This week on The Wrap, we’ll find out what’s new from Apple with the iPhone 13 range, iPad Mini, and new regular iPad. Plus we’ll see what’s new from Sonos and a bunch of other sound news, and even see what’s happening in the world of cameras. All that and more, all in five.
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For the week ending September 17, you’re listening to The Wrap, Australia’s fastest technology roundup, and what a week this one has been. We’re not going to waste time with pleasantries — okay, maybe just a little — how are you? We hope you’re well, and if not, here’s some tech news in a short amount of time, because we really don’t have time to spare.
Starting with the most obvious one on the list: Apple.
Unless you’re living in a cave, you probably know there was a big event this week, and if you are living in a cave, your choice of podcast selections for your cave are very, very good.
This week, the news from Apple might just do your cave some good, or anywhere else, and that’s because it was more than just for iPhones, but for a little bit more, too.
Come next week, there will be four new iPhones out, as the iPhone 13 range knocks the iPhone 12 down to second tier status, taking the top spot with replacements for all four. There’s the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini, and then the iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, upgrades that will look similar, but sport new tech.
The biggest and highest priced ones come in the latter, the Pro and Pro Max, getting the same look as last year’s phones with a stainless steel frame and glass front and back, but bringing a new screen, new chip, and new cameras.
On the screen, the OLED panel is brighter and runs at a fast 120Hz, while the chip under the hood is the latest, the A15 Bionic, sporting lots of performance and graphical grunt for games and apps and smarts, as well.
The cameras on the Pro line are particularly interesting, with three found whether you opt for the 6.1 inch iPhone 13 Pro or the biggest 6.7 inch iPhone 13 Pro Max, and they do special things, too. They’ll get in more light at night, work better for portraits, take macro shots up close for photo and video, get closer with 3X zoom, and even handle Apple’s ProRes video format for professional filmmakers.
They’ll also let you change the focus in a cinematic video mode, doing what professional cameras do, but in your pocket. The Pro models will be pricey, mind you, starting at just under $1700 locally when they launch next week.
Good news, though, because that last feature, the video mode focus thing, will come to the iPhone 13 and 13 Mini, the less expensive models that miss out on 3X zoom and macro, but get low light shots in with video focus tech, as well.
From $1199 and $1399, the iPhone 13 Mini and standard 13 miss out on the super versatile assortment of lenses, but still sport some great tech, alongside that new A15 chip and more storage.
Looking at them, the iPhone 13 range may not seem like a huge upgrade, but the hardware includes some notable changes, and may be the right path for someone with a phone that’s two or three years old, or just wants something brand new.
The same is true if you want a new iPad, because there are two of those this week.
The standard iPad got an upgrade to version 9, now starting from $500 and getting a white balanced screen, a faster chip, and more storage, while the iPad Mini was finally updated, getting a faster chip, new design, and support for Type C USB.
There’s also a new Apple Watch on the way, plus new operating systems, but that’s about the gist of what you might have missed, with much of this save for that Watch launching next Friday.
Sonos also took the time to launch a new soundbar with Dolby Atmos, the sound technology that makes it feel like sound is happening all around you.
Its latest is the $700 Beam Gen 2, and while it can make sound feel like it’s bouncing around you, it’s actually a bit of a trick, using psychoacoustics, basically timing sound to trick you into thinking it’s happening everywhere. That’s distinct to the $1500 Arc, which actually does bounce sound on your ceiling.
Granted, the Beam is half the price, but we’ll be curious to see whether the smaller virtual Atmos soundbar can sound similar without quite the same tech.
Sonos wasn’t alone in sound gear, either.
Jays launched a couple of stylish speakers for the home, Sennheiser had some $250 wireless noise cancelling earphones, and Nintendo finally made its Switch support Bluetooth headphones. If you have one, there’s a software update to get it.
And there was news in cameras, as well, with Canon getting a 6K capable camera out for pros in the EOS R3, a big sports camera, while GoPro focused on sports in a different way with the GoPro Hero 10 Black.
It’s like last year’s Hero 9, but sports 4K and 5K video, the former of which can get a smooth 120 frames per second and the latter of which gets 60 frames. It can do proper slow motion above Full HD at 2.7K.
It’ll also feature 23 megapixel photos in a durable design without the extra case. It can even extract near 20 megapixels from the 5K footage, giving surfers, snowboarders, and anyone who wants to strap a camera to their body the chance to get really high quality video and pictures without trying.
For now, you’ve been listening to The Wrap, Australia’s fastest technology roundup. A new episode can be found every week at Listnr, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Otherwise, have a great week, and we’ll see you next time on The Wrap. Stay safe, stay sane, and take care.
