Apple Far Out event: iPhone 14, everything announced & more
With Apple’s latest event ready to go on September 7, we’re expecting a slew of information on the upcoming iPhone 14. Here’s everything that Apple announced.
It’s pretty much confirmed that every September, from now until the end of time, Apple will take to a stage to present the new iPhone. Tim Cook and the execs from Apple will do their best to convince you that this iteration, is the best iteration – ever.
Here’s everything that Apple announced.
For us regular folk, if you’re on a two-year contract or something similar, it’s probably just about that time of year when you can begin to badger those at your service provider to upgrade your phone. Who wouldn’t want to be on the iPhone 14 in 2022?
Catch up on the Apple event stream:
Apple’s Far Out event is set to be more focused on their smaller hardware, rather than talking about laptops, Macs, and iPads. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, a renowned Apple industry insider, claims that we’ll see more news about that in October or later in 2022.
So what should you expect to see from Apple at this September event? Well, we’ll break it down for you:
What to expect from the Apple event this September:
Apple Event: iPhone 14 announced
The iPhone 14 will cost $799 and the iPhone 14 Plus starts at $899. They’ll be available from September 9th for order.
The iPhone 14 is planned to be released this year, as usual, with a few tweaks to the formula. While nothing special appears to be planned for the hardware in a major way, it appears to be more about iteration this time round.
Apple’s iPhone 14 has an upgraded A15 chip seen inside the iPhone 13. The Mini is being squashed, being replaced with the 14 Plus. This will be the exact same phone as the regular 14, but planned to be about the same size as the Pro Max variations.
Apple are claiming this has the ‘best battery life’ across all iPhones, with the all-day battery coming to the 14 to provide longer service through the day.
Camera improvements
There’s a 12MP main camera, an increased aperture of 1.5f, to bring in more light and act faster over the previous models. Night mode should now be two times faster.
The front-facing camera got an upgrade, with an increased aperture of 1.9, allowing in more light than before and has autofocus.
Images will get a new process, allowing images to come out brighter and pop a little more. It’s intended for ‘low light photos’, which are always an issue. As it wasn’t mentioned, it’s expected the ultrawide lens – while getting support from the new process – will be in spec with the iPhone 13.
Video improvements
There’s a new sensor being built into the cameras, so when running and gunning, you’ll be able to get a steady image.
iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max shown off
The Apple iPhone 14 Pro will start at $999 and Pro Max will be starting from $1099. Preorders start September 9, with a release on September 13.
On the Pro side of things, Apple is making a few changes to help the Pro models properly stand out. They’ll be available in purple, white, black and gold.
Pill-hole punch
Recent rumors positioned the Pro and Pro Max to introduce a ‘hole punch’ style front-facing camera. Now, Apple will be bringing the pill-shaped punch out, rather than the one you’ve seen on Android phones recently.
In typical Apple fashion, it’s been dubbed with a new name. The ‘Dynamic Island’ will expand the pill shape out via software, bringing in the new style of notifications. It’ll support the new lock screen widgets coming to iOS 16, as well as third-party ones.
Over the last few weeks, this has now been rumored to be changed to a pill-shaped punch out. The reason for the massive notches on iPhones since the X has been down to it housing the FaceID and other needed hardware for the camera around that area.
The Pro models have shrunk this down and fitted most of the tech behind the screen.
Screen
Speaking of the screen, it can now hit 1600 nits, comparable to the expensive XD displays fitted on the current Macbook Pros and monitors. Going outside, it’ll push to 2000. It’ll be able to hit 120Hz and a low of 1Hz, which has been given a whole section on the chip.
Inside, the A16 makes its debut. It’s built on the 4nm process, allowing them to cram even more onto the chip. It’s a 6-core CPU, and an alledged 40% faster than the competition.
Camera improvements
In addition, Apple is going to be upgrading the cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro models, including the same upgrade to the lens on the front-facing camera that we’re expected to see on the regular 14 models.
The main lens will see a bump to 48 megapixels, as well as a larger sensor. It’s equipped with a ‘quad pixel sensor’, which combines different pixels to improve on lighting. This is bundled in with a two times performance boost over the iPhone 13 Pro.
A new 2x Telephoto mode will produce full resolution photos by cutting out the
According to reports, the iPhone 14 Pro’s back bump will be a little larger than even the iPhone 13’s, as it’ll be housing improved hardware.
Apple ProRAW is being upgraded, which will allow the photographers to take more control over their images. The ProRAW photos will now shoot at 48MP. Crops and more shouldn’t destroy the image as quickly when editing.
The Ultra Wide camera is getting an upgrade, with macro getting improvements. Essentially, it seems they want these photos to be brighter and faster.
An average 2x low-light performance is being introduced across the board.
Video improvements
As well as continuing to improve on the cinematic mode and introduce the new features found in the iPhone 14’s camera improvements, it seems the rumors of 8K video was too good to be true.
AirPods Pro 2 revealed
As predicted, the AirPods Pro 2 was revealed at the Apple Far Out event. The new earbuds bring new internals. They will come in at $249, available to order now and shipping from September 23.
Apple also focused on Spatial Audio, which remixes the song to attempt to recreate the act of having it ‘place’ sounds around you.
Spatial Audio will be joined by a new and updated Active Noise Cancellation. The H2 chip inside has a claimed two-time increase on noise cancellation that’s possible.
Transparency mode will allow you to reduce high decible noise by processing 48, 000 times a second. This was demonstrated with a massive jackhammer. All of this is achieved by improving the microphone underneath.
A longer battery life will bring 6-hour listening time on a single charge, with 30 hours on one charge of the case they come in. Apple are updating the case to be found via GPS and sounds. You’ll be able to use Magsafe or your Watch charger.
Apple Watch 8 and Ultra debut at the Far Out event
After a bizarre trailer, featuring massively depressing scenarios and a stretch of the imagination, Apple introduced the new Apple Watch 8 and Pro.
The Watch 8 continues on Apple’s insistence that it’s vital for every day use. It now features an always-on display, with a brighter display to help you read texts or information while out in the sun.
Apple Watch will be releasing September 16, at a starting price of $399 and the GPS version will be $499. It’s available to order today.
Second generation Apple Watch SE
Apple seem to have woken up to the fact that their SE range of iPhones and Watches are incredible value.
The new Apple Watch SE will feature a 30% bigger screen than the Watch 3, and is being aimed at families. On top of this, it’ll feature the same sensors as the Watch 8, so it can take advantage of new features.
It will start at $249 for a GPS version, and $299 for the cellular version.
Apple Watch Ultra announced
The Apple Watch Ultra will cost $799. It’s available to order today, but will release on September 23.
Rumored for a while, the Apple Watch Ultra (rumored to be called the Pro) made its debut at the Far Out event. As assumed, it is focused on those who need their Apple Watch to go further than the Series 8 is capable of.
The design is altering the current shape for a bigger looking device. Some cases for the Watch Ultra made it out into the wild before the announcement.
It supports a depth of 35m under water, with more prominent buttons and interfaces, to ensure that you’re always able to use it. This is even things down to the grooves on the dials.
A focus was the ‘action button’, a giant orange button on the side that will immediately let you start a workout without the need to fiddle.
The microphone on board now features a new microphone to cut down on wind noise.
There’s a standard of 36 hours of battery life, with 60 hours planned to be introduced in a further optimization update.
The Ultra has a nightmode, turning the UI red and includes a ‘wayfinder’ mode, for those needing an accurate compass. Ultra will come with updated GPS software to ensure accuracy. Apple are also including a tracking mode, to help you retrace your steps or locate a point of interest. Yes, like a video game.
On top of this, the device has a specific loop to ensure it stays attached to your wrist at all times.
Watch 8 safety and health tracking updates
On top of this, new features for those involved in the health side of Apple’s business. A focus on women’s health took a portion of the presentation.
Cycle tracking
This part of the presentation included an update to the period cycle, which should assist with finding out when you ovulate. This is backed up by the new temperature sensors included on the top and bottom of the watch.
Crash detection
In what we can only describe as whiplash, the conference switched from women’s health to potential death by a massive moving piece of metal. The Watch 8 will now support ‘crash detection’, which is aimed to take over when you crash your car. A call will be made on a ten-second timer on detection of a crash.
Low power mode
No, we also thought this was a thing included on all Apple Watches. Apple claim that 36 hours can be squeezed out of the Watch 8, with support for the Watch 4 onwards – after upgrading to the latest watchOS.
One more thing… Apple Virtual Reality didn’t happen – yet
None of this happened, but here’s what we expected to see:
It should really be ‘one more thing from Mark Gurman’, because, in another report, Gurman talks about Apple’s upcoming virtual reality headsets. These have been in development for quite some time and don’t intend to come to the average consumer straight away.
The headset was recently shown off to Apple’s board of directors and Tim Cook has made some direct mentions of it as well. Whether Apple brings back the classic phrase or not is sure to bring excitement or pure disappointment at the event.
Currently split into three variations, Gurman says he’s aware of the ‘N301’, ‘N602’, and ‘N421’. He also believes the N301 version to be the Apple Reality Pro.
These are planned to be equipped with 8K displays on the inside and include eye tracking. On the outside, cameras would allow you to view the world. Something similar has been announced for Sony’s upcoming PSVR2.
Apple has begun to trademark ‘Reality One’, ‘Reality Pro’, and ‘Reality Processor’, as uncovered by Bloomberg.
The N602 model is also expected to be either another model of the VR headset, while N421 is widely believed to be Apple’s AR glasses, which aren’t expected for a long while yet.