TORONTO — Apple today unveiled several new devices, including Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, as well as two new iPad models and a new way to subscribe to everything Apple. (Jeepers, that’s four mentions of the company in one sentence!)
The company also announced a new Family Setup feature in watchOS 7 which extends the watch experience to the entire family, as well as a Fitness+, the first fitness experience built for Apple Watch.
Starting with the new device announcements, Apple Watch Series 6 offers a new feature that measures the oxygen saturation of the user’s blood, so they can better understand their overall fitness and wellness. (In the press release, Apple said it is working with researchers at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research and the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at the University Health Network in Toronto to better understand how blood oxygen measurements and other Apple Watch metrics can help with management of heart failure.) The Apple Watch Series 6 starts at C$529 for a GPS model and C$659 for a GPS + cellular model. Availability in Canada begins September 18.
The Apple Watch SE features the same accelerometer, gyroscope and always-on altimeter as Apple Watch Series 6, but also has the largest display of all Apple Watch models, and comes at a more affordable price. Apple Watch SE (GPS) starts at C$369 and Apple Watch SE (GPS + cellular) starts at C$429. Availability in Canada also begins September 18.
The Family Setup feature in watchOS 7 allows Apple Watch to be set up through a parent’s iPhone, so kids or other family members who don’t have an iPhone can still benefit from the health and safety features of Apple Watch. Family Setup will be available September 16 as a free software update and requires cellular models of Apple Watch Series 4 or later or Apple Watch SE running watchOS 7, paired with iPhone 6s or later running iOS 14.
Apple Fitness+ incorporates metrics from Apple Watch for users to visualize right on their iPhone, iPad or Apple TV, offering a first-of-its-kind personalized workout experience. Arriving by the end of this year, Fitness+ will be available to Apple Watch customers as a subscription service for C$12.99 per month or C$99.99 per year.
Apple’s new eight-generation iPad features the powerful A12 Bionic chip with the Neural Engine, a 10.2-inch Retina display and advanced cameras. Availability begins September 18, with a starting price of C$429 for the Wi-Fi model and C$599 for the Wi-Fi + cellular model.
Apple also introduced an all-new iPad Air with the A14 Bionic chip, a larger 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, new 12-megapixel rear camera and next-generation integrated Touch ID sensor. Available to order starting next month, Wi-Fi models of iPad Air will be available with a starting price of C$779 and Wi-Fi + cellular models will be start at C$949.
Finally, the new Apple One subscription plan allows customers to get Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+ and iCloud via one single subscription. Starting this fall, an Individual subscription will include Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and 50GB of iCloud storage for C$15.95 per month. A Family subscription includes the same three services and 200GB of iCloud storage for $20.95 per month, which can be shared among up to six family members. A Premier subscription adds Apple News+ and Apple Fitness+ to the package and comes with 2TB of iCloud storage for $33.95 per month, which again can be shared among up to six family members.
In one another announcement today, Apple and the government of Singapore announced their partnership on a national health initiative called LumiHealth, a personalized program to encourage healthy activity and behaviours using Apple Watch. Created in collaboration with a team of physicians and public health experts, the LumiHealth app features challenges designed to help users sleep better, move more, eat well and live more mindfully.
