No new iPhones, but Apple still unveiled plenty at this week's fall event

[View this email in your browser]( [Open Ars Technica in your browser]( Nothing about 2020 has been ordinary, but the tech community did experience one bit of normalcy this week: another yearly Apple event to kick off the fall. Of course, this wasn't a typical Apple event. In light of COVID-19, Apple digitized its show. Execs appeared alone at various places throughout the Apple campus, and the audience took in everything from home rather than while sitting at the Steve Jobs Auditorium. (This had some positives, though, as Apple put in some extra attention to detailed graphics breaking down new features of various products and internal upgrades being highlighted.) It also wasn't a typical Apple event because the scope remained so narrow. Apple usually unveils its new operating systems and iPhone models at a flashy fall spectacular, but Tuesday instead focused on the Apple Watch and the iPad Air. It all hints that something may be up for October or COVID-19 has complicated production more than we may be aware. At any rate, plenty of stuff to know was still announced, so for this week's Orbital Transmission, we're running down the important details from the start of Apple's fall push. Maybe we (in the tech world) are all still waiting for details on the next MacOS release or new iPhones, Memoji watch faces will tide someone over. (Right? Maybe?) —[@NathanMattise]( Dealmaster's Deal of the Week Dealmaster's Deal of the Week Apple AirPods Pro for $199 at Amazon (normally $235) This deal matches the lowest price we've seen on Apple's AirPods Pro, which we recently recommended in our guide to [the best home office gear](. Also at [Staples]( and [Walmart](. [$199 at Amazon]( Orbital Transmission 09.16.2020 Orbital Transmission 09.16.2020 [(image) ]( Autumn is evidently for watches, not witches [Read Full Story »]( Autumn is evidently for watches, not witches As the invitation moniker—"Time Flies"—may have given away, the Apple Watch got center stage during this week's surprise Apple event. But the company didn't have just a single product to reveal; the world received two new Watch models along with a slew of headline-grabbing features. The Apple Watch 6 is likely what you expect (faster, all the new features, new aesthetics), but the Apple Watch SE seems to be the company's play to broaden the audience for smartwatches by paring down the features list and using cheaper (though still sleek looking) materials. Arguably, some of the features upstage the new devices, though. Apple led with the addition of blood-oxygen monitoring, which helps users keep track of respiratory and cardiac health in order to monitor things like asthma symptoms and potential heart problems, for example. But new watch faces (including some with specialty skills), a new fitness service (Fitness+), and the ability to use a Watch without an iPhone (via a new Family setup mechanism) seem well worth eventual software upgrades. [Read Full Story »]( [(image) ]( A is for Apple, and B is finally for bundle [Read Full Story »]( A is for Apple, and B is finally for bundle Apple has been upping its services in recent years in an attempt to generate revenue through subscriptions as customers hold on to hardware for longer. But one of the big drawbacks to the "subscribe now" era is how quickly monthly fees pile up into something quite substantial. To combat this, Apple is finally bundling things like Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple News, and Fitness+ through an initiative called Apple One. Apple says these One plans will roll out "this fall," with a 30-day free trial for all new users to determine which tier is best for them. [Read Full Story »]( [(image) ]( Just 1.5 years after its predecessor, there's a new iPad air in town [Read Full Story »]( Just 1.5 years after its predecessor, there's a new iPad air in town If Apple Watch was the star of "Time Flies," the iPad had a strong supporting role (like Robert Pattinson to John David Washington in Tenet, to be timely). The iPad portion of this event centered on two main things. First, Apple announced a new CPU, the A12 Bionic. It'll be featured in the base iPad model, and Apple says the A12 is twice as fast as the top-selling Windows laptop, three times faster than the top-selling Android tablet, and six times faster than the leading Chromebook. Second, the company unveiled a sleek new iPad Air. The overall design has been overhauled, with slimmer bezels, better cameras, new colors, and the absence of a home button entirely. [Read Full Story »]( [(image) ]( Surprise—iOS 14 arrives this week, too [Read Full Story »]( Surprise—iOS 14 arrives this week, too Tim Cook, you sneaky tech CEO. As tech reviewers everywhere were working day-and-night to tinker and test the latest iOS builds ahead of a presumed fall launch, this community expected maybe one final GM build before the latest iPhone OS would be released to the world. Nope. To close this week's Watch/iPad event, Cook announced iOS 14 would become available this week. We're pressing ahead with our usual in-depth review as quickly as possible, but our analysis of what was announced at WWDC this summer is a good way to get up to speed and tide yourself over until the annual Ars analysis goes live later this month. 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