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Journalism of Courage
There was no drama, no aha moment or ‘one more thing’ surprise planned by Tim Cook and the Apple team last week during the company’s first in-person product launch event in more than two years. Apple announced four new iPhones 14 models with satellite connectivity, a high-end Apple Watch Ultra aimed at mountaineers and athletes, and second-generation AirPods Pro with a new chip and improved noise cancelling.
Details of every new product Apple unveiled during a 90-minute event were already leaked months before the Far Out event. On the whole, Apple’s Far Out event was predictable and that’s fine. Still, Cupertino managed to throw a few surprises that many were not expecting. If you are wondering what those surprises are, I am here to help you out.
Everybody was prepared to see a pill-shaped cut-out on the iPhone 14 display, but one had not foreseen or predicted Dynamic Island, the most eye-catching feature we have seen on a smartphone in a very long time. What Apple did was turn the pill-shaped cut-out on the top of the display into an active part of the user interface. As you use the iPhone, the cutout changes contextually as if it is a second display. During the launch, Apple teased how a small ‘dock’ became a music interface widget. Or an icon showing AirPods being connected. For years, every Apple phone has had a ‘notch’ at the top of the screen. Apple’s Dynamic Island is not only a new way to approach product design but also embraces constraints and turns them into useful features.
The standout feature of the iPhone 14 isn’t only the satellite connectivity but a lesser-known feature buried in the camera app. It’s called ‘Action mode’, which promises cinema-quality video stabilisation without using a powered gimbal. If you are a videographer or a content creator, you already know how stabilisation plays a key role in getting smooth videos and gimbals do that extremely well. The iPhone 14’s Action mode, at least what Apple claims, delivers perfectly smooth footage without a gimbal. The best part: unlike a Gimbal where you need to mount a phone and require a setup to balance out for best results, the iPhone 14’s action mode does that without investing in another device. So, why not use the camera that’s already in your pocket?
Sometimes what is predicted before a big Apple event feels distinct from reality—it’s more of speculation or at times impractical. That’s exactly what happened during Apple’s event last week. Some analysts and insiders had predicted that Apple’s high-end ‘rugged’ watch could cost close to $1000. However, the company priced the Apple Watch Ultra at $799, which seems reasonable for the first-generation product that also undercut Garmin in pricing.
Apple may be the king in the smartwatch market but Garmin dominates the high-end segment with outdoor adventure watches priced from $699 to $1500. Apple tried selling expensive watches before but failed to woo users, especially athletes and mountaineers, who wanted extra features. With the Apple Watch Ultra, Cupertino may still fall short of what a Garmin watch offers, be it the battery or lack of built-in topographical maps needed for trails or support for Bluetooth power meters. That being said, when you carefully examine the price of the Ultra and the ease of using Apple’s wearable offers, Garmin’s biggest weakness, usability, starts to glare.
