Apple's unveiling event came and went Monday with a slew of announcements ranging from a new four-inch iPhone SE to iPad Pro and iOS 9.3 ... and that's just the beginning. Here, we touch on all the new reveals from the most valuable company in the world.
iPhone SE
All those rumors leading into Monday's event sure had legs. Apple did indeed make a smaller four-inch iPhone SE as part of its announcements. Touting the same CPU and GPU speeds as the larger iPhone 6S, Apple labels this device as "the most-powerful four-inch phone ever." In an attempt to back up that boast, the company powered the device with a 64-bit A9 chip, M9 motion coprocessor and faster LTE.
With an LTE 50 percent faster than the iPhone 5S, the SE can capture 4K video from its 12 megapixel camera while being equipped with an always-on "Hey Siri" hands-free feature and running on Apple's new iOS 9.3 system. Preorder for the 16 GB model of the SE begins at $399 on March 24, with the device hitting stores a week later.
iOS 9.3
With the announcement that iOS 9 has been adopted by 80 percent of all iOS devices, it shouldn't take long for iOS 9.3 to be downloaded in record time as well.
Apple unleashed its new operating system today, highlighting some of its most exciting features — none more intriguing than the new Night Shift mode. The feature senses when nighttime is drawing near, removing the blue from your display, paving the way for a good night's sleep. As part of the iOS 9.3 upgrade, users will also find a deluge of top stories under the News app, as well as the ability to get fitness app recommendations through the new-and-improved Health app. The operating system even allows multiple users to connect to devices, enabling students to share content and teachers and schools to oversee that content via the new Classroom app.
iPad Pro
The "lowest reflectivity of any tablet" and "the brightest tablet available" were two of Apple's boasts for its newly-announced iPad Pro on Monday. The 9.7-inch tablet, weighing one pound, is powered by a 64-bit A9X chip with LTE Advanced, offering "True Tone Display," as well as the aforementioned Night Shift mode. Also running on iOS 9.3, the iPad Pro's 32 GB model starts at $599.
Folders and Siri Integration on Apple TV
Organize your Apple TV apps exactly the way you want to, courtesy of the new Folders feature. With 5,000 apps being offered in the App Store for Apple TV, those folders might come in handy. As part of the improvement of features for Apple TV, Siri is capable of searching through more apps, while taking more commands, with Apple using, "Show me movies with Kevin Hart" as an example. There's also Dictation mode, in which users can verbally say their usernames and passwords to get into their system. Nice!
Apple Watch Drops in Price, Offers More Bands
Apple CEO Tim Cook referred to the new Apple Watch bands — sport and leather and a space-black Milanese loop — as being part of its looks from its "spring lineup." Then came the bombshell that the wearable would be dropping down to $299. You've got to love that!
CareKit
Building on the success of its ResearchKit, which made strides in medical research, Apple introduced its CareKit app as a way for patients to stay on top of their treatments. In particular, there's already a CareKit app for Parkinson's disease, from which you can share your data directly with your doctor. Apple promises more apps for CareKit are on the way.
