EVENT – Apple Festive Showcase

Last week, ToysWorld were invited to the Apple Festive Showcase in London, where we got hands-on with the products that many will hope will be sitting under their trees this Christmas.

On show were the iPhone 11 & iPhone 11 Pro, Apple Watch: Series 5 and the new AirPods Pro.

Kicking off with iPhone, we got to grips with the iPhone 11, which has six colours to choose from; White, Black, Green, Yellow, Purple and (Product) Red. Storage capacity comes with the usual 64B, 128GB and 256GB options, and features the A13 Bionic chip.

Camera quality has never been better, featuring dual 12mp Ultra Wide and Wide cameras, with a huge improvement on photos taken in the dark. ToysWorld will run a separate feature on the awesome new cameras in iPhone later this month!

We then moved onto the iPhone 11 Pro, which is a whole new beast! Sure it looks almost identical to the X, XR and 11 (from the front at least), but the reverse tells a whole different story. There is a new, transformative triple-camera system, allowing you to take even better photos – we’ve had ours for over a month, and it is hands-down the best iPhone yet. There’s also the vastly improved battery life, 4k video, and that all-important Super Retina XDR display.

iPhone 11 Pro comes in two sizes; iPhone 11 Pro (5.8-inch display) and iPhone 11 Pro Max (6.5-inch display). There are also 4 colour finishes to choose from; Space Gray, Silver, Midnight Green and Gold. Storage is available in 64GB, 256GB and 512GB offerings.

Next up was the Apple Watch Series 5

As far as wearable tech goes, no-one beats Apple – in particular the Apple Watch. The device is perfectly in sync with your iPhone and keeps you alert, active, healthy and in tune with the world around you. The latest iteration builds further on the successes of the previous models, with even more focus on its amazing heart tracking system. The certified ECG software helps keep track of your heart health and you can easily pull data from the health app on your iPhone.

The ECG app on Apple Watch Series 5 marks a direct-to-consumer product that enables customers to take an electrocardiogram right from their wrist, capturing heart rhythm in a moment when they experience symptoms like a rapid or skipped heart beat and helping to provide critical data to physicians. The feature is now available in 19 European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. The ECG app and irregular rhythm notification are now CE marked and cleared in the European Economic Area. 

Also included is the ‘Noise’ app, alerting you when decibels rise to levels that can impact your hearing. There’s a new ‘Cycle Tracking’ app for women to log information about their cycles, too. As has been a common feature with the Apple Watch from the start, fitness goals are at the heart of your Apple Watch, motivating you throughout the day to move, exercise and stand. There are even functions to let you compete with friends in challenges.

Unlike previous series of the Apple Watch, Series 5 is the first to feature the new Always-On Retina display, meaning the watch literally never sleeps.

With the basic model sitting at just £399, this is the perfect gift for Christmas. There’s a common misconception that tech like this won’t appeal to the elderly, but with the potentially life-saving features, not to mention the ease-of-use, we think Apple Watch is actually an ideal gift for them, too. There’s even a feature that can tell if the user has had a fall, and can contact a family member or emergency services in such an event.

As with the majority of Apple products, and more so with Apple Watch, there is a broad range of styles, colours and materials to suit you. One of our favourites was the ceramic Apple Watch Edition. We spent a good chunk of time with one of the Apple team, going over the model. It has some heft to it, and is one of the hardest and most durable of the Apple Watch options.

And finally – those ever-immortal words that Apple are famous for – the AirPods Pro were a great way to finish off the event for us. A brand new design (affectionately called the mini hair dryers by Apple fans), Apple is moving further away from the design of the wired headphones and giving us a sleek new look for AirPods.

Firstly, the sound is truly awesome – the clarity is beyond anything we have heard from any in-ear headphones before, and the new active noice cancellation feature only makes them better. Just by squeezing the ‘force sensor’ at the bottom of the AirPods, you can activate or disable the mode. The new silicone tips come in 3 sizes, allowing for an even better fit, with less chance of the AirPods falling out. The included case also acts as a handy charger and with just 5 minutes of charge time you can get up to an hour of listening pleasure.

2019 has been a fantastic year for Apple and its consumers, and we cannot wait to see what 2020 has in store.


Pricing:
iPhone 11 – from £729.
iPhone 11 Pro – from £1,049.
iPhone 11 Pro Max – from £1,149.

Pricing:
Apple Watch Series 5 (Aluminium) – from £399.
Apple Watch Series 5 (Stainless Steel) – from £699.
Apple Watch Series 5
(Hermes) – from £1,249.
Apple Watch Series 5 (Edition: Titanium) – from £799.
Apple Watch Series 5
(Edition: Ceramic) – from £1,299.

Pricing:
AirPods Pro£249.

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