Apple Inc. unveiled a new smartwatch and two new iPhones at an event on Tuesday.
With its long-anticipated smartwatch on Tuesday, the company ventured into its first new market in several years. The wearable device tethered to the iPhone that will combine health and fitness tracking with communications.
It's the first new product to be developed and introduced under Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook's reign, the next chapter in Apple's history.
With respect to the new iPhone models, they won't just have bigger screens. They'll have a new, horizontal viewing mode to take advantage of the larger display.
I'm backstage and this is my first tweet from my iPhone 6. It's amazing. You're going to love it.- Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 9, 2014
The iPhone 6 will have a screen measuring 4.7 inches, while the iPhone 6 Plus will be 5.5 inches. In both cases, app developers will be able to design apps that can be viewed differently when the phone is held horizontally.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company is streaming the event live online - something it does not necessarily do for product unveiling events - and has had a countdown clock on its streaming site since last week. Starting yesterday, it began redirecting traffic from the main U.S. Apple website to the livestream site.
Along with larger iPhones, Apple is poised to unveil a wearable device - marking its first major entry in a new product category since the iPad's debut in 2010.
The move is significant because of recent questions about whether Apple still has a knack for innovating following the 2011 death of co-founder Steve Jobs.
Apple is turning to the past as it lays out its future. The company is holding the event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts, the same venue where Jobs unveiled the industry-shifting Mac computer 25 years ago. The Cupertino, California, venue is near Apple's headquarters.
As for the iPhones, which still represent the main source of Apple's profits, larger models should help the company compete with Android devices.
The iPhone 6 will have a 4.7-inch screen, while the iPhone 6 Plus will be 5.5 inches. The screen resolution on the Plus version will be sharper than previous iPhones, at 401 pixels per inch rather than 326.
With the larger screen comes a new horizontal view of the home screen. Usually, icons are stacked vertically, even when the phone is turned horizontally. App developers will also have new tools to rearrange their content to take advantage of that larger screen.
The new phones aren't as big as Samsung's latest flagship phones - 5.1 inches for the Galaxy S5 and 5.7 inches for the Note 4 - but they will be large enough to neutralize a key advantage Samsung and other Android manufacturers have had.
Notably, Samsung's Note phone isn't getting bigger this year. Last year's Note 3 was 5.7 inches. Instead, Samsung is emphasizing other hardware features, such as a sharper screen. It's also releasing a model with a curved edge to display weather, time and other information on the side of the phone.
Apple says the new phones will be faster and have better battery life than previous versions. The phones will also have a new sensor, the barometer, to estimate how much you've climbed stairs, not just how far you've walked or run.
Of course, some people still use their phones to actually make calls. When there's poor cellular reception, people will be able to make regular calls over Wi-Fi. The handoff between the two networks will be seamless. In the U.S., this feature will initially be available through T-Mobile.
The resolution on the camera is staying at 8 megapixels, while rival Android and Windows phones have been boosting that. The S5, for instance, is at 16 megapixels. However, the megapixel count is only one factor in what makes a good photo. Apple says it is putting in new sensors for better shots.
Apple is also improving a slow-motion video feature by allowing even slower shots. The camera will be able to take 240 frames per second, double what's in last year's iPhone 5s. Normally, video is at 60 frames per second.
The new phones will start shipping in the U.S. on Sept. 19, with advance orders to begin this Friday. Starting prices will be comparable to those in the past - $199 with a two-year contract for the iPhone 6 with 16 gigabytes of storage.
However, the step-up models will have double the memory than before - $299US for 64 gigabytes and $399US for 128 gigabytes. The iPhone 6 Plus phones will cost $100 more at each configuration.
Many tech analyst believe that the company needs to make a significant breakthrough with today's product release - or its supremacy as a tech titan could be in jeopardy.
That's because iPhone, which had 25.1 per cent of the smartphone market in 2012, according to market research firm IDC, is losing ground rapidly to other smartphone makers.
In addition to the new iPhones, Apple is widely expected to present a smartwatch, commonly being referred to as the iWatch. According to Reuters, Apple has invited top fashion editors and bloggers in 'unprecedented numbers.'
There have also been suggestions Apple may unveil a new iPad.
With a file from CBC News and Reuters
Post By http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/apple-watch-iphone-6-and-iphone-6-plus-unveiled-1.2759617
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