New phones available Sept. 19, pre-orders start Sept. 12
Posted on 09/09/2014 10:58:38 AM PDT by Red Badger
Apple unveiled the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, an update of its flagship smartphone with larger screens.
“Today we are launching the biggest advancement in the history of the iPhone,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the start of the company’s press event in Cupertino, Calif., where Apple is headquartered.
The iPhone 6 will feature a larger 4.7 inch retina HD screen, while the 5.5 inch iPhone 6 Plus model also will be offered. The full 1080p HD screen features no borders with glass that covers the entire surface and curves around the edges of the thinner device.
A new camera protrudes a bit out the back. While it has a new sensor, the camera is still 8 megapixels. However, the new camera does a better job of recognizing faces in scenes, and delivers better focus, especially in low light conditions, with the iPhone 6 including digital image stabilization, while the iPhone 6 Plus has optical image stabilization.
An improved video camera also enables slow motion video to be captured at 120 fps or 240 fps.
The iPhone 6 screen will boast over 1 million pixels, the iPhone 6 Plus over 2 million pixels.
The handsets, with faster Wi-Fi built in, also feature a new A8 chip, which makes graphics 84 times faster than the original iPhone. The devices also are 50% more energy efficient, although battery life remains about the same as the more recent iPhone5s. The iPhone 6 Plus, however, features a longer battery, given its larger size.
Still, the A8 chip marks an improvement over previous iPhones, given that it’s 25% faster when it comes to processing power and boasts 50% faster graphics.
Calls can now also be made via Wi-Fi when cell conditions are poor.
Pricing for the iPhone 6 starts at $199 and goes to $399. The iPhone 6 Plus will start at $299, with the highest priced at $499.
The devices, which become available Sept. 19, will come in gold, silver and space gray.
The iPhone 5 continues to perform well for Apple.
The smartphone, introduced in 2012, is still its most popular handset with a 27% share, followed closely by last year’s iPhone 5S, at 25%, according to research firm Localytics.
Yet the update to the iPhone, first launched in 2007, is important to Apple since it represents over half of the company’s revenue.
Analysts already anticipate that the new iPhone 6 models will sell more than 75 million handsets by the end of the year.
While the iPhone essentially created the smartphone revolution, Apple has faced some stiff competition recently from Samsung with its Galaxy line of devices. Amazon, however, has struggled with its Amazon Fire Phone, which the company recently discounted by $200 to 99 cents in order to boost sales.
Apple live streamed the reveal of its new devices and software here from the Flint Performing Arts Center in Cupertino, Calif.
“Today, we have some amazing products to share with you and we think at the end of the day you will agree that this too is a very key day for Apple,” Cook said.
New phones available Sept. 19, pre-orders start Sept. 12
Tech ping!.....................
Is Apple running out of Ideas ?
“.....now with Tint Control.”
/vague Bloom County reference
Did they just basically copy Samsung in making a really big cellphone? lol.
It's no wonder this country is so screwed.
I’m a big Apple fan (eat sh** and die, Microsoft), but sorry, this introduction was anything but earth shaking.
Yet they are addicted to anything from Apple (and Samsung) like it was free meth.
Hypocritical. I don't get it.
People have already been camping in line outside Apple stores for days before this announcement was even made.
Looks good! I had a Samsung droid phone, but it was klunky and I actually didn’t think the display was particularly good, so I changed to an IPhone 4S, which I still have. The 5 wasn’t enough to bother with, but I’m definitely going to move to the 6. A little bigger would be nice (I’ll get the smaller one) and certainly faster is always better.
On the other hand, I like the Google cloud services better (less opaque, everything with Apple is always opaque), so when I change phones, I’ll probably switch a lot of things over to that. Actually, after I tried ICloud and other Apple services, I moved most of them back so they’re already there - I have just a couple of things left to change. Google does good software and cloud services, Apple makes great hardware. And fortunately consumer pressure has made them be somewhat symbiotic.
Soon to be seen plugged into the ears of some welfare recipients (not all).
I will never understand this. Do these people think Apple will only make a few hundred phones and then stop?
I don’t recall ever hearing anyone say I wish my cell phone was bulkier and harder to hold and carry with me.
And so, Apple fans mocked the large Samsung phones for years as being unacceptable until Apple has deemed it to be acceptable.
I watched the stream. In fact I’m still watching it using the VLC player. Very likely to buy the 6+. Zero interest in the Apple Watch (iWatch?)
I was surprised that Apple had so much trouble getting their stream under control. It took about an hour before the background Japanese audio feed finally disappeared and the stream became study. There were many interruptions early on. Too much interest, too little bandwidth I guess.
The first goal should be to stay out of the cloud.
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