Apple release summary

Last night Apple announced its latest product releases at its event in Cupertino, let’s have a look at some of the highlights.

Apple Watch

One of the major standouts was the new Apple Watch.

The new smart watch is Apples first venture into the smart watch market with brands like Samsung and Sony already in market. The Apple Watch comes in two sizes, a regular size and a smaller one for daintier wrists. The Apple watch also comes in 3 variations, watch, sport and edition versions.

The Apple Watch will work with existing iPhone 5 devices and above starting at $349. The main control for the watch is the digital crown, a dial on the right of the watch with IR and LED diodes which will simulate the majority of the touch controls we are used to.

The new sapphire crystal screen is not only extremely durable but can also detect pressure, distinguishing from a touch/tap or a press for different interactions. A variety of interchangeable bands will be available from sports bands to stainless steel and leather.

As far as functionality goes, users will be able view messages, emails, notifications, maps and location info. The Watch ships with the usual sensors, like the accelerometer but also includes an NFC chip for payments and a heart rate monitor as Apple continues its push into fitness and health tracking. Siri comes on-board too adding the power of voice activation.

The Apple Watch supports something called digital touch, allowing direct communication between watch owners supporting the sharing of information and messaging, even a sketch you can draw on the face can be sent to friends.

A variety of partnerships will see the support for direct control of numerous other smart devices, from thermostats to door locks. Oh and wireless inductive charging is a nice touch. There is also a toolkit available for developers which we will be getting our hands on shortly.

The jury is still out on whether we actually think this device is cool or not, the tech behind it is pretty sweet however it may be a little too early for the everyday consumer but we shall see.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus

The new iPhone 6 has arrived and comes in 2 models, the iPhone 6 with a 4.7 inch retina display and the iPhone 6 Plus with its larger 5.5 inch retina screen and a 1080p display.

Slimmer and lighter than previous iPhones with a 64-bit A8 processor, Apple claims the iPhone 6 is 50% more efficient than the A7 models and 25% more powerful for everyday tasks.

Both models ship with an 8 megapixel rear camera with image stabilisation for those shaky hands.

The larger size allows the iPhone 6 to hold a larger battery for improved batter life which has been a problem for some with the iPhone 5.

And last but definitely not least is our favourite, NFC. We have been waiting for NFC (Near Field Communication) since this was passed over on the iPhone 5. Apple added NFC to support its new Apple Pay feature however this technology has a variety of applications for app developers which we are looking forward to!

Death of the iPod touch

A sad farewell for one of the worlds most loved mp3 players and the death of the famous Apple click wheel loved by many.

Apple Pay

The new Apple Pay was released supporting mobile payments using NFC technology which allows users to pay by tapping their device on NFC enabled pay terminals.

Purchases are deducted from the users connected iTunes account after tapping the device followed by placing your finger on the home button for Apple Touch ID. This may take a while to hit Australian shores but one we will be watching closely.