THE dust is settling on Apple’s annual September event – and we’ve had some time to pick our highlights.
I was lucky enough to be in California for the launch to touch the iPhone maker’s new gadgets with my humble British hands – and four features really stuck out to me.
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Here are my choices for the four standout features from today’s Apple event.
Action Button
This is a brand new feature on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
For years, the Mute Switch has been a staple of iPhone design.
But it’s now been replaced by something called the Action Button.
By default, it will still silence your iPhone – but that’s not all.
It can perform a whole host of functions depending on what you set it up for.
For instance, it can:
- Enable a Focus like Do Not Disturb
- Launch the camera
- Turn on the flashlight
- Start a Voice Memo
- Translate something
- Launch the Magnifier
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And it can also be used for Accessibility features, or even to activate custom-built Shortcuts that you’ve programmed yourself.
It makes the side of your iPhone more powerful than ever before.
Double Tap
Apple has fitted its two new smartwatches with a seriously clever trick called Double Tap.
It’s available on both the new Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
And it’s designed to let you control your smartwatch without even touching the screen.
All you need to do is tap your index finger and thumb together twice on your Apple Watch hand.
Through some clever sensor systems, the watch will know you’re performing this gesture.
You can use it to answer calls, start a time, snooze an alarm, pause what you’re watching, or even start a selfie timer on your iPhone.
I was able to try it out at the Apple Park HQ just moments after the iPhone 15 event finished (check out our Apple liveblog) and it worked brilliantly.
Once you master the technique after a few tries, it’s very easy to do.
USB-C
The big change across all four new iPhone models (iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max) is the charging port.
When the iPhone first came out, it used a giant 30-pin connector that was gladly killed off in 2012.
Then Apple switched to its own Lightning connectors, which became widespread across the company’s gadgets.
But while Apple stayed with Lightning for iPhone, the world moved on.
Most modern Android phones now use USB-C, and the popular port is often fitted to new cars and common household gadgets.
Even Apple started shifting to USB-C in recent years, particularly across iPad and MacBook models.
Now Apple has finally committed to USB-C on the iPhone, which is great news.
Look past the minor annoyance of your old Lightning cables not working with the new model.
In the long run, you’ll be able to use the same USB-C cables across almost all of your electronics.
Even an Android-owning pal will be able to lend you their charging cable to power up your iPhone.
It’s a utopian future we should all want to be part of.
Super-Zoom
One of Apple’s best new features has a devastating catch: it’s only available on one model.
The new 5x optical zoom is a real treat but you’ll only get to enjoy it on the premium iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Optical zoom is a lens-based zoom, which means you’re authentically magnifying the image and capturing real detail.
By contrast, digital zoom is when you go beyond what the lens is capable of.
This involves simply blowing up the image and cropping it to create a zoom effect, without adding any extra detail.
Optical zoom is far better, so the fact that Apple can offer authentic 5x zoom is fantastic news.
I was able to try it out at Apple Park and it work brilliantly.
It means you can get stunning shots from even farther away – and who doesn’t want that?
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