Buzz greets new iPhone 6S, ipad Pro launch

New versions of Apple’s gadgets may be just the shot in the arm that the company needs. For its splashy product launches over the last three years, Apple has turned to a variety of tricks and “magical” features such as its Siri voice assistant or a fingerprint sensor. One thing was consistent: The new iPhone […]

New versions of Apple’s gadgets may be just the shot in the arm that the company needs.
For its splashy product launches over the last three years, Apple has turned to a variety of tricks and “magical” features such as its Siri voice assistant or a fingerprint sensor. One thing was consistent: The new iPhone was always the headliner. That changed on Wednesday when Apple debuted a new Apple TV streaming-media box and a larger, more work-friendly iPad Pro. Both offer a striking accompaniment to the typical progression of a slightly better, slightly faster iPhone.
More importantly, both products have arrived as the world’s No. 2 smartphone maker is trying to prove that it can sell more than just, well, smartphones. The new Apple TV — that product’s first update in three years — comes as the company looks to re-establish its leadership in the market for streaming-TV boxes, now filled with heavy-hitters such as Google, Amazon and Roku. Likewise, Apple hopes the iPad Pro will inject a little life into its tablet business, where sales have fallen for six consecutive quarters.
It’s unclear just how successful these new products will be, unlike the iPhone, which is the undisputed leader in premium smartphones. But that’s also what makes them more exciting — there isn’t that sense of inevitability.
The iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, also unveiled Wednesday, offer more horsepower, a better camera and a stronger aluminum body, par for the course for an “S” year upgrade, which many view as more pedestrian. This year’s big addition is 3D Touch, a pressure-sensitive display that lets you pull up different menus based on how hard you tap the screen.
“Just the fact that iPhone came last versus opening the show today says plenty in my view about where Apple wants to take the business,” said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Kantar Worldpanel. But it likely won’t be the iPhone 6S or 6S Plus that Apple enthusiasts will be talking about in the coming days as they process all of the announcements.
“It is chock full of amazing technology and innovation,” Cook said. Apple also unveiled a physical keyboard accessory and a stylus-like “pencil” that allows you to write on the tablet.
The iPad Pro is part of a bigger push by Apple to get its products into the workplace, following business-focused deals with Cisco and IBM. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3, another larger tablet with a plug-in keyboard accessory, has made waves as a sleeker replacement for a traditional work PC. In January, Microsoft declared the Surface a billion-dollar business.
Source: CNET.com