Did you have time yet to digest everything announced at Apple’s ‘Far Out’ fall event? There was plenty to soak in. From the upgraded cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro Series to a new model added to the growing Apple Watch family, Apple’s event was filled with juicy surprises that make us excited for their upcoming releases.
While the hardware will always get the most attention from consumers, Apple clearly made it a priority with this year’s event to focus on the user experience. Honestly, many people overlook how critical it is to have an intuitive experience.
Even though we’re eager to get our hands on the new gadgets, here are the biggest things we’re still geeking out about from the announcement.
The Potential Life-Saving Capability of Satellite Connectivity
Don’t get us wrong, we love knowing that the new iPhones offer improved battery life over their predecessors, as well as upgraded cameras that are even more equipped for handling low light situations, but we can’t tell you how passionate we are about how the technology we have can potentially save lives.
Apple introduced its new Emergency SOS via Satellite, which will be available to the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro Series. Most of us take how we have instant communication and access to emergency services for granted, but what about those rare situations when you’re in a remote area and have no cellular connectivity?
Emergency SOS via Satellite effectively gives the new iPhones the ability to obtain emergency help just about anywhere in the world. Whether traversing the tallest peak in Denali or deep in the Amazon rainforest, this feature will give users the ability to get help — something that wasn’t possible before.
You should know that it’s limited to just short text messages, in addition to sharing your status and location with emergency responders. You’ll be required to point the iPhone in the direction of a nearby satellite, guided by the Emergency SOS portal.
However, factors such as obstruction from foliage and other nearby obstructions can impact satellite connectivity. That’s why it’s best to try and get a direct view of the sky and horizon. Satellite phones still have a purpose, but they’re often bulky and expensive. Nevertheless, this is a life-saving tool that iPhone 14 users can access in emergencies.
Learn More About the iPhone 14
Think You’re Running a Fever? The Apple Watch Series 8 Can Tell You
Our mothers may be good at knowing whether we’re coming down with a fever, but the new Apple Watch Series 8 can confirm this with its new temperature-sensing capability. Now you’ll be able to instantly know your body’s temperature.
Leveraging two sensors, one on the back of the watch and another under the display, the Apple Watch Series 8 will be able to detect variations in temperature as small as 0.1° C. In addition, it can track temperature shifts during the night to see if your baseline temperature changes due to illness, strenuous activities, and even fatigue.
For women, there’s a far more important use for the temperature sensor because it can be used for ovulation estimates and improved period predictions. Using the information obtained by the new temperature sensor will help them to better plan for these events.
Immersive Sound With Personalized Spatial Audio on AirPods Pro 2
If you’re a fan of surround sound, you’ll love the new personalized spatial audio feature of the Apple AirPods Pro 2. Just think: you’ll be able to feel like you’re in the middle of a concert listening to a music track. That way, if you move your head forward or back, the audio output will adjust to your head’s movements.
This Personalized Spatial Audio feature is achieved with the help of using the TrueDepth camera on the iPhone, which lets users create customized profiles that are suited for them.
Everyone’s audio preference is different. Some like the more expansive sound, while others may prefer heavy beats paired with narrower sounding audio. This is exactly why Apple introduced this feature: So that whichever you prefer, the AirPods Pro 2 will provide an immersive experience.
Learn More About the AirPods Pro 2
An Interactive, Intuitive Experience With Dynamic Island
One of the biggest surprises about the new iPhone 14 Pro Series was how Apple finally retired the notch design of the display. Instead, there’s a less obtrusive cutout where the TrueDepth camera sits on the Super Retina XDR display.
This would usually be a distraction, but Apple’s taking the opportunity to use this area to display various notifications and activities with iOS 16. Notifications and other background tasks will populate in this Dynamic Island area — complete with fancy animations that make it appear that the cutout is part of the software interface.
We love the small details, like how the Dynamic Island will expand in size whenever FaceID is accessed. These additions make it feel like these actions and notifications are more intuitive than what Apple previously delivered.
Learn More About the iPhone 14 Pro
Incredible Low-Light Performance on iPhone 14 Pro’s New Camera
And lastly, we’re still geeking out about the new cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro Series. They’re still rocking a versatile triple-camera system, but Apple has upgraded to a new 48-megapixel main camera that features a quad-pixel sensor.
For photographers, this is a sweet addition because it’ll help tremendously with low-light performance — which we feel is still the area that separates the good from the best. Dynamic range is better preserved with this new camera sensor, so high-contrast scenes will be applied with an even exposure. Therefore, you won’t see problems like highlights being too blown out when the exposure is set to the shadows and vice versa.
On top of its low-light capabilities, this new 48MP main camera also gives the iPhone 14 Pro Series another 2x zoom level, which will complement the existing 3x optical zoom of the telephoto camera.