By Ethan Horvitz—Sports Editor

September 2022 arrived with a variety of new Apple technology from California. Their most recent launch featured four new iPhones, two Apple Watches and the Airpod Pros. The multibillion dollar company releases a set of phones and watches each year, but the age-old question remains whether or not the upgrade is worth it.

Jake Brown, Youtube star and Sharon High School senior, provided an overview of the iPhones released at the launch event. “There are four new models, the iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max,” he said.

Brown also explained the purpose of Apple’s iPhone 14 Plus, one of the recent additions to the Apple lineup. “The iPhone 14 Plus has all the same features as the iPhones 14 and is replacing the mini iPhone,” he said.

“The iPhones 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max have what Apples call the “Dynamic Island”, it’s a notch replacement,” Brown added.

Brown says the Dynamic Island has many new features. “You get a bit of screen real estate back, they also made it interactive for notifications and activities so it bubbles up with music, sports scores, etc,” he said.

Sharon High senior Amanda Brown recently purchased herself the iPhone 14 Pro Max, an upgrade from her iPhone 11. She says the “Dynamic Island” isn’t really all Apple claims it is. “The Dynamic Island is pretty cool. I do notice some extra screen real estate and the notification gesture is nice, but overall I think it is a little bit of a gimmick,” said Brown.

Along with the Dynamic Island, Apple added and upgraded features in their Pro Display.  “This new display includes an always-on feature, so if you’re sitting at your desk with your phone propped up you can just glance over at the time. And, it also has a 2000 nit peak brightness for when you’re outside which is the brightest display in a phone,” Brown said. 

The new iPhones also offer some camera spec bumps, which Brown explained in more depth. “[Apple] also added some nice camera updates as well, that include a 48 megapixel for the main sensor on the 14 Pro and Pro Max. As well as double, or even triple, the low light performance,” Brown added.

Senior Jack Glassman says he would not upgrade to a new phone right now. “No, it is not worth the upgrade from my phone. I have a 13 Pro, so there is not too much for me to get from a new iPhone,” he said.

Tess Letendre, also a senior, says the new Apple Watch is only worth it in some cases. “If you have the money to spare, then yes. But if not, then not too much has changed so don’t go for it,” she said.

Brown had some final words for this September Apple Event; “Overall it was a pretty packed event with some awesome new products!”