iPhone Announcement

Ryan Serpico
Staff Writer

    Apple held their annual iPhone event in the Flint Center recently, the very same place where Steve Jobs announced the original Macintosh 30 years prior, to announce their latest incarnation of iPhone along with their newest product, the Apple Watch.

    “Today we are launching the biggest advancement in the history of iPhone,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook at the beginning of the Keynote. Apple introduced not one new iPhone on Tuesday, but two, a 4.7–inch iPhone 6 and a 5.5–inch iPhone 6 Plus. Both feature an enlarged screen in comparison to the previous generation iPhone 5S, where the only choice was a 4-inch model.

    Both iPhone 6 variants feature a new curved design that tosses out the sharp edged design language that the past two generations featured, while also being thinner and lighter than the prior generation. Inside, both feature an improved processor, improved cameras and an all new barometer sensor to measure elevation while running.

    The internals within both new variants are identical to each other, besides the iPhone Plus featuring optical image stabilization, which uses hardware to stabilize shaky photos instead of software image stabilization that the standard iPhone 6 still uses. The iPhone 6 Plus also has improved battery life over the standard iPhone 6 by a couple of hours while browsing the web over LTE.

    Apple also revealed their own mobile payment solution that they dub Apple Pay, which allows iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users to use their phones to pay for real world items in physical stores. Apple Pay makes use of the near field communication (NFC) chip that comes with the new iPhones to communicate with readers on merchant’s registers to pay for the items they want. An advantage over normal plastic debit and credit cards that they hit hard on was security, because in order to actually use your card you must authenticate every purchase with your fingerprint. So if a user loses their iPhone, they do not have to worry about their credit card information getting stolen because the thief cannot replicate your fingerprint.

    After showing off all the new features of the new iPhone, Tim Cook started reviewing what they had announced for the day, but Cook was far from over and made it clear when he said that he had “one more thing” to share with everyone. That thing was the long rumored Apple Watch, Apple’s first new product since the iPad which was announced back in 2010.

    The Apple Watch features three ways of input: digital touch (which is what is used now in modern smartphones), “force touch” which uses electrodes around the screen to differentiate a tap from a hard press to bring up alternative menus, and a digital crown—a knob on the side of the watch that acts not only as a home button, but also as a way to scroll through lists and zoom in and out of apps like maps.

    Health and fitness was shown off as a predominant feature of the Apple Watch. With its heart rate monitor and M8 processor, the Apple Watch measures your steps and elevation without much effect on battery life. The device also features a new way of communicating with others by actually enabling you to send your heartbeat to a loved one if you are away from each other.

    The Apple Watch features much variation with its two sizes of three different models of Apple Watch. There is the standard Apple Watch, which features a hard to scratch sapphire screen and stainless steel enclosure, the Apple Watch Sport that has the same screen protection as the iPhone, with an aluminum enclosure, and the Apple Watch Edition which is the same as the standard Apple Watch besides the fact that it’s made of 18 karat gold. You can also customize the watchbands that the Apple Watch has with the six different bands that Apple offers.

    Like other smart watches on the market, the Apple Watch will allow you to view your notifications on your wrist and act on them, rather than pulling your phone out every time you hear your phone make a sound. Examples of this include replying to your friend’s text by using your voice, or getting directions from the Maps app. What is really different, though, is that you will be able to distinguish whether to go left or right, while driving, without looking at your wrist because the watch will create distinct haptic vibrations that will tell you which way to turn.

    Apple says that the Apple Watch will go on sale early 2015 at a base price of $349.