As of every year, we just had Apple's September event: "Far out".
Since I'm an Apple user interested in the evolution of Apple products, I decided to gather my thoughts on what they presented today.

As usual, the conference was tightly packed with sci-fi-esque transitions, an implacable succession of speakers, and lots of marketing mumbo-jumbo that is necessary to swallow the price of the new products and inspire uses to justify the expense. And it works. I'm pretty sure that the retention rate of Apple's conferences is one of the highest in the industry looking at the view numbers on YouTube.

Let's begin with the new (but also old) kid on the block.

The iPhone 14 series

This year's iPhone is an incremental update to the proven iPhone we all know, bringing small things in, year after year, and smoothing out the edges (pun intended).
As the silicon for new products gets more streamlined each year, the A16 offers a TSMC 4nm production process that helps with power consumption and in keeping things "fresh" in the constrained thermal envelope of the iPhone.

The "normal" iPhone 14 now comes in two sizes: 6.1" and 6.7", a new thermal design to keep the processor fresh (the processor is the same as the iPhone 13, the A15 bionic). It brings a faster aperture main camera that will help in low light performance and a new 12Mpx front camera with a wider aperture.

The iPhone will bring Crash Detection, like the Apple Watch, and can automatically notify emergency services even by using satellite connectivity.

iPhone 14 Pro

iPhone 14 Pro brings an all-new front design featuring a dynamic pill (called Dynamic Island) cut-out that surfaces content and alerts. It has an all-new display with smaller borders and an always-on display that uses LTPO technology to be power efficient.

It features the new A16 Bionic chip that sips power while bringing great performance to empower amazing new experiences on iPhone.

• A classic design, reimagined.
• The fastest chip in an iPhone, yet.
• A brand new pro camera system.
• Dynamic Island.

The iPhone 14 Pro brings a 48Mpx main sensor with a focal length of 24mm. It brings pixel-binning to improve low-light performance, and a new Action Mode to improve the image stabilization on video.

Sadly, no iPhone in the current lineup supports Wi-Fi 6E.

Apple Watch Series 8

The essential companion that's always with you gets updated, it's not only a tech gizmo but a health helper, always ready to help. The lineup consists of a Pro Apple Watch and the classic 41 and 45mm sizes.

Apple Watch Series 8 introduces a temperature sensor (used also for menstrual cycle tracking), Crash Detection that calls emergency services in the case of a car crash using machine learning trained on driving and crashes data, and Low Power Mode that slims down on features of the Apple Watch to extend its life up to 36 hours.

Apple Watch SE (second generation)

The second generation Apple Watch SE brings new colorways, a redesigned production process, and the same sensors from the Apple Watch Series 8 (along with the same SIP).

Apple Watch Ultra

Bigger and brighter display that reaches 2000 nits, an action button, and stronger audio. Apple Watch Ultra brings LTE on all the lineup.

The Action Button is a programmable button that can be configured on a per-context basis. The bigger battery can keep things running for 36 hours and has a higher resistance to the elements. It has a built-in siren that can be heard at ~200m away, WR100 water resistance, and EN13319 certification.

AirPods Pro 2

AirPods Pro 2 brings a new H2 chip, a new low distortion audio driver, and 2x noise cancellation performance. It includes a new tip for even smaller ears. Adaptive Transparency processes audio 48000 times per second to take out loud noises. AirPods Pro 2 brings a longer battery life (up to 30 hours of listening time), a touch surface to adjust volume, and Precision Finding to the case, along with a speaker, Apple Watch charger compatibility, and a lanyard strap connector.

Final reflections

Apple brought out some minor and major improvements across their whole lineup, with a focus on safety features and cooperation inside the ecosystem.

I'm amazed by the satellite connectivity for emergency services and the whole UX around that feature. Moreover Apple's design expertise is truly showing through Dynamic Island.

However, I'm less amazed by the iPhone 14 base model since it doesn't bring anything substantially new to the table and maybe the formula of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" should not be followed for 3 years in a row. The same thing can also be said about AirPods Pro.

Oh, and the 10% price increment here in Italy. So. Pricy.