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Apple iPhone Event Follow Up

Since I was interacting directly with Twitter today for the first time in a few weeks, I wanted to somehow collect the thoughts I shared there and the things I am thinking about now that the event is over.

Twitter Interactions From Earlier (Chronological Order)

12:14 PM - I noticed this as well. They must be focusing specifically on iPhone (and accessories) since these media events rarely go past 1.5 hours. https://twitter.com/rjonesy/status/907652799688835073

12:15PM - Exactly. https://twitter.com/siracusa/status/907653754777989121

1:28PM - Face ID is necessary for hard winters.

1:31PM - No contingencies set up for a Face/Off style situation…

1:40PM - Good thing I don’t hate my own face since will be an animated emoji now.

1:53PM - Now is the time to madly refresh the http://Apple.com website until all is up-to-date.

1:54PM - Also, goodbye to Twitter again until the next event that makes it worth using…

After Thoughts

I always attempt to digest Apple events before reporting out on them in any way, but I have to say that it was an odd one. I think all of the updates announced were solid, but I just don’t know that I will be capitalizing on any of the announcements right at launch. In contrast, previous upgrade cycles have felt like no-brainers.

I have an iPhone 7 on the iPhone Upgrade Program and I have been happy with this model. The iPhone 8 doesn’t appear to be that big of an update for me and the iPhone X is, as expected, more expensive. In addition, that model is aspirational in nature and while I would love having the newest and best, my happiness with the iPhone 7 leads me to believe that I might want to take a wait-and-see approach with things like Face ID, Wireless Charging, and the lack of home button.

The iPhone aside, the announcements regarding the Apple Watch and the Apple TV are intriguing. I welcome the upgrade of all my iTunes content to 4K and would be interested in having the new Apple TV 4K, but I don’t know that I feel pressure to upgrade. In addition, the Series 3 Watch is a nice update to a solid product, but my “Series 0” Stainless Steel marches on and does exactly what I need it to do.

Possibly the most interesting announcement from a technology perspective (and one of the many reasons I have upgraded in the past) is the one that got relatively little fanfare on stage: Apple has designed and implemented its own GPU. The A11 Bionic chip can do a lot of interesting things, especially given it is a first generation design in that way. Apple has set itself apart in many ways with its in-house CPU designs, so I have no reason to think the in-house GPU designs will be any different.

To be honest, the feeling that has enveloped me just after recent Apple events has been