Apple feeds fanboi frenzy with new iPhones and watch
Will vendor regain innovation crown from rivals with latest flurry of releases?
After months of speculation, Apple last night took the wraps off two larger iPhones, a mobile payment service and a watch that combines communication with health and fitness tracking.
Priced at about $349 (UK prices not announced as yet) and set to launch early next year, the aptly named Apple Watch will require the buyer to already own an iPhone, and allow users to not only tell the time, and monitor their health and fitness, but also pay for their shopping.
Apple design guru Jony Ive said: “With Apple Watch, we’ve developed multiple technologies and an entirely new user interface specifically for a device that’s designed to be worn. It blurs the boundary between physical object and user interface. We’ve created an entire range of products that enable unparalleled personalisation.”
The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were described by the vendor as "the biggest advancements in iPhone history" – featuring 4.7in and 5.5in Retina HD displays, running iOS 8.
"iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are the biggest advancements in iPhone history,” boasted chief executive Tim Cook. “The iPhone is the most loved smartphone in the world with the highest customer satisfaction in the industry, and we are making it much better in every way. Only Apple can combine the best hardware, software and services at this unprecedented level and we think customers are going to love it."
The iPhone 6 is priced at between $199 for a 16GB model and $399 for a 128GB model with contracts, and the iPhone 6 Plus is between $299 for a 16GB model and $499 for a 128GB model, available in gold, silver or space grey.
Pre-orders will start on Friday apparently and prices are likely to be considering higher for UK customers.
Pulses were also sent racing with the launch of Apple Pay, which works through the new phones, and allows users to pay for items by using the device as a credit card that is scanned by a reader.
Apple Pay will also work with the Apple Watch, and this will eventually allow the initiative to be used by owners of the iPhone 5 family too, the vendor claimed. And it was quick to reassure about security concerns, in the light of recent breaches with iCloud.
Eddy Cue, senior vice president of internet software and services at Apple, said:
"Security and privacy is at the core of Apple Pay. When you’re using Apple Pay in a store, restaurant or other merchant, cashiers will no longer see your name, credit card number or security code, helping to reduce the potential for fraud.
“Apple doesn’t collect your purchase history, so we don’t know what you bought, where you bought it or how much you paid for it. And if your iPhone is lost or stolen, you can use Find My iPhone to quickly suspend payments from that device.”
And if all four launches failed to whip the audience into a screaming frenzy, rock giants U2 decided to launch their new album Songs of Innocence exclusively with Apple, offering it free of charge to half a billion iTune account holders for the next five weeks.
Of course, not everybody could be at the event in person, and it was supposed to be live streamed to allow all the global fanbois to get their Apple fill. However, unfortunately for them, the site went down half an hour in, causing an outpouring of grief on social media.
Back in the UK, diehard fans have already started camping outside the Apple store in Regent Street, with tents appearing a full 10 days before the products are due go on sale.