After months of rumours and speculation, the iPhone 6 is finally here. Apple also took the opportunity to make some other announcements during their keynote event.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
Apple started their event by introducing on lookers to the much anticipated iphone 6. The new 4.7 inch phone has rounded edges with a camera lens that sticks out of the body. Apple also announced the iphone6 Plus which has an extra-large screen at 5.5 inches. Both models have Retina HD screen; the 6 is 6.8mm thin while the 6 Plus is 7.1mm, and are both powered by a 64-bit chip to offer up to 25% faster CPU and 5 percent faster graphics, the company says.
They both come with iOS 8. Supported devices will receive their updates on the 17th of September.
The iPhone 6 can also be used as a mini-mini iPad in horizontal view; the home screen will automatically convert to landscape alignment when tilted sideways.
The phone also includes an M8 processor that’s highly sensitive to tell the difference between cycling and running, and can measure distance and elevation using a barometer. It also has 20 LTE (Long-Term Evolution) bands which allows for better LTE roaming and Wi-Fi calls.
New specifications for the iPhone camera includes an 8MP iSight camera, True Tone flash, 1.5 micronpixels, f/2.2 aperture and an all new sensor for bigger panoramas that expand up to 43 megapixels. The camera can also shoot 1080p videos at 30fps and 60 fps with continuous auto-focus, xlo-mo vids shoot at 120 and 240 fps. The front-facing cam offers a burst mode and single shot HDR and HDR videos.
The iPhone 6 starts at $199 for 16GB; the 6 Plus starts at $299. Both will ship on September 19, pre-orders starting on September 12.
Apple also announced that their App stores now offers 1.3 million apps, up from 1.2 million figure announced in June.
The iWatch
Apple also announced the arrival of the new Apple iWatch. Apple CEO Tim Cook says it is accurate within plus or minus 50 miliseconds, and comes with various customization options, six type of straps and two metal frame colors.
The Apple Watch comes with Siri, shareable heartbeat and animated and customizable emojis.
The watch will also be a comprehensive “health and fitness device “ with its equipped heart monitor, gyroscope and accelerometer. It comes with a three-ring activity monitoring system to remind and encourage the wearer of their daily goals.
Apple will open the WatchKit SDK for third-party developers to create functionalities on the Apple Watch. Upcoming third-party features include tapping to check in to an American Airlines flight, tapping or waving the clock to unlock your room at SPG hotels and Nest thermostat control from the watch.
The Apple Watch will come in three collections: the original Watch, Watch Sports, a 18k gold Apple Watch Edition. It will be available in two screen and band sizes. It is designed to work with iPhone 5, 5s and 5c, in addition to the 6 and 6 Plus. Apple Watch will come with Apple Pay equipped.
The watch starts at $349 and will be available in early 2015. No details on battery life just yet.
