ResearchKit, New Macbook Steal the Show at Apple Watch Event

We love when our predictions are wrong. Tim Cook brought it at another Apple Event today, going through just about every other piece of technology the company makes before announcing the prices of the Apple Watch ($499 for the lowest-priced Watch Sport to $14,000 and up for the Watch Edition) and when it will be available (April 10th). I suppose the big news for Australia was that Down Under was one of nine countries that will begin carrying the smartwatches from the first day on sale.

But it was other new technologies and innovations that really got the crowd’s attention in Cupertino. We predicted that Apple wasn’t going to be able to deliver on its healthcare promises, and we’re glad we were wrong.  ResearchKit, a new open-source framework that hopes to draw on data from Apple’s millions of users to further medical studies. Essentially, it enables apps to turn your iPhone into a medical diagnostic device, sending your data to labs around the world.

Five apps were released today, even though ResearchKit won’t be fully available until sometime in April. The best part? The apps are open-source, so anyone with a smartphone—not just an iPhone, can use the apps. Apple is hoping to rejuvenate medical research, something that many people, especially researchers would like to see.

Read related articles from Business Review Australia:
Can the Apple Watch Transform the Fashion and Healthcare Industries?
iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch: Top 10 Innovations from Cupertino Today

Apple’s MacBook also won over the crowds. The impressively thin and light (12.1 millimetres thin, only two pounds) MacBook is eons smaller than the tech giant’s MacBook Air, an impressive feat in itself. However, Apple upped their game, adding 35 percent more battery capability to a smaller notebook. New keyboard and trackpad innovations, as well as only one port for plug ins (including USB, charging and music) were both applauded by the crowds and questioned by experts. After all, just one outlet? I don’t plan on having Bluetooth headphones anytime soon, so I won’t be able to charge and listen to music at the same time.The MacBook is beautiful though, and is available in gold, a shade never before seen in Apple’s notebook line-up.

 It wasn’t the spectacle of Apple’s September 2014 event—where the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were announced, and U2 performed—but in a way, it was more important. Revolutionising medical research and eventually healthcare is big step in the right direction, and we’re hoping these ResearchKit apps can help.

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