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iPhone 6, Apple Watch, OS8 and U2. What a morning.

Anyone who has been on the Internet or watched TV or spoken to another human being in the past month knows that today was Apple's big reveal-a-thon. The Internet is awash with details of the details of the event, so we thought we'd bring you the basics, with a few handy pointers to some of the more useful details. Here's what we're getting from Apple this fall and winter: iPhone 6 iPhone 6 Plus OS 8 Apple Pay Apple Watch A new album from U2 Here's the when, where, what and how much of it: iPhone 6 When: Available for pre-order September 12, shipping September 19 Where: Globally How much (with a typical two-year contract): $199 16 GB $299 64 GB $399 128 GB We don't know the price without a contract yet, but it seems like it will be comparable to the price of the 5S when it was the next big thing. What (this is the fun part): Outside:
  • 4.7" wide, 6.8 mm thin
  • Retina HD display 1334 x 750 pixels
  • Comes in gold, silver, space grey
  • Soft-cornered body
  • Power button on the side instead of the top
Inside:
  • A8 64-bit chip (this chip is 13% smaller in size than the one in the 5S, but, up to 25% faster, with 50% faster graphics)
  • M8 motion processor (The phone can tell the difference between cycling and running, uphill and downhill, how far you've gone/ how many steps you've taken)
  • Barometer that uses air pressure to measure relative elevation (Nike will be updating Nike+ accordingly)
  • Battery: Sustained performance €”you can use it at full power longer without it getting hot (no more sweaty face phone calls!); 10-11 hours for video and browsing using Wi-Fi, 3G or LTE; 50 hours of audio; 14 of 3G talk; 10 days on standby
  • 150 Mbps LTE, supports up to 20 LTE bands, voice over LTE
  • Wi-Fi: 802.11ac
  • NFC antenna for Apple Pay (see below)
Features:
  • iOS 8
  • "Reachability" feature lets you use half the screen to access buttons at the top of the home screen
  • Wi-fi calling with T-mobile
Camera:
  • 8 MP camera
  • True-tone flash
  • 1.5 micron pixels
  • f/2.2 aperture (81% more light)
  • Panoramic photos up to 43 megapixels€”new gyroscope makes stitching nearly seamless
  • iSight sensor: focus pixels for faster autofocus and faster face detection (more about this here)
  • Burst mode can take up to 10 photos per second then detect smiles and blinks so it can recommend the best picture€”this works with the regular and front-facing camera
  • Digital image stabilization
  • Video at 1080p at 30 or 60fps with slow motion at 240fps
  • Cinematic video stabilization
  • Continuous autofocus works automatically
iPhone 6 Plus When: Available for pre-order September 12, shipping September 19 Where: Globally How much (with a typical two-year contract): $299 16 GB $399 64 GB $499 128 GB Dimensions: 5.5" wide, 7.1 mm thin Display: 1920 x 1080 pixels (185% more than 5S) Inside the iPhone 6 Plus is basically the same as the iPhone 6, but with a better battery
  • Battery: 14 hours of video; 12 hours of browsing on Wi-Fi, 3G or LTE; 80 hours of audio; 24 hours of 3G talk; 16 days on stand-by
Features (plus the iPhone 6 features):
  • Two pane display on horizontal, homescreen can work horizontally
  • Touch cues similar to iPad, like a mini iPad mini
  • Cut, copy, and paste keyboard cues
  • Optical image stabilization (the camera moves the lens around to account for hand shaking, etc.)
iOS 8 When: September 17 Where: iPhone 4s, 5, 5c, 5s; iPod touch 5th gen; iPad 2, retina display, Air, mini, mini retina worldwide What:
  • New messaging app for sending voice notes
  • Improvements to notifications
  • Activity app that measures physical activity throughout the day and makes suggestions, plus an exercise tracker, both of which will be accessible by third-party apps
Apple Pay When: October Where: 22,000 retailers in the United States What:
  • Works with NFC antenna in top of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and the Apple Watch
  • Uses a one-time payment number and a "dynamic security code" so card numbers are not given to the merchant
  • Point your phone at a device (soon to be at cash registers nationwide) and it instantly pays
  • Can use card on file with iTunes
  • OR use camera to photograph card then take some steps to verify it and use that
  • Secure Element encrypts all related information
  • Credit information not stored in phone, so you don't have to cancel your card if you lose your phone can suspend all payments using the Find my phone service
  • "Apple doesn't know what you bought, where you bought it, or how much you bought it for."
  • Starting in US with Amex, MasterCard, and Visa
  • One-touch check out online without entering credit card information, billing address, etc.
  • Organized in Passbook
Apple Watch When: Early 2015 Where: All over How much: Starts at $349 Outside:
  • Sapphire display (A flexible retina display laminated to a single crystal, the hardest transparent material after diamond)
  • Dial on the side that looks like a winder for old watches, called a €œDigital Crown€, used to navigate
  • Sensors on the back to collect pulse data
  • 3 lines€”Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition
  • Interchangeable bands in leather, polymer, metal mesh, stainless steel, and silicon (Sport collection) with stylish magnetic closures
  • 11 face options come on the device
  • Two sizes of watch face
Inside:
  • Accelerometer
  • Heart rate sensor
  • Uses GPS and Wi-Fi from your iPhone
  • Taptic engine that vibrates to alert you of notifications
  • Magsafe wireless charging€”no word yet on the battery life
  • Tiny, water-resistant computer that makes the whole thing work
Features:
  • Requires iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, or iPhone 5S (it is not entirely clear how close to your phone you need to be)
  • Syncs w/ universal time standard
  • Fitness trackers like the ones for OS8
  • Watch turns on the display when you raise your wrist
  • Voice reply to messages
  • Watches can communicate with each other
  • All sorts of widgets
  • Understands questions in messages and gives you possible answers that you can just tap to respond, or you can send emoji or dictate, no typing option
  • Siri
  • Photos that you favorite on Mac or iPhone (and probably iPad) are available in the photo app on the watch
  • In maps, vibrations indicate left or tight turns
  • A friends list lets you send drawings, emoji, or€¦your heartbeat (as a vibration) to other people€™s watches
  • 3rd parties will be making apps for the watch using WatchKit SDK
  • Walkie talkie function
  • Controls apple TV
  • Viewfinder for iphone camera
  • Works with Apple Pay
U2 When: Right now until October 13 Where: iTunes How much: Free What (this is the fun part): U2's new LP, Songs of Innocence
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