Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Love the 12.9-inch iPad Pro but think it's Just Too Big? Get a load of the smaller iPad Pro with a 9.7-inch screen. This new addition to the high end of the iPad lineup goes on sale Thursday March 24, and costs $599 for the base configuration. It has all the pro features---support for Apple Pencil, matching keyboard cases, awesome camera, four speakers---but is the same size as the iPad Air tablets.

If you've got an iOS device, be on the lookout for the new version of iOS, which is being distributed to iPhones and iPads starting today. The new iOS 9.3 brings a number of enhancements to 3D Touch, TouchID, and CarPlay, but the most helpful new feature is the new Night Shift mode. You can now adjust the phone's display to use a more pleasurable and relaxing color temperature when you settle down for sleepytime.

Let me guess: The reason you've stopped wearing your Apple Watch is because you're totally bored with its wrist strap. Well good news! There are a selection of new bands for the Apple Watch, among them a few stylish and colorful woven nylon straps, and a Space Black version of the lovely Milanese Loop, complete with its fancy magnetic clasp.

If the price is what was holding you back from buying the Apple Watch, start drumming up another excuse. To go along with the new wrist-strap accoutrements, Apple announced that the starting price for the 38mm Apple Watch Sport is now down to $300. That’s $50 lower than the introductory price. (Yes, the 18-karat-gold Apple Watch Edition is still $10 grand and up).

A free update goes out to the latest Apple TV today, and it’s a must-get. You no longer have to hunt-and-peck so much onscreen text. The tvOS version of Siri now supports voice dictation---including spoken commands for your passwords---and voice-enabled App Store searches. You can also use folders to clean up your home screen and view iCloud photos on the big screen.

Monday's keynote started with some very strong words about security from Apple CEO Tim Cook. He reiterated the fact that Apple takes customer privacy and security very seriously, and mentioned that he feels it's the company's responsibility to protect user data. Interesting timing, considering the keynote took place one day before Apple meets the US government in court to debate the issues surrounding the San Bernardino case.

One new initiative unveiled on Monday is CareKit, a companion to ResearchKit that ties into Apple's suite of Health apps for iOS. CareKit allows for the creation of apps where users can share their daily health data with their healthcare providers. They can track things like medication courses, daily exercise, and pain levels. They can also measure the progression of post-surgical recovery.

Apple says there are over 1 billion iOS devices in use worldwide now. So the company took a few minutes at the beginning of its Monday keynote to remind us of its commitment to renewable energy, recyclable materials, and the various programs it has in place to refurbish and resell iPhones. Plus, we got to see the cool yaks that inhabit its solar farm in Hongyuag, China

Dios mio, mang. Jesus Quintana’s bowling partner won’t be the smoothest Liam in the game for long. Apple just introduced a one-of-a-kind iPhone-recycling robot that goes by the same name. It carefully extracts metals and components from discarded iPhones so they can be reused. A robotic Kyle Wiens! And it just rolled its way into the semis.