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There was the slightest bit of post-disappointment after the 2018 WWDC. It wasn’t because of what was announced, but because of what wasn’t. Bucking tradition, there was no new hardware announced this year. That suggests September and October are going to be huge.

No worries, though. Apple has been pumping out quite a bit of hardware over the past couple of years. Some of it represents new categories for the company, not just product revisions.

Some of that new hardware has been hard to get due to demand. The corporate Apple Stores were often out of stock while you could often find it at a local Apple store authorized dealer if you knew where to look. Sometimes it is beneficial not to have a giant Apple Store in the area.

Those smaller stores also have the ability to get you in and out with repairs a lot quicker. They are the same Apple certified technicians. But the lines are a lot shorter and no appointment is needed.

So whether you are getting an old product repaired or looking for something new, there are reasons to pop into an Apple Store while waiting for new products to be announced. If you don’t go in very often, here’s what you may have missed:

Apple TV 4K

There are more than 5 reasons to consider the Apple TV. The fact that there is a recent 4K HDR version should get a lot of people excited. Even bigger is the fact that Apple has upgraded all of your movies you bought from iTunes to 4K HDR versions for free. You don’t have to do anything except press PLAY. It has already been done in the background.

At WWDC, Apple sweetened the deal even more by announcing the addition of Dolby ATMOS to current Apple TV 4K boxes. No new hardware is required. It will be coming in tvOS 12 in the Fall. That makes the Apple TV the only set-top box compatible with both Dolby Vision and Dolby ATMOS.

If you needed another reason, the Apple TV is fully accessible to the blind and visually impaired. It has both Zoom features and a built-in screen-reader. When activated, a blind person can navigate the interface just like anyone else. You will not find any other set-top box maker with such extensive accessibility tools.

iPhone X

The Verge called the iPhone X an underrated masterpiece, and more recently, praised the iPhone X as the best phone you can buy right now. Apple has said it has been their best-selling phone every quarter since release. There are a few reasons this phone has made such a splash since its introduction.

The notch is new, different, and easily identifiable. People love new things. And people love to be identified with popular things.

Face ID is face and shoulders better than any face identification tech ever produced for a smartphone. It is also cool and fun to use.

Animoji, and now Memoji are exclusive to the iPhone X. They are tech demos that show how far ahead Apple is over the ones who try to reproduce it.

The iPhone X is not just another iPhone. It is the vanguard of a new kind of smartphone. If the price scared you off, it is worth a second look.

HomePod

It is not a soundbar. And it is not a computer speaker system or a traditional set of bookshelf speakers for that matter. The HomePod is something else, and something else again when used as a stereo pair via AirPlay 2.

They are not Bluetooth speakers. HomePod is an AirPlay 2 speaker. It has no i/o ports. Yet with an Apple TV and Apple Music subscription, a pair of them make the best companion speakers you are likely to own at that price. You simply have to hear them to understand how a pair of them could work in your life.

Even without hardware, this was one of the more exciting WWDC events in recent history. For your new hardware fix, check out the Apple TV 4K, the iPhone X, and the HomePod. They will go well with whatever new things Apple announces this Fall.

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Newer Apple Products That Are Worth A Look

There was the slightest bit of post-disappointment after the 2018 WWDC. It wasn’t because of what was announced, but because of what wasn’t. Bucking tradition, there was no new hardware announced this year. That suggests September and October are going to be huge.

No worries, though. Apple has been pumping out quite a bit of hardware over the past couple of years. Some of it represents new categories for the company, not just product revisions.

Some of that new hardware has been hard to get due to demand. The corporate Apple Stores were often out of stock while you could often find it at a local Apple store authorized dealer if you knew where to look. Sometimes it is beneficial not to have a giant Apple Store in the area.

Those smaller stores also have the ability to get you in and out with repairs a lot quicker. They are the same Apple certified technicians. But the lines are a lot shorter and no appointment is needed.

So whether you are getting an old product repaired or looking for something new, there are reasons to pop into an Apple Store while waiting for new products to be announced. If you don’t go in very often, here’s what you may have missed:

Apple TV 4K

There are more than 5 reasons to consider the Apple TV. The fact that there is a recent 4K HDR version should get a lot of people excited. Even bigger is the fact that Apple has upgraded all of your movies you bought from iTunes to 4K HDR versions for free. You don’t have to do anything except press PLAY. It has already been done in the background.

At WWDC, Apple sweetened the deal even more by announcing the addition of Dolby ATMOS to current Apple TV 4K boxes. No new hardware is required. It will be coming in tvOS 12 in the Fall. That makes the Apple TV the only set-top box compatible with both Dolby Vision and Dolby ATMOS.

If you needed another reason, the Apple TV is fully accessible to the blind and visually impaired. It has both Zoom features and a built-in screen-reader. When activated, a blind person can navigate the interface just like anyone else. You will not find any other set-top box maker with such extensive accessibility tools.

iPhone X

The Verge called the iPhone X an underrated masterpiece, and more recently, praised the iPhone X as the best phone you can buy right now. Apple has said it has been their best-selling phone every quarter since release. There are a few reasons this phone has made such a splash since its introduction.

The notch is new, different, and easily identifiable. People love new things. And people love to be identified with popular things.

Face ID is face and shoulders better than any face identification tech ever produced for a smartphone. It is also cool and fun to use.

Animoji, and now Memoji are exclusive to the iPhone X. They are tech demos that show how far ahead Apple is over the ones who try to reproduce it.

The iPhone X is not just another iPhone. It is the vanguard of a new kind of smartphone. If the price scared you off, it is worth a second look.

HomePod

It is not a soundbar. And it is not a computer speaker system or a traditional set of bookshelf speakers for that matter. The HomePod is something else, and something else again when used as a stereo pair via AirPlay 2.

They are not Bluetooth speakers. HomePod is an AirPlay 2 speaker. It has no i/o ports. Yet with an Apple TV and Apple Music subscription, a pair of them make the best companion speakers you are likely to own at that price. You simply have to hear them to understand how a pair of them could work in your life.

Even without hardware, this was one of the more exciting WWDC events in recent history. For your new hardware fix, check out the Apple TV 4K, the iPhone X, and the HomePod. They will go well with whatever new things Apple announces this Fall.