By Graham K. Rogers

The Apple Event last night (early hours of the morning here) had some hardware that had been rumoured by many sites over the last few months: 16GB and 64GB iPhone SE models and the iPad Pro (32GB, 128GB and a new 256GB capacity). Cameras are the same as in the current iPhone 6s models and it can shoot HD video with support for 4K at a resolution of 3840 x 2160.

Briefly, the iPhone is a 4" version with four colours: space grey, silver, gold and rose gold. It has the same 64-bit A9 chip in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. A number of countries are shown as being in line for the phone starting on 31 March (pre-orders 24 March): Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the UK, US Virgin Islands and the US.

A larger number of countries is listed for the second wave in early April: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Guernsey, Jersey, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Maldives, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and UAE.

Taking previous iPhone releases into account, I would not expect the iPhone SEto be available in Thailand until late April or early May.

The 9.7" iPad Pro - in silver, space grey, gold and a new rose gold metallic finish - is a development of the iPad falling between the iPad Air 2 (now at a slightly reduced price) and the 12.9" iPad Pro. It has the same 64-bit A9X chip as in the larger iPad Pro, along with a four-speaker audio system that is twice as powerful, new 12-megapixel iSight camera for shooting Live Photos and 4K video, 5-megapixel FaceTime HD camera, and faster wireless technologies. It has support for Apple Pencil and a new Smart Keyboard cover designed to fit the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro. No price for the Smart Keyboard is available for Thailand as yet although the US price is given as $149.00.

iPad Pro 9.7 - Apple Image

Distribution will begin on Thursday, March 31 (pre-orders a week earlier) in Australia, Canada, China (Wi-Fi models only), France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the UK, US Virgin Islands and the US.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro will be available in early April in Albania, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cayman Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Greenland, Guam, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Macau (Wi-Fi models only), Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand (Wi-Fi models only), Turkey and UAE.

Note that only the three wifi models will be available in Thailand. I speculate that this is because of the Apple SIM that comes pre-installed: either local carriers or the regulators here will not accept this. Prices in Thailand are shown on the Apple pages for Thailand as 32 GB, 22,900 baht; 128 GB, 28,900 baht; 256 GB, 34,900 baht.

Also note that at the bottom of the Thai pages is a new link to pages in English language: a welcome return there.

Unannounced at the event was a new Apple Lightning to USB-C cable in 1 meter and 2 meter lengths, priced at $25 and $35 respectively (Jeff Benjamin, 9to5Mac)

There are also replacement ends for the Apple Pencil: a pack of 4 costs

Software

OS X 10.11.4
A number of improvements and fixes were introduced with the OS X update

iOS9.3
The iOS update brings the version to 9.3 with a couple of interesting changes: Night Shift mode (be careful when editing pics as the yellow hue is not optimal for colours of photographs); some new education software; and the ability to run two Apple Watches from one iPhone.

The Health app has been updated and some of the displays have turned from graphs to bar format.

Watch 2.2
To make the iOS feature of two watches on one phone, Watch OS had to be installed and I had several problems using my home network when previous Watch updates have all been problem-free. I had to update one Watch at the office; and when I found that the second Watch OS update would still not download when I arrived home, I used the personal hotspot on my iPad Pro. That did the trick, so the True Internet was the weakest link.

Once I had installed the update on the second watch, I had to unpair it from the iPhone 6s then pair it with the iPhone 6s Plus. This way users will not need 2 iPhones for 2 watches and will be able to swap (Apple Watch for daytime, Apple Watch Sport for running) easily. The important thing here is that user data (running, steps, heart-beat) can all be integrated in the Health App on a single iPhone; and the user will not have to keep swapping SIM cards.

AppeTV OS
The Apple TV OS update was quick and easy (particularly when compared with the Watch OS)

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. He is now continuing that in the Bangkok Post supplement, Life.