1. APPLE iPHONE 14 PRO
This year’s fall harvest of new releases from Apple includes a new iPhone 14 Pro with an improved battery, new safety features, camera updates, a larger screen, and a SIM tray replacement called eSIM that lets you activate your new phone or add carriers digitally. All this is available at the same price as the iPhone 13 Pro. The camera notch has been replaced at the top of the screen with a Dynamic Island, which works like a mini dashboard that offers additional information depending on the app you’re in. The always-on function for the display will turn off when you pocket the phone or place it facedown on a surface. The Pro Max’s Super Retina SDR display is now brighter, with 2,000 nits of brightness for twice the brightness in sunlight. The new safety features include an emergency SOS function that uses satellite for texting for emergency services when you don’t have Wi-Fi or cell service. The 14 Pro also can sense a severe car crash and then call 911 and your emergency contacts. The main camera now has 48MP and an advanced quad-pixel sensor. The iPhone 14 Pro is available in deep purple, gold, silver, and space black. www.apple.com
2. APPLE WATCH ULTRA
At the September launch event, Apple also introduced the Apple Watch Ultra, which features the best battery life of any Apple Watch. A new Action button is a third control button that can be used as a workout shortcut, a stopwatch, a way to open the Waypoint and Backtrack functions, a shortcut to the Depth function, to light the flashlight, and more. The screen is large and twice as bright as the Apple Watch Series 8. The dual-band GPS is more accurate than earlier models, and there’s an emergency siren. Along with all the workout monitoring, the Ultra is water- resistant up to 100 meters, and the Depth app can be set to open when the watch is submerged at three feet, where it will read your depth, the temperature of the water, and your time spent underwater. www.apple.com
3. KINDLE SCRIBE
The long-awaited large-format Kindle with full note-taking abilities has finally arrived in the Kindle Scribe. With a 10.2" E Ink screen and new notetaking software, the e-reader is modestly priced at $339.99 and has one other unique feature—a 300 ppi front-lit screen that has adjustable warm light. The Basic Pen magnetically attaches to the side of the Scribe and needs no batteries, and the Premium Pen has a customizable shortcut button and an eraser sensor on top. While reading, you can tap on the text and handwrite a note that gets stored in your Kindle collection. PDF markup is possible, and other formats supported include e-books, saved web pages, and others including Word docs. The Scribe is a mere 0.22" thick and weighs 15.3 oz. www.amazon.com
4. FITBIT SENSE 2
The all-day body-response tracking and smart notifications of the Fitbit Sense include wellness metrics on a dashboard that displays heart rate variability, skin temperature variation, blood oxygen level, and more. The Sense 2 can track 40+ exercise modes and has built-in GPS for real-time pace and distance for running and swimming. Google Maps provides turn-by-turn directions. Sleep monitoring tracks 10 key sleep metrics and reports on the quality of your previous night’s sleep. The ECG app has on-demand atrial fibrillation assessment, or you can turn on irregular heart rhythm notifications to check your heart rate. www.fitbit.com
November 2022
