iPhone 15, Watch Series 9 & Ultra 2: What To Remember From The Apple 2023 Keynote

It was eagerly awaited by all bitten apple enthusiasts: Apple’s back-to-school Keynote was finally held this Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at 7 p.m. live (or almost) from the company’s Cupertino headquarters in California. And it once again lived up to expectations, lifting the veil on the new iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max; we’re doing the recap. After months and months of rumors, the new little gems from the Apple brand were finally revealed last night.

All Tech enthusiasts were connected to the Apple website (or the Apple TV app) at 7 p.m. Indian time to attend the American giant’s annual high mass. Its famous Keynote, which, unlike WWDC last June, was not held in front of an audience, the Cupertino company has preferred to maintain the pre-recorded format adopted during the pandemic. But no matter, the presentation was no less spectacular given the long-awaited announcements around two flagship products from the manufacturer: the iPhone and the Apple Watch.

After first giving news of the products presented during WWDC 2023, in particular the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which will arrive on the market at the start of next year, Tim Cook quickly made it known that this Keynote would only be dedicated to the famous smartphones and connected watches stamped with the bitten apple. Starting with the exciting one, which indeed got the scoop on this conference. Two new models were unveiled this Tuesday, September 12: the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Table of Contents

Apple Watch Series 9 Introduces A New Control Gesture, “Double Tap.”

Unsurprisingly, Apple presented a new version of the most popular connected watch on the market. Like every year, the Apple Watch is entitled to a new model, logically called Series 9, as the 9th generation. There is no significant change in its design, except for a new, more elegant pink color for the stainless steel case or the appearance with watchOS 10 of a new Snoopy dial (among others), which we are looking forward to discovering.

We will also note a reasonable effort in terms of screen brightness, now capable of reaching 2000 nits for sunny days outside, and on the contrary, going down to 1 minor nit, However, The most significant development is inside, with a new SiP S9 chip promising maximum fluidity, overall increased performance, and all-day battery life. Siri is also evolving, allowing you to consult your health data quickly.

WatchOS 10 introduces the NameDrop functionality to share contacts quickly, and this Apple Watch Series 9 marks the arrival of the second generation Ultra Wideband (UWB), which will offer more precision and better control of various connected objects from your wrist. But that’s not all. The big novelty is, above all, a new gesture to interact with the precious touch: the Apple brand introduces the “Double Tap”, or “Touch Twice” in India, which will allow you to answer a call, turn off an alarm clock, start a timer and many other actions until now challenging to perform when the other hand is occupied.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 Is Also Evolving, And The Toques Become The Brand’s First Carbon-Neutral Products

All these improvements also arrive on the Apple Watch Ultra 2, the second generation of the Apple brand’s most premium connected watch. Also equipped with the powerful SiP S9 chip, the latter also adopts Double Tap, second generation UWB for more precise location of the iPhone or even the new Siri functionalities.

Then it stands out by going even further, with a screen brightness capable of reaching 3000 nits, a new Modular Ultra dial reserved for this ultra-premium model, a Night mode now activated automatically thanks to a brightness sensor ambient or even new measurement data for diving. Last but not least, the Apple Watch became the first 100% carbon-neutral Apple product with these new versions.

Depending on the combination of case and bracelet chosen, acquiring a model with a zero carbon footprint from its design to transport will be possible. We will also note another small revolution in this meaning: the Apple brand is definitively abandoning leather for its accessories, whether iPhone cases or the bracelets of its precious toquants. But don’t panic for those who particularly appreciated the luxurious collaboration with Hermès: the house has designed new environmentally friendly bracelets, sometimes woven, sometimes knitted style or even molded rubber.

The iPhone 15 Inherits All The Advantages Of The iPhone 14 Pro

Now it’s time for the real star of this Keynote 2023: the iPhone 15. Starting with the “standard” model and its “Plus” version, Apple has once again kept the exact symmetry this year for its new mobile range: iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus have the exact specifications in two different sizes, 6.1 and 6.7 inches, just like iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. First of all, we notice, across the entire range, a slightly more rounded design on the edges, which gives a slightly less square appearance while retaining pretty flat edges, as well as thinner borders at the level of the screen, which allow you to gain a little in a display area.

While the iPhone 15 arrives with new colors, the “standard” and “Plus” models adopt a new finish on the back, a silky matte texture like the Pro models. Then, above all, among what was until now reserved for the latter, the Dynamic Island is now coming to the entire series. And that’s something to celebrate.

This isn’t the only thing the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus borrow from their Pro counterparts. They indeed inherit, without much surprise, the A16 Bionic chip which equipped the iPhone 14 Pro. And if they are still equipped with a double lens on the back, the (very) good news is that they also have a 48 Mpx primary sensor, which opens the way to an option of x2 optical zoom.

The new Photonic Engine software processing system, introduced once again on the iPhone 14 Pro, is also arriving on these new standard models, which benefit from new portrait features. With an AI capable of identifying the presence in the frame of a human being and a cat or dog, Portrait mode now engages automatically. Not only that, but like the Cinematic in video function, it will now be possible to change the focus and the blur effect after taking the photo.

Titanium And A New Action Button For The iPhone 15 Pro

To put it simply, the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus present all the advantages that made the iPhone 14 Pro successful, with a few new features as a bonus, such as the arrival of NameDrop via iOS 17 or even a “Voice isolation” function which promises to be very practical for making calls in noisy environments.

You wonder how their Pro versions will be able to stand out… But you should never doubt Apple, which once again has achieved the feat of innovating on its new premium smartphones, with, first of all, a design that immediately sets them apart from their predecessors: the new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max feature a titanium chassis, promising both strength and lightness.

According to the Apple brand, this makes them the lightest iPhone Pros ever designed. We can’t wait to take them in hand to make sure. Another notable change: a new Action button appears on the left edge, in place of the Ring button, which until now allowed you to activate and deactivate Silent mode. From now on, you just need to press it to access the camera, the flashlight or even the dictaphone in one gesture, among other shortcuts.

Then, of course, these new iPhone 15 Pros benefit from the brand new chip designed by Apple, called A17 Pro, engraved for the first time in the history of the industry in 3 nanometers and notably featuring a new GPU architecture, 6 cores, which will promise, among other things, gaming experience unrivaled. The Apple brand has also announced the upcoming launch of console games never before ported to smartphones: Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4, Death Stranding and Assassin’s Creed Mirage, which will arrive on October 5, 2023, on PlayStation, Xbox and PC, then during 2024 on the iPhone 15 Pro.

Finally, a word about the camera of these new Pro models is obviously also entitled to improvements. We still find a configuration of three sensors: a main wide-angle of 48 Mpx, an ultra-wide-angle and a telephoto lens of 12 Mpx. But the iPhone 15 Pro stands out compared to its predecessors because it offers no less than 7 “zoom” options. Apple now speaks in focal lengths, and it will be possible to display this measurement instead of the traditional x1.

Because it is, above all, the primary camera which will be the most versatile, allowing you to choose between a focal length of 24 mm, 28 mm, 35 mm or 48 mm. Added to this are the 13 mm ultra-wide angle sensor (x0.5), which, as a reminder, is also used for macro, as well as a brand new x5 telephoto lens, which displays a monster focal length of 120 mm. There is a wide range of possibilities for ever more incredible image quality.

Are you also looking forward to discovering Apple’s new jewels? If there will not be a new pair of AirPods this year, the brand has simply changed its case to adopt the USB-C standard, as on all of its products from now on, and the good news is that you won’t have to wait much longer before you can take control of these Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and new iPhone 15. The latter will be available for pre-order starting this Friday, September 15, at SFR, and everything will arrive in store from September 22. So, which models will you go for?