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Everything Apple announced during its September event: Apple Watch Series 6, new iPad Air, and more

Chance Miller | Sep 15 2020 - 5:25 pm PT

In just over 60 minutes, Apple today announced two new Apple Watch models, two new iPads, and the details on its latest software and services releases. Read on for a full recap of everything Apple announced at its September event today.

Apple Watch Series 6

Apple kicked things off today with the introduction of the Apple Watch Series 6. As reports had suggested, one of the leading features here is the addition of a new Blood Oxygen feature. On the Apple Watch itself, there is a new Blood Oxygen sensor, which works through a new Blood Oxygen app in watchOS 7.

Apple explains that Oxygen saturation represents the percentage of oxygen being carried by red blood cells from the lungs to the rest of the body and indicates how well this oxygenated blood is being delivered throughout the body. Through the Blood Oxygen app, you can get a reading in just 15 seconds with the Apple Watch Series 6.

In terms of performance, the Apple Watch Series 6 is powered by Apple’s newest S6 processor, which is up to 20% faster than the Series 5. Apple says that the Apple Watch Series 6 features the same 18-hour battery life as before. It also includes the U1 chip and Ultra Wideband antennas for features such as CarKeys. And while battery life is the same, Apple says that the Series 6 charges 20% faster than the Series 5 and that workout tracking is less intensive for things like indoor and outdoor runs.

The Apple Watch Series 6 features the same overall design as the Series 5, but the always-on display is up to 2.5 times brighter than the Series 5. The Apple Watch Series 6 is also available in a new blue color as well as a PRODUCT(RED) option. The ceramic model that was available with the Series 5 has also been discontinued.

The new Apple Watch Series 6 is available to order today starting at $399. The first orders will arrive as early as Friday, but some models are already delayed until October and November.

Read more about the Apple Watch Series 6:

Apple Watch SE

Next up is the new Apple Watch SE. This serves as a lower-cost option for Apple Watch buyers, coming in at $279.

The Apple Watch SE features the same physical design as the Series 4, Series 5, and Series 6. It’s powered by Apple’s S5 processor, which Apple says is up to two times faster than Apple Watch Series 3.

The Apple Watch SE does not feature an always-on display, nor does it support ECG or blood oxygen features, but there is support for fall detection and Emergency SOS. Other features include an always-on altimeter, a built-in compass, the latest speaker and microphone, which are optimized for better sound quality for phone calls, Siri, and Walkie-Talkie,1 along with Bluetooth 5.0.

The Apple Watch SE is available to order today starting at $279. The first orders arrive on Friday. If you want cellular, the Apple Watch SE with cellular starts at $329. Interestingly, the Series 3 is still available in Apple’s lineup for $199. This means the Apple Watch lineup starts at $199 for the Series 3, $279 for the Apple Watch SE, and $399 for the Apple Watch Series 5.

Read more about the Apple Watch SE:

Apple Fitness+

Apple continued its focus on the Apple Watch and fitness with the introduction of its newest subscription service, Apple Fitness+. Set to rival the likes of Peloton, Apple Fitness+ will integrate with the Apple Watch and the Fitness app on the iPhone. Fitness+ costs $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year.

Users can watch fitness classes hosted by Apple, with health workout metrics shown over the top of the video, synced from Apple Watch. The data can then be automatically saved to the Health app.

In terms of programming, Apple Fitness+ will include workouts for cycling, treadmills, HIIT, rowing, strength, yoga, dance, core, and cool downs. Each class will be set to music that you can easily locate through Apple Music on your device. Apple says new workouts will be released on a weekly basis.

Apple Fitness+ classes can be viewed on iPhone through the Fitness app or through an all-new fitness app on iPad and Apple TV. Fitness+ will debut before the end of the year. Apple will include three months free of Apple Fitness+ with new Apple Watch purchases.

Read more about Apple Fitness+:

Apple One bundle

Alongside the introduction of Apple Fitness+, Apple also introduced its long-awaited bundle of Services, branded as Apple One.

Apple One starts at $15 per month for Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50 GB of iCloud storage for individuals. The Family version of the plan will run $20 per month with 200GB of storage.

For $30 per month, you can upgrade to the Premiere Apple One bundle, which includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, 2TB of iCloud storage, Apple News+, and Apple Fitness+.

Based on what Apple announced today, Apple One seems like a solid value for the money. Apple says individuals can save $6 per month, whereas families save $8 a month. Moreover, the Premier plan is $25 cheaper than buying all of Apple’s services individually.

We’ll have more details on Apple One over the coming weeks, with Apple saying the bundle will be available sometime this fall.

Read more about Apple One:

8th generation iPad

Finally, Apple concluded today’s event with a pair of announcements for the iPad lineup. First off, Apple detailed an all-new $329 iPad powered by the A12 Bionic processor, which is an upgrade from the previous generation’s A10 processor.

Apple says the A12 chip offers more than twice the performance of the top-selling Windows laptop and performance that is more than 6x faster than the top-selling Android tablet and 6x faster than the best-selling Chromebook.

Much everything else about the new 8th generation iPad is the same, including Apple Pencil support, Smart Keyboard Support, a 10.2-inch Retina display, and Smart Connector support.

The 8th-generation iPad keeps the same price as the 7th-gen: that’s $329 for general sale and $299 for education. It’s available to order from today, with the first shipments arriving on Friday.

New iPad Air

The next announcement for the iPad today was an all-new iPad Air. As rumors had indicated, the new iPad Air is a massive update compared to its predecessor. Leading the way here is a complete redesign that heavily resembles the iPad Pro.

The new iPad Air features a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display with P3 wide color, True Tone, and a laminate coating. Touch ID is located in the power button, so instead of Face ID, the biometric authentication is built directly into the power button — this marks the first time Apple has expanded Touch ID outside of the Home button.

The 10.9-inch display of the iPad Air features a resolution of 2360×1640 with full lamination. In terms of performance, the device is powered by Apple’s newest A14 Bionic processor.

Finally, the iPad Air features second-generation Apple Pencil support and Magic Keyboard support. The new iPad Air will be available next month starting at $599.

Read more about the new iPad and iPad Air:

Software release dates

Finally, concluded today’s event with an incredibly surprising announcement for the future of its software platforms. Apple revealed that iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and tvOS 14 will all be released to everyone tomorrow, September 16. This was a surprising announcement, with many people having assumed Apple would give developers at least a week’s notice.

Read more about the software announcements:

What was your favorite announcement during Apple’s event today? Did your order a new Apple Watch? Do you plan on ordering a new iPad? Let us know down in the comments.

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