Six things Apple did not talk about (much) at Wonderlust

Apple recently hosted its September event, titled Wonderlust, in Cupertino. As expected, it unveiled its latest generation of iPhones. The new lineup includes four new iPhones: the iPhone 15, the iPhone 15 Plus, the iPhone 15 Pro, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Along with these iPhones, Apple also launched new Apple Watches, including the Apple Watch Series 9, the Apple Watch SE, and the Apple Watch Ultra 2.

On stage, Apple talked a fair bit about the newly launched products and the changes they bring along. But while there was a fair deal of information passed on during the launch about a host of features, technology, and functions, there were some topics that the Cupertino tech giant either decided to skip or barely touch. These topics generally tended to be vocal about in the past.

Here are six things Apple did not talk (much) about at the Wonderlust event (and yes, we do wonder why).

iOS goes MIA

Apple usually unveils the new versions of OS for its products during WWDC, and it did so this year as well. The company talks about the software in detail and takes viewers through new functions and features step by step. That said, a lot of this software is often officially launched with products. So when new products are launched, Apple usually devotes some time in the presentation to talk about the new OS, how it works on the new hardware, the features it brings to the table, and the overall experience.

One often also got information on when the new OS would be rolled out for older devices. For some reason, Apple decided to skip that bit at Wonderlust. The brand, which is otherwise big on OS-talk, especially iOS, did not really dive into how the new iPhones and iOS 17 blended together would offer a different experience to the users. This was definitely surprising, considering how a new version of iOS is usually just as important for a new iPhone as the hardware upgrades.

Front camera goes to the backstage

One of the biggest USPs of an iPhone that has remained extremely consistent over the years has to be the cameras on the device. While Apple talked about the primary camera unit on the back of the new iPhones and how the main sensor has received a major megapixel bump on the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus and how the telephoto on the iPhone 15 Pro Max got a zoom boost, it rather oddly ignored the front camera sensor.

Even though the megapixel count on the front remains the same at 12 megapixels, and it seems to have a similar f/1.9 aperture, it does get the benefit of features like next-generation portrait mode. Given the attention that was paid to the selfie cameras on the iPad and the fact that the front cameras are also part of FaceTime, we found the almost total silence on the role of selfie cameras on the new iPhones a little odd.

USB Type C, yes; Charging speed, nope

Charging speed is one of the few areas where the iPhones have been left to play catch up with the rest of the smartphone industry. To be fair, Apple has been improving charging speeds and the battery life of the iPhone and has come a long way in the past few years, although it still is not quite as close to the high charging speed numbers seen in the industry. A major change in the charging system of the iPhones came along this year. The brand had to let go of its dearly beloved Lightning port and switch to the more common USB Type C port, following guidelines from the EU.

To be fair, Apple did talk of the USB Type C port on the new iPhones. But it just talked about all that one can do with the USB Type C port in terms of connectivity and data transfer speed. Rather strangely, battery charging speed was not mentioned. Even though Apple usually does not talk about charging speed as such anyway, we think with the new port on board, some reassurance from the brand on charging speed and safety would have been nice.

Appy about developers, quiet on Apps and App Store

Apple has always talked big when it comes to apps and the App Store and has backed this talk with some swanky walk, too. In fact, the brand can lay claim to having started the app revolution in smartphones. So it was rather odd that the apps and App Store elements were barely discussed at Wonderlust.

Apple did talk about some games and kept mentioning the amazing developers iOS the platforms had, but unlike previous launches where the brand often talked about innovative new apps and how they made the most of the new iPhones (Steve Jobs played Jenga on an iPhone to show how the developer had used the gyroscope on the device), this time, the brand chose to stay relatively silent. Even the games showcased were more to show off the hardware muscle on the devices rather than any innovative feature.

We did not hear much about…audio

Audio has been a major part of Apple’s story. The brand made stereo speakers a major thing in the smartphone world, made TWS a rage, and dumped the 3.5 mm audio jack. But Wonderlust saw Apple skipping the audio bit. There was no talk of the audio on the new iPhones or if the addition of the Type C port will have any great impact on how users consume audio with wired headphones on the device, or even about the Type C EarPods, which were launched on the same day (but not mentioned in the event). Nothing. Nada. Zilch. The audio was remarkably…silent.

New Apple Watch SE, but what is new?

Imagine a brand launching a new product and giving it barely a few lines at a launch event. Well, that is exactly what happened with the poor Apple Watch SE at Wonderlust. It was especially surprising because Apple talked at length about the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. As it was wrapping up the Apple Watch bit, the presenter casually mentioned that Apple was also releasing a new Apple Watch SE along with these two watches.

Nothing else. Just this announcement, along with pricing, availability, and the fact that it will also be carbon neutral. That was it. No talk of any new features, any improvements, any changes in design, battery life, hardware… nothing at all. If nothing had changed, how was this a new Apple Watch SE? Weird, right?