On March 21, Apple held its March 2016 Keynote event. The hour long live-stream unveiled the newest products coming to the Apple lineup. CEO Tim Cook started the event by addressing the company's ongoing battle with FBI in relation to the San Bernardino Case.
Cook said, "We believe strongly that we have a responsibility to help you protect your data and protect your privacy. This is an issue that impacts all of us. We will not shrink from the responsibility".
Apple's vice president of environment also took to the stage to announce that the company's products are becoming more environmentally responsible. 99 percent of the company's paper packaging is now made from recycled paper or sustainably farmed wood. They have also developed a robot, Liam, to disassemble old iPhones in order to recycle parts.
The event then went on to unveil the newest products coming to apple. The iPhone SE is a 4-inch phone that comes with a 64-bit a9 chip and a M9 motion coprocessor. This makes its equivalent to the iPhone 6s, just smaller.
It features a 12-megapixel camera with all the standard features of panorama, time-lapse, slowmotion and live photos. It will also have a true-tone flash for the selfie camera. The iPhone SE starts at $399. Preorders began March 24 and will be available in stores March 31.
Another new Apple product was announced; the iPad Pro. The iPad Pro weighs less than one pound and will now have a 9.7-inch retina display. It has an Oxide TFT display for high contrast ratio, and is 47 percent less reflective than the iPad 2. It has the brightest screen with the widest color gamut Apple has ever built.
It comes with four audio speakers, A9X chip, M9 motion coprocessor, a graphics drive as powerful as an Xbox 360 and the "Hey Siri" hands free compatibility. The smaller iPad Pro comes in four colors, including the new shade, Rose Gold. The device starts at $599 for 32 GB and goes all the way up to 256BG of storage. Preorders began March 24 and can be purchased in stores on March 31.
The newest iOS software was also announced at this keynote. iOS 9.3 will update with features such as password protection for notes, a night sleep-friendly lighting setting and more health apps. Apple CarPlay will also get updates to include song suggestions and nearby points of interests on Maps.
Both the iPhone SE and the smaller iPad Pro were heavily rumored prior to the even and Apple made sure to poke fun at that fact. Apple is also rumored to be holding another keynote later this year to announce the iPhone 7.
