Apple has pushed out its latest releases on its iPhone and iPad lines. Time to see what the fruity hardware seller has for those who have some spare money in their accounts
iPhone 7/7Plus – Now in Red.
Apple iPhone 7 product(RED) edition – Image, Apple.
Supporting the (Product)RED project, there’s now a special edition of the iPhone 7/7Plus in red. Lead-in prices are US$749 for the 4.7-inch iPhone 7, and US$869 for the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus.
Expect to see them from Friday onwards.
I’ve been using the iPhone 7 since… pretty much after launch (mainly because the iPhone 6 battery took a turn for the worse, and I couldn’t be bothered to talk to my phone company about a cheap upgrade). I have some camera reviews of the iPhone 7 here and here.
But I do wish it had a headphone jack….
iPhone SE
The iPhone SE (the 4″ diagonal screen iPhone) will get capacity bumps, with the 16Gb model dropped, and it available in 32GB or 128GB. No other changes to the device have been announced.
Prices start at $399 for the 32GB model and $499 for the 128GB model
It’s a capable enough handset – and if you used an iPhone 5/iPhone 5S, it’s familiar territory for those who don’t want the large screens (and the repair costs) of an iPhone 6S/iPhone 7.
New iPad (9.7″)
The iPad 2 is being retired, with the new iPad to take its place.
Apple’s New iPad 9.7″ – Image, Apple.
What’s new? The new iPad has an A9 chip in it – so it should be a lot more faster to load and run apps with. The device features an 8 Megapixel rear camera, 1.2 Megapixel front camera too. The device will feature a brighter retina display that the iPad Air 2 too.
The device will not support some of the more advanced features that the iPad Pro does – such as Truetone display, Apple Pencil, Live Photos, TrueTone Flash and 4K HD video recording (although if you’re doing 4K HD video recording on an iPad… no… don’t get me started on Padholes)
Active battery life is rated at about 10 hours. It does weigh a bit more at 469g is slightly thicker at 7.5mm. Not the end of the world by any stretch of the imagination
Prices start $329 (US) for the 32GB with Wi-Fi model and $459 (US) for the 32GB Wi-Fi, with models in Grey, Silver and White. 32GB and 128Gb capacities are available to order from Friday 24th March.
This device is one for those who have ageing iPads and want to upgrade to the latest model at a lower cost. Certainly, the $329 entry point is attractive for those who want an iPad to watch in bed or on a flight (providing of course you’re allowed to bring it in your hand luggage)
iPad Mini
It seems Apple are driving people away from the iPad Mini, with the smallest capacity version (iPad Mini 2 32GB and iPad Mini 4 32Gb) being discontinued from sale.
The remaining 128GB version starts at $399 for a WiFi only device, $529 WiFi with Mobile Data.
On balance
Some useful updates for those who are looking to upgrade their devices, as well as something for the fashion conscious amongst us. Nothing ground-breaking for power users who can wait for the next round of upgrades.
I just wish that Apple takes a longer harder look at their Macbook line and realise that sometimes… not all of us want the thinnest possible computer in the world – some of us actually need to work on our computers.
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Good non travel post.
I want to like Apple but I can’t. My reason is the capacity. Why even offer such a small memory in these devices. It would be like buying a laptop with 32gb, you’d never do that and heck the price is about the same. Flash memory used in these is SO cheap it’s ridiculous so unless you offer a memory card slot then Apple needs to pony up the $1 or $2 on the mfg cost and give all products at least 128gb minimum. Sorry I’m bitter as I sit here and look at my old 16gb brick of an iPad mini.