Apple : IN DEPTH: 10 traditional norms Apple eliminated at its iPad Air 2 and iMac event

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IN DEPTH: 10 traditional norms Apple eliminated at its iPad Air 2 and iMac event Posted: Apple Pay, iOS 8.1 and new iPads Apple is known for spearheading change through elimination: it radically axed disc drives from Macs, replaced physical keyboards with touchscreens on phones and made Ethernet ports an optional accessory. All of these were unconventional in their day. Six years ago, the MacBook Air lead to people worrying about losing the bulky, humming DVD drive that takes up 1/3 of a laptop's footprint. Today's iPad Air 2 and iMac event was no different. The Cupertino company is modernizing - for the better - many of the tasks we use in everyday life. You may not have noticed the changes during the press conference, but you'll surely see the differences years down the line if they're successful. 1. Credit card swiping thanks to Apple Pay Apple Pay begins to replace the swipe and sign routine of using credit cards on October 20 in the US. You just need a fingerprint and the latest iPhone. There's no plastic involved when using an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus as a mobile wallet. The same can't be said about many of the popular plastic Google Wallet-linked Android phones. Apple has enlisted 500 banks and the three major credit card companies: Visa, Mastercard and American Express. In addition to its Apple Stores, top-name retailers like McDonald's, Walgreens, Whole Foods, Subway, and Disney theme parks are going to accept Apple Pay. 2. Bugs through iOS 8.1 update iOS 8.1 is going launch Apple Pay, but it'll also be used to fix those nasty Wi-Fi and battery drain problems too. These annoying bugs were introduced in iOS 8 and made worse when a handful of people upgraded to iOS 8.0.1 before it was pulled. iOS 8.0.2 quickly took its place with some fixes. More than any of the product announcements, Monday's iOS 8.1 may be a welcomed change for users facing issues with their current hardware. 3. Cliché 'Pencil thin' comparisons to the iPad Air 2 The iPad Air 2 isn't "as thin as a pencil" like last year's iPad Air. It's actually 18% thinner. At just 6.1mm, it's now the world's thinnest tablet and it's super light too. iPad Air 2 weighs under a pound at 0.96 lb.. (437 g). Compare that to the original iPad at 1.5 lb. (680 g). Apple eliminated the gaps between its three layers: the glass, the touch sensor and the LCD, making it thinner and sharper than previous iPads. 4. 32GB is out, 64GB is in Like the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, there's no longer a 32GB option being offered within the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 lineup. It's been eliminated, for better or worse. In its place, for the same price, is the 64GB iPad model. This seems like a way to keep selling the 16GB models, which should be long gone, without actually eliminating it. If you're on the fence, Apple made the jump to extra storage a little easier, but not cheaper if you just wanted a little more room above 16GB. 5. SIM card switching between countries International travel with any 4G-connected device is a hassle, but the new Apple SIM card can eliminate at least one overseas-trip headache. Pre-installed in the iPad Air 2 with Wi-Fi + Cellular models, it allows for short-term plans from select carriers in the US and UK. Plans can be selected right on the iPad with no long-term commitments, making it easier to pay for a data plan from a local carrier on a trip. This would be even more meaningful in the next iPhone 6S and iPhone 7, but it's a start. iOS-OS X compatibility, iPad features and new Macs 6. The infuriating wall between mobile and Mac There's no reason I should have to get up from my computer with a full-sized keyboard to respond to a text message on my phone that happens to be in the other room. Cross-platform iMessages fixed this among iDevices owners and iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite take it a step further by relaying all SMS messages between my Apple-made devices. There are also helpful features like Handoff that bridge the gap between mobile and computer apps. Start an email on the Mac and finish it on an iPhone and vice versa. 7. Looking as foolish using an iPad as a camera You'll still look silly taking photos with a 9.7-inch iPad, but Apple is right: it's the biggest and best non-traditional viewfinder around. The new sensor in the iPad Air 2 iSight camera is now 8 megapixels, giving you photos with a native resolution of 3264 x 2448 and, of course, video shot in 1080p. Features like time-lapse video, 120 slow-motion video and exposure control give you more control over what you capture and editing on the big screen, as opposed to an iPhone, makes it almost socially acceptable as a camera. 8. Passwords that are hard-to-type on an iPad Even with that larger keyboard on a 9.7-inch iPad Air screen, entering passwords that are immediately hidden by asterisks is an annoyance that has to go. Luckily, Apple's Touch ID fingerprint sensor has made its way onto the iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 3. Combined with extensions like 1Password, logging into sites and supported apps takes nothing more than the touch of the new home button. Finally, the iPad is catching up with the old iPhone 5S with a gold color option and infinitely more useful biometric fingerprint sensor. 9. 4K as your highest resolution display iMac with a Retina 5K display cranks the pixel count so much that it gives you a better resolution than that 4K TV you probably haven't gotten around to buying yet. With 14.7 million pixels and 5120 x 2880 resolution, this 27-inch all-in-one computer has 67 percent more pixels than a 4K display that doesn't contain a computer. Of course, it comes at a price. It retails for $2,499 (£1,999, AU$2,999) through the Apple Store. 10. High entry fee: Mac mini is even cheaper Alternatively, you can get more value from the Mac mini 2014 with an even cheaper entry-level price. It starts at $499 (£399, AU$619). Sure, it doesn't come with a 5K Retina display or any display monitor for that matter. However, for a barebones Mac computer, the entry level specs are a good value: a 1.4 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 4GB of memory and 500GB hard drive. The new Mac mini can also be upgraded with a 2.8 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 8GB of memory and a 1TB Fusion Drive if you have a cool $999 (£799, AU$1,249) on hand. Change is afoot Apple is in the process of replacing plastic-involved credit card transactions with Apple Pay, cumbersome passwords on small mobile screens with easy-to-use Touch ID and SIM card juggling with its all-new international-friendly cellular and data card. It's already breaking down the mobile and Mac wall with iMessages on iOS 8 and Yosemite, ridding the world of cliched pencil-thin iPad comparisons, and making taking photos with an iPad more common, even though civilized people still frown upon it. On the high end, the 5K iMac Retina looks better than a 4K display and, on the lower end, the new Mac mini makes Mac ownership even easier. In the middle 32GB loses its place, but 64GB is a better value. Out with the old and in with the new, even if you're not ready or don't always agree, has been Apple's unofficial policy. And now you can pay for "the new" without taking your credit card out of your wallet or purse.

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