It has been a long and exciting two hours at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, where Apple has announced an abundance of new software and hardware updates to products ranging from Apple TV to the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. Some of these compound on already existing features and others introduce new and previously unheard of additions altogether.
Here's a roundup of everything that hit the stage (with the exception of One Republic):
The Apple Watch
The series of announcements began with the Apple CEO Tim Cook coming onstage and prefacing his talk with the mention of a variety of "monster announcements" on Apple's behalf. The first of these came from the Apple Watch team. The company introduced a variety of new features for its smartwatch, all of which expand the visual, verbal and communicative capabilities of an already loaded wearable device. These included watch apps for iTranslate, viewfinder capabilities for GoPro, and a customized Facebook Messenger app built specifically for the Apple Watch.
(Photo : Apple)
Jeff Williams — Apple's VP of Operations — also announced third-party tweaks for apps like Maps and Weather, along with hardware access and support for over 10,000 watch apps available on the App Store.
In terms of hardware, two new colors were added to the stainless steel Sport models: gold and rose gold, both of which have an anodized aluminum finish. There was also a collaboration with luxury brand Hermès to create an elegant leather band that wraps around your wrist twice.
(Photo : Apple)
The iPad Pro
Next up came the much-awaited iPad Pro announcement. Apple finally took the wraps off the giant, 12.9-inch iPad Pro — the company's most powerful iPad yet, complete with an A9X processor (1.8 times faster than it's predecessor, the A8X) and a 5.6 million pixel display — not to mention 10-hour battery life.
(Photo : Apple)
The new iPad Pro also features a four-speaker system, a brand new physical Smart Keyboard ($169) and, for the first time, the Apple Pencil ($99) (which is, perhaps, too self-explanatory).
(Photo : Apple)
Multitasking comes off as a prominent selling point for the new iPad. Using the new iOS 9, users can run multiple apps simultaneously (view them as well, using the large display).
Talking about dimensions, the new iPad Pro is only marginally thicker (6.9 mm) than the iPad Air 2 and weighs about 1.57 pounds — which is incredible given how large it is. The Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard allow for a variety of functional uses for not only Apple apps but also Microsoft Office and Adobe software.
The device comes in three main finishes and starts at a price of $799. If you want the whole package, be prepared to dole out around $1K. It will be available starting November.
The New Apple TV
As per the announcement, the new Apple TV will come with a glass touchscreen remote that allows users to swipe across apps in a new interface. The touchscreen functionality, along with the added expansion of Siri to Apple TV, makes it very easy to find the media you want to watch and how you want to watch it. The interface is extremely responsive to commands like "Only James Bond movies, please."
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Apple TV — running with a 64-bit A8 chip — also rolled out a brand new standalone operating system specifically designed for the living room — tvOS, catering to a growing community of 11 million app developers to create a customizable experience for home entertainment. Content juggernauts like Netflix, HBO and Hulu have already jumped on the train with updated versions of their apps. The new OS also allows for vast gaming capabilities and live sporting event tracking, and it accommodates third-party apps like AirBnB and Zillow.
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It is available in beta right now but will be out on Apple TV starting late October. The 32 GB model costs $149 and the 64 GB one, $199.
The iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus
Finally, all that was left were the iPhones. The announcement and unveiling of the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus were riddled with rumors months before today, and the new devices were far from disappointing (given all the hype).
(Photo : Apple)
There was a lot going on in regard to updates surrounding the iPhone, but the most significant of these dealt with the user interface. During the announcement, Apple introduced a new feature called 3D Touch, which essentially works as Force Touch but for the iPhone, allowing users to "dive into" their apps. The update looks intuitive and frankly, beautiful.
(Photo : Apple)
Leveraging this 3D Touch technology — and a new 12 megapixel camera in the back and 5 megapixel camera in the front — Apple also introduced Live Photos, which basically allow photos to live for a couple of seconds before and after they were taken. With the ability for audio to be captured as well, Apple announced that Facebook would be adopting the new feature later this year (Instagram can't possibly be far behind).
Among other specs, the new iPhones boast a 64-bit A9 processor, 70 percent increase in CPU speed, 90 percent increase in GPU speed and added functionality for Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity. With all this included, the iPhone 6S will start at $199 and the iPhone 6S Plus at $299. The company has also rolled out an iPhone Upgrade Plan that lets customers update their iPhone hardware yearly, while still being able to fully choose their carrier.
The devices will go up for preorder on Sept. 12 and then for sale on Sept. 25.
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