Wednesday: Apple TV, iPad Pro, iPhone 6S...
…and Apple Watch.
That little addendum is a huge part of Apple’s strategy for the future, tying its wearable into the entire line of its other evolving devices. I’ve written at length (and will likely continue to do so) about the impact of Apple Watch’s technological innovations merging with the company’s other products, but to be truly successful on its own, the smartwatch will have to support — in at least one key, must-have way — everything of consequence Apple puts on the shelves from here on out.
To that end, Wednesday’s huge event should give us an indication of where the short and medium terms take us, particularly as regards this little bit of circuitry on our wrists.
Apple TV
Unlike any other Apple event ever, the long-running but low-selling Apple TV is rumored to be the star tomorrow. Expectations for this version of the set-top box are sky high, and Apple is primed to blow up yet another established (but sluggish) industry with a new take on an old idea.
In our latest podcast, we discussed how, years ago, Apple was reportedly working on an actual Apple TV set, but that precipitous price points in the home theater market made such a premium offering a certain non-starter — at least at the volume Apple traditionally considers successful. Instead, Cupertino kept plugging away with its Roku/Chromecast/etc. competitor. Now, however, Apple might have an angle that wasn’t there before. With the overwhelming success of iOS as a mobile gaming platform, and as games for iPhone and iPad get better and deeper with each passing month, the new Apple TV is expected to leverage high-end mobile technology to provide our big screens with the same, ever-expanding library of content we’ve come to enjoy in our pockets and purses.
But even as Apple TV is positioned to own casual gaming in the living room (hurting Nintendo in the process, unless the latter wises up and gets pumping out its rich back catalog for native iOS pay and play), so too will the indie set gravitate towards the console. Lately, a number of popular PC games have been making their way to iOS — especially those with minimalistic visuals. But, with the Metal engine, iOS and Apple TV ought to be perfectly capable of running Xbox 360-quality graphics — or better — on your 60-inch television, too. Games like Asphalt 8 and Horizon Chase look beautiful on iPad’s retina display, and HD scaled up (or, in this case, down) is still HD.
Apple TV has the potential to negatively impact the business models of the entire existing PC and console gaming industry, and after Nintendo, Valve — with its Steam store — seems to be most vulnerable as it too makes its foray into the living room. Done correctly, I think Apple TV has the potential to massively disrupt both casual and hardcore big-screen gaming. I also think it has the potential to be a sleeper blockbuster and totally outsell Apple Watch.
But aside from a possible sales eclipse, how will Apple Watch play into all this?
That’s an important question, and right now, there’s little to go on. For one, I’d imagine the wearable could be used as a second (or third) screen peripheral for easter eggs and slightly more immersive gaming (particularly if its Taptic Engine is utilized to offer some sort of force feedback for certain in-game activities or achievements). Additionally, I’d expect an iBeacon sort of system — along with tweaks in watchOS 2 — to automatically leverage Apple Watch as a controller whenever the user is in Apple TV’s general proximity. It could even be a game controller, albeit Apple TV is rumored to ship with a Wii-style positional input device of its own. Tandem usage could be interesting, but there has to be a way for the wearable to make its presence at least desirable — if not essential — for Apple TV buyers. I’m excited to see what the game developers will come up with.
iPad Pro
Along with Apple TV, the iPad Pro is something I’ve been looking forward to for ages. And contrary to prior rumors, it now seems that native, screen-embedded Force Touch will be on the large tablet (and presumably both of its smaller siblings). While that’s great news for artists and content multitaskers (iOS 9 features a split-screen function, finally!), it also means that — more likely than not — watchOS 2 will open Apple’s wearable up to its entire line of tablets, where it might be a lot more useful for certain types of professionals and hobbyists. Procreate‘s palette- and tool-selection-based Apple Watch app is unusable mated to its underwhelming and limited iPhone host, but on iPad — and especially on iPad Pro — the inherent functionality of having an offscreen art companion literally on (er, above) hand is massively beneficial.
Assuming the new iPads won’t have an array of Taptic Engine feedback points just yet, Apple Watch could also provide the tablet with that function by proxy. Maybe you’d like a rumble whenever you misspell a word in your favorite writing app (iA Writer Pro is mine), or perhaps you’d like your wrist to shake variably every time you fire a given weapon in Halo: Spartan Strike or Space Marshals. Much of this utility clearly overlaps that of the aforementioned Apple TV, but simple force feedback for mobile gaming is something that cannot be understated. Apple Watch can offer that right away, while actual Taptic Engine integration on iPad may take several years of refinement before it’s ready for primetime.
(Note: The above applies more or less equally to all the new iPads to be unveiled, but since iPad Pro is the biggest — and biggest deal — of those, I figured it was appropriate enough to focus on that.)
iPhone 6S
There’s not a whole lot to say about iPhone 6S and Apple Watch that hasn’t already been said about the older iPhones it supports. Indeed, I doubt there’s any special, iPhone 6S-exclusive Apple Watch integration coming. However, Apple Watch’s Taptic Engine might be made accessible — as above — to force feedback for various productivity and gaming apps in ways that aren’t readily apparent or currently possible.
Apple Watch
Aside from the demonstration of watchOS 2, there probably won’t be much emphasis on Apple Watch itself at tomorrow’s event. We’ll likely get more Sport chassis finishes and Band color options, which is nice, but dont expect anything earth-shattering on the hardware end. I dont even expect a price drop quite yet, so Apple Watch will likely be a side player — an accessory — to the other announcements on stage.
And that’s appropriate: Apple Watch is an accessory, after all.
After tomorrow, though, it’s going to be a much more useful one.