2020 probably will be always remembered as the year of the global Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to many companies going bankrupt or becoming less active. However, this was not the case for Apple. As always, the company found an individual way to deal with this problem and introduced new products and software updates, just as it has done every year. Instead of hosting in-person WWDC events in March, and September, Apple decided to create video introductions, creating an illusion of real presence on the event. The company created entire “movies” of their events, with amazing editing, transitions, and cinematic effects. Additionally, instead of hosting their usual two annual events mentioned above, they hosted more such as: WWDC, September Event, October Event and November Event. At each of these events, a number of new products, software updates and technologies were introduced.
The released products introduced innovative technologies that will definitely leave a mark on the future device production. Let us take a look at all of them in the chronological order.
March 18. Apple began the year by releasing the new iPads – iPad Pro 12.9” and iPad Pro 11”. The new features include: New cameras – instead of a single 12 MP camera, the new iPad has two cameras and for the first time in Apple's product history, AR scanner – a special third scanner, that adds augmented reality objects to the photos and videos taken by these iPads.
Furthermore, to support these new iPads, Apple introduced new, redesigned foldable keyboards compatible with iPads of the new generations – the Magic keyboard. These keyboards have the same design as the old smart keyboard folios, however the key mechanism used here is similar to the one used in MacBooks.
April 24. Apple released iPhone SE (Special Edition) 2020. These types of iPhones were first introduced in 2016. Now, in 2020, when all new iPhones have wide screens, no home buttons, and high prices, Apple introduced an iPhone that has a similar design as iPhone 6, 7 and 8 but with the new, enhanced camera system, and the chipset used in the newest models of iPhones – A13 bionic chip used in iPhone 11, 11 pro and 11 pro max. But, perhaps, the best part of the new iPhone is its relatively affordable price. It costs 399$ compared to the price of high-end model iPhone 11s the price of which goes up to 1099$. Overall, this was going back to a familiar, old design, with the most powerful chip, new camera and lower price. Watch unboxing, set up and review of iPhone SE 2020 here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u_unl8ouNs&t
May 4. After releasing these new iPads, Apple released two new MacBooks – MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, that later got discontinued in November because of the release of newer models.
August 4. After a brief pause for three months, Apple released a new model of iMac – iMac 27 inch, 5K, which will be the last ever Mac that contains the intel chip.
September 18. Apple traditionally releases new iPhones on this date, but due to the pandemic the iPhones were pushed back and were released in October. Despite this, however, Apple still surprised its customers with new products and their stunning virtual event, where the new Apple Watches were released – Apple watch series 6k and new Apple Watch SE. Apple Watch 6 introduced new features, such as elevation measurer, escalometer, blood oxygen level measurer, emojis for apple watch and for the first time ever, a new dark blue color.
As for the Apple Watch SE, it is cheaper version of Apple Watch, with the body of series 4, and chipset of series 5, lacking few minor features. As Apple claims, the watch was created specifically for the use of children, since it has some tracking features and it can be paired with the parents’ iPhones and controlled from there. On this same event, Apple also released two new iPads: iPad 8th generation, with just a chip change, and iPad Air 4, now without the home button, large basels and new colors (rose gold and sky blue). On this iPad, Apple debuted with the touch ID on the power button that is on the top of this iPad.
October 23. And finally, came the long awaited time, the best “Apple Time” of the year – the iPhone releases. Apple released iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 pro and 12 pro max. iPhone 12 and 12 pro have the same 6.1 inch display, with camera differences. iPhone 12 (like iPhone 12 mini) has two cameras, while iPhone 12 pro (as well as iPhone 12 pro max) has two cameras and one additional LIDAR scanner, similar to the iPad released earlier this year.
The audience was more interested in the two other iPhones, since they were more unique. iPhone 12 Mini, has a tiny 5.4 inch display, and visually it is even smaller than iPhones 6, 7, 8 and SE 2020. iPhone 12 Pro Max, on the other hand, has the biggest 6.7 inch display in iPhone history. All new iPhones are supported with the new ceramic shield, and have 5G internet connectors. However these iPhones do have some flaws – they lack charger power bricks, and EarPods in the packaging. As apple explains, this decision was made exceptionally to save the environment, saying that in the world many customers already own chargers and EarPods. iPhone 12 Pro Max unboxing, set up and review can be viewed here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-YoniLMLkM
November 16. Nearing the end of the year, Apple surprised their customers once more. They created something that changed Apple's role in the technology history forever. Something that leaves all competition in the dust. Apple released all new MacBooks and Mac mini, with their own M1 chip.
This chip makes all these devices, 3.5 times faster and more powerful, while consuming twice less energy. New models introduced were Macbook pro, Macbook Air and Mac mini. Macbook air has a fanless design, only depending on the passive cooling, but all the tests show that while performing the same tasks as the MacBooks released earlier in 2020, it stays 10ºC cooler. Even more shocking, Macbook Air’s benchmark scores outperformed even the high end MacBook air’s scores. You can check out unboxing, set up and review of this magnificent macbook on this link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJDRKiQs77M&t
Even though the main topics of this November event were Macs, Apple also released a new Homepod Mini, which is ½ of the size of the original homepod, with the more rounded, ball-shaped design.
December 15. And the last product of 2020, which was probably the most controversial from Apple, was AirPods Max. Which have been rumored to appear for many years, and were known as AirPods Studio. Airpods Max has magnetic, removable ear cups, which is pretty convenient, since earcups often lose their quality overtime time, and instead of having to buy new headphones it is easier to replace just them. This AirPods Max has a digital crown just like on apple watches, and uses noise cancellation and transparency modes. However, the price of the product is 599$, which is very expensive even for Apple. The earcups themselves cost 60$.
Furthermore, they come with a special magnetic case, which has been compared many times to things such as a purses. It doesn’t even protect headphones properly, as it has a cut-out in the place where headphones get damaged most often.
But Apple produces more than just new devices every year. They also create new OS, (operating system) updates that allow all devices to work faster, smoother and give access to new great features. In 2020 Apple released IOS 14, which was surprising as IOS 13 was also a recent release and such changes were not expected so soon. IOS 14 introduced the long-awaited new widgets. The widgets can be placed on the home screen and allow people to quickly access all the information from the apps, without entering them. Even though competitor companies had this feature for many years now, users say Apple waited, tested, and even though much later, they introduced the feature with improvements that crushed the competition. With IOS 14 also came a new app library, which sorts applications on the iPhone in certain categories. These are just some of new features among many others, if you want to know more about IOS 14 then watch this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33WHRzJfVn0.
Furthermore, Apple released iPadOS 14 with few bug fixes and little changes, that also have widgets now, and WatchOS 7, which came along with features such as sleep tracking, new fitness app, new workout styles, hand washing timer and more.
And lastly, apple released something amazing, something long awaited, something that changes the look at this company drastically: MacOS 11. MacOS 10 has been around for nearly two decades, so this release is quite revolutionary. It has a completely new design, making it more friendly for the iPhone and iPad users, and fitting better in the apple ecosystem. With new widgets, control center, dock, settings, application icons and much more.
Overall, Apple had a very fruitful year despite the global Covid-19 pandemic. They have released twenty new products in total out of which, there were 5 iPhones, 4 iPads, 4 Macbooks, 2 Macs, new headphones, keyboard, 2 apple watches and more. This has been one of the most successful years for Apple – the year of innovations. It may be remembered as one of the best years in the company’s history.
Edited by Lika Gegenava
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