Pre-orders for Microsoft latest Xbox consoles, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The problem with today's pre-orders was not the failure of a single vendor. Instead, it was ALL of them that people attempted to pre-order from, at least in the U.S.

Microsoft had set a pre-order time of 8 a.m. Pacific Time. This is a good idea in itself, because everybody knows when they will begin. Furthermore, it is not in the middle of the night. I have ordered countless iPhones at 2 a.m. due to the pre-order time starting at midnight pacific time. But that is not the case for the Xbox Series X.

Within the post Microsoft indicated the retailers that would be having pre-orders. The retailers listed in the post include:

• Microsoft Store
• Amazon
• Best Buy
• GameStop
• Walmart
• Target
• Sam’s Club
• Newegg
• Other participating retailers

Out of this list, I had prepared to order from five different retailers. These were Microsoft, GameStop, Target, Amazon, and Best Buy. In order to prepare I had all of the sites up, I was logged into each of the sites to save myself some time during the checkout process. Amazon and Best Buy did not put up their pre-orders right away, so those were out of contention, or so I thought when pre-orders started.

When 10 a.m. rolled around, I started to refresh Target and Gamestop, as well as trying Microsoft's site. Not a single one was without some sort of trouble.

Target's site allowed me to add the Xbox Series X to the cart, and attempt to checkout, but their back-end completely crapped the bed and kept saying "oops an error occurred". I kept trying to checkout, to no avail. I even got to the final checkout page to enter in my credit card CVV code, and it kept failing. When it failed, it would send me back to my cart, which often said that I had nothing in it, but that was no the case. Once I was able to get back into the cart, I would checkout, but it would fail. I even tried Apple Pay on the iPhone, but that kept failing as well. I had even gotten to the Apple Pay sheet on the phone and that failed, so I ended up having to go back to my cart.

Just before 10 a.m., Microsoft put up the "Preorder" links on their Xbox Series X order page. When you tried to click on it, you would get a "page cannot be found" error. Shortly after 10:10 Microsoft's site allowed me to add an Xbox Series X to my cart. The problem then became the actual check out process. The page kept going back to "not found". I then looked at my cart, and and attempted to checkout, which would fail intermittently. After 53 minutes of trying, and 15 minutes of trying to get through the Microsoft checkout process I finally got to the end. It indicated that it could not set my payment method, although one was already on my account.

At 10:56 I happen to refresh the Amazon page, which had previously been the famous Amazon "not found" page, which shows various dogs. It actually had a "pre-order" button on the page. I immediately clicked on "Pre-Orer", went through my cart and ordered an Xbox Series X. It was the fastest checkout, as you might expect. Pre-order -> Review -> Confirm. The entire process took 15 seconds. I honestly think I may have been one of the last ones to get a pre-order in on Amazon, because as soon as I went back to the page it stated "Currently Unavailable".

GameStop had one of the more interesting takes, they added you to a queue and if you entered the queue you would have to wait to get onto the site. So, you could sit and wait fore your turn. Of course, I opted to do this. Approximately 35 minutes after waiting, I was able to view the items on the site. As you might expect, they were completely sold out.

I was browsing Twitter and noticed someone else said the Best Buy had their pre-orders up again. I kept trying to add an Xbox Series X to my cart, but kept getting a "Due to High Demand this item was not added to your cart. Wait a few minutes and try again." message. I kept trying to hit "add to cart" and kept getting the same message.

I was able to procure two Xbox One Series X orders. One for myself and one for my brother. Today's experience is very reminiscent of the early iPhone ordering days when Apple's site would take a massive dump when trying to order a phone.

If it were only Microsoft who were taking pre-orders, it might be somewhat understandable. It is not feasible to scale your operations for a single occurrence of insanely heavy traffic. However, Microsoft owns the infrastructure to be able to handle this, so their site being so slow is surprising. I do not think the issue was the Xbox site itself, but their back-end services that accounted for the slowness.

Of course Amazon's experience, if the page was actually available, was the best experience and the fastest checkout. This is not surprising given that Amazon handles millions of orders each year, including some of the most popular times. Amazon can deal with scale.

I completely understand having people buy from various retailers, because you do not want to overwhelm your own system. But I think all of the retailers, except Amazon, underestimated the demand that they would need to handle. Today's e-commerce is not like the olden days where you would need to have physical servers. Today everything is virtual and machines can be spun up and down as needed.

I do think that the retailers remembered to scale their front ends, because I never had an issue loading a page, the issues were all with the backend systems. I hope for the next big pre-order event that the companies think about more than just the front end and shore up the back-end systems as well.

For Target, the cart mechanism as well as the actual checkout. I think the two might have been related, since it could not access the cart, it could not finalize the checkout.

Best Buy was similar in that it could not actually add items to the cart, so you could not checkout. Once an item was in the cart, it seemed okay.

For Microsoft it was similar situation where the backend systems for pulling account information seemed to be the bottleneck.

Today's Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S pre-orders were not the only pre-orders to experience a fiasco. The Playstation 5 and Nvidia RTX 3080 have also had the same type of experience for those who tried to pre-order those items. This type of experience does not engender positives vibes for both the retailer and the manufacturer. Other retailers can learn from the today's, and the other recent pre-orders, so the same experiences do not happen in the future.

I have owned an iPhone since June 30th, 2007, which is the day after the first iPhone was made available for purchase. At the time, the iPhone was only available on one carrier in the US, and that was AT&T. When you got an original iPhone with AT&T, one of the things that you had to purchase was an unlimited data package. At the time it cost $30 per month.

The AT&T Unlimited Data plan was eliminated in June of 2010. The replacement options were $15 for 200MB or $25 for 2GB. If you had an existing unlimited data plan, you could keep it, provided you did not change your plan at all. I did not want to give up my unlimited data plan because who knew if AT&T would ever bring back unlimited data options. In 2017, AT&T brought back their unlimited data plan, albeit with some changes.

At some point between 2007 and 2010 my brother wanted to get an iPhone and so he bought one and his line was added to my account. When he did this, he also got the unlimited package. In 2015, I added another line to my account. This line was one that is used by a flip phone with no data. Each additional line, after the first one, is $10 per month, along with any extras. So this means that I had three lines on my account.

In 2015, AT&T increased the price of the grandfathered unlimited plans to $35 per month. The first increase since the introduction. However, this is not the only increase. AT&T increased the price to $40 in 2017 and then raised it to $45 per month in 2018.

If you have a grandfathered unlimited data plans, there are some features that you do not get. These are tethering, which was added in 2010, and more recently HBO Max with the "elite" plan. I am not as concerned with the HBO Max streaming, but I would like to have hotspot capabilities as a backup for internet.

Earlier this year my brother moved his line to its own account. While this reduced the bill, it did not reduce it as much as I might have thought. I got to thinking that I should reduce my cost and switch to one of the newer unlimited data plans, so I can get tethering, and if I so chose, HBO Max. After my brother moved his line, I was no longer able to modify my plan. In order to change my plan, I would have to call AT&T.

Today, I decided to actually call AT&T and inquire about changing my plan. So, I called and talked to a woman. I explained to her my situation and it took her like 10 minutes to figure out which plan would make the most sense for me. When she came back she said it would cost $190 for the two lines. Knowing this did not make sense, I asked her why. She stated that there were two lines at $95 each, so it would be $190. I explained that the second line is a flip phone with no data. She repeated that it would be $190 per month.

There is no way that I am going to be uselessly paying for data on a flip phone. I thanked the representative and decided to go to the store instead, hoping that they would be able to help me.

I went to the AT&T store and talked to a representative. Again, I explained the situation to her and she looked into it. She thought that she would be able to keep the plan for the flip phone and change my She wants to verify something with her manager. She indicated that if I changed the plan, the new price would be $150 per month, before tax. This is $15 moreover moth than I am paying now. It would be $55 for a flip phone with no data. Let me repeat that, $55 for a phone with no data. Naturally, I am reluctant to do that. The representative understood and indicated that I should call the Loyalty Department. She provided the direct number.

I called the AT&T Loyalty Department, explained the situation to the representative. She thought she would be able to help me. She took a few minutes to figure it out if it was possible. She came back onto the phone and indicated that it would be $150 per month for both lines, before tax, just as the store representative indicated. Needless to say, I did not change my unlimited data plan.

What bothers me the most is that the cell phone companies are able to get away with charging people $50 for a line without any data. How is this even legal? I understand not being able to keep the $10 per month, but $55 for a phone with no data is complete highway robbery.

I went looking at AT&T's site to see if there were any plans without data. I was not able to find a single plan without data. While I understand the desire to provide people options for data, but there are some who do not need data and just need a cellular phone. I guess the only option for those are to go with a pre-paid plan or mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, like StraightTalk or Cricket.

I may ultimately be able to save myself some money at some point in the future by changing my unlimited plan, but for now, that is not the case.

As has become my custom, with each Apple event I predict what I think Apple will unveil. You can read the recap that I posted about what was announced, but let us look at how I did with my predictions. Here is what I predicted.

Predictions

• New Apple Watch Bands – 100%
• Services Bundle – 95%
• Apple Watch Series 6 – 90%
• No New iPhones announced – 80%
• Apple Watch Series 5 staying around – 75%
• Apple Watch Series 6 SE – 60%
• Apple Watch Series 6 SE price of $179 – 50%
• New iPad Air – 60%
• New iPad Air has iPad Pro-inspired design – 60%
• All Apple Services included in bundle – 25%

New Apple Watch Bands – 100%

I guessed that Apple would release new Apple Watch bands, and boy did they ever. They have a whole bunch of new colors for existing bands including five new Sport Band colors, seven new Sport Loop color combinations, three new Nike Sport Band color combinations, and three new Nike Sport Loop color combinations. There are a slew of new Hermes bands and even a couple of new stainless steel colors, Gold Milanese and Graphite Milanese bands.

Along with the new color combinations, there are three new Apple Watch Band types. These are the Leather Link, the Solo Loop, and the Braided Solo Loop. The Leather Link is a new look to the Leather band. It takes the existing Leather band and adds in links, so it provides some texture to the band. The Solo Loop is a one-piece watch band that is designed to fit snugly, yet is flexible enough to be removable. The Braided Solo Loop is the same design as the Solo Loop, but it is made with 100% recycled yarn and silicone threads to create a comfortable band.

The Solo Loops come in 9 different sizes, 1 to 9 for the 40mm, and 4 to 12 for the 44mm watch. These are not compatible with the Series 3 or earlier Apple Watches. These are only compatible with the Series 4 and newer.

Services Bundle – 95%

Apple did announce a services bundle called "Apple One". Available later this fall, Apple One consists of three different tiers, "Individual", "Family", and "Premier". All three tiers include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud. The amount of iCloud storage varies. It is 50GB for the Individual plan, 200GB for the family plan, and 2TB for the Premier plan. The Premier plan also includes Apple News+ and a brand new service, Apple Fitness+.

The Apple One bundle does allow you to purchase additional storage for iCloud on top of the included storage. Furthermore, it will support those who have a different iTunes account versus an iCloud account.

Apple Watch Series 6 – 90%

Apple did announce a new Apple Watch Series 6, which as a 2.5x brighter screen and a new Blood Oxygen sensor and accompanying app. The Apple Watch Series 6 does also have two new aluminum color options, Blue and PRODUCT(RED). These are being delivered into people's hands as of today.

No New iPhones announced – 80%

Apple did not announce any new iPhones at this event. Apple stated on their last earnings call that the iPhone would be a few weeks late, so it makes sense that there were no new iPhones announced at this event.

Apple Watch Series 5 staying around – 75%

I was wrong about this one, kinda, more on that in a minute. The Apple Watch Series 5 is no longer available for sale.

Apple Watch Series 6 SE – 60%

Apple did announce an Appel Watch SE. It is not a Series 6, but it does use the Series 5 internals. It does not have an always on screen, nor the blood oxygen sensor, but it does have a brighter screen and uses the same form factor as the Series 4 and newer, so it can support the new Apple Watch bands discussed above.

Apple Watch Series 6 SE price of $179 – 50%

Nope, the price of the Apple Watch SE starts at $279, not $179.

New iPad Air – 60%/New iPad Air has iPad Pro-inspired design – 60%

Apple announced a new iPad Air that does indeed have a designed inspired by the iPad Pro. It now has square sides, and the Touch ID sensor has been moved to the top button. This provides the ability to have smaller bezels, so the screen can now be larger at 10.9 inches instead of the previous 10.5-inch size. The new size also means that it can support the same Magic Keyboard as the 11-inch iPad Pros. With the redesign, it now supports the 2nd Generation Apple Pencil and charges in the same manner through magnets on the side of the iPad Air.

The iPad Air also comes with the A14 Bionic chip, so it has even faster performance. The A14 Bionic also includes a beefier neural engine for faster on-device machine learning and even better graphics.

The iPad Air comes in five colors, Silver, Space Gray, Rose Gold, Green, and Sky Blue, with the latter two being new. The new iPad Air is a bit more expensive than the last version. The new model starts at $599 for a 64GB Wifi-only model, and it will be available in October.

All Apple Services included in bundle – 25%

All of Apple's services have been included in a bundle, although it is the most expensive, they are still in the bundle.

Recap

Overall, not too bad on my predictions. I only missed 2 out of 10, so 80% correct. I'll take it. It will be interesting to see what the next event holds. Once that is announced I will do another prediction post, a recap of the event, and a recap of my predictions for that event. Before that series of posts though, I will have a review of the Apple Watch Series 6, which I just received, so look for that soon.

I know there are some that prefer to have physical copies of books, and you can now buy a paperback versions of my latest iOS book; iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7 for Users and Developers. You can get either a Black & White version for $14.99 or a Color version for $39.99. If you would prefer to frequent your local reseller you can purchase the Black & White version from them using the ISBN 979-8677546914. Due to pricing, only the Black & White version is available through third-party bookstores.

In these uncertain times, you can also get a Kindle version for $3.99. If you prefer you can purchase a copy from Apple Books for $3.99.

iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7 for Users and Developers somewhat mirrors macOS Big Sur in that there are some design tweaks like the new Widgets and your ability to place them on the home screen for device running iOS, the new App Library system, which can help you organize your home screen. Along with the home screen changes, search and Siri have seen some improvements as well, and those are covered. Safari can now help keep you informed about who is tracking you across the web.

Communications is a big part of today’s society, so the updates to Messages is covered, and there is a whole new help to help you translate text, called the Translate app. Users will be able to learn about the new updates to Notes, Reminders, and Maps. If you prefer to handwrite items there is a new feature just for you called called Scribble, which will take your handwriting and covert it into text.

Health is a huge topic and there have been some big changes like the renamed Fitness app on the iPhone and a way of tracking Sleep on the Apple Watch. These are both covered along with updates to Face ID and masks, as well as new ways to protect your hearing. The Music and Home apps have been slightly changed and updated and the Shortcuts app gets some new tricks to help automate things even better than before.

Developers will learn all about Apple Silicon, because their iOS and iPadOS apps can run natively on Macs running Apple Silicon. Along with Apple Silicon, developers can learn about changes to Xcode, the new Swift, SwiftUI, and Swift Packages, as well as how to implement WidgetKit, some things to keep in mind about AppClips, how to implement the new Color Picker and how to support PencilKit and Scribble with their custom interfaces.

With the release of iOS 14 today, there are new versions of my iOS apps, wwrite and wwriteLite. Both of the apps have the same set of changes:

New Features

• Requires iOS 14.
• New free Icons "Halo" and "Sketch".
• New icon set "Space" (In-App Purchase). This icon pack is $0.99, or the equivalent in your country.
• New menus for "New File", "Tools", and "Archives".
• New Screens for FAQs and ChangeLog.

Tweaks

• Updated Template Color Picker to use built-in color picker in iOS 14.

Both of these are free updates and are available now. If you experience any issues with the updates, definitely let me know by going to Tools -> Support and contact me via email or Twitter.

One of my books, iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7 for Users, Administrators, and Developers now available for purchase on Apple Books for $3.99. The Kindle version will be available on Friday, September 18th.

A black & white paperback version is $14.99 and the colors paperback version is $39.99. These will be available soon. I will add another post when these are available.

iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7 for Users and Developers somewhat mirrors macOS Big Sur in that there are some design tweaks like the new Widgets and your ability to place them on the home screen for device running iOS, the new App Library system, which can help you organize your home screen. Along with the home screen changes, search and Siri have seen some improvements as well, and those are covered. Safari can now help keep you informed about who is tracking you across the web.

Communications is a big part of today’s society, so the updates to Messages is covered, and there is a whole new help to help you translate text, called the Translate app. Users will be able to learn about the new updates to Notes, Reminders, and Maps. If you prefer to handwrite items there is a new feature just for you called called Scribble, which will take your handwriting and covert it into text.

Health is a huge topic and there have been some big changes like the renamed Fitness app on the iPhone and a way of tracking Sleep on the Apple Watch. These are both covered along with updates to Face ID and masks, as well as new ways to protect your hearing. The Music and Home apps have been slightly changed and updated and the Shortcuts app gets some new tricks to help automate things even better than before.

Developers will learn all about Apple Silicon, because their iOS and iPadOS apps can run natively on Macs running Apple Silicon. Along with Apple Silicon, developers can learn about changes to Xcode, the new Swift, SwiftUI, and Swift Packages, as well as how to implement WidgetKit, some things to keep in mind about AppClips, how to implement the new Color Picker and how to support PencilKit and Scribble with their custom interfaces.

Apple held its "Time Files" event livestream event today. It was not a live event, but a pre-recorded one. The style of the video was very similar to that of Apple's World Wide Developer Conference. We saw different parts of Apple's campus with different people in each area. Today's event focused on two products, the Apple Watch and the iPad. Let us look at what Apple announced for each.

Apple Watch

Today Apple announced two new Apple Watch models, the Apple Watch Series 6 and the Apple Watch SE. These two models are similar, yet still different. Let us cover the aspects that are the same between the two models.

Common Features between Apple Watch Series 6 and the Apple Watch SE

There are a number of common features between the new Apple Watch Series 6 and the new Apple Watch SE. The first of these is the case sizes. Both come in 40mm and 44mm varieties and both have a Retina screen. Next is a feature that was added in the Apple Watch Series 5, fall detection. This is a great feature for those who may be prone to falling and need to be able to contact someone in the event of a fall. This is present in both models.

There is a new feature that is available on both models, a new Always On Altimeter. The Altimeter will be able to inform you, in real time, of your elevation. This is great if you are doing some hiking and want to see how high up you have gone.

One of the ways to personalizes the Apple Watch is by picking the finish for the watch. Both models come in an aluminum finish and are available in Silver, Space Gray, and Rose Gold.

Apple Watch Series 6 Exclusive Features

The biggest area for the Apple Watch is regarding Health. There are a variety of sensors already present on the Apple Watch. Sensors like the ECG, fall detection, heart sensors, and ECG app. There is a new sensor being added to the Apple Watch Series 6, a Blood Oxygen app. This app will be able to inform you of your blood oxygen level, with a simple 15 second test. This is possibly through the use of infrared to analyze the color of your blood and the color can determine the oxygen saturation level.

The Apple Watch Series 6 comes in more than just the three colors mentioned above. It also comes in two additional aluminum finishes, Blue and (PRODUCT)RED. It also comes in Stainless Steel and Titanium versions. The Stainless Steel color choices are Silver, Graphite, and Gold. The Titanium color choices are Titanium (Silver), and Space Black.

New Bands

Besides the finish of the Apple Watch, many also customize their Apple Watch through the use of different bands. To go with the new Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, there are some new bands. A lot of them in fact. There are some new Hermes Fauve Barénia Leather Attelage bands in both single tour and double tour varieties, five new Sport Band colors, seven new Sport Loop colors, three new Nike Sport Band colors, and three new Nike Sport Loop colors. There are also two entirely new types of bands, the Leather Link and Solo Loop.

Leather Link

According to Apple, "The Leather Link features handcrafted Roux Granada leather made in France. The band elegantly wraps around the wrist and magically attaches with flexible molded magnets that gently flex to help maintain a secure, comfortable fit throughout the day.". The magnetic links will allow you to adjust the band to the perfect fit for your wrist.

The Leather Link band comes in four colors, Baltic Blue, California Poppy, Saddle Brown, and Black. These will work with the 38/40mm or the 42/44mm Apple Watches. Each Leather Link band is $99. They have a bit of a wait time, anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the model.

Solo Loop

The Solo Loop is made of a silicone rubber that is designed to stretch. There are no clasps, buckles, or any other item to adjust. Each Sport Loop is designed to be slipped on and off the wrist easily. Because there are no attachment mechanisms, they are designed to fit on your wrist, therefore there is a sizing guide that will allow you to determine the proper band size. The band sizes range from 1 to 9 on the 40mm Apple Watch and 4 to 12 on the 44mm Apple Watch.

There are seven different color options. These options are: Deep Navy, Ginger, Cypress Green, Pink Citrus, White, Black, and (PRODUCT)RED. Each of these is $49 and they will begin arriving on Friday. There is a second type of Solo Loop, the Braided Solo Loop.

To quote Apple, "Each Braided Solo Loop features a unique, stretchable design that’s ultracomfortable and easy to slip on and off your wrist. Made from 100 percent recycled materials, the 16,000 polyester yarn filaments in each band are interwoven with thin silicone threads using advanced braiding machinery then laser cut to an exact length. The 300D construction offers a soft, textured feel and is both sweat-resistant and water-resistant."

The Braided Sport Loop comes in five colors. These colors are: Inverness Green, Black, Pink Punch, Atlantic Blue, and (PRODUCT)RED. The Braided Sport Loop comes in the same size configurations as the silicon Sport Loop, and these are $99 each.

There is one last thing to note about the Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop. These are not compatible with all watches. The Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop bands are only compatible with Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Series 4 or newer. Therefore, you will not be able to use these on the Series 3, or earlier models.

Family Setup

There is one new feature for the Apple Watch, which is compatible back to the Apple Watch Series 4 and that is Family Setup. There are many people who would like to be able to get an Apple Watch for the child or an elderly parent. This has not been possible because an Apple Watch has to be paired with an iPhone. That changes.

Family Setup allows you to setup another Apple Watch using your iPhone. When you do this, the Apple Watch will be independent and allow the Apple Watch to function on its own.

Family Setup makes it possible for the entire family to benefit from the important health and safety features of Apple Watch, like Emergency SOS, while Maps, Siri, Alarms, and the App Store provide greater independence without needing an iPhone. In addition, parents will have peace of mind knowing they can reach their child and identify their location, and that all personal data stays securely encrypted. With watchOS 7, the whole family can also take advantage of optimized features that enhance the overall Apple Watch experience.

There are a couple of limitations for the Family Setup. The first is that a cellular version of the Apple Watch is required. This will not work on a GPS model of the Apple Watch. The second restriction is that this only works on the Apple Watch Series 4 or later, including the Apple Watch SE.

Apple Watch Pricing and Availability

The price of the Apple Watch is an important one. The existing Apple Watch Series 3 is still available for the same starting price of $199. The new Apple Watch SE is $279 for the 40mm version, and $309 for the 44mm. There are cellular options for the Apple Watch SE, these are $329 for the 40mm and $359 for the 44mm. The Apple Watch Series 6 starts at the same price as the Series 5, $399 for the 40mm, and $429 for the 44mm. The cellular models are $499 and $529 respectively. The Stainless Steel models starts at $699 and the Titanium models start at $799. All of the Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE are available for order today and will start arriving this Friday.

There is one last thing to note about the Apple Watch. the Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 3, and Apple Watch Nike do not include a power adapter. Note, this is not the charger, but the little power brick that the charger plugs into. This is being done as a means of helping the environment. I believe that this is actually the case. It just so happens that it will also help save a bit of money, not just through not having to put a charger in each box, but also by reducing packaging as well as shipping weight. All of this adds up over millions of devices.

iPad

The Apple Watch was not the only item announced during today's keynote. The iPad also saw some updates as well, but not all models of iPad. Only the iPad and the iPad Air were updated today. Let us look at each of these.

iPad

The iPad is Apple's entry-level device, but even though it is entry level, it is full of features. The new iPad features a 10.2-inch LED screen as well as Apple's A12 Bionic chip. This is the same one that is in the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max phones. To quote Apple:

The eighth-generation iPad with the A12 Bionic chip delivers a huge leap in performance, with 40 percent faster CPU performance and twice the graphics capability.² This makes the new iPad up to two times faster than the top-selling Windows laptop, up to three times faster than the top-selling Android tablet and up to six times faster than the top-selling Chromebook. 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.

In combination with A12 Bionic, the power of iPadOS, and Apple Pencil (1st generation), the new iPad is perfect for drawing, note-taking, marking up documents, and more. With its thin and light design, iPad is portable and durable with ultra-fast wireless performance, support for gigabit-class LTE connectivity, and all-day battery life, giving customers the freedom to work, learn, and connect at home or on the go. With Touch ID, unlocking iPad is simple and secure using just a finger, to keep important information safe.

The biggest change, besides the processor and graphics, is that the iPad is now USB-C. Included in the box is a USB-C to lightning adapter and a 20 watt USB-C power brick.

The iPad comes in the same three colors as before, Silver, Space Gray, and Rose Gold. It comes with 32GB or 128GB of storage, and there are cellular models as well. The price is still the same at $329 for the 32GB Wifi model, and $459 for the 32GB Wifi + Cellular, and $429 for the 128GB Wifi and $559 for the 128GB Wifi + Cellular models. These are available for order today and will arrive starting this Friday.

iPad Air

The bigger of the announcements is the iPad Air. This is not only because it is changed significantly more, but also because of the size difference. The 4th generation iPad Air is now a 10.9-inch model. This is accomplished by taking cues from the iPad Pro design and incorporating them into the iPad Air. The 4th Generation iPad Air has significantly reduced bezels, which allows the screen size to increase to 10.9 inches. This creates a resolution of 2360 by 1640 pixels. All of this is on a Liquid Retina LED display. The screen has a True Tone display that support the P3 Color Gamut and is fully laminated. This means that it includes the oleophobic coating to help reduce fingerprints.

All of this is driven by the A14 Bionic processor, which, according to Apple

...features a new 6-core design for a 40 percent boost in CPU performance, and a new 4-core graphics architecture for a 30 percent improvement in graphics.² To deliver breakthrough machine learning capabilities, A14 Bionic includes a new 16-core Neural Engine that is twice as fast, and capable of performing up to 11 trillion operations per second, taking machine learning apps to a whole new level. A14 Bionic also includes second-generation machine learning accelerators in the CPU for 10 times faster machine learning calculations. This combination of the new Neural Engine, CPU machine learning accelerators, and high-performance GPU enables powerful on-device experiences for image recognition, natural language learning, analyzing motion, and more.

The iPad Air takes many cues from the iPad Air, most notably, its square edges. The square edges allow for the iPad Air to utilize the 2nd Generation Apple Pencil. The iPad Air supports charging the 2nd Generation Apple Pencil right on the top edge, just like the iPad Pro. These square edges allowed Apple to reduce the bezel size. One thing that was not brought over from the iPad Pro is Face ID. Instead, the iPad Air still has Touch ID. However, the reduced bezel necessitated that the Touch ID sensor to go somewhere else. The Touch ID sensor is now moved to the top button. The Touch ID sensor still operates the same way as before, just in a different spot.

Just like the iPad, and the iPad Pro, the iPad Air now uses a USB-C port and included in the box is a USB-C charging cable and a 20-watt USB power adapter.

The 4th Generation iPad Air comes in five colors: Silver, Space Gray, Rose Gold, Green, and Sky Blue. The iPad Air comes with two storage options, 64GB or 256GB. As with the other iPads there is the Wifi-only model and Wifi + Cellular. The price for the iPad Air is $599 for the 64GB model and $749 for the 256GB Wifi-Only model. The Cellular models will cost $729 for the 64GB model and $879 for the 256GB model. The iPad Air will be available in October.

Services

Apple is pushing services, along with hardware, as their future. Currently, Apple has six different services. These services are:

• iCloud
• Apple Music
• Apple TV+
• Apple Arcade
• Apple News+

There is a new service to go along with these. This is called Apple Fitness+.

Apple Fitness+

Apple Fitness+ is a new subscription service that will provide you the opportunity to perform workouts whenever it works for you, wherever you might be. This could be out in the park, at the gym, traveling, or just at home.

Apple Fitness+ delivers personalized recommendations to help customers quickly get to their next workout, and uses Apple Watch to provide an engaging, immersive experience to help them stay motivated throughout.Using a custom recommendation engine, Fitness+ considers previously completed workouts and intelligently suggests new options that match the workouts users select most often, or something fresh to balance their current routine. Customers can also use an intuitive filtering tool to choose what is most important to them when looking for a workout, whether it’s the workout type, the trainer, the duration, or the music. For Apple Music subscribers, favorite music from Fitness+ workouts can also be easily saved and listened to later, whether in a workout or otherwise.

Apple Fitness+ will be available later this year and it will cost $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year.

With all of these services, it might be nice to have them all combined into a single bill. Let us look at one last new item, called Apple One.

Apple One

Today Apple announced a new Services bundle, Apple One. Apple One is a combination of different Apple services at different price points. Apple One has three price tiers, "Individual", "Family", and "Premium". The Individual and Family plans will include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud Storage. The Individual tier includes 50GB of iCloud Storage, whereas the Family tier includes 200GB.

The Premium tier includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, 2TB of iCloud Storage, Apple News+, and Apple Fitness+. The Family and Premium tiers will allow you to share with up to five family members. If you need more iCloud storage than your plan includes, you can pay for that separately, to supplement what comes with your plan.

Closing Thoughts

Today's event was just over an hour, but included a whole lot of new products. This includes the Apple Watch Series 6 with its brighter Always On display, the new Blood Oxygen app, and always on Altimeter. The new Blue and PRODUCT(RED) colors are great additions to the lineup.

The new Apple Watch SE is a great way for bringing many of the features of the Apple Watch in a slightly less expensive price point. You get many of the same features of the Apple Watch Series 6, but with the Series 5 processor.

The new 8th Generation iPad is a huge jump in performance with the A12 Bionic and it has USB-C. It maintains the same base price of $329 for a 32GB Wifi model.

The iPad Air has seen the biggest set of changes with a new larger 10.9-inch screen, flat sides, reduced bezels, and the all new A14 Bionic processor. The iPad Air does not get Face ID, instead the Touch ID sensor is now moved to the top button and still functions the same way as before. The 4th Generation iPad Air also supports USB-C as well as the 2nd generation Apple Pencil.

All of the new products introduced today are available for ordering today, and will be available starting on Friday. The only exception is the iPad Air, which will be available in October.

The last item to note is that iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, an watchOS 7 will all be available tomorrow, September 16th.

Source: Apple Newsroom: Apple One, Apple Fitness+, Family Setup, Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch SE, 8th Generation iPad, and 4th Generation iPad Air.

Apple is having their "Time Flies" event tomorrow. While nothing is certain, there are some possibilities for what we will see. Here is what I think we will see.

Apple Watch Series 6

With the event being namee "Time Flies", it suggests that we will see something related to "time", and there is a chronometer that Apple sells called the Apple Watch. Since 2015, Apple has released a new Apple Watch. This year is likely no different.

What I think will be different is that there will be two new Apple Watch models introduced. The Apple Watch Series 6 and what I'll dub the next as the Apple Watch SE. The Apple Watch Series 6 will likely have better battery life, possibly a new sensor. My guess is that the Apple Watch Series 6 SE will have the same form-factor, same processor, but may only have the features that were in the Apple Watch Series 4. The key with the Apple Watch Series 6 SE is that it will be less expensive. I predict that the "SE Model" will have a starting price of $179. Furthermore, it will replace the Apple Watch Series 3. Lastly, I think the Series 5 will stick around at a starting price of $299.

The last Apple Watch related item is new bands. Apple considers the Watch to be a fashion item. The way to customize the Apple Watch that is most noticeable at first glance is through choosing you Apple Watch band. I predict that Apple will release at least 3 new Apple Watch Bands.

I give the likelihood of a new Apple Watch at 90%, and an Apple Watch SE model at 60%. I am guessing the price point of the Apple Watch SE being $179 at 50%, and keeping the Apple Watch Series 5 at 75%. I give the likelihood of new Apple Watch bands at 100%.

iPads

Earlier this year Apple released a new set of iPad Pro models. Therefore, I do not think we will see new iPad Pro models, although it is always a possibility. Instead, I think we will see new iPad Air. I think it will have an updated processor, an iPad Pro-inspired design with flat edges and a slimmer bezels.

I give the probability of a new iPad Air at 60% and having an iPad Pro-inspired design at 60% as well.

iPhone

Typically in September Apple unveils their new iPhones. I do not think that this will happen at this event. This is due to Apple's Chief Financial Officer, Luca Maestri, indicating that this year's Apple's iPhones will be a released a few weeks later than normal. This is, as you might expect, due to COVID-19.

I am giving the possibility of not hearing about iPhones at 80%. It is always possible that Apple will announce new iPhones, and if that does happen they will not be available for a month or so.

Services Bundle

Many have postulated that Apple may eventually bundle of their services. It appears as though this might actually be coming to fruition. With the 3.4.0 beta of Apple Music on Android, there are strings that indicate that a services bundle might be coming. This bundle will include Apple Music as well as other services.

I am guessing that there is a 95% chance that Apple announces this bundle, even if it is not available right away. I am guessing that the bundle will include Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and iCloud Storage. I give this a 25% chance of being the case.

Predictions Recap

• New Apple Watch Bands - 100%
• Services Bundle - 95%
• Apple Watch Series 6 - 90%
• No New iPhones announced - 80%
• Apple Watch Series 5 staying around - 75%
• Apple Watch Series 6 SE - 60%
• Apple Watch Series 6 SE price of $179 - 50%
• New iPad Air - 60%
• New iPad Air has iPad Pro-inspired design - 60%
• All Apple Services included in bundle - 25%

Once the event is over I will post about the event and later in the week a recap of how well my predictions went.

Today Apple sent out invites to the press to encourage them to watch a Special Event from Apple Park. The event will start at 10 a.m. Pacific time. There is no indication of what will be announced. It is rumored that it will be iPhones, which is possible. However, at Apple's last earnings call at the end of July, they indicated that this year's phones were "a few weeks behind schedule", due to COVID-19.

If you visit the Apple Events page with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch that is capable of performing Augmented Reality, and tap on the image there, you will be able to see the image within Augmented Reality. When you do this, you will see the logo transform from its current shape to the date and back again. Below are the start and end images.

Source: Apple.com

It has become my own tradition to write two books about Apple’s latest operating systems. Despite everything going on in 2020, I have managed to do just that. There are two books, one for macOS and another for iOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS. The title’s of this year’s books should not be any surprise. These books are available for pre-order.

macOS Big Sur for Users, Administrators, and Developers

macOS Big Sur for Users, Administrators, and Developers covers the new features with the latest release. macOS Big Sur brings a slew of new features like new icons, a refined design with updated toolbars, menu, and alerts. The new design is accompanied by Messages and Maps now having feature parity with their iOS versions, which means new features coming to the Mac that were not present before. One of the most used apps on the Mac is Safari, and there is a whole new privacy section to help you see which websites are tracking you and which trackers they are using. Reminders and Notes have seen a couple of updates like assigning reminders and easier access to text styles in notes. The biggest change for the Mac this year is that it is moving to Apple Silicon and a significant portion of the book is dedicated to that, including a history of the Mac

For administrators we dive into managing Macs running Apple Silicon, scripting language updates, some changes to how updates are handled, and the updates to Profile Manager.

Developers can learn about how Apple Silicon will affect their applications, the changes to Xcode, enhancements to the Swift programming language and SwiftUI. Also discussed are some new Swift Packages, how to implement Widgets using WidgetKit, SF Symbols 2, and Safari extensions.

macOS Big Sur for Users, Administrators, and Developers has something for everyone.

You can pre-order this book from Apple or Amazon for $3.99 each. There will be black & white and color paperbacks available soon.

iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7 for Users and Developers

iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7 for Users and Developers somewhat mirrors macOS Big Sur in that there are some design tweaks like the new Widgets and your ability to place them on the home screen for device running iOS, the new App Library system, which can help you organize your home screen. Along with the home screen changes, search and Siri have seen some improvements as well, and those are covered. Safari can now help keep you informed about who is tracking you across the web. 

Communications is a big part of today’s society, so the updates to Messages is covered, and there is a whole new help to help you translate text, called the Translate app. Users will be able to learn about the new updates to Notes, Reminders, and Maps. If you prefer to handwrite items there is a new feature just for you called called Scribble, which will take your handwriting and covert it into text.

Health is a huge topic and there have been some big changes like the renamed Fitness app on the iPhone and a way of tracking Sleep on the Apple Watch. These are both covered along with updates to Face ID and masks, as well as new ways to protect your hearing.

The Music and Home apps have been slightly changed and updated and the Shortcuts app gets some new tricks to help automate things even better than before.

Developers will learn all about Apple Silicon, because their iOS and iPadOS apps can run natively on Macs running Apple Silicon. Along with Apple Silicon, developers can learn about changes to Xcode, the new Swift, SwiftUI, and Swift Packages, as well as how to implement WidgetKit, some things to keep in mind about AppClips, how to implement the new Color Picker and how to support PencilKit and Scribble with their custom interfaces.

You can pre-order this book from Apple or Amazon for $3.99 each. There will be black & white and color paperbacks available soon.