Sameed Khan·

Apple Event Roundup: $399 iPhone SE, 9.7-Inch iPad Pro, Apple Watch Bands, iOS 9.3, More

If you’ve been busy the past few hours and weren’t able to catch Apple’s Spring event live, you needn’t fret, as you’ll find each of the event’s highlights right here. We’ve put together this nifty summary to, like Apple’s event, loop you in.

The event was shorter than the ones we’re accustomed to and have grown to love, with fewer announcements and nothing particularly groundbreaking, but that was expected. The Cupertino giant seems to have dedicated this quarter to sprucing up and tidying its mobile device lineup, as is its current modus operandi, and making its wearable, the year-old Apple Watch, a more attractive purchase for new customers.

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Fans are likely to be disappointed with the lack of a wow factor and the complete absence of Mac and MacBook lineups from the event, though that shouldn’t take any amount of significance away from today’s new developments.

Let’s run you through these, shall we?

$399 iPhone SE

Apple announced the long-rumored iPhone SE today, subsequently spelling the end of the iPhone 5s, which it will replace in the revised lineup. With a 4-inch screen and internals that match those of the iPhone 6s, barring 3D Touch hardware, this phone clearly isn’t just a budget alternative to Apple’s flagship duo, though it will be cheaper.

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The iPhone SE becomes available for pre-order on March 24 and will hit the shelves on the 31st of the same month, starting at $399.

For more on the iPhone SE, check out the following:

9.7-inch iPad Pro

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The iPhone wasn’t the only product line that got a smaller variant today. The iPad Pro now comes in a 9.7-inch flavor with the same processing prowess + camera from iPhone 6s series, and all the same features – including compatibility with the Apple Pencil & Smart Keyboard – and a lower retail price that starts at $599.

For more on the iPad Pro, check out the following:

New Apple Watch Bands And Price Reduction

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Fans might have hoped for an upgrade to the Apple Watch itself, but as was expected, Apple stuck to introducing an extensive list of new bands for its wearable, including an all-new Woven Nylon collection. The seven new Woven Nylon bands, accompanied by a new Space Black Milanese Loop Band, six new Sport Band colors, seven new Classic Buckle variants, three new Modern Buckle flavors and two new colors for the Leather Loop make a total of 26 new bands for the wearable.

That’s not all. The Apple Watch Sport shaved $50 off its price tag today, and now starts at $299.

For more, check out the following:

iOS 9.3, watchOS 2.2, tvOS 9.2, OS X 10.11.4

In news that followed the event, final builds of iOS 9.3, OS X 10.11.14, watchOS 2.2 and tvOS 9.2 were released to the public, along with iTunes 12.3.3. You can find more info on these here:

Other Announcements

In addition to the aforementioned highlights, Apple announced a new open-source framework called CareKit, which allows users to create their own health-related apps and will be available this April.

The event also saw Apple CEO Tim Cook shed some light on the company’s recent stance against the Bernardino court order. Talking of encryption and the work Apple is doing to ensure the security of customer data, Cook said “this is an issue that impacts all of us and we will not shrink from this responsibility.”

Apart from this, a new Lightning to USB-C sync cable for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro was also introduced along with a wide variety of new colors for iPhone 6/6s and iPhone 6 Plus/6s Plus cases as well as two leather cases for the new iPhone SE, which also happen to fit the older iPhone 5s.

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For more on these developments, check out the following:

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