Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014, in Cupertino, Calif (AP)
So, in case you haven’t heard, the . It worked sometimes, other times it didn’t. And, when it worked, it was overdubbed in what sounded like Mandarin the entire time.
With that caveat, in case you missed it (or wisely avoided Twitter for the last few hours) here are some of the major takeaways from today’s Apple Live event.
1) You can now shop at Whole Foods and pay by iPhone
Eddy Cue, Apple Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, discusses the new on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2014. (AP)
Apple Pay uses NFC, which stands for Near Field Communications. In layman’s terms, NFC allows wireless data transfers between devices without a cell network. Apple is harnessing this tech with Apple Pay, partnering with credit card companies to allow you to pay for purchases with one touch from your phone. Companies like Walgreen’s, Uber, Whole Foods and more have signed on to accept Apple Pay.
Questions still arise with security of the service. Users will upload their cars to Passbook, which is then stored on the cloud. Is it secure? Apple says so, going as far as to say they are not interested in spending habits of their customers (really, this was said at the event). I suppose anyone who wanted to hack your card numbers could get them from multiple places. It’s just interesting timing, .
What do you think? Will you use this service? Tell me why or why not. Tweet me, or comment below
Apple Watch (photo from Apple)
2) Dick Tracy, eat your heart out. Apple has new wearable tech
Yes, there is now an . Because, you know, Apple wants people to forget that they stopped wearing watches because they have phones, but now they will have phones that will work with their phone-like watches. Confused yet? Read on.
There are three watches: The Apple Watch, the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition, and the Apple Watch Sport, which boasts integration into Apple’s partnership with Nike, coming complete with health-related apps and other features that Apple promises will “get to know you the way a good personal trainer would.” The watch needs to be used “in tandem” with an iPhone.
As far as tech goes, it’s fully integrated with Siri, will guide you with slight wrist taps when you’re using the Maps feature, and it allow you to make a call (with your phone), text and more. It has an extremely touch-sensitive screen and the that’s been churning around the rumor mill for months. And, for fun (and/or head-scratching?) purposes, if a friend has an Apple Watch, you can ‘tap’ them on the wrist from thousands of miles away. Not sure why, but yes, phantom wrist taps are a thing. The watch also has animated emojis. There’s a slew of cool features and likely more to come — developers can use the WatchKit tool to extend their apps to Apple Watch. It, too, works with Apple Pay.
Apple Watch works with iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 6, and 6 Plus and will be available early next year. It starts at $349.
Would you buy an Apple Watch? Tell me why or why not. Tweet me, or comment below
3) The iPhone 6 is bigger and badder than ever
As if we all didn’t know it was coming, right? I mean even Phil Schiller poked fun.
“And if you don’t know, here’s their sizes.” – Phil Schiller iPhone6 has1M pixel, 6+ has 2M pixel display
— Laura Keeney (@LauraKeeney)
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The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s are rounder, thinner and contain the new A8 chip, which comes with a 64-bit processor that Apple says is up to 25 percent faster CPOU and up to 50 percent faster graphics-wise than former iPhone models. They have fitness apps built in (thanks, Nike partnership) and are supported by multiple carriers, according to Apple.
The coolest thing: The iPhone 6 supports voice over LTE and faster wifi. And, in what might be the most impressive feature, allows you to make calls over wifi. And if you’re on wifi and go outside, the call auto-switches to LTE. Neato, huh?
Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller shares an example of the macro photo quality in the iPhone 6. (Getty)
The 8 MP iSight camera is also super – the next generation sensor will, among other things, deliver cleaner, crisper photos using “phase detection” auto focus, which is akin to SLRs. It also allows 1080p HD video at 60 frames per second and has slo-mo features, too. The 6 costs $199-$399 and the 6 Plus is $299-$499. Preorder starts Sept. 12, phones will ship and/or be in Apple stores on Sept. 19.
Free and cheap stuff: iOS 8 will be available for download for free starting Sept. 17. Devices down to iPhone 4s will be supported. Also, iPhone 5c is now free, and the 5S is $99.
Bonus: . Yep. it’s a beautiful day for you, if you’re a fan.
With that, I’m off to brush up on my Mandarin.
PHOTOS:
