Apple Devices: Fall 2023

Apple announced new iPhones and Apple Watches on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. These days, updates to these products are not ground-breaking, but rather, nice, iterative improvements that make great products even better. Read on for a brief look at what’s new.

Note: I’ve been away for too long and have missed writing here. I have several new articles in the works and plan to be around here more regularly. I hope you’ll find something useful.

Apple Watch

Apple introduced Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. Both are minor updates over what was introduced last year.

Sustainability

Apple made a big deal about its focus on the environment and announced that both watches are carbon-neutral when purchased with certain bands. This is pretty impressive given all the tech and manufacturing that goes into making these things.

Apple showed a somewhat humorous video that highlights many of the efforts they’ve undertaken. It’s pretty remarkable to see the steps they are taking to reduce their environmental impact. You can watch the video by tapping here.

Series 9

• Faster: the Series 9 has a new, faster processor that enables some of the new features mentioned below.
• Gestures: you can operate your watch without touching it. By double tapping your index finger and thumb, you tell the watch to answer a call, stop a timer, play or pause music, and more. This will be handy when your hands are full.
• Brighter: the display is twice as bright as the last several models, so will be easier to read in bright sunlight.
• Siri: requests are handled directly on the watch, making them faster and more secure. And, dictation is more accurate as well.

The Series 9 starts at $399 and is available in various colors in both aluminum and stainless steel. To read more about Apple Watch Series 9, tap here for Apple’s product page.

Ultra 2

Apple introduced the titanium Apple Watch Ultra last year, focusing on extreme sports and rugged conditions, such as mountain climbing, diving, ultra marathons, and more. Compared to the standard Apple Watch, it has a larger display, longer battery life, and can handle rougher conditions. It’s also quite a bit bigger. There are only minor changes in this year’s update.

• Faster: the Ultra 2 has the same improved processor as the Series 9.
• Brighter: the display is brighter than last year’s model and even brighter than the Series 9.
• More: the other features from the Series 9, such as gestures, and Siri on-device are here as well.

The Ultra 2 is $799. To read more about the Apple Watch Ultra 2, tap here.

Other Watches

In addition to the new watches announced today, Apple continues to sell the Apple Watch SE from last year. It’s a great watch with fewer advanced features, notably lacking the always-on display, but starts at $249. Read more here.

iPhone

The iPhone is Apple’s flagship product, and for good reason: iPhones bring in more revenue than any other product. The updates to the iPhone each year have become somewhat incremental as well, but they add up year over year, making a big difference to those that wait a few years to get a new phone.

Apple introduced the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Pro models, each with nice, if minor, upgrades over last year’s models. If you’re coming from a phone that is three or more years old, these changes are pretty substantial.

USB-C

A major change to all the iPhones this year is a switch to the charging port. Apple has used its proprietary Lightning port for the last decade, but has switched to using the standard USB-C port this year. This means that if you have Lightning cables in your car, at your bedside, and in your kitchen, you’ll need to buy new cables if you get one of the new phones. The phone does come with a cable in the box, but you’ll likely need a few more.

I’ll have an article on USB-C soon that will go into more details.

Roadside Assistance

Last year, Apple introduced Emergency SOS via satellite, which allows the iPhone 14 line (and now 15) to connect with satellites to summon help when you’re out of range of a cellular network. This year adds Roadside Assistance (in the US only to start) that will connect you with AAA when you’re outside a cellular service area. This feature is also coming to the iPhone 14 line.

iPhone 15

The iPhone 15 line comes in two sizes: the iPhone 15 with a 6.1” screen and the iPhone 15 Plus with a 6.7” screen, the same sizes as last year’s iPhone 14 lineup.

The main updates this year are focused on the camera and the screen. The notable changes are:

• Screen: the Dynamic Island introduced in last year’s iPhone 14 Pro line has been added to the iPhone 15. This is the “cutout” at the top of the screen where the selfie camera is located. This area will display notifications, show what music is playing, how close your Uber is, and more. It’s pretty useful (and cool). The screen is also brighter than last year’s models, especially outdoors.
• Camera: the main camera gets a 48 megapixel sensor, which is a big jump from previous models. This means the camera can gather more light and take higher resolution photos, resulting in better color and more details. This camera can also take photos at 2x the normal zoom without resorting to “blowing up” the image as in previous models. The default resolution for photos is now 24 megapixels (up from 12MP), which balances file size with image quality.
• Performance: the processor is now Apple’s A16 Bionic from last year’s Pro models. This will be faster, but compared to recent phones is probably not that noticeable for most people.

The iPhone 15 starts at $799 and iPhone 15 Plus starts at $899. You can read more by tapping here.

iPhone 15 Pro

The iPhone 15 Pro has a 6.1” display while the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 6.7” display. These are the same sizes as the regular iPhone 15 phones. However, the Pro models feature an always-on ProMotion display which provides smoother scrolling and animations.

• Materials: the Pro models now use titanium (instead of the previous stainless steel), making them very strong and but also lighter than before.
• Performance: the Pro models get a new A17 Pro chip, which has big improvements in graphics performance. This will be most noticeable in certain types of games.
• Camera: the improved main camera system gathers more light, which means more detail and better color, and also makes low-light photos better. The new system automatically switches to portrait mode when people or pets are detected, giving a more pleasing blurred background (also available on the regular iPhone 15). The Max version has a new 5x telephoto lens, allowing you to zoom in much closer than before. The camera can also use formats that professional photographers and videographers use, making it easy for them to integrate with the tools they need for their work.
• Action Button: the mute switch has been replaced by an Action Button. While the default for the new button is the same: to mute the phone, it can now be set to do other things such as open the camera, record a voice memo, translate voices, and more.
• USB: the USB-C port on the pro phones support a higher data transfer speed than the regular iPhone 15. This will make it faster to copy photos and videos onto a Mac or PC.

The iPhone 15 Pro starts at $999 and the iPhone 15 Pro Max starts at $1199. You can read more by tapping here.

Other Phones

Apple still sells the iPhone 14, the iPhone 13, and the iPhone SE, which are priced lower but still offer some great features, especially when coming from and older device.

Time to Upgrade?

Determining whether it’s time to buy a new phone or watch, or really, any other piece of personal technology, is usually not a simple decision. Obviously, if the new device has a feature that you need, it’s easy. But, as I noted above, device updates have become quite iterative, adding some nice, but not major, new features each year. Here are some things to think about when deciding:

• Security: I think this is the most important factor to consider. If your current device is no longer receiving software updates, then it’s time to get a more current device. Most people use their phones for communications, banking, shopping and so much more. Making sure you have the latest software helps keep your information safe.
• Battery: all batteries degrade over time and don’t hold a charge as long. In some cases, a degraded battery can cause your device to slow down or restart unexpectedly. If your device doesn’t last as long as you need it to, it’s probably time to either replace the battery or get a new device. Replacing the battery is much less expensive, but you should think about how much longer that device will get system updates before spending the money. Apple usually provides updates for their devices for around 6 years from the time it was released, so take that into consideration.
• Functionality: is your device working for you? If so, and the previous points don’t apply, then there is probably no need to upgrade. Yes, each new model has improvements and new features, which are always nice. But, will they truly improve what your device does for you? Spend some time perusing the information on Apple’s site to learn what the new devices offer. And remember, the purpose of the site is not only to inform, but also to sell, so everything will be portrayed as must have.
• Trade In: Apple will often give you credit for a new device when trading in an old one. The amount depends on the age of the device and its condition, but it’s worth checking out if you plan to upgrade. Tap here for more information.

What’s Next?

Apple will release iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and watchOS 10 on Monday, September 18. These system updates will bring new features and services to iPhone XS and newer, and Apple Watch Series 4 and newer. I will have a post out soon that highlights what’s coming in these updates.

I hope you found this post useful. Will you keep what you have or upgrade?

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Cover photo by Laurenz Heymann on Unsplash