(Since Google is supposedly announcing/shipping the Nexus 5 replacement this week, let's keep it all on one thread, shall we?)
Personally, I think that could get confusing. I'd rather separate the discussions. It's not like we have dozens of threads to sift through these days
- Cheaper iCloud storage. A buddy of mine is spending a lot of coin there, and he'll be thrilled.
Much needed! I believe that iCloud has always been the most expensive of the bunch. I think it's still the most but it's better. They should also add options for more than 1TB.
- Next-gen iPhone 6S / 6S Plus: the new shiny is "3D Touch", aka measuring the force with which you touch and behaving differently. One of the snarky Verge comments is that they've invented the right-click. 12 megapixel main camera, 5 megapixel front camera. 4K video. Notably, prices have not come down.
A base-model 6S with 16GB of memory is $199 with a two year contract. A loaded 6S Plus with 128GB is $499 with a two year contract. Now that low-end Android phones are coming in at $199 without contract, and fancier ones are more like $400 without contract, Apple is positioning itself way, way upmarket.
I don't think it's "way, way upmarket." Apple charges that much because they have the best phones. The hardware just beats out everything else. Yes, Android phones have never been better, but they're still not as good as the iPhone, IMO. I think it's great that there are budget Android phones, and I tend to think that they're enough for most people, but the iPhone is still king, and I don't see them changing their prices for a long time.
- Next-gen AppleTV, now with "tvOS", which allows you to port iOS stuff to run on the TV. That means that Apple is now competing against Xbox, PlayStation, etc. The remote control has a touchpad and a microphone as well. In short, it's very much "game on" versus Google's Android TV.
This could be a huge success or a giant flop. I think the biggest obstacle is that we're heading away from TV in general, with millenials preferring to watch everything on their mobile devices. Then of course they have to contend with streaming video devices that are nearly free. Clearly this new device is a monster, but it's hard to sway people from a $35 device that they perceive as being able to do the same stuff. I'll be very interested in what developers make for it, though.
- New iPad devices, topping out in a 13" model with optional magnetically-attaching / folding keyboard and pressure-sensitive stylus pen. Fully decked out, it's over $1300. Basically, it's Apple's version of the Microsoft Surface. Among other notables, the bigger screen has enough space that they'll run two apps side-by-side.
Wow! I know this has been rumored for a while, but I'm still a little surprised there's a market for this. The difference between this and the Surface is that the latter is running a full desktop OS. Is this another sign that Apple would like to drop OSX altogether?
- The new remote control for the new AppleTV charges via Lightning, not USB-C. No mention on The Verge about what connectors are on the new iPad and iPhone models. I've had fantasies about the world standardizing on USB-C and the one cable to charge them all. Apparently not yet.
Is this just different departments not communicating with each other? It would seem like a huge oversight to not standardize, particularly since the MacBook was announced almost six months ago...
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