Ooooh yeah! It’s time for the Holidays after a year that has been super long yet feels like it never happened.

Before we get into all the tech – if you’re in Vancouver, BC you may have just noticed the new Apple Store taking shape. It’s opening on November 18th, 2022 and I have heard from an insider 😉 that there are going to be some VERY cool things inside.

Apple Pacific Centre Store Opening Weekend Details

— Throughout the grand opening weekend, discover inspiring free programming at Apple Pacific Centre across art, music, photography and well-being. Sessions include live performances by Vancouver-based rapper and musician Boslen, followed by a Q&A moderated by Apple Music radio host George Stromboloupoulos, as well as a performance by Chloé Arnold, the Emmy-award winning choreographer of new Apple TV+ holiday film Spirited, starring Ryan Reynolds. Registration opens today at apple.co/journey-into-creativity. 

— Explore Today at Apple Photo Tour sessions over the weekend exploring the architecture of downtown Vancouver and learning how to capture cityscapes on iPhone. Led by Apple *Creative Pros, Today at Apple sessions provide creative inspiration, teach practical skills and help customers learn how to better utilize their products to enhance their creative projects and artistic passions. 

— Also launching today, Musical icon and Vancouver-native Michael Bublé is taking fans on a tour of ten of his favourite hometown spots on Apple Maps: https://apple.co/michael-buble-vancouver. As a father of four, it’s no surprise that Michael gravitates to places that are fun for the whole family, from the Vancouver Aquarium to Stanley Park to Langley Events Center, where his beloved Vancouver Giants play. In his tour, which is available exclusively to Apple Maps users, Michael also shares some of his go-to spots around the city for dim sum, Italian, seafood, and more. 

What’s new at Apple?

Ok, let’s get back to it.

Apple’s been continuing to innovate and add more power, features, cameras, and crispy displays to their range, but let’s get into the new new.

We’re going to be talking about:

• Top iPhone and iPad Games
• The best apps for iOS
• Two new iPads
• Latest Apple Watch – including the VERY cool Apple Watch Ultra

More? Ok then!

• Apple 4K TV
• Holiday show lineup for Apple TV
• and the iPhone 14.

Let’s get into it.

Apps

Apple Fitness+ available to iPhone users in 21 countries starting October 24
For the first time ever, customers can receive three free months of Fitness+ with the purchase of a new iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV.

Fitness+ will also introduce a new Artist Spotlight series featuring music from Taylor Swift; a new workout program, Yoga for Every Runner, featuring one of the world’s top ultramarathon athletes, Scott Jurek; and more.

A few Best-of-the-Best apps right now:

• Adobe Lightroom – make your photos look professional with presets and adjustments
• Canva – create social media graphics, presentations, infographics, logos and more.
• Kindle – your entire book library, anywhere.
• Audible – audiobooks, podcasts, and exclusive stories – in your ears.
• Riverside.FM – record video and audio on this podcasting platform.
• Procreate – for artists and doodlers. Awesome with the Apple Pencil.

• Unfold – elevate your Instagram stories with this easy to use app.
• Skyview Lite – hold your phone up to the stars and see the constellations
• All Trails – hiking routes, map planner, safety notices, and off-trail notifications – VERY useful if you’re outdoorsy.

iOS Games

There’s never an end to the fun you can have with the sheer amount of high-quality iOS games. There’s something for everyone on Apple Arcade. From sports games, brainteasers, daily challenges, open-world quests, endless runners, classics and more.

Top 5 iOS Games for Holiday 2022-23 Season

No matter the mandatory office party or having to sit through an entire school’s worth of kids doing their interpretation of the Nutcracker’s Suite, you’ll have something to play. Just wear headphones or you’ll get some head turns and ‘shhh!’ from the grannys trying to film the little dears.

• Alto’s Odyssey – $4.99

• Beyond a Steel Sky – Apple Arcade

• Call of Duty: Mobile – Apple Arcade

• Limbo – $3.99

• Lumino City – $4.99

The NEW iPads

Apple have just launched two new ipads (iPad and iPad Pro) which are amazing for everyone, but specifically for students who can keep them as their personal computers from school through to university and beyond. The amount of power and capability included is amazing, but with a few new tweaks, they’re even more handy. The front-facing camera has been repositioned for landscape use, better suiting facetime, Zoom and Skype calls, and picture-in-picture collab sessions.

The new iPad with an all-screen design featuring a large 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display. The new iPad is powered by the A14 Bionic chip, which delivers even faster performance with incredible power efficiency for demanding tasks while still providing all-day battery life. Updated cameras include an Ultra Wide 12MP front camera located along the landscape edge of the iPad for an even better video calling experience, and an updated 12MP back camera to capture sharp, vivid photos and 4K video. A USB-C port supports a wide range of accessories, Wi-Fi 6 brings even faster connections, and cellular models feature superfast 5G so users can stay connected on the go.

Designed specifically for the new iPad, the all-new Magic Keyboard Folio features an incredible typing experience, a click-anywhere trackpad, and a versatile two-piece design. With iPadOS 16 and support for Apple Pencil (1st generation),² iPad offers users more ways to be creative and productive. 

Apple Watch

I’ve tried a lot of smartwatches. Some great, some incredibly bad (pro-tip, not all Instagram ads are legit!) – but none have been as useful, as easy to use, and as intuitive as my Apple Watch. I have the Series 7 but that Ultra series is very cool. They all encourage a healthy lifestyle with apps to help me relax, keep a sleep schedule, count steps, and track workouts.

Setting Up Your Family with Apple Watch

I keep an Apple Tag on my daughter – either in her school bag or on her wrist if she’s going on a field trip or on an outing like Trick or Treating at Halloween. With the Apple Watch, you can connect to loved ones and give them a direct line to you, even without giving them a phone.

Family Setup lets you pair watches for your children and older family members to your iPhone. Everyone gets their own phone number, and you can manage each watch using the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.

With Family Setup, kids get to experience many of the capabilities of Apple Watch. They can stay in touch with the people you approve, by calling and texting. And have fun streaming music, downloading apps and paying for stuff with Apple Cash Family. You can also schedule Schooltime to limit Apple Watch features when they need to focus. Even the Activity rings have been rethought to better reflect how they exercise — tracking Move minutes instead of active calories. And with location sharing, you’ll get alerts when kids get home or aren’t where they’re expected to be.

A smart call for older adults.

Apple Watch can open up a whole new world for older family members. They get the same connectivity benefits of Apple Watch, like calling, texting and location sharing to stay close to the family. And if they need it, they can make the text larger or bolded.

Safety features on the Apple Watch

Apple Watch comes with important safety features like fall detection which can detect if your loved ones have taken a hard fall. If it senses they’re immobile, Emergency SOS will connect them with emergency services — even if they haven’t signed up for a cellular plan. They can also get help in an emergency — all over the world by simply pressing and holding the side button.

Health features on the Apple Watch

As well as tracking steps, sleep, time standing vs sitting, calories burned, and time spent exercising, the Apple Watch now has more features that can help monitor some very useful health stats.

Apple Watch can alert family members if it detects unusually high or low heart rates, as well as measure their current heart rate. And all the Activity goals, including Stand hours and Exercise minutes, can be customized to a level that works for older family members.

The newest versions (more info here) have new features like fall detection, and in-depth health monitoring, and are waterproof.

There’s an Apple Watch for everyone. From the SE which has all the fitness tracking, communication features, and health data you need on a daily-use watch, to the Apple Watch Ultra – for those who like to go further and push themselves and their gear to their limits. I like to hike in the rainy/snowy North Vancouver mountains, so having the larger display that works in the rain, the emergency siren, and the ability to work down to -20.c is a valuable tool to have on my wrist.

iPhone 14 price and features

iPhones, you either love them, or you have an Android and haven’t made the switch yet (don’t @ me). They’re as always, really good. The iPhone 14 has a ridiculously good camera. I mean, it’s crazy.

Here are the specs for the iPhone 14:

• Dynamic Island
• Always-On display
• ProMotion technology with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz
• HDR display
• True Tone
• Wide colour (P3)
• Haptic Touch
• 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical)
• 1000 nits max brightness (typical); 1600 nits peak brightness (HDR); 2000 nits peak brightness (outdoor)
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

But, it’s the camera I’m here for. These are just some of the specs of the iPhone Pro cameras:

• 48MP Main: 24 mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture, second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization, seven‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels
• 12MP Ultra Wide: 13 mm, ƒ/2.2 aperture and 120° field of view, six‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels
• 12MP 2x Telephoto (enabled by quad-pixel sensor): 48 mm, ƒ/1.78 aperture, second-generation sensor-shift optical image stabilization, seven‑element lens, 100% Focus Pixels
• 12MP 3x Telephoto: 77 mm, ƒ/2.8 aperture, optical image stabilization, six-element lens
• 3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 6x optical zoom range; digital zoom up to 15x
• Adaptive True Tone flash
• Smart HDR 4
• Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
• Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High‑Key Mono)
• Night mode
• Night mode portraits enabled by LiDAR Scanner
• Panorama (up to 63MP)
• Photographic Styles
• Macro photography
• Apple ProRAW
• Wide colour capture for photos and Live Photos
• Lens correction (Ultra Wide)
• Advanced red-eye correction
• Auto image stabilization
• Burst mode
• Photo geotagging
• Image formats captured: HEIF, JPEG and DNG

Video Recording

• 4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps
• 1080p HD video recording at 25 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps
• 720p HD video recording at 30 fps
• Cinematic mode up to 4K HDR at 30 fps
• Action mode up to 2.8K at 60 fps
• HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60 fps
• ProRes video recording up to 4K at 30 fps (1080p at 30 fps for 128GB storage)
• Macro video recording, including slo-mo and time-lapse
• Slo‑mo video support for 1080p at 120 fps or 240 fps
• Time‑lapse video with stabilization
• Night mode Time-lapse
• 3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 6x optical zoom range
• Digital zoom up to 9x
• Audio zoom
• True Tone flash
• Cinematic video stabilization (4K, 1080p and 720p)
• Continuous autofocus video
• Take 8MP still photos while recording 4K video
• Playback zoom
• Video formats recorded: HEVC, H.264 and ProRes
• Stereo recording

I always try to have a camera at-hand. Whether it’s for taking silly selfies with my daughter, to the content I make for the awesome brands I work with, I have to be able to trust that my camera gear is ready to go and will capture the best quality possible. More often than not, the photos and videos I create are taken on my iPhone. It’s fast, easy to use, and does an incredible job every time.

Apple TV 4K

I’ve been binge-watching Ted Lasso, BlackBird, and The Morning Show (so good!), and there’s always so much more award-winning TV to enjoy and Apple TV is available on your iOS device (iPhone, iPad), smart TVs, and as a stand-alone plug-in box. *Update* – I’ve just started watching Slow Horses with Gary Oldman and it’s amazing.

Via Apple press release: Apple introduces the powerful next-generation Apple TV 4K. The strongest Apple TV yet features the A15 Bionic chip, adds HDR10+, and brings the best of Apple to the biggest screen in the home — all at a new starting price.

Driven by the A15 Bionic chip that delivers faster performance and more fluid gameplay, the new Apple TV 4K features endless entertainment options for everyone to enjoy on the biggest screen in the home. HDR10+ support joins Dolby Vision on Apple TV 4K, so users can watch their favourite movies and TV shows in the best quality possible across more TVs. 

Apple TV 4K works seamlessly with other Apple devices, starting with a magical setup process with iPhone and effortless control at any time with the Apple TV Remote in Control Center. The deep integration of Apple hardware, software, and services with Apple TV 4K unlocks an unparalleled experience that brings the best of the Apple ecosystem to the living room.

• Apple Music offers access to a catalogue of over 100 million songs, expertly curated playlists, and music videos through Apple TV 4K. With original content from the most respected and beloved people in music, autoplay, time-synced lyrics, lossless audio, and immersive Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, Apple Music offers the world’s best listening experience.

• Apple TV+ is the home of premium drama and comedy series, feature films, documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, including this year’s Oscar Best Picture winner, “CODA”; record-breaking Emmy Award winner “Ted Lasso”; hit drama “Severance”; “Shantaram,” based on the bestselling novel; and acclaimed series “Bad Sisters,” “Mythic Quest,” “Pachinko,” and many more. Viewers can also enjoy films such as “Sidney,” a documentary honouring the legendary Sidney Poitier; “Causeway,” starring and produced by Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence; and the holiday story “Spirited,” starring Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, and Octavia Spencer. Apple TV+ also offers live sports, including “Friday Night Baseball,” and Major League Soccer matches coming in early 2023.

• Apple Arcade on Apple TV 4K features award-winning premium games, with new titles and major content updates added weekly, all without ads or in-app purchases. Players can pair popular game controllers to enjoy hit titles like “NBA 2K23 Arcade Edition” and “Jetpack Joyride 2,” along with longtime favourites like “Sneaky Sasquatch,” as well as “Warped Kart Racers” with a new multiuser mode.

• Apple Fitness+ is an award-winning fitness and wellness service designed to be welcoming to all users, wherever they are on their journey, and help them live a healthier day. Apple TV 4K users can enjoy the largest library of workout content in 4K Ultra High Definition with over 3,000 studio-style workouts and meditations, all led by a diverse and inclusive team of trainers. This fall, iPhone users can subscribe to and enjoy Fitness+ in the 21 countries and regions where it is available, even if they don’t have an Apple Watch. Users only need an iPhone to sign up, and can then experience Fitness+ on Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad with onscreen trainer guidance and interval timing, and estimated calories burned will be used to make progress on their Move ring. Fitness+ users with Apple Watch can take their motivation to the next level with personalized real-time metrics that display on Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad.

Apple TV shows

Via an Apple Press Release (Oct 11, 2022): Apple TV+ is ready to help kids and families trick or treat, give thanks and spread holiday cheer with a joyous lineup of new special episodes of Apple Original series and the streaming debut of classic holiday Peanuts specials.

New festive programming from the beloved series includes the “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock” Night of the Lights holiday special and “Sago Mini Friends” Thanksgiving special premiering on Friday, November 18, and holiday specials from “Interrupting Chicken,” “Pretzel and the Puppies” and “The Snoopy Show,” all debuting on Friday, December 2.

Apple TV+ will also provide special free windows for nonsubscribers to stream the iconic holiday specials from Mendelson/Melendez Productions and Peanuts Worldwide “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” available October 28 through October 31; “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” available November 23 through November 27; and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” available December 22 through December 25. Find more information on how to stream for free here. These specials are available to subscribers now and every day.

Two classic Peanuts holiday specials also from Mendelson/Melendez Productions and Peanuts Worldwide, “I Want a Dog for Christmas” and “Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales,” will be added to the platform for the first time starting December 2.

Additionally, the animated short film “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” based on the beloved award-winning book of the same name by author Charlie Mackesy, will be coming to Apple TV+ on Christmas Day.

Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, plans to be 100 percent carbon neutral across the entire manufacturing supply chain and all product life cycles. This means that every Apple device sold, from component manufacturing, assembly, transport, customer use, charging, all the way through recycling and material recovery, will have net-zero climate impact.

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