Apple held its annual fall event Tuesday to unveil two new products, the iPhone 15 and Apple
Watch Series 9.

Many times the fall event is a cause for excitement for all Apple users. Not so much this time. Sure, the new devices are improvements over the previous models, and it’s true that “They’re the most powerful iPhone ever” but are these devices really that big of an improvement? Is it worth upgrading now or waiting until next year?

Here are some of the highlights from Apple’s new devices:

The iPhone 15 improvements are mostly under the hood. It’s faster than last year’s iPhone 14
and the cameras are an improvement. It’s also simpler to switch to portrait mode.

It gets the dynamic island from the iPhone 14 Pro that displays music playing, phone calls and
Uber information. And the screen is a bit bigger. The device itself is smaller but the bezels are
slightly smaller, and the screen takes up that space.

There are no huge upgrades from the 14. In fact, Apple spent just a little more than 2 minutes
unveiling it which was less than it spent on talking about its environmental impact. That segment
starring Octavia Spencer as Mother Nature is worth the watch.

The biggest change in the iPhone 15 is the charging port. Apple is at last getting rid of its
Lightning port and moving to the USB-C charger. That’s not-so-good news if you have a bunch
of Lightning cables and chargers. You’ll need to purchase new ones. It’ll charge faster and
transferring data from the phone to a computer will be faster as well.

The iPhone 15 Pro on the other hand has significantly better cameras and is now fast enough
for gamers to play Apple’s version of console games.

Apple is also ditching the mute switch on the side of the iPhone 15 Pro and replacing it with an
“action button” that not only silences the phone but can also open other apps and start shortcuts just by pressing the button once or twice.

The Apple Watch Series 9 is faster than the Apple Watch Series 8, of course. At this point, every
Apple device will be faster than the previous model and with better battery life. Can you imagine Tim Cook announcing a new device that’s slower?

There’s also a a new feature that allows you to answer and hang up calls, just by pinching your
fingers together on the hand wearing the Apple Watch. This was the most impressive innovation
in my opinion.

It will come in handy when you’ve got something in the other hand. Haven’t all Apple Watch users answered a phone call by tapping the screen with their nose? Or is that just me?

The Series 9 also comes in 2 new colors: pink and starlight.

So with these advancements who should upgrade? My opinion is anyone with an iPhone 13 and
older and anyone with a series 7 and older Apple Watch. But the upgrade isn’t necessarily
recommended for the iPhone 15 and Apple Watch Series 9.

Remember, last year’s models of both phones and the Apple Watch will drop in price by $100.
The new devices are available for pre-order Friday, September 15, 2023, and will be in stores on
September 22, 2023.