Apple unloads new accessories for upcoming devices

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

While a lot of the focus of Apple’s event this week was on the iPhone SE and the iPad Pro (9.7-inch) models, we also got a lot of new Apple accessories across the line.

Apple is fast becoming the premier maker of Apple product accessories. Not only does it now make a ton of Apple Watch straps in a variety of materials, colours and styles, they’ve also been releasing a variety of other accessories worth considering. The company has recently put up an accessory subsection on their website and even have a Made by Apple designation which already tells you that you can expect quality accessories tailor-fit for your device, for a price.

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Watch Apple's hypnotic Liam robot take apart old iPhones

There were various nuggets in Apple's Spring product launch event yesterday that were easy to miss. The introduction of Liam, a robot used to take apart and properly dispose of discarded iPhones, was not one of them. Anyone who has had to repair or disassemble technology knows that it is not an easy task. Yet, Liam manages to strip away Apple's well put-together iPhones with little fuss and in quite an elegant way. Liam can reportedly take apart 1.2 million iPhones a year.

The video above does speak to Apple's Renew initiative and heavy focus on the environment. This is the first example I have seen where each component and how it is disposed or recycled is explained.

Apple launches 9.7-inch variant of iPad Pro, smaller 4-inch iPhone SE

Apple revealed the iPhone SE which has all the key features of the larger iPhone 6S models and retains the design of the iPhone 5/5S. Hoping to entice users of older and smaller iPhones, the iPhone SE will be made availble in 16GB and 64GB variants (Canadian pricing starts at $579 up to $709). 

The new iPad Pro, brings all the features and horspower of the large 12.9-inch iPad into a more familiar 9.7-inch form factor previously devoted to the iPad Air. The new iPad Pro will start at $799 (CAD) for the 32GB with Wi-Fi model and $979 (CAD) for the 32GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model. Both iPad Pro sizes are available in offerings of 32GB, 128GB and a new 256GB capacity although pricing for other models has yet to be released. Both the new iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7-inch will be available for pre-order on March 24, they will begin shipping and be available in Apple Retail Stores on March 31.

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The Apple Beat: Apple to fill out product size gap in today’s announcement

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

An Apple Special Event in March is a little unusual but given the fact that the company omitted an October launch even (traditionally reserved for iPad and Mac refreshes) to host a packed September event to usher in a new AppleTV, iPhone 6S, iPad Pro and some new Apple Watch variants.

September's Special Event feels like a long time ago, and Apple must feel it needs to get back on the news cycle with products and not controversies. While CEO Tim Cook and the entire company have been on heavy news rotation by being caught in the centre of the FBI iPhone discussion (a topic that’s landed Tim Cook on the cover of Time to discuss privacy instead of revolutionary new products and technologies), the time is ripe for Apple to make some noise on the product end.

Aiming for a more exclusive venue at their HQ in Cupertino inside the Town Hall auditorium that sits 350 guests, Apple will live stream the event so that everyone can peep into the proceedings virtually.

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