iPhone 6/ iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch Event Reaction

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We can finally say it: Apple is back.

Apple Watch

As a die-hard Apple guy, today’s event in Cupertino finally delivered the first product announcement excitement in the post-Jobs era. Tim Cook and company weren’t quite as entertaining as we’d like, but the products we saw today proved to be worth waiting for.

With every new generation of iPhone the design seems to get sleeker as well as smaller, and iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus do not disappoint. Did Steve Jobs hate the idea of an incredibly large phone? Yes he did, but did Apple finally listen to the consumer? Yes, and in a huge way.

Rolling out two versions of their all new iPhone, the details surrounding iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are quite nice. Both are larger than iPhone 5S, while iPhone 6 Plus boasts a 5.5″ display, and over 2 million pixels. These are phones aren’t just larger, but they are thinner as well. Coming in at 6.9 mil for iPhone 6 and 7.1 mil for iPhone 6 Plus, these new versions are now the thinnest phones ever.

Featuring brand new chips in the A8 and M8 processors, these new iPhones are faster and somehow more energy efficient; up to 50% more efficient than iPhone 5S.  These chips provide desktop class scaling and performance, and make your apps “just work”.

Apple also touted their foray into VoLTE and WiFi calling, both exciting new features on the newest handheld.

The iPhone’s camera and video camera are the most popular and most used cameras in the world, and they’ve gotten a substantial upgrade. Boasting an upgraded 8 megapixel iSight camera, these new iPhones have newer and faster sensors making autofocus faster, and up to 43 megapixels. They also included expanded video upgrades to 60 fps, as well as upgrades to Slo-Mo, taking it to 240 fps.

We basically learned nothing new from iOS 8, other than it debuts September 17th.

What we did learn was that the price points, and roll-out dates, are much different than expected. Shipping September 19th, the iPhone 6 starts at $199/2 year contract in the usual variety of colors. iPhone 6 Plus starts at just $299. Both models have upgraded storage capacities for their price points, now making the standard storage sizes 16GB, jumping to 64 GB, and introducing the 128 GB models. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are available for preorder on Friday, September 12th.

Side note: is Vain Glory an amped up version of Pikmin? Is it just me? 

Apple also debuted Apple Pay today, using built in NFC from the all new iPhone and Touch ID, this new innovative way to securely shop in person and online will be rolling out to major retailers soon.

And then there was one more thing.

Tim Cook stated that the Apple Watch (sorry, iWatch patent trolls and peons) would be the “next chapter in Apple’s story”. Wearing one of his own, Cook revealed the highly customizable watch and comprehensive health and fitness device. Honestly, I’m still a little bit in awe of just how well and neat this device is; this device was really was worth waiting for. Debuting in three separate lines, Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition, this device aims to get the phones out of our hands, and make our daily use technology a little more personable. The device is charged by a magnetic inductive charging, with attaches to the back of the watch, for easy charging. With the introduction of the Digital Crown, the use of Apple Watch is just as simple as using crown on a standard watch, by controlling scrolling and zoom if need be. Digital Touch is also a neat piece of technology incorporated with the device, as well as utilizing the Taptic Engine for easy-to-feel/not-incredibly-annoying notifications.

Cook reiterated that this was the “most personal device Apple has ever created”, and I couldn’t agree more.

Apple Watch is available for use with iPhone 5 through iPhone 6/iPhone 6 Plus (good for you, iPhone C users!), and will start at $349. Apple Watch is expected to arrive in early 2015.

Today marks a great step back in the right direction for Apple. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are now the fastest and lightest phones on the market, and there is no other device comparable to Apple Watch; sorry Pebble users, and those people who bought into Samsung’s gimmicks.

Apple is back.

 

About author

Josh Steen

Josh Steen is the founder of the JustUs Geeks, and is the host of the JustUs Geeks Podcast. Josh is also a dad, husband, and graphic designer. He geeks out over sports, video games, music, and Transformers. Have an idea for a story or podcast topic? Let him know via social media or email!

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