Apple "Let Us Loop You In" 2016 Event Liveblog
by Joshua Ho & Brandon Chester on March 21, 2016 12:07 PM EST- Posted in
- Mobile
- Apple
- Smartphones
- Tablets
- Live Blog

02:03PM EDT - Time for hands on
02:03PM EDT - Wrapping things up, thanking everyone
02:02PM EDT - So I probably don't feel the significance of this, but I look forward to the new campus
02:02PM EDT - This is my first time here
02:02PM EDT - This is probably the last event that will ever happen in Town Hall
01:58PM EDT - I'm honestly not sure how I'm going to have to test the display of this
01:57PM EDT - Each display is calibrated individually instead of at the batch level based upon their product video
01:56PM EDT - Preorder 3/24, on sale 3/31
01:55PM EDT - Starts at 599 for 32GB, 128GB 749
01:55PM EDT - Comes in 4 colors, including Rose Gold
01:54PM EDT - Retina flash as well
01:54PM EDT - 5MP FFC
01:54PM EDT - There's a camera hump which is interesting
01:54PM EDT - Same camera as iPhone 6s? Hard to say
01:53PM EDT - Can also use the USB camera adapter for ethernet and microphones, etc.
01:53PM EDT - USB camera adapter and SD card reader for photographers
01:52PM EDT - Apple Pencil support as well
01:52PM EDT - The smart keyboard is specifically designed for the 9.7" size
01:52PM EDT - Oh, there we go
01:51PM EDT - I think they just showed the keyboard cover without talking about it
01:50PM EDT - Uses A9X shared with iPad Pro 13"
01:50PM EDT - 2x the volume of iPad Air 2
01:50PM EDT - 4 speaker audio system shared with 13" iPad Pro
01:50PM EDT - This sounds like Samsung's Adapt Display mode, but I'm not sure what exactly Samsung is doing with their mode
01:49PM EDT - True tone display with 2 4 channel ambient light sensors to adapt color balance
01:48PM EDT - Hopefully it has color management so sRGB is still managed properly
01:48PM EDT - DCI-P3 gamut support
01:48PM EDT - 25% higher luminance to get to 500 nits
01:47PM EDT - New AR coating, 40% lower reflectivity than iPad Air 2
01:47PM EDT - Pro display with photoalignment, custom TCON shared with iPad Pro, and IGZO TFT
01:47PM EDT - Over 1M iPad apps designed for iPad
01:46PM EDT - 2 targets, Windows users and people that just want a 9.7" iPad
01:45PM EDT - Weighs less than a pound
01:45PM EDT - iPad Pro 9.7" display version
01:44PM EDT - For pretty much all of my studying/notes I only use the iPad Pro at this point
01:44PM EDT - Apple Pencil is actually amazing for education/creative work
01:43PM EDT - Phil Schiller talks about their new iPad Pro
01:43PM EDT - iPad is next
01:42PM EDT - Hopefully they don't actually gimp the Apple Pencil, iOS 9.3 available today
01:40PM EDT - Health also has app suggestions
01:40PM EDT - Notes will also be TouchID/password protected
01:39PM EDT - iOS 9.3 brings Night Shift to decrease blue light output to make it easier to fall asleep at night
01:38PM EDT - iOS 9 runs on 80% of active iOS devices
01:38PM EDT - Not the end, now for iOS
01:38PM EDT - More than 110 countries by the end of May for retail availability
01:37PM EDT - Available for sale 3/21
01:37PM EDT - Orders start 3/24
01:37PM EDT - 17/USD month for 24 months, free on 2 year contract
01:37PM EDT - 399 USD starting for the iPhone SE 16GB
01:36PM EDT - NFC Apple Pay supported
01:35PM EDT - Single stream 802.11ac WiFi
01:35PM EDT - FFC also has retina flash with the same LED driver technology
01:34PM EDT - No mention of OIS
01:34PM EDT - Same camera as the iPhone 6s
01:33PM EDT - Same frequency as the A9 in the iPhone 6s
01:32PM EDT - Uses Apple A9 SoC with M9 coprocessor
01:32PM EDT - "Most powerful 4-icnh phone ever"
01:31PM EDT - Called iPhone SE
01:31PM EDT - Some people (Ryan Smith) want a smaller phone, others tend to use a 4-inch iPhone as their first iPhone
01:30PM EDT - New version of the iPhone announced today
01:30PM EDT - iPhone is up next
01:30PM EDT - Update will be available today, on to the next thing
01:29PM EDT - New features for tVOS like folders
01:27PM EDT - Over 5000 Apple TV apps
01:27PM EDT - On to Apple TV
01:26PM EDT - Also price drop to 299 base
01:26PM EDT - New colors for existing band types
01:26PM EDT - A new nylon band because roughly a third of users regularly swap bands
01:25PM EDT - Apple Watch is top selling smartwatch and top for customer satisfaction
01:24PM EDT - Moving on to product
01:23PM EDT - Example app for post-surgery recovery, CareKit available in April and will be open source
01:21PM EDT - An SDK that makes it easier to make apps for individualized healthcare
01:21PM EDT - CareKit is the result
01:20PM EDT - It turns out that the same tools used for medical research can also be used for medical care
01:18PM EDT - The goal is to use mobile devices for things like health diagnoses, more useful data for research, and tracking health
01:15PM EDT - Mass General Hospital was able to discover that there are subtypes of Type 2 Diabetes
01:15PM EDT - With ResearchKit it was possible to do the largest Parkinson's study in history
01:13PM EDT - Next initiative is health, discussing ResearchKit
01:13PM EDT - Apple Renew allows for easy device recycling, which is nice I guess?
01:11PM EDT - R&D project known as Liam which automates disassembly of old iPhones to improve recycling
01:10PM EDT - Reuse and recycle initiatives as well to try and reduce waste
01:09PM EDT - Also 99% of their packaging comes from recycled paper or sustainably managed forests
01:07PM EDT - In Sichuan province Apple had to build their own solar farm to power 34 retail stores and 19 offices in the country
01:07PM EDT - The 93% figure is global, 100% is in China/US and many other countries.
01:06PM EDT - This covers datacenters, offices, and retail stores. Currently at 93%.
01:06PM EDT - Environment is first on the agenda, Apple is attempting to become powered solely by renewable energy.
01:05PM EDT - Moving past security discussion, two initiatives to discuss first.
01:03PM EDT - "Before we get started today..." discussing security and the San Bernardino case.
01:02PM EDT - 1B active Apple devices around the world now
01:02PM EDT - It turns out that Apple turns 40 on April 1st, 2016.
01:01PM EDT - Overview of the company history
12:56PM EDT - Ryan is also seemingly excited for the prospect of a proper 4 inch iPhone.
12:51PM EDT - While we're waiting to find out what Apple wants to talk about today, I should mention that this room is smaller than most lecture halls at UCLA.
12:49PM EDT - We're currently settled into Apple's Town Hall venue. The WiFi appears to be relatively strong so hopefully things go smoothly this time around
35 Comments
View All Comments
Wolfpup - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Not a bad event! Cool that they're already 93% renewable energy. I'd have guessed it would be like "we hope to be 15% by 2035" type of deal lol.I actually found the pricing to be one of the more interesting aspects. They basically just, FINALLY created a...not low end, but mid range priced iPhone. It's $250 less, and has the same hardware...save for the screen size. They managed to cut prices while saving face about cutting prices.
IMO they should have done this years ago...I mean I'd really like a $200 model, but hey, $400 is actually cheaper than the two model old phones have been going for, only for a brand new one.
So I think it's a double win-for people who want a smaller screen, and for getting a slightly-closer-to-entry-level iPhone out there!
iPad's kind of interesting to me for the same reason-they basically raised the price $100, and eliminated the 16GB model. Obviously it looks like good hardware too...I mean the Air 2 even a year and a half later is still more competitive than any Android device available, so upgrading it further only improves that.
zodiacfml - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Price is about right, iphone 7 will comeout this yearAmandtec - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Kind of makes you wonder why you must pay so much more for the larger one...Gunbuster - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
For profit of course. You can get a Lumia 640 for $30. Yeah it must be all that R&D that gets us up to $700 handsets... Apple must be seeing some market erosion to even give up that $200SaolDan - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
2 targets, Windows users and people that just want a 9.7" iPadlol
harrynsally - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Well let's see...since Microsoft has a 93% global share of the PC O/S market...is it really any surprise that most users of ANY new non PC computing device are "coming from Windows?Let's face it...the iPad Pro has been a bust so far and iPhone growth is flat globally.
The Apple party is over...it is a one trick pony and everyone who wanted that pony already has one.
Time for something (really) new that people actually want.
Clearly the Apple Watch is not going to the next big thing.
easp - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Apple is a one trick pony? Nope: Apple ][, Macintosh, iPod, iPhone. That is at least 4 tricks.As for when the next one comes, who knows, maybe never.
Here is the thing, that isn't necessarily a bad thing for Apple, or for consumers.
Take the Mac. It is thirty two years old! It earns Apple the fattest margins in the PC industry, which is good for Apple and its shareholders. People pay the premium not because they are stupid, but because they value the product. They value the product because Apple has kept improving and refining it year after year for over three decades (well, they kind of stalled out for a good chunk of the 90s).
But, lets face it, innovation in Apple trolling is absolutely stagnant. Each new Apple announcement is met with the same stale trolling comments we've been seeing for the last 5+ years with the product names substituted.. Apple trolls could easily be replaced by bots, if they haven't been already.
theduckofdeath - Tuesday, March 22, 2016 - link
Now you're making numbers up. Before the iPod, Apple was not making good money. You know, back in the days when they had to rely on computer sales. In fact, they technically even went bankrupt once because they were throwing money away trying to sell the Mac in a PC world.Meteor2 - Wednesday, March 23, 2016 - link
Have you forgotten the iMac? I guess so.r3loaded - Monday, March 21, 2016 - link
Where are my damn Skylake Macs?