All You Need to Know About Apple’s Big News

Yesterday, Apple launched a number of new devices including a new smartwatch, two smartphones, and a brand new payment system. There were a few key takeaways from the product launch yesterday including the fact that all of the company’s devices no longer seem to start with the letter “i.” Instead, all of the newest Apple devices are simply called “Apple Watch” or “Apple Pay.” The iPhone is still the iPhone, though.

Here’s everything that you might have missed yesterday.

The New iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus

I’m going to break this down for you simply: the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are bigger than the former iPhone options - that’s about it. But, here are the specs anyway:

iPhone 6:

4.7-inch screen
A8 processor
Improved camera

iPhone 6 Plus:

5.5-inch screen
A8 processor
Improved camera

Shared Details

Landscape mode: when you turn either of these phones to landscape mode (just turn the phone), you will see two separate panes, so that you can view messages and photos (for example) on one screen.

Home button: instead of always double tapping to go home, these phones let you just lightly tap (not press) on the home button to pull up additional features.

Thinness: both of these phones are thinner than most Android options, and they are also thinner than the last iPhone 5 series.

If you are into the phablet thing, these phones might be what you want (if you are an Apple fan). The big difference here is the size, and the new processor, which is 25% faster, and comes with an extended battery life. I was expecting more from Apple with the new phones, but it looks like a bigger screen and better processor is all we’re going to get this time around.

Availability: both of the iPhone models will be available for pre-sale this coming Friday, and in stores on September 19th.

The Apple Watch

1. The Digital Crown Interface: the Apple watch comes with something called “Digital Crown,” which refers to the silver dial on the side of the watch. When you move this dial, you can access the app screen, and do things like zoom.

2. Touch interface: the Apple watch also has a touch-screen interface that responds to two different types of taps. You can tap the phone lightly to bring up one screen, and tap the screen harder to bring up other apps (Apple is calling this the “force touch”).

3. Messaging button: there’s another button on the side of the Apple watch that brings up various messaging options - you can send your heartbeat to someone, or you can simply send things like pictures and texts.

4. Heart-rate: as expected the Apple watch can measure your heart-rate, which is ideal if you are really trying to keep track of your health.

5. iPhone connectivity: the Apple watch does connect with the new iPhone 6 (either version), and that means that it works with Apple’s new health kit (more on that in a different post).

Apple Pay

The last thing that Apple announced yesterday is something called Apple Pay. Here’s how Apple Pay will work.

1. Store your cards in your iPhone. Simply upload credit card details to your iPhone for storage - you can also snap a photo of your cards for identification purposes.

2. Point the iPhone at an Apple Pay reader. Once the reader registers your phone, you will have to use your thumbprint to authenticate the transaction - no print, no pay.

3. A text payment receipt will be sent to your phone instantly.

So, all of that sounds good, but where can you actually use the Apple Pay system? Apple has managed to make arrangements with 22,000 retailers including Macy’s, McDonald’s, Walgreens, Whole Foods, Staples, and many other big chains. Credit cards that work with the system include all of the major player like American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Chase, Bank of America, etc. In short, Apple Pay will be everywhere in the U.S. when it comes out.

Those are all of the basic details about everything that Apple announced yesterday - what will you be purchasing?