Apple's September Event

This is the day Apple announces all of the new goodies in its hardware product lineup.  Awesome right?!!?

Not so fast.

The expectations by those following the leaks are painting an unhappy picture.  What will the day actually bring?  Time to find out.

Apple Watch
Apple is following up on the release of the Apple Watch by announcing ... new bands.  New colors.  Fancy (and expensive) new partnerships.  Etc.

Next one up will be big right?

iPad Pro
We've been hearing about a large size iPad for some time now and Microsoft is seeing increasing success with its Surface lineup of tablet/PCs.  Apple has to respond right?  And they will amaze us right?

Not so fast.

At 12.6" vertical this tablet is huge and is quite powerful.  Plus you have the option to buy more goodies to go with it!  Like ... a pencil.  Or ... a keyboard.

Wait isn't that the Microsoft Surface Pro 3?

This thing is expensive.  It starts at $799 for the 32GB version, and you can add $99 for the pencil and another $169 for the keyboard.  Wow.  Will the war for the Enterprise be won be a pure tablet?  This is positioned head to head with the Surface lineup so we are going to find out.  The biggest surprise however was ... Microsoft on the stage with Apple to show you MS Office.  Wow!  Didn't see that coming.

So, something huge will come right?

Apple TV
Finally an update to Apple TV. Do I really care at this point?  My smart TV does everything I can imagine, including cook my dinner.  Do I need to shell out more for this new widget from Apple?

Maybe.  Improved apps.  A solid UI.  A good looking and seemingly intuitive remote control that can be a game controller as well.  Games.  Hmmm.  They might sell a bunch of these.  It'll use tvOS instead of iOS.  That means it is now its own platform, just like the Watch or the Phone, or even the iPad.  More software sales for Apple, but they make almost all of their money on hardware anyway. Another plus for the Apple TV is integration with Siri for voice control ... assuming it works okay since Siri doesn't seem to provide value for many folks on their iPhone or Apple Watch.

I do think MLB is doing great work in the digital streaming space. The app for Apple TV is excellent looking.  Marrying data to live game coverage is awesome.  But I don't watch sports anymore anyway so this means nothing to me.

Starts at $149 for 32GB or get the 64GB version for $199. This will sell.

iPhone Update
iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.  Basically the same as last year's but with big changes inside.

A new color: Rose Gold.  A new screen called Ion-X, not the Sapphire screen on the more expensive Apple Watches.  Still, anything to help the screen's toughness is good.

3D Touch - As expected Apple has taken the 'Force Touch' screen interaction from the Apple Watch and brought it to the iPhone. They didn't get good press for the use of "Force".  A friend of mine described this as essentially "right-click" for all you Windows users out there.  That seems right to me.  You can interact with apps without opening them through 3D Touch.  I like that new layer of interaction.  They've worked hard to embed this in the OS so it impacts many things you are familiar with. Now you just have to figure out when you can use the feature.  "Can I right-click this?  Left-click?  Oh, okay."

Haptic touch engine to allow the phone to essentially vibrate and interact with you.  Another feature on the Watch.

Big performance updates which also means improved performance for games.

The camera is much better at 12 megapixels but there are others far better on the market today. The dern camera lens still protrudes from the back of the phone.  I have disliked that a LOT with my iPhone 6 and have cracked lens already as well. Nice software updates for the camera.  Only pros need a dedicated camera now.  Seriously.  Of course, 12 megapixels mean the pictures will be much bigger and require much more storage on your phone.  It will take 4K video, that is 2160p resolution.  Also a huge drain on storage.

Pricing: Still starts at $199 for the 16GB model.  For $299 you can get 64GB.  They are pushing you to spend ridiculous rates on memory.  As usual.  However, they've created an installment plan so you can endlessly upgrade, and endlessly give Apple more money.  Okay, that last bit might have been harsh.  But wait!  You can use iCloud storage to handle your memory needs.  At an additional cost.

Overall I find myself laughing at this non-event event.  Will there be one more thing?

The band is playing.  I think we are at the end.  Only 2 hours too.