Here’s Everything Apple Announced Today

Perhaps the most eye-popping update of the whole event was Apple’s new video feature for iPhones called Cinematic Mode. It’s a sort of video portrait mode that automatically changes focus and blurs backgrounds for an adjustable bokeh effect. On Pro-model phones, you can adjust the depth of field and focus even after filming. There’s also the option to film in Apple’s high-quality ProRes format.

The iPhone Pro models received updates to their three lenses: telephoto, wide, and ultrawide. There are also some new advanced options for on-device color correcting and photo enhancements that automatically adjust the images based on the colors and skin tones of the subjects.

The tiniest of iPads got a sizable update. Apple has brought the aesthetics of the iPad Mini more in line with its other recently redesigned tablets. It’s thinner, with more softly rounded corners. The screen is now slightly bigger, at 8.3 inches across. To accommodate this wider format, the Touch ID sensor has been moved to the outer rim. The home button is gone, and there is a USB-C port at the bottom now. It really looks like a giant iPhone!

It comes with a 5G modem, and cameras that can record in 4K. It’s also compatible with the 2nd-generation Apple Pencil, which charges wirelessly on the side of the tablet. The Mini costs $499, and will be available next week.

Apple has also updated its base-model iPad. The cheapest iPad gets an A13 Bionic chip, which the company says gives it a 20 percent performance boost over the past model. The cameras have been updated, particularly the front facing lens. It’s now a 12-megapixel ultrawide that supports Apple’s Portal-esque Center Stage feature, which keeps you tightly in the frame as you move around on a video call. Weirdly, the camera is still placed in an awkward position along the side of the device when you’re in landscape mode. This simplest of iPads only works with first-generation Apple Pencils. It starts at $329 with 64GB of storage.

The standout feature of Apple’s newest smartwatch, the Apple Watch Series 7, is its enhanced display. Otherwise, the updates to one of the world’s most popular health trackers feel iterative this year. Also: Apple hasn’t yet announced a release date for this new watch, which suggests that earlier reports of production delays were accurate.

The Apple Watch Series 7 (whenever it ships) will have a “Retina” display, as well as 20 percent more screen area than the previous Series 6 watch. This is due to the reduced size of the bezels, as well as slightly more rounded corners of the watch. The display is also brighter—Apple claims it’s 70 percent brighter indoors when your wrist is down, which allows for more discreet time checks—and supposedly the whole watch is much more durable and dust-resistant.

The enlarged screen allows for easier reading of texts on the watch and some other potentially fun input mechanisms. Some of the on-screen buttons in native apps are larger. And there’s now a full keyboard on the watch. Unfortunately, battery life is still the same—about 18 hours per charge—which is one of the biggest drawbacks of the Apple Watch. The company does claim that it charges faster now however.

This is not the dramatic redesign of the Watch that had been rumored. But considering how well the Watch has sold, maybe it didn’t really … need the overhaul. It will sell starting at $399 when it ships this fall, while the Series 3 and Series SE watches will sell for $199 and $279. RIP, Series 5 and 6?

When it launched last year, Apple’s subscription service Fitness+ took advantage of Apple’s complete hardware integration: Start a workout on your Apple TV; track it on your Apple Watch; check your stats on your iPhone. But it lacked one major feature—competing fitness services, like Peloton and Fitbit, have group classes, as well as large social networks that let you easily invite your friends and sweat in unison.

Today, Fitness+ announced group workouts. If you’re in a group message thread or FaceTime call, you can simply navigate over to the Fitness+ app and start a class together. Not only can you see your own workout metrics, but you can also see your friends closing their rings or their Burn Bar. You can invite up to 32 friends, or just casual acquaintances, if you don’t know that many people anymore after spending a year and a half in a pandemic.

FItness+ also added new workout categories, which includes Pilates and workouts for snow sports that are guided by Ted Ligety, who, as a retired two-time Olympic gold medalist in the combined event and giant slalom, knows quite a bit about core strength and hip stability.

Soothing, pandemic-related features include new guided meditations to Fitness+ with themes like “calm” and “kindness.” You can also find the same meditations in the Mindfulness app on your iPhone. If you’re a new subscriber to Fitness+, you get one trial month free—but if you buy an Apple Watch, you get three months free (natch). Fitness+ is also bundled with the Apple One subscription, which includes up to six Apple services for one price.