The iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and the Apple Watch are all finally here! Plus you get the new U2 Album for free on iTunes!
IPHONE 6 AND 6 PLUS
The iPhone 6 is joined by its bigger cousin, the iPhone 6 Plus. The larger phone has one nice perk, you can go into landscape orientation to get a two-pane display.
There’s a new gesture for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus called “reachability.” What makes this new feature so useful is its time-saving abilities. A “double-touch” to the home button brings down the top buttons so you can quickly navigate from the screen you’re on.
Another huge feature on these new phones is the sheer size of the app library. According to figures shared during the keynote event, there are 1.3 million apps available on the App Store, with more being added every day.
SPECS
The sizes of the two iPhones are 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus come with pixel specs of 1334 x 750 and 1920 x 1080, respectively. Apple gleefully announced that in the case of the iPhone 6 Plus, you’ll get 185% more pixels than on the 5s. The 6 is 6.8mm thin, while the the 6 Plus is 7.1mm thin.
Apple has a new chip: the Apple A8. It’s a 64-bit chip that has 2 billion transistors, but is 13% smaller than the A7. Graphics should load 50 percent faster than on the previous chip generation.
CAMERA
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus both have a great camera. Here are the relevant specs: 8MP camera, true-tone flash, 1.5 micron pixels, and a f/2.2 aperture. The phase-detection auto-focus used in both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus means you can take photos fast, and with the same technology found in professional DSLR camera. The new iPhone 6 has burst mode for selfies. Burst mode, for the uninitiated will take several photos with one push of a button. To make it just as easy to shoot amazing video, Apple added new features like the option to capture 1080p HD at 60 fps, 240-fps slo-mo, and time-lapse video. And you can shoot HD video and then watch the stunning results on the large Retina HD display, and on the iPhone Plus you get Optical Image Stabilisation.
RELEASE DATE
Get all the Apple glory you want on September 19th. Pre-order from September 12.
ADS
Apple has cleverly let loose two brand new iPhone 6 ads featuring the inseparable comedy duo that is Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake. Known for creating hilarious sketches for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, the 30-second ad above shows off some of the new iPhone 6 features as well as the two star’s voices and hands, but not their faces, as they perform an a cappella version of the 2001: A Space Odyssey theme.
Another ad, seen below, highlights some of the iPhone 6′s new health functions.
APPLE WATCH
After years of rumours, speculation, and outlandish predictions, Apple has finally unveiled the “Apple Watch.”
Rather than using “pinch to zoom” gestures on the touchscreen, you can use the “digital crown” to scroll down a list or zoom in on a map. The Apple Watch is also being billed as a “a comprehensive health and fitness device.” In addition, you can dictate messages responses directly through the watch.
Supported apps featured during the keynote include a Pinterest app, a BMW app that lets you find your car and a Nike fitness app. The watch can be used to make payments through Apple Pay, (No date on when Australia is get Apple Pay) or to unlock your hotel room door at select hotels.
You can also send your heartbeat to a friend or loved one: The device reads your heartbeat and then sends out a vibration that matches your pulse… How romantic!
The “taptic engine” of the Apple Watch gives users a subtle vibration to indicate that there is a notification on your iPhone. The Apple Watch will work with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, and iPhone 5S. Sorry iPhone 4s users, but this generation of iOS devices marks the beginning of the end for you.
There are two main questions marks hanging over the Apple Watch: connectivity and battery life. We’re waiting to learn more about these aspects of the watch.
RELEASE DATE
The release date is TBA. All we know is that is early 2015.
APPLE PAY
Gone are the days of searching for your wallet. The wasted moments finding the right card. Now payments happen with a single touch.
Apple Pay will change how we pay with breakthrough contactless payment technology (NFC) and unique security features built right into the devices you have with you every day. So you can use your iPhone 6 or Apple Watch to pay in an easy, secure, and private way.
Apple Pay is very similar to PayWave, the benefit implicit in Apple Pay is the TouchID system providing added security. Essentially, once you have loaded your credit card into Apple’s iTunes (which 500 million people have already), you’re also adding fingerprint security to using your credit card. So, if you lose your shiny new iPhone 6, you can remote wipe your cards from iCloud.
APPLE’S ITUNES SCORES U2’S NEW ALBUM
Apple and U2 are giving the new album “Songs of Innocence” to over 500 million iTunes customers worldwide. Never before have so many people owned one album, let alone on the day of its release.
Scopecube 