In a highly-anticipated event in San Francisco last week, multinational tech giant, Apple revealed its brand new collection of gadgets in front of an audience of glossy-eyed geeks. However, it’s not only those well-versed in the world of technology who were roused by the latest products which have been specifically designed to make life easy for business owners across the globe.
Since the iPod burst onto the scene in 2001, Apple has fast become a leading household name and has since provided something to capture the hearts of everybody, from music-loving youngsters to spreadsheet shuffling seniors. But with its latest suite of offerings, Apple has revealed a sharper focus on business productivity and aims to revolutionise the way we do business with a series of updated models and advanced technologies.
Included in the launch was an upgraded Siri-compatible version of the Apple TV, an Apple Watch that works independently from the iPhone and the introduction of a $99 Apple Pencil which seems to be splitting the crowd. These new-fangled gizmos will no doubt go down a storm among consumers but we were most interested in what the suite can offer SME business owners and employees so here’s our quick round-up of the best bits.
iPhone 6S – With the iPhone 6S comes brand new 3D Touch technology that will allow user to whizz around their devices more quickly than ever in a new focus on time-saving functions. Apple has claimed this design to be the most advanced smartphone in the world so it comes as no surprise that it has sold out already, weeks before its scheduled release date (September 25th 2015).
Apple has always been championed for its remarkable integration between software and hardware but the iPhone 6S is taking things to a whole other level with 3D Touch. The advancement in technology enables a number of new features including the ‘Peek’ or ‘Pop’ facility which negates the need for the time-consuming ‘back’ button. For example should the user receive a message containing a link, they will now be able to press lightly on the link and peek at it without leaving the page they are in then simply get back to the message and save further reading for later.
To go to the full link, the user simply has to press more firmly to pop into the Safari page and it is this innovative new software that also means app icons can now become shortcuts. This feature enables users to do things like update their Facebook status and tweet without having to actually open the app, which makes more responsive and streamlined social media posts.
iPad Pro – The shiny new iPad Pro stole the limelight at the San Francisco showdown and has hogged the headlines since. Unlike the modest 9.7” model that we had grown to love, this new kid on the block is packing an impressive screen measurement of 12.9”. This increase in size has paved the way for the new split-screen function which enables the user to operate two apps at once. This opens the door to whole new worlds of multitasking potential and will go a long way towards boosting the productivity and efficiency of business owners and employees everywhere.
Despite being nearly as thin as the slight iPad Air 2, the new iPad Pro is the nearest thing to a traditional PC that Apple has ever created and is sure to be a heavyweight in the world of business. A full battery charge lasts a substantial 10 hours and the device offers speedy processing capabilities that are 80% of what portable PCs have to offer, which is why it is also expected to fast become a replacement for the laptops of regular consumers too.
The design has been born out of a recognition that today’s businesspeople need something of a hybrid between the practical mobile device and the powerful PC. The device will be fast enough and powerful enough to run desktop apps such as Microsoft Office, which will allow work to become an even more transportable entity and improve productivity of businesses in the process.