of iCloud storage, and can be shared among up to six family members.

Apple reported late July its financial results for its fiscal 2020 third quarter with quarterly revenue of 59.7 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 11 percent from the year-ago quarter while the net sales in the Great China region increased to 9.329 billion dollars.

According to the quarterly financial report, the company's services revenue reached 13.156 billion dollars, up by 14.8 percent year on year. Its Wearables, Home, and Accessories unit brought in 6.450 billion dollars, a 16.7-percent growth, and its iPad unit reached 6.582 billion dollars.