Personally, I wasn’t that impressed with the Apple Keynote this time around. I have a 12 Pro Max, nothing caught my eye for the upgrade. I was debating of the iPad Mini with an Apple Pencil, having it be my digital notepad (one less task on the iPad Pro - to keep it more for long form writing). But was still hesitant, the storage was only 256GB and I’m not sure why they didn’t put an M1 chip on it. I really wanted to upgrade my watch, but decided to wait for the S8. I was hoping they would release new AirPods, I am in need of a new pair.
I would be in for a phone, watch and iPad Mini replacement. Yet, none offer a proper silver/white color-way anymore. “Starlight” seems to be a toned done gold/silver, which is a mismatch to everything else I own.
Especially the opinionated color choices for the entry level aluminum Watch Series 7 are concerning.—Not a single one could count as neutral.
Bare aluminum (silver) paired with pure white is a design classic. It describes Apple’s design roots back to the first iPods and unibody MacBooks and iMac the best. The absence of it makes me worried about what to expect from the new MacBook line.
I already put my money down on an iPad mini. It’s just what I’ve been waiting for. On the phone, I’m on a 2-year cycle and I bought a iPhone 12 Pro last year, so the 13 Pro isn’t even a consideration for me (if was still on an iPhone 11 or older I’d be all over it). The watch was the only one where I was really on the bubble, but I’ve come down on the “no” side of the fence. No new sensors and my Series 5 is still working fine.
Already bought a 24” iMac earlier this year. Plan to stick with my XR for another year. iPads were new just over a year ago. Might consider the watch depending on what it actually offers. My wife thought about moving from her 2017 iMac to the M1 but decided to hang onto it for awhile.
I bought the Series 6 Watch last year, and don’t see a compelling reason to upgrade. I picked up an iPhone 12 Mini at the start of summer (I wanted to move down in size, and wasn’t convinced we’d see a Mini again this year).
The iPad Mini 6 is the only potentially interesting device in this year’s lineup. It looks really nice. But I got myself a Mini 5 (with Smart Cover and Apple Pencil) back in February to mark a major life transition, and it’s serving my needs very well — so there’s no justification for a new expense.
Had I not bought the 5 so recently, I’d probably be getting a new Mini. But I did, so . . . gotta be a financially responsible grown-up. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Very disappointed with event. Nothing worth upgrading to. No point wasting money on minor upgrades. Innovation has disappeared from Apple, all products look the same with minor improvement.
iPad mini 5G for now. Except for storage capacity, it was exactly what I was looking for. Pocketable, powerful and versatile. Just need to use the cloud more than local media now.
2018 iPad Pro is still doing very well. Phone and watch offers are not compelling enough to upgrade from the last generation.
Waiting for a Mac Mini Pro now. The current M1 version is great, but need more I/O
Once the new MacBookPro comes out I will need to make a decision: will I have a laptop again (my 16" MBP has been sitting idle ever since I got the M1 Mini) or will I go iPad Pro only for mobile use.
I am currently experimenting with a Remote Desktop Mac solution as well as a Windows 365 solution on the iPad Pro and think it hits a sweet spot for portability and usability. Whenever the iPad can’t do something, I swipe left and I am on either a full Mac or PC. Only added a separate mouse to my bag as the Magic keyboard trackpad is not optimal for PC use.
Real innovation is hard. Apple may have a car or a pair of AR goggles/glasses in the lab, but they’re likely years away.
That doesn’t surprise me. When you’re selling rounded rectangles your choices are curved sides or flat sides. I definitely wouldn’t buy any phone with square corners.
There is a reason Apple is concentrating on services these days.
Agreed. There is only so much what you can do given form factor limitations. Folding screens are not yet mainstream enough to do in quantities that Apple normally sells. I think folding devices will become a support horror for any manufacturer. That said, the new Samsungs look and feel great.
I do like the innovation that Samsung showcases with their latest folding devices, but I don’t think they would actually change any of my use cases compared to using the iPhone Pro Max.
The Samsung Fold 3 while folded feels more like a brick than the iPhone. Admitted, when opened the screen size is great, but limited to apps actually making use of it.
I think it was expected that the updates this year would be spec bumps rather than new designs or significant new features.
I’m not a watch person, and I think the battery life of just one day is really lacking for a watch. I know “it’s a computer on your wrist”, but even considering that, it’s not worth it for me.
I’ll probably upgrade the wife’s phone, she’s on an iPhone X. She really wants better pictures, and more battery life is definitely welcome too.
I’ll stick with my 11 for another year.
After 6 years, I’m thinking about having an iPad again just for content consumption (reading, watching videos, podcasts, music).
I haven’t decided if I’m going to get it or not, and if yes, which iPad: the regular iPad with excellent price but outdated design and no Pencil 2 support or the expensive iPad mini with very good specs.
I’m not sure about the size either, I guess I’ll have to check them in person.
In that case the $329 iPad should be an excellent choice, if 64GB is enough storage for you. My 11 in iPad Pro is perfect for watching movies but I was also happy with my 9.7 6th Gen iPad at the time. If you do a lot of reading you might find the 11 in Pro a bit heavy after a while. Checking them out in person is a good idea.
