After hitting session highs, shares of Apple dropped nearly 2 percent Wednesday as the technology giant unveiled new iPhones, iPads, Apple TV, Apple Watch features and an unexpected device, the Pencil.
The fall came despite hype over new iPhones which will be faster and more powerful. Some analysts were wondering if Apple could keep customers upgrading mobile phones - its best-selling products while focusing on future innovative products.
Historically, the firm's shares have risen before autumn events at which Apple was expected to demonstrate flashy technology, only to fall afterwards - a phenomenon called "antici-pointment".
Wednesday's movements were no different, with the stock rising after the debuts of a new Apple Watch collection and iPad Pro earlier in the afternoon, then falling as executives discussed the Apple Pencil, TV, and iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.
iPhone
Apple's flagship device, will be 70
percent faster at CPU tasks and 90 percent quicker at graphics compared
to the current model, Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide
marketing at Apple, said at the San Francisco event Wednesday.
The improved processing speed built on previously rumored features like a 3-D touch display that creates easier movement between apps, and an improved camera, that supports 12 megapixel images, ultra high-definition video and "live pictures," stand-alone images which resemble short video clips.
Apple TV
Apple has been selling an Apple TV product since 2007. Eight years
later, Tim Cook, the company’s chief executive, began
Wednesday's presentation of television by saying that not much innovative
had happened to the television experience in decades.
“Our vision for TV is simple and perhaps a bit provocative,” he said. In short, Apple thinks that watching TV should feel like using a smartphone, with a home screen of apps.
The new Apple TV comes with a new touchscreen remote with voice control via Siri ("show me a funny TV show") as well as motion sensors for gaming. The new device costs between $150 and $200, depending on storage capacity.
iPad
The long-anticipated iPad Pro,
has a bigger screen than Apple’s smallest laptops. It has a 12.9-inch
screen and weighs 1.57 lbs., about the same weight as the original iPad.
While the iPad rivals Apple’s line of PCs in physical size, it runs the
same operating system that powers its other mobile devices, iOS.
The device will be available in November and costs between $800 and $1,080.
The new iPad focused on building on enterprise partnerships with companies like Microsoft and Adobe. However, at $800, the larger iPad Pro was comparably pricy to other very powerful tablets on the market as well as Apple's own Mac computers.
"Cannibalization is definitely a potential headwind," said Dan Ives, managing director at FBR Capital Markets. But Ives added, "They finally have a product to go after enterprise ... this is long-overdue breath of fresh air."
Pencil
Apple also developed two notable accessories for the iPad Pro.
There's a
cover with a physical keyboard ($170) and a stylus called Apple Pencil
($100). Steve Jobs famously rediculed the idea of styluses,
which seemed more like a square Microsoft thing. At Wednesday’s event,
Apple brought Microsoft employees on stage to show how neat they can
be.
Other upgrades across the other devices focused on display, processing speed and cosmetic updates. For instance, the new line of products will have chassis colors like rose gold, and Apple Watches will have bands designed by luxury brand Hermes.
