Apple held their September media event today in the historical San Francisco Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, which seats an audience of around 7,000. Among other things, Tim Cook and company introduced the new iPhone. Below is a summary of the event.
Introduction
- Tim Cook takes the stage
- "Apple is firing on all cylinders and we have some monster product announcements"
- "We have a lot to talk about so let's drive right in"
Apple Watch
- "Customers are loving that they can make purchases directly from their wrist"
- Customer satisfaction is at an amazing 97%
- Jeff Williams takes the stage
- WatchOS 2 will give us additional watch faces, 3rd-party complications, transit information, native apps, and more.
- More than 10,000 watch apps currently available
- Native apps will allow the use of video in ways that hasn't been possible before now
- Facebook, iTranslate, GoPro and AirStrip are coming to WatchOS
- Demo of AirStrip (very cool medical app)
- Apple is now partnering with Hermes for additional watch bands and watch faces
- New Apple-branded watches available in the aluminum finish, including gold and rose gold
- New stainless steel case and red band for ProductRED
- New band colors available this Fall (vibrant and muted colors)
- New bands shipping today
- WatchOS 2 will be available as a free download on September 16!
iPad
- Tim Cook takes the stage
- "iPad is the clearest expression of our vision of the future of personal computing"
- "Today, we have the biggest news about iPad since the introduction of iPad"
- iPad Pro just introduced!
- Phil Schiller takes the stage
- iPad Pro features a 12.9" display (4:3 ratio) (2732x2048 pixels)
- More pixels than a 15" MacBook Pro with Retina
- Custom-built timing controller helps push pixels quickly
- Features a variable refresh rate, 8 megapixel camera and 802.11ac
- A9X chipset is 1.8x faster than its predecessor A8X chipset
- Since the original iPad, GPU performance has increased 360x!
- "Faster than 80% of portable PCs shipping today"
- 4-speaker audio system auto-balances based on orientation
- 3x the audio volume as the iPad Air 2
- 6.9 mm thin, 1.57 lb
- New SmartKeyboard available, exclusively for iPad Pro
- New SmartConnector provides data and power to the SmartKeyboard
- New Apple Pencil stylus
- The Apple Pencil can detect angle, position and pressure
- The Apple Pencil can be recharged via Lightening connector on iPad
- Demo of using the new Microsoft Office for iPad Pro
- Demo of using 3 new Adobe apps for iPad Pro
- New PhotoShop Fix app (introduced today) allows you to easily adjust facial expressions
- New Adobe apps ship in October
- Demo of using new medical apps for iPad Pro
- iPad Pro comes in Silver, Gold and Space Gray
- Pricing: 32 GB for $799, 128 GB for $949 and 128 GB with LTE for $1,079
- Apple Pencil will be $99
- Apple SmartKeybaord will be $169
- Available in November
- iPad mini 2 now priced at $269
Apple TV
- Tim Cook takes the stage
- "TV plays a huge role in our lives"
- "Today, I'm thrilled to show you the new Apple TV"
- Eddie Cue takes the stage
- The new Apple TV is a combination of a new set-top box and all-new remote with glass touch and Siri access (remote also doubles as a game controller)
- Siri searches multiple apps (iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, HBO and Showtime) and gives you a summary result
- New screensavers includes motion, not just still photos and shows time-sensitive videos
- Apple Music now included in the Apple TV interface
- New "What did he/she say" feature automatically rewinds 15 seconds and temporarily enables captions
- tvOS is the software guts of the new Apple TV
- Demos of various new Apple TV apps and games (MLB app looks really good)
- New Apple TV controller can control the power and volume of your TV and will last about 3 months on a single charge
- Pricing: 32 GB for $149 and 64 GB for $199
- Available in October
- Developers have access to tvOS today
iPhone
- Tim Cook takes the stage
- Last year, iPhone market grew 3.5x the rest of the industry
- In China last year, iPhone market grew 75%, while the rest of the industry declined -4%
- "The iPhone is the most loved phone in the world"
- "We have changed everything about these new iPhones"
- Phil Schiller takes the stage
- New iPhone 6s and 6s Plus come in 4 colors, including the new rose gold
- New glass helps to improve durability
- New 3D Touch (using ForceTouch-like technology)
- New Taptic Engine for even more precise haptic feedback
- Craig Federighi takes the stage
- Demo of iPhone 6s with 3D Touch
- New A9 chipset improves performance (70% faster) and battery life
- Motion Coprocessor (M9) is now embedded
- "Hey Siri" now works when iPhone is not charging
- New 12 megapixel iSight camera (with faster auto-focus)
- "Deep trench isolation" separates the photo diodes to keep images clean of artifacts
- The new image sensor means iPhone is also capable of capturing 4K video
- New 5 megapixel FaceTime camera
- Display now acts as a TrueTone flash for FaceTime camera photos
- New "Live Photos" feature uses 3D Touch to bring photos to life (iOS 9 captures 1.5 seconds of video before and after a shot is taken to remind you of the scene)
- LTE has improved: now uses 23 bands
- WiFi is now twice as fast (866 Mbps)
- New Android Migration tool allows you to easily move from Android to iPhone
- New docks in multiple colors
- New cases in new colors and materials
- iPhone 6s pricing: 16 GB for $199, 64 GB for $299 and 128 GB for $399
- iPhone 6s Plus pricing: 16 GB for $299, 64 GB for $399 and 128 GB for $499
- Carrier monthly installment plans starting at $27/month and up (depends on model)
- Apple Retail Stores are offering an iPhone Upgrade Plan offering a new unlocked phone each year and AppleCare+
- Available to pre-order September 12
- Available in stores on September 25
- iCloud pricing structure has changed (50 GB for $0.99/month, 200 GB for $2.99/month and 1 TB for $9.99/month)
One Last Thing...
- One Republic takes the stage
You can watch the full event here.
