UPDATED 16:53 EST / MARCH 21 2016

NEWS

iPhone SE full specs and colors: New Apple Watch bands, iPad

Update: full details on products announced at today’s Apple Event can be found here.

The rumors were right on point as Apple officially unveiled new devices at its Spring event. Fanboys awaiting this latest lineup from Apple will likely be delighted with the new offerings. Here are all the details announced this morning:

iPhone SE

Described as “the most powerful 4-inch phone ever created” by Apple CEO Tim Cook, the device, simply put, is a smaller version of the iPhone 6S in more ways than one.

Though the iPhone SE looks like the iPhone 5S, its internal components have been upgraded to match newer iPhone models. It features a 4″ Retina Display with 1136×640 resolution, A9 chip with 64-bit architecture, M9 motion coprocessor, 12MP iSight camera with True Tone flash, 1.2MP FaceTime camera with Retina Flash, TouchID, Apple Pay, new Live Photos, Assisted GPS and GLONASS, Digital compass, iBeacon microlocation, Siri, three‑axis gyro, accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor and more.

The iPhone SE will be available in Silver, Gold, Space Gray, and Rose Gold, with pre-orders starting on March 24, 2016 and units will be available in stores on March 31. Price starts at $399.

9.7-inch iPad Pro

Apple also introduced the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, which packs all the goodness of the 12.9-inch version into a smaller body.

It features a 9.7-inch Retina Display screen with 2048×1536 resolution, an A9X chip with 64-bit architecture, M9 coprocessor, the iSight camera has been upgraded to 12MP with True Tone Flash, supports Live Photos, 5MP FaceTime camera with Retina Flash, Bluetooth 4.2, Apple Pay, four speaker audio, dual microphones, Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac); dual channel (2.4GHz and 5GHz); HT80 with MIMO, digital compass, iBeacon microlocation, Touch ID, three-axis gyro, accelerometer, barometer, ambient light sensor, Siri,  27.5‐watt‐hour rechargeable lithium‐polymer battery, and more.

The new 9.7-inch iPad Pro will come in Silver, Gold, Space Gray, and Rose Gold, and will be available for pre-order starting March 24 and will be available in Apple Stores on March 31. Price starts at $599.

The company has also announced price cuts for older models of iPads, such as the iPad Air 2 with price now starting at $399, and the iPad Mini starts at $269.

Apple Watch

No new Apple Watch was unveiled at the event, but Cook did announce a price cut for its base model. The lowest-cost Apple Watch will now sell for $299, a $50 discount. Though no new watch was announced, the company did introduce new sports and leather bands to spice up your old Apple Watch.

iOS 9.3

The much awaited iOS 9.3 was finally announced and is now available for download for all compatible iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices.

Some of the new features included in this version are Night Shift and automatic color temperature changes to reduce the amount of blue light iOS users are exposed to throughout the day, and the Notes app can now be password and Touch ID protected. There’s now a workout tab in the Activity app, and the upgraded iOS comes with CarPlay updates for Music and Maps apps, multi-user mode for iPads in Education and pairing multiple Apple Watches, to name a few.

Learn more about the new features of iOS 9.3 and how to use or activate them here.

Tougher security

Apple is due in court tomorrow to defend its stand on not creating a backdoor to iOS that would allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation access to a locked iPhone’s data. The iPhone in question belongs to a gunman involved in the December shooting that resulted in the death of 14 people. The FBI wants access to the data of the alleged iPhone in the hopes of tracking down the gunman’s contacts and hopefully thwart future terrorist acts.

Looking at it, what the FBI wants to happen is to crack down on terrorism, but what it wants will greatly impact the mobile industry. One a backdoor is created, Apple will no longer be able to protect its users as the government can use the same backdoor to spy on anyone using its iOS devices, terrorist or not. Apple had previously announced that it will double down on its security to protect its customers. In lieu of this, Cook addressed this pressing issue at the Spring event.

“We believe strongly that we have a responsibility to help you protect your data and protect your privacy,” Cook said. “We owe it to our customers and we owe it to our country. This is an issue that affects all of us and we will not shrink from our responsibility.”

Despite being adamant about tougher security for its devices, Cook and his team failed to announce how they have ensured that their devices will be harder to crack.

Image via Apple.com

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