Apple delivered an impressive array of new products today, and even a couple of surprises that had avoided the leaks that presaged much of the announcement. The company also put everything into one events, with news about the Apple Watch, the iPad line, the Apple TV, and new iPhones. Importantly, the main categories of apps that were displayed were games and entertainment, showing Apple recognizes the importance of these categories to the company.
Apple led off with the news of WatchOS 2.0, allowing developers access to the Watch to create native apps, some new bands (including an Hermès collection) and new case colors for the Sport Edition. There are now over 10,000 Watch apps in the App Store, and no doubt games are a considerable percentage of them. Apple was careful to note how the Apple Watch makes a fine gift, and we can expect to see substantial growth in sales for this device.
Next, Apple worked on revitalizing the iPad line with the larger-scale iPad Pro, a 12.9″ tablet that’s barely thicker than the iPad Air (6.9 mm to 6.1 mm) while weighing slightly more than a pound and a half, about the same as the original iPad. It’s driven by a new Apple A9X chips that promises 70 percent better CPU power and 90 percent better GPU performance compared to the A8X chip, with “desktop-class performance.”
The iPad Pro runs $799 for 32GB up to $1079 for 128GB (the high end includes LTE communication), and a cover/keyboard for $169 and the new Apple Pencil high-resolution stylus for $99. It’s clearly aimed at professionals (with demos of Microsoft Office — Microsoft on stage at an Apple event! — and Adobe). Of course, it would play games like Vainglory amazingly well, though. . . this will be the device of choice for hardcore tablet gamers, if such a creature exists. Oh, and the iPad Mini has been refreshed with the iPad Mini 4, at $399 with “the power of an iPad Air 2” and the iPad Mini 2 drops to $269.
Apple then segued into the new Apple TV, which took up a huge chunk of the overall event. It’s clear Apple no longer considers this device a “hobby” as it once styled it — the Apple TV is now the foundation of a business that Apple clearly looks to be very serious indeed. The new Apple TV contains an A8 chip as rumored for solid performance, and the price was (as rumored) $149 — but that gets you a surprising 32 GB of storage, while 64GB will run you $199.
The Apple TV remote, as expected, enables so solid gameplay and a smooth interface. The remote has a glass-covered touchpad at the top, and a Siri button which gets you some sophisticated voice control. Apple demonstrated easy selection of movies and TV and (of course) Apple Music, even searching across apps. Oh, yes, the Apple TV now has its own version of iOS (called tvOS) and a full App Store, and Apple showed a variety of apps headed to the device, including Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, a Gilt shopping app, and more.
Games took center stage with the Apple TV, as developers Hipster Whale showed off a special version of Crossy Road for the Apple TV, complete with an exclusive multiplayer mode. Harmonix showed off Beat Sports, a motion-controlled sports game very much in the genre of Wii Sports, using the motion sensors in the new remote — and featuring multiplayer support for other players with iPhones. Also namechecked were Galaxy on Fire, Rayman Adventures, and Disney Infinity 3.0.
Strong support was evident from Activision. Jamie Jackson, co-studio head and creative director at FreeStyleGames, is pretty stoked: “We jumped at the opportunity to bring back Guitar Hero in a cool new way with Guitar Hero Live and have been energized by the response from fans who have had a chance to play it so far. We can’t wait for the game to launch next month and think people are going to get a kick out of living their rock star fantasy on consoles, mobile devices and Apple TV this fall. It’s going to be rad!”
Activision also confirmed that two other Activision games — Skylanders SuperChargers and Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved are coming to Apple TV and other Apple devices this fall. “Last year fans rallied to play Skylanders on tablet and loved how they could play the same incredible game on iPad as on other platforms; this year we are giving them even more options to play their favorite game as we expand Skylanders to Apple TV, iPhone and iPod touch,” said Josh Taub, senior vice president of product management for Skylanders at Activision. “Fans will be able to play Skylanders SuperChargers on Apple TV, then pick up their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch and continue to play from there. It’s the kind of magic that our fans have wanted since we first brought their toys to life.”
The games focus continued as Apple revealed the ultimate stars of the show, the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. Outwardly similar to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus (though slightly thicker, with a new rose gold case color added), the devices have huge differences internally from last year’s models. The phones have “3D Touch” on the screens, enabling a new level of easy interaction, 12 MP cameras that can record 4K video, and faster LTE (up to 300 Mbps). They are driven by the new A9 processor, which is 70% faster at CPU tasks, and 90 percent faster at graphics — a “console-class GPU” in Apple’s phrase. Just to underscore that, Apple put Pixeltoys’ Andy Wafer on stage to show off Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade on the new phones, showing what looked easily like console-class gameplay. The new phones are priced at the same level as last year’s iPhone 6 line, with those older phones dropping $100 in price.
Reaction from some developers was swift. Dr. Jeffrey Smith, co-founder and CEO of musical app developer Smule, was very impressed by the new iPhones and the Apple TV. “Amazing. I can’t believe this company can continue to innovate at this scale. It is mind boggling,” said Smith. What does this mean for games and apps, particularly in the home environment “It’s bad news for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. It’s game over. Honest,” Smith said. “It’s good news for developers. There’s a much lower barrier of entry. But most of all, it’s great news for consumers. Anytime you can go from two boxes (console + TV) to one (Apple TV) and have a better user experience, it’s a big win. The market opportunity for entertainment companies such as Smule is staggering.”
The new phones will be available on September 25th, with preorders beginning September 12. The new Apple TV will be out in October, and the iPad Pro will launch in November. Meanwhile, iOS 9 will be out later this month with many new features to support these devices. Apple appears to be gearing up to release these devices in dozens of countries this year, so it looks like there’s going to be plenty of new Apple units for developers to sell into this holiday season.
