Amos's Adventures #2: The AfterGlow

First, thank you to everyone who showed up and chatted with Tom and me during the event!

Now, about that...

Apple’s “Glowtime”… more like SLOWtime, am I right?

Seriously, though, this was one of the least exciting Apple announcements I’ve seen in a while. And that’s coming from someone who’s been an Apple fan for over a decade. I used to think they were too expensive, too limited, and too basic. But in 2008, I picked up an iPod Touch just for the music and podcasts, and by 2010, I had my first iPhone (the 3GS), and I was hooked. Sure, my Droid X had more features, but the iPhone was just simple and worked the way I needed it to.

Then came the Mac mini in 2010. I bought it out of curiosity, and it ended up being a turning point for me. Before long, I was using it as my main computer. When I moved to Korea a bit later, I didn’t even bring my Windows PC—I forced myself to stick with the Mac and haven’t looked back since. Now, I still have a Windows machine for occasional gaming, but all my work and day-to-day computing is done on a Mac.

So, naturally, I get excited about Apple events. I love the build-up, the mystery of what they’re going to unveil, and knowing what new features I’ll be getting for my devices. I was all in on WWDC ’24, especially with the Apple Intelligence integration and how they’re syncing up the iPhone, iPad, and Mac even more.

But this “Glowtime” event? It just didn’t do it for me. Sure, there were some nice updates: spec bumps, new health features, and a new watch color (which, let’s be honest, should’ve come out last year). But the focus on Apple Intelligence felt repetitive after WWDC, and the Camera Control button—while useful—didn’t seem all that groundbreaking. I’ll have to wait and see how it performs in real life before I can say for sure, but right now, it doesn’t feel like a game-changer.

Bottom line: I might upgrade my wife’s phone if the battery and thermal improvements work as promised since those are her biggest issues with the iPhone 15 Pro. And if I can sell my Watch Ultra 2 for a good price, I might go for the new black one. But overall, there’s nothing from this event that makes me feel like I need to upgrade.

So what about you? Are you upgrading anything? Did anything in this event stand out that I might’ve missed? Let me know in the comments!

-Amos