It’s that time of the year when the usually highly secretive Apple comes out to showcase what the company’s been working on in its labs and what the future of its key products is likely to be, and with a new lineup of iPhones, an updated iPad and Apple Watch and a slew of services headed our way… boy, has Apple been busy! We went ringside in Cupertino to experience the new products firsthand, and here’s the rundown on Apple’s latest announcements.

Apple iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max

Price: Rs 99,900/Rs 1.09 lakh onwards

Apple’s top-of-the-line flagships are the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max — both feature the insanely fast A13 Bionic chip, have triple-camera systems (complete with a telephoto, a normal and an ultra-wide lens and 4K/60fps shooting from all three cameras), 5.8” and 6.5” OLED displays with support for HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos, and four to five hours more of battery life than last year’s XS lineup. Plus there’s 18W fast charging with the included charger. Apple’s smarts in computational photography are showcased in the new Deep Fusion feature, which uses the Neural Engine to stitch nine images (four short, four secondary and one long-exposure), into a final image that is optimised for detail and noise reduction. The Midnight Green matte-finish model is the one to get this year. In my short use after the event, the Pro series impressed with the exceptionally bright 1,200-nit displays and if Apple’s claims of a four-five-hour improvement on battery life are seen in day-to-day usage, the longevity will go into “seriously impressive” territory. Much improved is the camera interface with precise zoom dials and seamless switching between the three cameras, and with the A13 Bionic, it feels like it’s practically showing off its chip prowess at this point of time. If you want an all-out iPhone experience, this is the model to get.

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Apple iPhone 11

Price: From Rs 64,900

Last year’s iPhone XR was the iPhone for the rest of us, and new iPhone 11 improves on the XR in almost every single discernable way yet costs over 10 grand less than the model it replaces. There’s the same A13 Bionic chip that it shares with the Pro lineup, and the single camera of last year’s model gives way to the dual-camera setup, with a 12MP wide camera (26 mm f/1.8) and a new ultra-wide 13mm shooter with a 120-degree field of view. As with the Pros, the iPhone 11 shoots slow-motion selfie videos (slofies!) and has a better depth mode that allows you to take portrait mode shots of your pets as well! What I’m counting on to show the biggest jump in image quality is the new Night Mode, which it switches to automatically when it detects a dimly-lit scene, and Apple’s demo results have me wanting to take this feature out for a spin right now! What remains unchanged is the overall look and feel and the lower-resolution 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display, but there are a couple of new colours (green and purple) for this year’s model.

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iPad 7th generation

Price: Rs 29,900 onwards

The entry-level iPad borrows some features from the Pro lineup — there’s Apple Pencil support and a Smart Connector port to hook up the Smart Keyboard accessory — to make it a feature-complete member of the lineup with the upcoming iPadOS. The display sees a bump up from 9.7 inches to 10.2 inches, but the slightly dated design and older A10 Fusion chip will mean it will compete strongly in terms of value against budget Windows laptops and Chromebooks.

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Apple Watch Series 5

Price: Rs 40,900 onwards

Take a look at the new Apple Watch Series 5, and you’d think not much has changed — the older model and the Series 5 are visually identical, unless you’re carrying around the new and pricier titanium one in space black or silver. What’s interesting though is that the Series 5 gains an always-on display that lets you see your Watch complications, your workout stats and the watch face at all times, without having to raise your wrist or compromising the

18-hour battery life! The always-on display works well, dimming the display yet keeping it bright enough for a quick glance, and ramping up to full brightness when you lift your wrist. The compass should be a handy addition to third-party apps where an element of direction and heading is useful, such as when you need to know which way to walk to reach your favourite restaurant.

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Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade

Apple’s Arcade subscription gaming service is finally coming on September 19, and India gets a sweet launch price at Rs 99 per month (with a free one-month trial). The service gives you access to over 100 new exclusive titles from Ubisoft, Square Enix, Capcom, Konami and the like, which you can play across iOS, macOS and tvOS devices for an ‘all you can eat’ subscription price, no need to pay individually for each game. Apple TV+ rolls out later on November 1, again at Rs 99 per month (after a seven-day trial), with access to high quality original content and movies. If you happen to pick up a new iPhone or iPad in the next couple of months, you’ll get the service free for a year — Apple is truly betting big on the services play!