Apple “Spring Forward” Event

Apple had its “Spring Forward” event today, and it has been THE event many looked forward to in order to learn more about the upcoming Apple Watch, Apple’s new (fifth) branch to the their family tree (next to Mac, MacBook, iPad, iPhone). Tim Cook on stage (Steve, you are missed!) had some more interesting products in his sleeve though, so next to a lot of self promotion and ‘oh gosh we are good’, there was a lot to cover:

– Apple TV: is exclusively supporting the new standalone streaming service HBO Now with access to a LOT of movies and series (including Game of Thrones) for $14,99/m. Also the price for the Apple TV change to just $69. Tim repeatedly mentioned that ‘this is just the beginning’, so expect more to come! 🙂

– ResearchKit: is a revolutional method to allow people to participate in medical research through their iPhone a game changer for medical research. The first five tests are built in, available from today, are to contribute in research done for: Parkinson’s, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and breast cancer. I am not sure what to think of this, despite the disclaimer that Apple will not see your data, who knows on what corners data flows…ResearchKit is Open Source which at least shows that Apple is serious in contributing to Medical Research by allowing many parties in.

– MacBook: a new reinvented laptop with a 12″ Retina display, a separate product line next to the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. The thinnest (13.1mm at most) and lightest (900 grams) laptop of all with new keyboard, super thin display, Force Track trackpad, a fanless design, a 67% smaller logic board (allowing more batteries on board to give it an ‘all day’ battery life) and, only one (!) connector (the new USB-C standard, supporting HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, power and more). All in all pretty awesome and available from April 10. (oh, and it comes in three colors; Silver, Space Gray, and Gold 🙂 )

– Apple Watch; last but definitely not least, more information on the upcoming Apple Watch, the ‘most personal device ever’. Well, I could say much about it, but you really should see it to understand that this very well may be a game changer for many. Despite the fact that I am not a watch person, it IS an amazing product which will allow you to use your phone (iPhone) less (and in the process avoid being dragged into the overwhelming world of the ‘internet in your pocket’ that the iPhone truly is…not a bad thing actually). I caught myself actually considering an Apple Watch…damn you Apple, how the hell do you do it, creating a need? Amazing! 🙂

 

For the real geeks, go watch the full  Keynote speech here!