While widely reported, this development pretty much went under the radar when it came to impact. It happened during the presentation at last week’s media conference, where Apple introduced the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. And, yes, a lot of what was introduced was more or less predicted by the media for quite some time.

Even the Apple Pencil came as no surprise, although some members of the media preferred to repeat what Steve Jobs said about a stylus when he said that they were signs of design failure. Why not just use your fingers? But, of course, there are times when you need precision drawing that cannot be accomplished without a precision instrument.

And the tech pundits who found something wanting in Tim Cook’s decision to do things that Jobs presumably would not have done forget something important. When Cook was named CEO of Apple, Jobs told him not to fret over what he would have done when making a decision. Cook had to go his own way. Don’t forget that asking what “Walt” would have done crippled Disney for years after their founder’s death.

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During Apple’s September 9th media event, the stock price went down. That’s nothing new (it was up 2.2% on Thursday), because meeting expectations doesn’t seem to count anymore. Indeed, a very large part of what was revealed by Apple had already been predicted by tech pundits and rumor sites. From the iPhone to Apple TV and the iPad Pro, we knew all about it already, so we weren’t amazed.

One commentary suggested that Apple used to be able to keep secrets better, as if this was a failing of Tim Cook and his executive team. But it’s also about the fact that Apple builds far more gear nowadays, and shutting down leaks from a sprawling supply chain is just impossible. There are too many people watching and speaking out of turn, and cutting off suppliers for loose lips can seriously harm a very tightly-controlled production chain. It’s not so easy.

It’s also very possible that Apple engages in selective background leaks to the media to stoke interest in the new products and services.

As to the announcements themselves, some commentators want to remind you that none of the products, or at least most of them, were terribly innovative. It has been done before by others. Those who make that claim have no idea of Apple’s history, which is very much about doing something better as opposed to being first to market.

Obviously, there were smartphones before the iPhone arrived, there were tablets before the iPad debuted, and don’t forget digital music players and smartwatches.

So it’s inevitable to compare the iPad Pro to the Microsoft Surface 3, and I suppose on a superficial level they seem alike. The latter comes with a stylus and a keyboard cover is available. It has sold more than previous versions of the Surface, but it’s a paltry number compared to the iPad.

As to the Apple Pencil, well I heard several cable news hosts speak about the fact that Steve Jobs famously derided the stylus when the first iPad was introduced. Use the fingers you were born with.

Now that wasn’t the first time Jobs criticized someone else’s product before Apple entered a market. He did that with cell phones before the iPhone came out. It was a marketing schtick, and it worked. And do you remember when Apple said they wouldn’t build a cheap Mac just months before the Mac mini arrived?

So Apple Pencil arrived with a flourish, but it’s not just another stylus. It uses sophisticated electronics, some based on Apple patents that have been reported in the tech media, to create a user experience that mimics a physical pen and pencil. That takes a lot of sophisticated technology to get right.

There’s also the matter of realism. Finger painting doesn’t deliver the precision of an actual drawing implement. Try it and see! The iPad Pro is catering to content creators who require precision. It also explains the market for a Wacom tablet. It’s about common sense here, and, barring actual reviews of a shipping product, it does appear Apple has pulled this off in a way that will please its target market.

Apple TV? Well, sure other streamers have search capability, but are they as sophisticated and nuanced as Siri? What about the touchpad remote, and the App Store? How do apps on other streamers compare to what Apple is poised to deliver? According to published reports, the TvOS is 95% identical to iOS, which means it won’t take much for developers to port their apps. Expect HomeKit support.

There’s also skepticism about the Apple TV’s gaming capabilities, but Metal graphics are powerful, and if the remote isn’t good enough as a game controller, there will be third-party alternatives that very much mimic the functions you see on dedicated gaming consoles. Can the Apple TV manage high-quality action games as well? That remains to be seen, but even if Apple can deliver most of that experience, manufacturers of gaming machines should be shaking in their boots. Maybe you won’t see the likes of Halo right away on an Apple TV, but don’t bet against it someday.

Indeed, Apple’s solution to the living room appears to be a matter of replacing everything else with a single box, sporting a unified interface. You replace the Blu-ray player by buying or renting movies and TV shows from iTunes. Except for really hard-core gamers, a gaming console may be obsolete. Apple’s subscription TV service might have the potential to replace your cable/satellite set-top box. So, in theory, you install a TV and a sound system, connect an Apple TV, and now you have everything you need without the need of any other appliance.

With an all-in-one solution, one tightly integrated with your other Apple devices, they take over the living room. Who else can manage that?

Assuming it all works, and I’m not making any guesses. There’s a long road from here to there.

I won’t bother with the criticisms about the iPhone. Other than a similar case and the same display sizes, the new iPhones contain lots of improvements over the previous version. Far more in total and impact than the 2014 models offered compared to the previous year’s. Other than the switch to a larger display size of course. The ready dismissal of Force 3D, because it takes time to learn, doesn’t wash. Can any other company match it?

As most of you know, the iPhone is the juggernaut that fuels that Apple marketing machine. The vast majority of sales and profits come from a product that was greeted with lots of skepticism when it first arrived in 2007. Hundreds of millions are in use around the world, and at a time when Google’s Android platform still has the numbers, the iPhone has most of the profits.

So it was expected that the iPhone would get major coverage at Apple’s September 9th media event — and it did, although many were not impressed. But it may have been upstaged by a new member of the iPad family and the long-awaited Apple TV refresh.

Now the new Apple TV closely resembles the previous model — which will still be sold for $69. But it’s 10 mm taller to contain the more powerful innards. And, no, there’s nothing in the specs that mention 4K support. I wanted to get that out of the way first, because I had expected there would be, but clearly Apple had other priorities. Still, it’ll cost a lot more when it goes on sale in late October. The 32GB model will sell for $149, and the 64GB model will sell for $199.

That itself might be the deal breaker for some, but don’t dismiss the possibilities. There’s a loot of goodness for the higher price, which starts with TvOS, and its own App Store. This will greatly enhance the new set-top box’s capabilities. The embedded A8 chip supports Metal graphics and CloudKit, and both will be the harbinger of new apps, including high-energy games. But it also supports any app that benefits from a large screen, such as an online store — and, no, don’t expect Amazon to be included. It would be terrific, however, if Apple could work out a deal with them.

The new remote has a touchpad that eases the clumsy navigation process that afflicted the previous model. It also uses Bluetooth 4.0, so you don’t have to worry about properly aiming the device. The older remote had a narrow range of sensitivity, and it was awkward to use. The upgraded remote will supposedly also operate your TV or sound system’s volume, and turn off your TV. But nothing was mentioned about integration with other devices, such as Blu-ray players, though I don’t expect a gaming console. Clearly that’s one device Apple hopes to replace, although the games shown during the event were more about family play. But the third-party game controllers are coming.

In addition to touch, the best feature appears to be Siri, which allows it to find the shows you want across several core apps, including iTunes, Hulu, Netflix, HBO and Showtime, with more being added over time. The search capability is quite granular, such as asking about the James Bond movies that starred Sean Connery. But journalists who had a brief hands-on after the Apple event reported some glitches, though, to be fair, the OS is no doubt still under developmen.

It’s a compelling package, but I wonder if the higher price is as compelling. I suppose we’ll find out soon enough if Apple chooses to release sales figures after its debut.

The other star of the presentation was the iPad Pro. It’s already getting a bad rap as nothing more than a niche device that’ll cater to content creators and businesses. But there’s a lot going on here, and Apple didn’t do badly when content creators first embraced Macs.

Although it didn’t seem so large while watching the event on my 27-inch iMac, the 12.9-inch display is 78% larger than the iPad Air 2. But it’s also an amazing piece of miniaturization, since it weighs only slightly more than the original iPad. The A9x processor is said to be of desktop caliber, and faster than 80% of note-books made in the past year. Could it also run OS X? Well, that’s an interesting proposition.

It sports a Retina display with 5.6 million pixels, more than the 15-inch MacBook Pro. But it’s not just a large iPad. Apple has designed an ecosystem that clearly defines the work path, and the critics are talking about it’s resemblance to the Microsoft Surface. So there’s a $169 Smart Keyboard embedded in a case. There’s also a stylus, which is dubbed Apple Pencil.

At $99, this stylus is fine-tuned with sensors that alter the digital drawing based on pressure and tilt. One of the demonstrations at the Apple event depicted using one to create awn illustration in a way that used to be the province of traditional pen and pencil, but all done electronically. Those who believe a pen is mightier than a finger will be pleased, and that explains why Adobe made a huge deal of it when they were brought up to demonstrate their iPad-savvy apps. But didn’t Steve Jobs once decry the value of a stylus? Well, this appears to be a far better solution.

To demonstrate how the world has changed, Microsoft came onstage too, using the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil as tools to create documents in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Here, the former Redmond giant cane across as just another Apple partner strutting their stuff.

Certainly the iPad Pro makes a huge argument for a tablet as a powerful content creation tool. It’ll go on sale in November for a starting price of $799 for the 32GB version, and it’ll be interesting to see how many people might be willing to set aside their traditional note-books and give this baby a try. But that will depend heavily on how developers respond.

The only other iPad announcement was an iPad Mini 4, which inherits the form factor and internal workings of the iPad Air 2, which remains unchanged in the lineup.

The predictions for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus were right on in almost every way. The major new feature was a variant of Force Touch called 3D Touch, but you get the picture. The upgrades include the A9 processor, a 12 megapixel rear camera, and 7000-series aluminum alloy to make it less bendable. A rose color version will also be available, and it goes on sale September 25. But iOS 9 will be available for download on September 16; the Golden Master was seeded to developers, along with a seed for iOS 9.1.

Prices for the new iPhones are unchanged, although AppleCare+ policies will cost a little more. Those hoping for a new 4-inch iPhone will be disappointed. The only model available in that form factor is a legacy iPhone 5s that’s free with a traditional two-year wireless contract. That’s too bad, because I realize that many people really aren’t taken with larger displays, or simply find them uncomfortable. I suppose if customers buy up large quantities of the 2013 iPhone, however, maybe Apple will consider an iPhone 6c.

And in case you wondered, Apple announced that OS X El Capitan would arrive on September 30, about three weeks earlier than expected. A GM seed was made available to developers and public beta testers.

Apple doesn’t get a break. Ahead of the announcement of the new iPhones and, perhaps, a new Apple TV and some other gear, the company’s success is once again said to be on the line. Or at least that’s what some want you to believe.

Now the arguments against the iPhone refresh mostly go this way: Assuming it all comes to pass as predicted, the new version won’t look very different from the old version. The changes will be mostly internal, which means they could greatly improve your experience. But since the case is the same, it doesn’t matter. It has to look different to impress them.

Of course, this argument is expressed in a similar fashion every other year, since Apple has taken this approach to iPhone upgrades since the early days. But they still don’t get it. If it looks all or mostly the same, well maybe customers won’t be lining up to buy them, assuming most upgraders replace their smartphones every year.

Reality seldom enters the picture.

Now it is true that Apple’s revenue is heavily weighted towards iPhones. So if sales were to flatten or decline, it could have a real serious impact. The media and financial analysts continue to wait for Apple’s next act, as if any of the new products could possibly replace that revenue stream. It is true that iPhone sales can’t increase at their present clip for very many years before the ultimate saturation point is reached.

That appears to have happened already for other gear. Samsung is not doing as well as it used to, and Apple has sucked the air out of the high-end of the smartphone market. Companies that compete with Samsung at the low-end appear to be succeeding, although making decent profits on cheaper gear isn’t so easy. Indeed, if you subtract Apple’s profits from the market, there’s not much left. Remove Samsung from the equation and they’re mostly nonexistent.

Since one supposes a tech company is being run to earn profits in addition to bringing in decent revenues, I wonder why some are still around.

In any case, the next question is what Apple is bringing to the table to, in the future, make up the difference when iPhone sales stop growing at a torrid pace, or to replace it. At one time, it was thought the iPad was a valid contender, but the long upgrade cycles, the arrival of phablets, and the polarizing reactions by some to tablets haven’t helped. Sales are down — but not out, according to Apple.

So there are improved multitasking features in iOS 9 that mostly impact such recent models as the iPad Air 2. There are also published reports that a larger version, the rumored iPad Pro, will help push sales in the enterprise. Graphic artists may also embrace the new design if it comes to pass.

Add to that the delayed replacement cycle, where those with early iPads are finally ready to take the plunge and buy something new, and perhaps the product will begin to regain its footing this fall.

To be clear: I rarely use my wife’s iPad, and I haven’t bothered to install the iOS 9 betas on it because she’s a creature of habit and I don’t want to expose her to a new release until the final version is ready to install. She’s active on Face-book as an advocate for animal rights, and runs back and forth between Safari and the Face-book app. Perhaps being able to run more than a single app will be helpful, or maybe she won’t care.

The other upcoming product with potential is the fourth generation Apple TV. I write this ahead of Apple’s media event, which happens to coincide with my birthday for no reason other than timing, so I am not going to comment over what might appear and the feature set. There’s plenty of coverage about that already from here and elsewhere.

But even if Apple TV becomes highly successful, that success has to be measured. It won’t match the total number of TVs in service, and the lower price won’t mean near as much to Apple’s bottom line as an iPhone, or an iPad for that matter. Even if Apple does introduce a TV subscription service, the rollout to different countries will be slow. Contract negotiations are hard enough for one country, so imagine dealing with several. The channels you savor in the U.S. do not exist in the UK and elsewhere. So even if the venture succeeds, it may take years to bear fruit.

Apple Watch? Well, there’s plenty of opportunity there, and maybe if it becomes a standalone gadget that doesn’t depend on an iPhone, it could become the next generation smartphone. Maybe, if people can put up with the tiny display for many functions. Or maybe Siri will make up for the difference.

An Apple Car? Too early to tell!

So what replaces the iPhone income stream? A good question, and maybe there will come a time where Apple’s growth will slow to more reasonable levels, and people will just have to accept the situation. Or perhaps Apple will develop the combination of products and services that will indeed keep the revenues flowing at far higher levels. But the sort of growth patterns Apple has seen in recent years have to level off eventually, for one day Apple would have more money than any single country on Earth. Their cash reserves exceed that of a few now.