Apple has introduced the new Apple iPad Air 2 and Apple iMac with a retina screen. Here’s a run down of all the major changes and upgrades that Apple made to their products:

Apple iPad Air 2

• Thinner
• Processor is twice as fast as last iPad Air
• Touch ID has been added

Apple iMac

• Faster and Thinner
• Boasts a massive 5K screen

What does this mean to you? Basically Apple made the iPad Air 2 the most powerful tablet you can find on the market. One of the highlights of the iPad Air 2 presentation was when they demoed a new version of the app ‘Replay‘. This video production app allows its users to upload video clips into the app and turn them into a movie in a matter of moments. During the demonstration, the iPad Air 2 had no issues putting together video clips, rendering them, and making any changes immediately noticeable while you are watching the footage. This sort of speed and robust computing power does not typically come from a tablet. The technology built into the new iPad Air 2 could usher in a whole new generation of content development.

The new Apple iMac now boasts a 5K Retina display. For those who do not know what this means, a typical computer screen is 1366 x 768 pixels. An Apple iMac with the 5K Retina display is 5120 x 2880 pixels. This does not mean the screen is all that much larger than an average computer screen, it means that the individual pixels which make up the screen are more than twice as dense as an average computer screen. This sort of screen style allows text to be clearer, images are more crisp, and 4K video (the new, higher quality video size) can be edited without sacrificing screen space.

In my opinion, the biggest announcement actually came with the iOS 8.1 and OS X updates. In an earlier blog post, I talked about how Microsoft with Windows 10, they want to make the experience of using a wide variety of Windows products the same. This idea of continuity with Microsoft is only in beta now. With Apple, they are bringing continuity to Apple products with the release of these new updates. Both iOS 8.1 and OS X will work together to provide a seamless transition between your iPhone, iPad, MacBook, iMac, and Apple Watch. If you are working on a presentation in Keynote on your iPad and need to switch to your iMac, you can simply press one button and your iMac will bring up the presentation you were just putting together on your iPad. This sort of technology is the next step towards building a more connected and immersive digital experience.

Overall, I think Apple is still king of the tech world. Microsoft is slowly gaining ground, but I wouldn’t put it passed Apple to create something mindboggling next year!

PS: Also, they’re bringing back the Camera Roll feature to iPhone. So for those who have been frustrated with that…well…download iOS 8.1 when its available. (This got a huge applause when it was announced. LOL)

For more information, check out the Apple Website!