The One to Watch

Apple's big Wonderlust reveal left its fans feeling less than wondrous about the iPhone 15s, leaving room for their sport-focused smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra 2, to shine.

- ALVIN LIM

This might be one of the most tepid responses we’ve ever seen to Apple’s big September reveals. The annual event is typically a blowout — but if social media buzz is any indication, the mood was less “Wonderlust”, as the event’s name seemed to hoped for, and more “wonder what the fuss is about”.

It certainly didn’t spark the same conversations at their Worldwide Developers Conference announcement in June, when they revealed the Vision Pro — their version of augmented reality goggles.

But do complaints that the tech giant’s upgrades are all iterative and uninspiring mean that the launch was a flop? Not necessarily.

CAN THE IPHONE 15 THUNDER WITHOUT LIGHTNING?

It was Apple’s latest version of their flagship smartphone, the iPhone 15, that received the brunt of online derision.

Its upgraded main camera sensor (48MP, up from 12MP) and bigger battery (but not longer battery life, says The Verge, compared to the iPhone 14) failed to spark joy, while the faster A16 chip and Apple’s Dynamic island, a pillshaped notch housing the front camera that stretches to display notifications, were merely ports from the Pro version of last year’s iPhone 14.

A new Action Button replaces the mute switch with programmable shortcuts, like opening the camera, recording a voice memo, or, well,  silencing your phone — but that only comes with the Pro and Pro Max versions of the iPhone 15.