If you asked Siri for a hint on Sept. 8, you heard something along the lines of, “The only hint I can give you right now is a hint of lime. And that there’s a big announcement on Sept. 9.” That big announcement has come and gone and now it’s time to look at whether or not it was worth the hype.

Here’s what Apple unveiled on Wednesday in San Francisco.

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Get a Makeover

The 6S and 6S Plus look similar to their previous models, but Apple CEO Tim Cook swears they’re not.

“We have changed everything about these new iPhones,” Cook said. Although that statement is an exaggeration, as they didn’t change everything, Apple has made some major alterations.

Likely in response to countless YouTube videos of people bending their phones, Apple has upgraded the material of the 6S and 6S Plus to 7000 Series aluminum. According to a CNN article, that’s “aircraft-grade material.” The color options available for the material are silver, gold, rose gold and space gray. Okay, now onto the more exciting features.

The new phones will come with a 3D touch system that allows the user to hold their finger on an item to access shortcuts and other options. It has 3 touch options: a soft press, a hard press and a long press. This is the defining feature of these products, and if you want to learn more about it, there’s some pretty cool technology behind it.

The camera, arguably the 6 and 6 Plus’ signature characteristic, is about to get even better. The 6S and 6S Plus will have a 12-megapixel rear camera that has 50% more pixels than the last versions. The pictures those cameras take can then be made into GIF-like videos using the newly introduced, “Live Photos.”

In addition, the new phones will be faster than ever with an A9 processor and improved fingerprint sensors.

iPad Pro is a Shot Across Microsoft’s Bow

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, then Microsoft has to be blushing right now. The iPad Pro is Apple’s bid at developing a greater presence in the workplace. It attempts to do that by introducing a $169 keyboard similar in nature to the one that works with the Surface tablet.

But that’s not the only feature Apple has added in its aggressive modification of the company’s struggling product. The Pro is bigger than any ever before at 12.9 inches, 1.8x faster than ever before with an A9X 64-bit chip and is powerful enough to edit 4K video. This is all while weighing 1.5 pounds and costing $799.

The pro also comes with a feature that might have Steve Jobs rolling over in his grave: a stylus. While introducing the iPhone in 2007, Jobs said, “Who wants a stylus?” Well, apparently, Tim Cook does, and the new tool is called “Pencil.” It’s $99, and is pretty standard in that it allows the user to draw on the screen, in the same way that one would draw on a piece of paper. See what Apple did there? The pencil costs $99.

In a less-hyped move, Apple also announced the release of the iPad Mini 4.

Apple TV Now Has Siri and a Wii-Like Remote

Before unveiling the new Apple TV, Cook said he believes the future of television is apps.  Whether or not that’s true has yet be to be seen, but the company’s new product is focused on that concept. Apple TV will soon have a third party app store that lets you browse from movies to shopping and seemingly everything in between. A new remote comes with it that has a touch surface, which allows you to play games, turn up the volume or click play on an episode of Netflix.

Or, if you’re feeling lazy, you can just tell Siri what you want to watch. Yes, the voice-controlled app will now be available in the living room. Siri has the ability to playback a scene if you don’t hear what the actor said and can even pull up the actor’s information.

The new Apple TV will be available in over 100 countries by the end of the year, and costs $149 for 32GB and $199 for 64GB.

Apple Watch is About to Make a Fashion Statement

Apple partnered with French manufacturer Hermès to make their smartwatches more fashionable. Set for release in October, the new watches will have a leather band that wraps around the user’s wrist not once, but twice. Once is so 2008. The watch itself comes in gold and rose gold and the company announced there will be some new sport band options as well.

Apple clearly believes that a deal with a reputable company from the fashion capital of the world will encourage an increase in watch sales and that it is staying consistent in creating products that are both cutting-edge and beautiful. This is a flashy, headline-grabbing move, but Apple may realize they should improve the product in between the bands if they really want to see a boost in demand.

Paul Sarconi is a junior broadcast and digital journalism major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at pjsarcon@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @paulsarconi.

Published on September 13, 2015 at 6:54 pm