“Far out.” – Keynote Thoughts and Predictions

It is that time of the year again where Apple unveil its flagship phones, but for the first time in a while there is set to be major difference in the upgrades between the iPhone and iPhone Pro lines. The iPhone Pro is set to get possibly its most significant update to date, while on the over hand the iPhone is set to get one of the most modest updates that it has seen for a while.

iPhone Pro and Pro Max

Last year the iPhone 13 Pro displays were upgraded to a Pro Motion display allowing it dynamically refresh from 10hz to 120hz, while all other iPhone display are locked in at 60hz. This year, the iPhone 14 Pros are set to have their displays update so they able to refresh at as low as a rate as one 1hz, and like the Apple Watch since Series 5 that already supports this, it will allow for an always on display without a significant impact on battery life. During WWDC this year Apple already showed off the new customisation options for the Lock Screen, including Lock Screen Widgets. The always on display will allow these to be constantly visible but as with complications on the Apple Watch these will be severely limited in how often they can fresh.

The iPhones Pro will also ditch the notch for a hole punch camera and Face ID Sensors, which despite taking up less screen space, will actually mean that the usable and uninterrupted screen under the camera and sensors will start further down the display. It will certainly look more modern and act as a stepping stone towards eliminating the interruption to the display, but in terms of functionality and userbility it isn’t going to make any difference.

The rear camera of the iPhone Pro is set to be upgraded from 12 MP to 48 MP, which although on paper is a 4x bump, it will utilises pixel binning to output a a more detailed 12 MP image than you would get from the existing sensor rather than a larger image.

iPhone and iPhone Max

The iPhone 12 and and iPhone 13 both saw an iPhone mini in their line up, but due to sales numbers this time round this will be dropped for an iPhone Max model, feature a larger display 6.7 inch display (the mini was 5.4 inch and the regular iPhone is 6.1 inch). Other than this the iPhone and iPhone Max will essentially be the same as last year, to the point that they won’t even see an upgraded SOC and will still be using the A15 chip from last year.

Apple Watch Series 8

Rumours are thin on the ground with the only significant update is set to be introduction of a temperature sensor, but like the oxygen sensor introduced in the Series 6 the accuracy will mean that it can’t be backed up with any medical claims.

Apple is however expected to release an Apple Watch Pro, and although it will not exclusively to be marketed as a sport watch, it will predominately be aimed at customers currently served by Garmin. The Apple Watch Pro will feature the same SOC as the rest of the lineup, but will feature a 47mm display, 2mm more than the largest non pro Apple Watch, which beyond the extra screen real estate it will allow for significantly longer battery life, which is perfect for longer workouts or going multiple days without a charge.

Air Pods Pro

The Air Pods Pro haven’t been refreshed since their introduction in 2019, which means there is a significant number of people who have Air Pods Pro with next to no battery life, all of which are in the market for a refreshed model.

The Air Pods Pro are expected to receive a modest update, but the most exciting prospect will be the possibility of enabling lossless audio by using UWB.