Maybe you heard that Apple had a little meeting this week? It was, in fact, a highly anticipated event with high expectations, and Apple didn't disappoint. Here's a great video that covers the whole meeting in five minutes. For us, the two most exciting announcements are about the iPhone 7 and the Apple Watch.

iPhone 7 and 7+ highlights
To date, Apple has sold over a billion iPhones, making it the best selling product in the history of the world. And it just keeps getting better. Here's a complete CNET review of the iPhone 7, but here's what we're impressed by:

If you're in the market for a new phone (especially if you have a iPhone 5), we think this is a terrific product. Preorders start on Sept 9, and the phones will ship in September 16th. See Apple.com/iphone for details.

Apple watch – Series 2
In addition to the iPhone, Apple's watch has some great new improvements including: 

The new Apple Watch starts at $369 while Series 1 starts at $269. Because of the numerous new features, we'd recommend the Series 2 if it's in your budget. Orders start on September 9, and they ship on September 13. 
 

 

Sentinel Monitoring software updates

As if the Apple's news isn't exciting enough, the service that keeps your devices safe is getting better too! If you're one of our many clients that use Sentinel Monitoring software for keeping your iPhone products safe and working at top capacity, some great upgrades and additions are coming (and if you're not, talk to us!): 

New features

• Improved False Mounts Reporting warns about left-over folders that impede normal operation of backups, archives, caching servers, and network shares
• CrashPlan Client version added to plugin output
• Sierra public beta added to the list of OS upgrade notices (Sentinel will be ready for the new macOS)
• Support for detecting the latest malware

Best of all, there's no extra charge for these upgrades. We're constantly improving Sentinel so you get the most value for your monthly fee.

If you have questions about Sentinel, you can read more about it at www.macatoz.com/sentinel or just give us a call! 

What can AppleTV do for me?

On Tuesday, September 13th, I'm giving a presentation about AppleTV at Salem Mac Users Group (SMUG). I'll be sharing about the many unique features this product provides. The meeting is open to all and begins at 6:45pm. Meetings are held monthly on the second Tuesday, at Comfort Suites 630 Hawthorne Ave SE, Salem, OR (near Costco). 
  

Extras of note 

At the Apple event this week, several other exciting announcement were made:

The Apple Music Festival: It's the 10th Anniversary and the music starts on September 18. If you have an Apple device, you can live stream the 13-day event. Read more here.

Nintendo: Even if you don't play Super Mario, you probably know someone who does. Apple announced this week it's bringing Nintendo games to iOS, starting with Super Mario Run on iPhone.

Cords: Apple eliminated the headphone jack in the new iPhone, which means the move is on toward wireless headphones. How many times have you had to untangle your earbud cords, or have them catch on something, causing buds to pull out of your ears—or worse—dropping your device? Apple's wireless AirPods look (and presumably sound) amazing. We know there's been much gnashing of teeth over this change, but we're confident that in two years we'll all wonder what the fuss was. A variety of third-party manufacturers—including Apple's own Beats brand—offer wireless headphone solutions as well. 

iWork: For anyone who works in a team or needs real-time collaboration, iWork is finally here. This fully-fledged tool allows teams to work on documents together, edit in real time, and access shared information by Mac, iPhone, or web—which means even PC users can play!