Everything You Need To Know About iPhone 14, Apple Watch Series 8, And More

Tech

Sep 7

Good morning! Right out of the gate this morning, Apple announced their new Apple Watch Series 8 and SE line ups packed full of new features like Wrist Temperature Sensing for Women’s Health, Crash Detection, Low Power Mode, and more.

Apple Watch Series 8 & Apple Watch SE

Temperature Sensing Sensor

Starting off with the reveal of the Apple Watch Series 8’s headline feature, the temperature sensing sensor. Apple highlighted how this two-sensor design - one sensor on the back of the watch and one under the display will reduce bias from the outside environment to indicate more accurate temperature readings. For example, this sensor can indicate down to +/- 0.1° C from your baseline temperature. This can help you estimate features related to illness, exercise, or even jet lag.

In Apple’s Newsroom announcement, they say:

Additionally, with iOS 16 and watchOS 9, all Cycle Tracking users can now receive a notification if their logged cycle history shows a possible deviation, such as irregular, infrequent, or prolonged periods and persistent spotting, which can be symptoms of underlying health conditions.

Car Crash Detection

Apple says:

When Apple Watch detects a severe car crash, the device will check in with the user and dial emergency services if they are unresponsive after a 10-second countdown. Emergency responders will receive the user’s device location, which is also shared with the user’s emergency contacts.

This feature would be a massive benefit for anyone who’s been in a crash, including myself, who has been in a few crashes in the last few years. Unfortunately, there are thousands of car crashes every year, so having this crucial feature built into the device we all wear on our arm could be the difference between life and death.

Low Power Mode

What can I say, except finally, this is my number one feature outside of a physically bigger battery in the Apple Watch. This feature sports up to 36 hours of battery for the Series 8. The mode limits select sensors, including the Always-On Retina display, workout autostart, and more.

New Watch Bands

Like usual, Apple’s new Sport Band colors and a new Sport Loop with “Just Do It” woven into the band for the Nike Editing.

The Apple Watch Series 8 arrives September 16, 2022, and will cost $399.

Apple Watch SE

The New Apple Watch SE keeps the same iconic case design from last year but features a matching back case made from a nylon composite. This change makes the watch itself the lightest SE ever. The Apple Watch SE is available in 40mm and 44mm sizes in midnight, starlight, and silver finishes and is compatible with all existing watch bands.

The Apple Watch SE starts at $249 and is available on September 16, 2022

You can read more about the Apple Watch Series 8 and SE here.

Apple Watch Ultra

Let’s get rugged with the Apple Watch Ultra.

The long-awaited Apple Watch redesigned for the extreme sports crowd is finally here, and it is called Ultra.

The new watch features a bigger, brighter, and stronger casing made from aerospace-grade titanium. The casing is raised up to surround all the edges of the flat sapphire front crystal. Make sure to protect the Retina display, which now goes all the way up to 2000 nits. This is 2x brighter than any Apple Watch to date.

The watch has three built-in microphones to signify improved sound quality in voice calls during any conditions. I am not sure why you would need to be calling someone at the peak of Mt. Everest, but the Apple Watch Ultra can do it.

The Apple Watch Ultra now has 3 new bands designed for the outdoors athletes this watch is marketed towards.

The Trail Loop band is not only the thinnest Apple Watch band but is designed with soft and flexible textile material ensuring the perfect fit.

The Alpine Loop band features two layers made from one consistent weaving process, removing any stitching on the band. The Ocean band was designed with extreme water sports and recreational diving in mind.

This band also features an extra long band length so you can strap it over a wetsuit when diving.

WatchOS 9 also features new watch faces, including the brand new Wayfinder face explicitly designed for the Ultra, and has up to eight complications on its face for maximum use cases.

One of the most prominent features of the Apple Watch Ultra is the 36 hours of battery for the maximum battery life test for your longest adventures.

The Apple Watch Ultra Starts at $799 and arrives on September 23, 2022.

You can read all about the Apple Watch Ultra on Apple’s website.

iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus

Long gone is the iPhone mini, and the return of the iPhone Plus line comes. In addition, the iPhone 14 line welcomes a new larger 6.7” option to go along with the existing 6.1” option.

This year, the size is not the only thing bigger on the iPhone 14s. The 6.1” iPhone Pro sports up to 20 hours of battery life, and the 14 Plus will come with up to 26 hours of battery life.

Emergency SOS via satellite is a long-rumored feature that makes its debut here on the iPhone 14’s and will also make its way to the Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra.

About emergency SOS:

The iPhone 14 lineup also introduces Emergency SOS via satellite, combining custom components deeply integrated with software to allow antennas to connect directly to a satellite, enabling messaging with emergency services outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. Satellites are moving targets with low bandwidth, and it can take minutes for messages to get through. Since every second counts, with Emergency SOS via satellite, iPhone front-loads a few vital questions to assess the user’s situation and shows them where to point their phone to connect to a satellite.

Another feature making its debut on the iPhone 14 is crash detection. Apple says this on their website about the new feature:

The entire iPhone 14 lineup introduces groundbreaking safety capabilities that can provide emergency assistance when it matters most. With a new dual-core accelerometer capable of detecting G-force measurements of up to 256Gs and a new high dynamic range gyroscope, Crash Detection on iPhone can now detect a severe car crash and automatically dial emergency services when a user is unconscious or unable to reach their iPhone. These capabilities build on existing components, like the barometer, which can now detect cabin pressure changes, the GPS for additional input for speed changes, and the microphone,5 which can recognize loud noises typified by severe car crashes.

The iPhone 14 line is still rocking the same A15 Bionic SOC (System on Chip) from last year’s model but does say this on their website about the chip:

A15 Bionic brings incredible performance to iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. Still faster than all the competition at any price, the 5-core GPU enables even smoother graphics for video apps, and high-performance gaming and powers incredible camera features like Photonic Engine and Cinematic mode, all while delivering impressive battery life and protecting privacy and security with the Secure Enclave.

It is disappointing that not all the iPhone 14 line is getting a new chip, but with the leaps and bounds ahead Apple silicon is ahead of its competitors, having the A15 in your iPhone 14 is not a downside with the other great features you will be getting while upgrading to the iPhone 14.

Preorders for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus start at 5:am PDT on September 9, 2022. The iPhone 14 starts at $799 and will be available beginning September 16, 2022. The iPhone 14 Plus starts at $899 and will release on October 7, 2022.

iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max

iPhone 14 Pro barrows its iconic look right out of iRobot, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it and its new features.

The new ‘notch’ has been renamed the ‘Dynamic Island,’ and honestly, I really like the look of it and its functionality. Apple says the following about the design:

“Our customers count on their iPhone every day, and with iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, we’re delivering more advancements than any other iPhone. iPhone 14 Pro introduces a camera system that empowers every user — from the casual user to the professional — to take their best photos and video, and innovative new technologies like the Always-On display and the Dynamic Island, which offers new interactions for notifications and activities,” - Greg Joswiak

Display And Design

Various iPhone 14 colors — Source: Apple

The iPhone 14 and 14 Max have a brand new matte glass design in four colors: Space Black, Silver, Gold, and Deep Purple. In addition, the new Always-On display is enabled by the new 1Hz refresh rate capability. This makes the new lock screen more useful and gives you access to Live Activities, the time, and widgets at a glance. The new display also goes up to a peak brightness of 2000 nits which is the same peak brightness as the Pro Display XDR. This is twice as bright as the iPhone 13 Pro.

The New Dynamic Island

This is the newest aesthetic design change of the iPhone 14 Pro line. Apple is calling this software feature the ‘Dynamic Island’ and says the following about it on their website:

The Dynamic Island enables new ways to interact with iPhone, featuring a design that blends the line between hardware and software, adapting in real-time to show important alerts, notifications, and activities. With the introduction of the Dynamic Island, the TrueDepth camera has been redesigned to take up less of the display area. Without impeding content on the screen, the Dynamic Island maintains an active state to allow users easier access to controls with a simple tap-and-hold.

This is a welcome change to the overall design of the iPhone 14 Pro. A pill-shaped cutout in the iPhone’s display that plays into software features is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and I believe it will wow many new and old iPhone Pro users.

Pro Cameras

The most significant year-over-year change is the massive iPhone 14 Pro camera changes that were announced. Apple Says The Following about the new Pro camera system:

Most people’s only camera is their cell phone, and it makes sense that it is the number one feature Apple focuses o every year. This year we are being treated to the most dramatic upgrades to the iPhone ever. We are getting up to 2x on the Main camera, up to 3x on the Ultra Wide camera, 2x on the Telephoto camera, and 2x on the TrueDepth camera.

The iPhone 14 Pro will also be rocking a massive 48MP camera Main camera with a quad-pixel sensor that is adaptive to what images you are capturing, along with a ‘second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization.’

Apple lists these additional features on its website:

A new 12MP Ultra Wide camera with 1.4 µm pixels, which delivers sharper images with more detail, improving already powerful macro photography capabilities.
An improved Telephoto camera that offers 3x optical zoom.
A new front TrueDepth camera with an ƒ/1.9 aperture that enables better low-light performance for photos and video. Using autofocus for the first time, it can focus even faster in low light and capture group shots from farther away.
A new Adaptive True Tone flash that has been completely redesigned with an array of nine LEDs that change pattern based on the chosen focal length.
Powerful computational photography benefits like Night mode, Smart HDR 4, Portrait mode with Portrait Lighting, Night mode Portrait photos, Photographic Styles to personalize the look of every photo, and Apple ProRAW.
A new Action mode for incredibly smooth-looking video that adjusts to significant shakes, motion, and vibrations, even when video is being captured in the middle of the action.
Cinematic mode, now available in 4K at 30 fps and 4K at 24 fps.
Pro-level workflows for video, including ProRes3 and end-to-end Dolby Vision HDR.

It looks like if you are in the market for a new iPhone this year, you are in for a radical display change and brand new amazing features such as a new camera and new safety and privacy features that come along with IOS 16.

I know I will primarily use that massive sensor on the iPhone 14 Pro to take beautifully crisp images to share with family and friends.

You can preorder The iPhone 14 Pro starting at 5am PDT, and it retails at $999, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1099, and both will be released on September 16, 2022.

As an iPhone user, I can not wait to get my hands on the iPhone 14 Pro Max when it releases on September 16, 2022.

Sources: Apple 1, 2, 3, 4