Apple launch: First impressions on new iPhones, Watches, AirPods

Yahoo Finance's Daniel Howley joins the Live show from Cupertino, California, to discuss Wednesday's Apple Event and the first impressions for the tech company's latest lineup.

Video Transcript

JULIE HYMAN: Apple releasing new AirPods, iPhones, a new premium Apple Watch aimed at athletes and the outdoors. Expected price hikes, though, and surprising new products both no-shows. That means the tech giant's lineup is sure to satisfy but not necessarily wow consumers.

Here with a closer look is our Dan Howley, of Yahoo Finance. He's coming to us from California, where he was at that event. So now that you've had some time to sleep on it, digest what we heard yesterday, what are your impressions, Dan?

DAN HOWLEY: Yeah, I think the lineup, honestly, was largely what we expected. We have the new iPhones-- the new Pros, and the new Maxes and the new Pluses, and the new standard iPhones.

I think the naming conventions are getting a little bit difficult for people to parse, but just to give you a rundown, we have the new iPhone 14. That starts at $799. That's a sort of price jump from the entry level that we had had last year with the Mini, which was $699. The standard version was $799, so now the starting level is $799, so a little bit of a jump there on the front end.

But then we have the iPhone 14 Plus that is a non-pro version. Then we have the iPhone 14 Pro and then the iPhone 14 Pro Max. And so the Pro and the Pro Max, those are going to start at $999 and $1099. But yeah, the naming conventions are getting a little bit jumbled here, I think.

For most people, I think the iPhone 14 is probably going to be the go-to, but a lot of folks are hoping that-- analysts, mostly are hoping that people will up-- jump up to the Pro models because of their new display technology, as well as their new camera technology.

Apple basically says that they updated cameras across the board, whether it's the very beginning model, the regular Pro, or the regular model or the Pros. So obviously they're hoping that people can't really tell the difference as far as overall performance.

And then outside of the iPhones, we had-- obviously, you mentioned the new Apple Watches. We have a new entry-level Apple Watch. That's the Apple Watch SE. And then we have the new Series 8, which is what we were expecting. It's basically the evolution of its main-line Watch.

And then we have this brand-new watch called the Ultra. That starts at $799, and that's really made for, as you were saying, extreme athletes, endurance athlete-- athletes, folks like that, divers. Not for me. I thought it looked cool. It has all these different features in it. I can turn the screen to red light only to help prevent any jarringness when you're out running in the dark. You just look down, and you can switch it up to red light so it's easier to see.

It has a-- different features in there to tell you if you're-- how far deep down you've dove in the water and give you the temperature of the water. And, you know, it's all these different features. I think, for most people, it's going to be an out-there kind of product. I don't necessarily see myself doing that.

The most extreme I get is rolling off the couch, so, you know, it's not really going to be for me, but I think for some endurance athletes, it's a big deal. And it's a big deal because it proves that Apple is going for every possible market. And with this, they're going after Garmin.

And, you know, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the new AirPods Pro. Those are going to be $249, and they add improved noise canceling and improved can-- noise transparency technologies. So a slew of upgrades across the board. I think, really, the iPhone Pro got the biggest pop from the crowd just because it got rid of that notch and added what it calls its Dynamic Island, which, that's kind of a weird name, but it is pretty interesting.

- Yeah, that Watch is for me, Dan. I'm climbing mountains on Long Island every single weekend, my friend. Great coverage there. Safe travels back home. I'll talk to you soon.