Apple's press event had no surpises. The company announced a more affordable 4-inch iPhone, a small, 9.7-inch version of th iPad Pro, and the CareKit software framework. iPhone SE

The new iPhone SE, is possibly the most powerful phone with a four-inch display, in an aluminum design that has been updated with matte-chamfered edges, a color-matched stainless steel Apple logo, and four metallic finishes, including rose gold.

iPhone SE promises to offer high performance with the same 64-bit A9 chip offered in iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, longer battery life, faster wireless, a 12-megapixel iSight camera featuring Live Photos and 4K video, and Touch ID with Apple Pay.

The 64-bit A9 chip, introduced in iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, offers iPhone SE customers two times faster CPU and three times faster GPU performance compared to iPhone 5s, all with gains in energy efficiency for improved battery life. M9, Apple’s motion coprocessor, is integrated into A9 allowing more features to run all the time at lower power, including "Hey Siri" without having to pick up your iPhone, and a range of fitness tracking capabilities like measuring your steps and distance. iPhone SE users can download faster with Wi-Fi up to three times and LTE up to 50 percent faster than iPhone 5s. iPhone SE also includes more LTE bands for better worldwide roaming and supports Voice over LTE and Wi-Fi calling.

The phone runs on iOS 9 and brings built-in apps like Messages, FaceTime, Photos, Music and Maps to iPhone users. iOS 9 also brings more intelligence to iPhone SE with proactive assistance, powerful search, improved Siri features, and a new Night Shift feature that uses your iPhone SE’s clock and geolocation to automatically adjust the colors in the display to the warmer end of the spectrum after dark and may even help you get a better night’s sleep.

iPhone SE has a 12-megapixel iSight camera featuring Focus Pixel technology for fast focusing, an Apple-designed image signal processor, noise reduction, third-generation local tone mapping and better face detection, all resulting in photos like the ones shot on iPhone 6s. With Live Photos on iPhone SE, users can go beyond snapshots to capture moments in motion and relive memories with sound. Live Photos are 12-megapixel photos that, with a touch, reveal the moments immediately before and after the shot was taken.

Additional camera advancements include:

• The ability to shoot HD video with support for 4K at a resolution of 3840 x 2160.
• Retina Flash, which momentarily makes the display three times brighter with True Tone lighting technology, for bright selfies in low light with the FaceTime HD camera.
• Features introduced with iPhone 6s, including up to 63-megapixel panorama photos, video capture up to 60fps for 1080p video and 240fps for slo-mo, time-lapse with video stabilization and cinematic video stabilization.

iPhone SE will be available in space gray, silver, gold and rose gold metallic finishes in 16GB and 64GB models starting at $399 (US), or for 24 monthly payments starting at $17 (US) exclusively at Apple’s retail stores in the US. As part of Apple's Trade Up with Installments program at Apple stores in the US, Apple's customers can also purchase iPhone SE for as low as $10/month for 24 months.

Consumers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the UK, US Virgin Islands and the US will be able to order iPhone SE beginning Thursday, March 24, with availability beginning Thursday, March 31.

iPhone SE will be available in early April in Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Guernsey, Jersey, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Maldives, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and UAE.

Apple-designed accessories including leather cases in black and midnight blue will be available for $39 (US), and Lightning Docks in color-matched metallic finishes are currently available from Apple’s retail stores and Apple.com for $49 (US).

New 9.7-inch iPad Pro

Apple also today introduced a new 9.7-inch iPad Pro. At just under one pound it features a new pro Retina display with greater brightness, wider color gamut, lower reflectivity, Night Shift mode and introduces new True Tone display technology to dynamically adjust white balance. The new iPad Pro delivers performance with the 64-bit A9X chip, along with a four-speaker audio system, new 12-megapixel iSight camera for shooting Live Photos and 4K video, 5-megapixel FaceTime HD camera, and faster wireless technologies. And iPad Pro includes support for the Apple Pencil and a new Smart Keyboard cover designed to fit the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro features advanced display technologies, including a True Tone display, which uses new four-channel sensors to dynamically adjust the white balance of the display to match the light around you for a more natural, paper-white viewing experience. Apple says that the Retina display is 25 percent brighter and 40 percent less reflective than iPad Air 2. It uses the same wider color gamut as the iMac with Retina 5K display, delivering 25 percent greater color saturation for more vivid colors. A custom timing controller, photo alignment and oxide TFT deliver incredible color, contrast and clarity.

The new iPad Pro is just 6.1mm thin and weighs just under one pound. The A9X chip with third-generation 64-bit architecture promises to provide performance that rivals many laptops and console-class graphics, while also delivering all-day battery life. It also offers fast wireless connectivity with 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO technology, it supports LTE Advanced with up to 50 percent faster cellular connectivity and the most LTE bands supported by any tablet. Now with Apple SIM embedded directly in the new iPad Pro, it’s easier to connect to wireless data plans right from your device when traveling around the world

iPad Pro has a 12-megapixel iSight camera sensor featuring Focus Pixels for fast focusing, an Apple-designed image signal processor, noise reduction, third-generation local tone mapping and better face detection, all resulting in detailed images, 63-megapixel panoramas and Live Photos. A True Tone flash improves low light shots and document scanning. The new iSight camera shoots 4K video. The improved 5-megapixel, front-facing FaceTime HD camera makes the new iPad Pro great for videoconferencing.

The four-speaker audio system provides powerful stereo sound. Built-in sensors automatically adjust and optimize the audio no matter which way you’re using it. iOS 9.3 also adds support for playing video encoded with Dolby Digital Plus audio streams with support for multichannel output using the Apple Lightning Digital AV Adapter.

Apple is also selling Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, available for purchase separately. Sensors in Apple Pencil measure both pressure and tilt for a natural drawing, annotating and note-taking experience. A new Smart Keyboard is custom-designed for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, offering a thin keyboard that never needs to be charged or paired over Bluetooth and is foldable into a protective Smart Cover. The new Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader and Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter make it easy to download photos and videos from a digital camera to iPad Pro, while a new Lightning to USB-C Cable and Apple’s 29W USB-C Power Adapter enable faster charging.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro comes in silver, space gray, gold and a new rose gold metallic finish, and starts at $599 (US) for the 32GB with Wi-Fi model and $729 (US) for the 32GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model. Both iPad Pro sizes are available in offerings of 32GB, 128GB and a new 256GB capacity.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro will be available to order beginning Thursday, March 24, from Apple.com, and in Apple’s retail stores, through select carriers and Apple Authorized Resellers on Thursday, March 31, in Australia, Canada, China (Wi-Fi models only), France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the UK, US Virgin Islands and the US.

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro will be available in early April in Albania, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cayman Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Greenland, Guam, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Macau (Wi-Fi models only), Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand (Wi-Fi models only), Turkey and UAE.

Apple Pencil is available for $99 (US) and Smart Keyboard in charcoal gray for $149 (US). The Polyurethane iPad Pro Smart Cover and Silicone Cases for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro are available for $49 (US) and $69 (US), respectively, in a range of new vibrant colors.

The Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader is available for $29 (US), Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter for $39 (US), Apple 29W USB-C Power Adapter for $49 (US), Lightning to USB-C Cable (1 m.) for $25 (US) and Lightning to USB-C Cable (2 m.) for $35 (US).

CareKit

Apple also announced CareKit, a new software framework designed to help developers enable people to manage their own medical conditions. iPhone apps using CareKit make it easier for individuals to keep track of care plans and monitor symptoms and medication; providing insights that help people better understand their own health.

CareKit will be released as an open source framework next month allowing developers to continue building on the first four modules designed by Apple, that include:

• Care Card helps people track their individual care plans and action items, such as taking medication or completing physical therapy exercises. Activities can automatically be tracked and entered using sensors in Apple Watch or iPhone;
• Symptom and Measurement Tracker lets users easily record their symptoms and how they’re feeling, like monitoring temperature for possible infections or measuring pain or fatigue. Progress updates could include simple surveys, photos that capture the progression of a wound or activities calculated by using the iPhone’s accelerometer and gyroscope, like quantifying range of motion;
• Insight Dashboard maps symptoms against the action items in the Care Card to easily show how treatments are working; and
• Connect makes it easy for people to share information and communicate with doctors, care teams or family members about their health and any change in condition.

Advancements to ResearchKit

Last but not least, Apple announced advancements to the open source ResearchKit framework that bring genetic data and a series of medical tests typically conducted in an exam room to iPhone apps. Medical researchers are adopting these new features to design targeted studies for diseases and conditions that affect billions of people around the world and to gather more specific types of data from participants.

ResearchKit turns iPhone into a tool for medical research by helping doctors, scientists and other researchers gather data more frequently and more accurately from participants anywhere in the world using iPhone apps. Participants enrolled in these app-based studies can review an interactive informed consent process, complete active tasks or submit survey responses, and choose how their health data is shared with researchers, making contributions to medical research easier than ever.

By delivering ResearchKit as open source, any developer can design a research study for iPhone. They can also build on the available software code and contribute their tasks back to the community to help other researchers do more with the framework. Using a new module just released to the open source community, researchers are now able to incorporate genetic data into their studies in a simple and low cost way. Designed by 23andMe, the module allows study participants to easily contribute their genetic data to medical research. Researchers are also working with the National Institute of Mental Health to deliver "spit kits" to study participants based on a series of survey results.

Spec sheets