iPhone 14 Pro (Deep Purple, 2022)

The iPhone 14 Pro was announced on September 7, 2022; began pre-orders on Friday, September 9, 2022; and was available beginning Friday, September 16, 2022. Apple’s website led with the following description of the iPhone 14 Pro:

“A magical new way to interact with iPhone. Groundbreaking safety features designed to save lives. An innovative 48MP camera for mind-blowing detail. All powered by the ultimate smartphone chip.”

The primary new technologies used in the iPhone 14 Pro included: “Always-On display, the first-ever 48MP camera on iPhone, Crash Detection, Emergency SOS via satellite, and an innovative new way to receive notifications and activities with the Dynamic Island.”

The four colors available at release were deep purple, silver, gold, and space black. The iPhone 14 Pro had a 6.1-inch “Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion” with an Always-On display (for the first time on an iPhone) that used a 1Hz refresh rate with power-efficient technologies. In practice, the Always-On display faded to a dim/dark version of the Wallpaper and allowed the time and up to four widgets to show (a widget above the time and up to 3 below the time). Other “Live Activities” showed in the bottom two-thirds of the Lock screen, including alerts and play/pause options for media.

The iPhone 14 Pro also delivered “the highest outdoor peak brightness in a smartphone: up to 2000 nits, which is twice as bright as iPhone 13 Pro.”

The Dynamic Island was also introduced in the iPhone 14 Pro. The design of this iPhone removed the “notch” that had been used since the iPhone X and moved the functions slightly lower into a pill shape. Apple described the Dynamic Island system as one “that blends the line between hardware and software, adapting in real time to show important alerts, notifications, and activities. With the introduction of the Dynamic Island, the TrueDepth camera has been redesigned to take up less of the display area.”

Apple continued, “Without impeding content on the screen, the Dynamic Island maintains an active state to allow users easier access to controls with a simple tap-and-hold. Ongoing background activities like Maps, Music, or a timer remain visible and interactive, and third-party apps in iOS 16 that provide information like sports scores and ride-sharing with Live Activities can take advantage of the Dynamic Island.”

The iPhone 14 Pro camera system added a 2x camera (in addition to the 0.5x, 1x, and 3x options on the iPhone 13 Pro). The iPhone 14 Pro also offered a new “48MP Main camera with a quad-pixel sensor that adapts to the photo being captured, and features second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization.”

Other new camera features included a front TrueDepth camera with an ƒ/1.9 aperture for better low-light photos and video, adaptive True Tone flash with an array of nine LEDs, and Action mode for “incredibly smooth-looking video that adjusts to significant shakes, motion, and vibrations, even when video is being captured.”

All iPhone 14 models added Crash Detection that used a variety of built-in sensors (dual-core accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, GPS, and microphone) to “detect a severe car crash and automatically dial emergency services when a user is unconscious or unable to reach their iPhone.” Additionally, Emergency SOS via satellite was added, “which combines custom components…to allow antennas to connect directly to a satellite, enabling messaging with emergency services when outside of cellular or Wi-Fi coverage.”

The iPhone 14 Pro models are powered by the A16 Bionic chip that includes two high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, an accelerated 5-core GPU with 50% more memory bandwidth, and a new 16-core Neural Engine capable of nearly 17 trillion operations per second.

Many of the new features of the iPhone 14 Pro were enabled by iOS 16, released along with the entire iPhone 14 line.

This iPhone 14 Pro example is Deep Purple.

Sources: Apple (iPhone 14 Pro, Newsroom)

Apple Watch SE (44mm, Abyss Blue Sport Band, 2020)

The Apple Watch SE was announced on September 15, 2020, as an entry-level Apple Watch that lacked some of the features of the Series 6. According to Apple, the Apple Watch SE offered:

“Powerful features to help keep you connected, active, healthy, and safe. Advanced sensors to track all the ways you move and to measure your favorite workouts. And available cellular so you can go without your phone. Apple Watch SE is a lot of watch for a lot less than you expected.”

The Apple Watch SE shared several features with the Apple Watch Series 6, including, “the same accelerometer, gyroscope, and always-on altimeter…and with the latest motion sensors and microphone, it offers robust health and safety capabilities including fall detection, Emergency SOS, international emergency calling, and the Noise app.”

Because the Apple Watch SE replaced the Apple Watch 3, the previous entry-level Apple Watch of the time, several comparisons were offered:

“Apple Watch SE features a stunning Retina display, with thin borders and curved corners, that is 30 percent larger than Series 3… With the S5 System in Package (SiP) and dual-core processor, Apple Watch SE delivers incredibly fast performance, up to two times faster than Apple Watch Series 3.”

The Apple Watch SE lacked ECG (electrocardiogram) and Blood Oxygen sensors, and it did not use an always-on display watch face.

This 44mm example is the GPS model (without cellular), has a silver aluminum case, and shipped with an Abyss Blue (dark blue) Sport Band.

Sources: Apple (product page, Newsroom)

iPod touch (Generation 4, 8 GB, white, 2011)

The 2011 version of the iPod touch Generation 4 was identical to previous versions of the iPod touch Generation 4, except it was also offered in white, like this example.

Although the iPod touch Generation 4 has a design similar to the iPhone 3GS, its features more closely resemble those of the iPhone 4 that sold at the same time. (The iPod touch lacked the iPhone 4 features of 3G/EDGE phone, A-GPS, and digital compass.)

The iPod touch Generation 4 included a 3.5-inch Retina Display (960×640 at 326 ppi), FaceTime video calling (using Apple ID), an integrated microphone, front-facing VGA camera, 3-axis gyroscope, and a 720p camera (lower quality than the iPhone 4). The iPod touch Generation 4 also allowed iMovie editing using the iOS version of iMovie available at the time.

The iPod touch Generation 4 used the Apple A4 processor, 256 MB of RAM, and was available with 32 or 64 GB of RAM for internal storage.

Sources: Everymac, Wikipedia

iPad (Generation 7, Wi-Fi, 32 GB, unopened, 2019)

The Generation 7 iPad differs from previous base iPad models with its larger 10.2-inch screen at 2160×1620 (264 ppi) (the Generation 6 iPad had a 9.7-inch screen) and the addition of the Smart Connector. The Smart Connector allows this iPad to use an Apple Smart Keyboard. This iPad was available in three colors: white front with a gold back, white front with silver back, and black front with a Space Gray back. This example is Space Gray.

The Generation 7 iPad uses the Apple A10 Fusion processor with 3 GB of RAM, and has 32 GB or 128 GB of internal storage. It also has an 8 Megapixel iSight camera on the back (1080p) and a 1.2 Megapixel FaceTime camera (720p) on the front. Wireless connectivity includes 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2,. Its two wired ports are the Lightning port and a 3.5mm audio port. Internal sensors include accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, compass, and barometer.

Aside from this Wi-Fi model, three Wi-Fi/Cellular models are available (US/CA, Global, and China).

Source: EveryMac

Siri Remote (2015)

The Siri Remote was released in 2015 along with the Apple TV Generation 4. This remote had a glass trackpad, two microphones, and five buttons. The buttons included Menu, Home, Siri, Play/Pause, and a combined Volume up/down button. This remote used both IR and Bluetooth to connect to the Apple TV. The remote also included two sensors for gaming, an accelerometer and a gyroscope.

The finishes of the remote included a matte finish on the trackpad and a smooth, glossy finish at the bottom. The textured finishes helped differentiate the orientation of the remote when using it in the dark or by touch.

The trackpad on the Siri Remote supported limited gestures, including swipe, click, and tap.

Unlike earlier Apple Remotes, the Siri Remote used a built-in rechargeable Lithium Polymer Battery that charged using a Lightning port at the bottom.

The design of this remote was slightly revised after initial production. The original design had a solid black Menu button. The revised design added a white raised ring around the the Menu button.

References: Wikipedia.com, Apple Developer

Apple Watch Series 4 (cellular, 44 mm, stainless steel case with white Sport Band, 2018)

The Apple Watch Series 4 was the first major redesign of the Apple Watch family and added several important functions, including health-related features. The display was over 30% larger and filled the entire screen with curved corners, it added more advanced input capabilities, more powerful processing, and more advanced sensors. This model also included GPS and cellular service for use in the United States and Canada.

Like all cellular-capable Apple Watch Series 4 models, this watch could connect to the Internet without an iPhone and send and receive phone calls with an activated cellular service. It was controlled with a Digital Crown with haptic feedback and Force Touch.

This Apple Watch Series 4 model is 44 mm (previous Apple Watch models were 38 mm and 42 mm) with a 368×448 OLED screen. This stainless steel case model used a sapphire crystal to cover the display. All Series 4 models used a ceramic and sapphire crystal back to connect to the wireless charger.

The Apple Watch Series 4 shipped with “revolutionary health capabilities, including a new accelerometer and gyroscope, which are able to detect hard falls, and an electrical heart rate sensor that can take an electrocardiogram (ECG) using the new ECG app.” When announced on September 12, 2018, the ECG feature was not available until it was released on December 6, 2018, through an iOS update.

The ECG feature on Apple Watch Series 4 marked “the first direct-to-consumer product that enables customers to take an electrocardiogram right from their wrist, capturing heart rhythm in a moment when they experience symptoms like a rapid or skipped heart beat and helping to provide critical data to physicians. The irregular rhythm notification feature on Apple Watch can now also occasionally check heart rhythms in the background and send a notification if an irregular heart rhythm that appears to be atrial fibrillation (AFib) is identified.”

In addition, a new accelerometer and gyroscope could detect falls and automatically call 911.

There were 12 different options for this particular Apple Watch Series 4 model:

  • silver aluminum case with white Sport Band
  • silver aluminum case with seashell (gray) Sport Loop
  • gold aluminum case with Pink Sand Sport Band
  • gold aluminum case with Pink Sand Sport Loop
  • space gray aluminum case with black Sport Band
  • space gray aluminum case with black Sport Loop
  • silver stainless steel case with white Sport Band (this Apple Watch)
  • silver stainless steel case with silver Milanese loop
  • space black stainless steel case with black Sport Band
  • space black stainless steel case with black Milanese loop
  • gold stainless steel case with stone Sport Band
  • gold stainless steel case with gold Milanese loop

Source: EveryMac.com, Apple.com (announcement, ECG)

iPhone 4 (2010)

The iPhone 4 represented a major design leap from the previous models with an all stainless steel body, a 3.5-inch Retina display at 960×640 (326 ppi), a chemically hardened “aluminosilcate” over the front display, and the chemically hardened black glass back. A white option was announced, but did not ship for over a year after the announcement.

The iPhone 4 was the first iPhone with dual front and back cameras: a 5 megapixel HD video/still camera (720p at 30 FPS), a 5X digital zoom, and an LED flash on the rear; and a VGA-quality video/still camera on the front designed for video conferencing over Wi-Fi using FaceTime. Both cameras used noise-cancelling microphones.

The iPhone 4 was powered by an A4 processor and added additional mobile network support. It included a digital compass, GPS, an accelerometer, and a new 3-axis gyroscope.

Source: EveryMac.com