Looking For Last Minute Christmas Gifts For Your Family? Let Apple Come To The Rescue

Few situations in life are as daunting as finding the perfect gift for your family. But fret not, Apple is here to help with its holiday showcase, a specially curated list of products with families in mind. From the latest iPhones to the Apple Watch Series 7 and Apple TV 4K, there’s something for every member. 

Ahead, we list our favourite products from the lineup plus tips and tricks on how to get the most out of your Apple products.

For Capturing Precious Moments (And Staying Connected): iPhone 13 Pro Max

Since its first iteration, the Apple iPhone has been constantly redefining what a smartphone should be. Over the years, we’ve seen the implementation of great features such as Touch ID and Face ID as well as cameras capable of capturing DSLR-quality photos and videos. Needless to the say, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is Apple’s best iPhone yet. 

This time, it has upped the ante with the introduction of Cinematic Mode, which is similar to Portrait Mode but for video. With Cinematic Mode, you adjust the aperture up to ƒ/1.5 and take high-quality videos with soft out-of-focus background. That’s not all. Using the editing feature in Photos on the iPhone, you can change the focal point of the video, so that another area (or person) of interest is in focus instead. That’s pretty revolutionary, if you ask us. 

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Other features worth noting are its macro photography capabilities, Live Text function, Night and Portrait modes as well as the new memory personalisation option. One of the things that makes the iPhone 13 Pro Max a standout smartphone is its ability to capture tiny subjects in great detail. For example: Individual fibres in faux fur, tiny water droplets on a leaf…and the list goes on. 

As for the Live Text function, it’s a great tool for scanning any written copy, be it a recipe or grocery list. And the best part? You can also translate the text and listen to how it should be pronounced. All you have to do is tap the square in a photo to highlight Live Text, touch and hold on a word and voila!

For Always Staying On Top Of Things: Apple Watch Series 7

Your Personal Health Monitoring System

The Apple Watch is one of those things that you never think you need until you have one. And then, you can’t imagine life without it. So what exactly does it do? Here’s a brief summary of its key features:

The Apple Watch has a slew of wonderful health and fitness apps, making it the ultimate device for monitoring a healthy lifestyle. With the new notifications and ECG apps, it can provide you and your loved ones with important information such as irregular heart rhythm. The Apple Watch checks for abnormally high or low heart rates in the background, which can help identify serious underlying conditions. For example: If someone’s heart rate is above 120 bpm or below 40 bpm while they’ve been seemingly inactive for 10 minutes, the user will receive a notification. 

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It also occasionally checks for irregular rhythms that might indicate atrial fibrillation (AFib). While this feature won’t necessarily detect all instances of heart rhythm abnormalities, it may catch something that indicates you should seek evaluation with a doctor. Another noteworthy feature is its ability to measure blood oxygen levels, providing insights into your overall wellness.

Your Workout Buddy

The Apple Watch also tracks your workouts according to your fitness goals and sends you friendly reminders to get on track. From strength training and yoga to walking and HITT, discover all the ways to keep fit and stay healthy. All of this information—along with date, time and location—can be viewed in the Health app on the iPhone where you can also share the data with family members—especially the elderly—in case of an emergency. 

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Unparalleled Durability

Are smartwatches really durable? In the case of the Apple Watch Series 7, it most definitely is. It’s created with a stronger, more crack-resistant front crystal than previous iterations, and this is the first Apple Watch to have an IP6X certification for dust resistance, while maintaining a WR50 water resistance rating—handy for those rainy days in Singapore. Whatever your day entails, the Apple Watch Series 7 is up for the task.

The All-new AssistiveTouch

Ever wondered what it was like to wear Peter Parker’s Spider-Man suit? Well, with the Apple Watch you can—kinda. The new AssistiveTouch function allows you to use hand gestures to navigate and use your Apple Watch. Simply open the Settings app on your Apple Watch, tap Accessibility, then tap AssistiveTouch. Follow the onscreen instructions and you’ll be all set. It makes for a pretty dandy party trick too. 

For Keeping The Whole Family Entertained: Apple TV 4K

In the age of smart televisions, one might question the appeal of the Apple TV 4K—and we’re here to say it’s definitely worth getting one for the family. Besides acting as an all-in-one hub for your favourite movies, television shows and games, it also allows you to add user profiles. What we love most about Apple TV's algorithm is that while it'll suggest movies and television series for you based on your customised, individual profile, it'll also suggests films to watch as a group based on data gathered from all the profiles you've set up for movie nights with the family.

That’s not all. One special feature that parents of young kids will find incredibly appealing is that you can wirelessly connect two AirPods or Beats by Dre to enjoy the full audio experience without worrying about the noise waking up the kids. Also, when you have guests over, you can all participate in games using your iPhones as the controller. Pretty neat if you ask us. It’s one of those things that the whole family can enjoy, with the option to customise personal experiences.

For Enhancing Your Workflow: iMac, MacBook Pro and iPad

Working from home need not be a hassle, especially with the brand new iMac, MacBook Pro and iPad. We’re all familiar with Apple’s revolutionary M1 chip, and now there’s the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips to take things to a whole new level. We won’t get too technical, but if you’re someone who heavily relies on Adobe Creative Suite for work or need a high-powered computer, the newest iMac and MacBook Pro are just the devices you need. The latest line up of iPads are pretty great too, and you can even use it as a sidecar (additional) screen for your MacBook and iMac. 

Apart from that, you can also AirPlay content to iMac from your phone, and shop online using Apple Pay on your iPhone or Apple Watch. You can also auto unlock your Mac when wearing your Apple Watch, and use your iPhone as an instant hotspot. But our favourite feature has got to be its continuity. Whatever changes you make to a document using your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch will instantly be reflected on your Mac. 

You can also use your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to scan documents or take a picture and it will appear on your Mac at once. We also really love the Universal Clipboard feature where you can copy content such as text, images and videos on one Apple device, and paste it using another Apple device. 

Taking Advantage Of The iWork Suite

Apple has updated its iWork suite of productivity apps—Keynote, Numbers and Pages—with new fantastic features that enable users to present in powerful new ways that make life and work easier. Keynote now has the ability to show a live camera view of the presenter directly in slides, with a multi-presenter control offering greater collaborative opportunities. Elsewhere, Pages makes it super easy to view and edit documents on the go by automatically displaying text and images in a single-column flow, optimised for iPhone. While Numbers introduces pivot tables that brings robust data analytics capabilities to iPhone, iPad and Mac. In other words, you can essentially work off your iPad and iPhone while on the go without missing a beat.

For all this and more, visit the Apple Singapore website.