MacDailyNews presents live coverage of Apple’s ‘Gather Round’ September 12th special event

MacDailyNews ^ | September 12, 2018

[Swordmaker]

Apple CEO Tim Cook and a team of Apple executives will be holding their “Gather Round” special event at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT today, September 12th.

The special event will take place at Apple’s campus in Cupertino, California in the Steve Jobs Theater.

It is widely expected that Apple today will unveil the new iPhone Xr, iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max, the all-new Apple Watch Series 4, and more!

Apple’s special event will be webcast live by Apple here, on Twitter, and via the Apple Events app on Apple TV.

MacDailyNews will offer live notes during Apple’s special event presentation right here on this page. So, just open both the webcast and this page so you can watch and comment live.

(Live Notes reversed back to chronological order from the reverse order as published—Swordmaker)

• Event begins with video walk into Steve Jobs Theater
• Lights go down…
• Video open
• Two minutes before show, Apple employee races with secrets (many of which we already know) in briefcase to Steve Jobs Theater…
• Employee uses Apple products and technology (Apple Watch, Siri, AirPods, etc.) to deliver secrets on time
• Tim Cook opens case – oops, it’s just the clicker for the Keynote
• Tim Cook takes the stage
• Cook: “Welcome to the Steve Jobs Theater.”
• Cook talks Apple Retail
• Apple Retail Stores are now welcoming over 500 million visitors per year
• Apple is poised to ship their 2 billionth iOS device
• Cook: We’re going to tell you today about 2 of our most personal products
• Apple Watch
• Apple Watch is the #1 watch, not just smartwatch, in the world
• Apple Watch has become an indispensable part of millions of people’s daily lives
• Jeff Williams takes stage
• Apple Watch offers users three core things: connectivity, fitness, and health
• Apple Watch looks in the background and notifies you of unusual elevated heart rates
• Next-gen Apple Watch intro video…
• As seen in the leaks
• Apple Watch Series 4: Everything about it has been redesigned and reengineered
• Displays are over 30% larger
• 40mm and 44mm models
• Series 4 is thinner than Series 3
• New complications show even more info and detail
• New Watch face with up to 8 complications – user customizable
• Modular face has been redesigned. Now you can add third-party apps
• New Breathe app Watch face
• The Digital Crown has been completely reengineered – now includes haptic feedback
• All new speaker: 50% louder, much better, much louder sound
• Back is made of black ceramic and synthetic sapphire
• Apple Watch Series 4 powered by Apple S4 SiP, 64-bit, Dual-Core, up to 2X faster performance
• Series 4 has a next-gen accelerometer and gyroscope
• AAPL: $220.033, -$3.817 (-1.71%) @ 2:46PM
• Apple Watch Series 4 can detect a fall – seems easy, but it’s not
• Series 4 can tell between a fall, a slip, and a trip
• After detecting a fall, the Watch can call emergency services
• Series 4 optical heart sensor is more advanced
• Notification if your heart rate is thought to be too low
• Notification of AFib (atrial fibrillation)
• New electrical heart sensor allows for Series 4 to take an electrocardiogram (ECG)
• Apple Watch Series 4 is the first ECG product offered over the counter directly to consumers
• You can take an ECG at any time: just open the app and place finger on Digital Crown (process takes just 30 seconds)
• All ECG recordings are stored in Health app in PDF you can share with your doctor
• Dr. Ivor Benjamin, MD, FAHA, president of American Heart Association take stage
• Dr. Benjamin: On-demand ECG is game-changing
• Williams retakes stage: It’s great to have the support of the American Heart Association
• Apple Watch Series 4 has received clearance from the U.S. FDA
• Heart features will be available to U.S. Apple Watch Series 4 customers and Apple is working to gain the necessary approvals to bring it around the world
• All info is private, encrypted on the device and in the cloud
• watchOS 5
• Battery life: Series 4 has the same 18-hour all-day battery life as Series 3
• Outdoor workout time increased to 6-hours
• Series 4 video being shown
• Jony Ive: Apple Watch Series 4 is thinner!
• Apple Watch encourages users to live a more active, healthier life
• Apple Watch Series 4 can change the way you live each day.
• Silver, Gold, and Space Gray
• Stainless in silver, polished black, and gold stainless
• All band colors and band styles fit any generation of Apple Watch
• Nike+ has been optimized for Series 4 – Nike Sport Lopp has new reflective yard for nighttime visibility
• Apple Watch Hermès also available
• Apple Watch Series 4 available on September 21st
• watchSO 5 available on September 17th
• Series 4 with GPS starts at $399; LTE starts at $499; Series 3 repriced at starting at $279
• Apple Watch Series 4 ad being shown
• iPhone
• Cook: Now lets talk about iPhone
• iPhone X, the world’s #1 smartphone, has 98% customer satisfaction
• The most advanced iPhone Apple has ever created… video being shown of iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max
• Surgical grade stainless steel – new gold finish
• Display is the most durable glass ever in a smartphone
• Gold, Silver, and Space Gray
• IP68 2 water resistance (2 meters, 30 minutes — Swordmaker)
• 5.8-inch OLED Super Retina display
• Display has 60% greater dynamic range
• New 6.5-inch Super Retina display in iPhone Xs Max
• It’s about the same physical size as the old iPhone Plus models, but it’s nearly all display
• 1 million-to-1 contrast ratio
• Both have 3D Touch
• Stereo sound better than in any iPhone to date
• Face ID powered by TrueDepth Camera system (please say it works at any angle – MDN Ed.)
• Face ID is the most secure facial authentication ever in a smartphone
• Apple A-series chip: Apple A12 Bionic
• The industry’s first 7nm chip
• 6-Core CPU (two high performance cores, 4 high efficiency cores; all 6 cores can run simultaneously
• 4-Core GPU
• 8-Core Neural Engine (Compared to the A11’s 2 core Neural Engine — Swordmaker)
• The A11 Bionic – 600 billion operations per second
• A12 Bionic can process 5 trillion operations per second
• Without question the A12 is the smartest and most powerful chip ever in a smartphone
• Apps launch up to 30% faster
• Machine Learning
• Next-gen Neural Engine unlocks real-time Machine Learning
• Siri Shortcuts can be easily created with multiple shortcuts
• Core ML is up to 9x faster, but run with as little as 1/10th the energy
• A12 Bionic is designed to deliver the best in Augmented Reality
• AR Quicklook lets to bring items into the real-world to see what they’d look like (say a sofa in your living room)
• Developer demos: Bethesda Game Studios: Blades (coming this fall)
• Nex Team: Homecourt with Steve Nash. Track (and analyzes the player’s performance—SM) basketball shots in real-time.
• Only on an iPhone can real-time shot tracking happen
• Steve Nash: Homecourt is great for any basketball player who wants to get better, from beginner to professional
• Directive Games: Galaga AR: Galaga free of the confines of the the video game cabinet; coming later this year
• Phil Schiller retakes stage
• The Cameras
• iPhone Xs camera is a remarkable dual camera system
• 12MP wide-angle, 12MP telephoto
• Optical Image Stabilization
• TrueDepth Camera: 7MP sensor
• Apple’s imagine signal processor is unmatched
• Apple’s ISP is connected to Neural Engine. A12 and Neural Engine and do instant red eye reduction, improved Portrait mode, and much more
• New feature: Smart HDR. A breakthrough. iPhone Xs takes multiple photos and exposures and seamlessly merges them into one
• Portrait Mode and Portrait Lighting are now better than ever before
• Bokeh is vastly improved
• New depth slider lets you adjust the depth of field when editing photos; powered by A12 Bionic
• Computational photography and videography are amazing; delivering professional results to everyone
• iPhone Xs 4K video demo
• Battery life: iPhone Xs delivers up to 30 minutes longer battery life vs. iPhone X
• Battery life: iPhone Xs Max delivers up to 1:30 longer battery life vs. iPhone X
• Dual SIMs: DSDS: Dual SIM Dual Standby
• Apple’s eSIM technology comes to Apple iPhone
• Support for eSIM requires support from carriers, so check your carrier
• Dual SIM in China – special model with two physical SIMs
• 5.8-inch iPhone Xs and 6.5-inch iPhone Xs Max has made in the most environmentally-friendly manner possible
• AAPL: $221.1282, -$2.7218 (-1.22%) @ 2:25PM EDT
• Eco stuff
• Lisa Jackson discusses Apple’s environment initiatives
• All of Apple facilities run on 100% renewable energy
• iPhone Xs uses recycled tin with no change in quality
• iOS 12 is designed to make your iPhone last longer
• Apple GiveBack: Bring or send any device in and if Apple determines it can be used by someone somehow, they’ll pay you for it, (or we’ll recycle it for free — Swordmaker).
• New iPhone Model
• iPhone X(r) intro video
• Slightly bigger bezels
• 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display: LCD display that goes edge-to-edge: The most advanced LCD ever in a smartphone
• iPhone Xr, 700 Series Aluminum. Comes in white, black, blue, coral, yellow, and (PRODUCT)RED
• No Home button
• Tap to wake
• No 3D Touch; has Haptic touch instead
• True Tone display
• Face ID. Same TrueDepth Camera system as in iPhone Xs and Xs Max
• Apple A12 Bionic chip (7nm), same as in the other iPhone Xs models.
• Next-gen Neural Engine
• 1080p 60 fps video
• Video stabilization
• Single lens camera system: 12 MP wide angle, 6-element lens, OIS
• Portrait Mode using the single lens camera with advanced bokeh and depth control
• Smart HDR, wide color
• Battery life: 1:30 more than iPhone 8 Plus
• Jony Ive product video for the new iPhone family
• AAPL: $221.08, -$2.77 (-1.24%) @ 2:35PM EDT
• Final Announcement
• iPhone 7 starts at $449
• iPhone 8 starts at $599
• iPhone Xr, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, starts at $749 (preorder Oct. 19, ship Oct. 26)
• iPhone Xs 64GB, 256GB, 512GB, starts at $999 (preorder Oct. 14, ship Sept 21)
• iPhone Xs Max 64GB, 256GB, 512GB, starts at $1099 (preorder Oct. 14, ship Sept 21)
• Cook: tvOS and HomePod updates coming Monday, Sept. 17th; there are more than 100 video partners now in Apple’s TV app
• Cook: macOS Mojave coming on September 24th
• Cook recaps today’s announcements
• Cook: Our hands on area opens in just a moment. Cook thanks everyone for making today possible
• End of event
• AAPL: $220.033, -$3.817 (-1.71%) @ 2:46PM

[Swordmaker]

Apple introduces upgraded iPhones and AppleWatch with the capability to do an ECG on your wrist. —PING!

New AppleWatch and iPhones Ping!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

[pepsi_junkie]

I'm sure there were lots of great innovations discused, like an iphone that has a little bit of a bevel on the edge, an iphone that is blue, an iphone with a somehwat nicer camera, etc.

The level of innovation since Tim Cook took over is putting Steve Jobs to shame.

[TheBattman]

Sadly, this iPhone event was rather anti-climactic - as it was preceded by more true leaks than ever before. Also - when you understand how Apple operates with their product update schedule, we knew that this was an “incremental update” year (the same pattern Apple has followed pretty much the entire 10+ years of iPhone production) -

That being said - for the real techie - they did have some scooby snacks to offer up to the Apple faithful and to aspiring photographers -

-The A12 Bionic chip with the industry’s “first” 7nm process chip is a nice bit of enginneering. I didn’t catch the typical propaganda of “this latest chip is ___% faster than its predecessor” that I usually notice. did I just miss that?

-Sounds like the physical cameras are only marginally upgraded - that the REAL upgrade is in the processing of said cameras (yes, one of the sensors is a bit larger - but keep in mind - we are talking in the realm of fractions of a millimeter here - there is only so much space in that case). But it is, technically an upgraded camera.

- Despite much of the hype given to the photography features and quality - most of that has been already in the existing iPhone X - just somewhat limited (and I personally believe it is an intentional withholding via software, not an actual hardware limitation). But that is a whole other discussion.

- iPhone Xs MAX - the jumbotron of iPhones - for those who like a huge form-factor and a pocket-queen waiting to be sat upon and cracked... But seriously - Considering it is overall the same external size as the iPhone 8+, yet with the significantly more screen real estate - I might be interested in an upgrade at some point in the future (probably about the time of the next generation in Fall 2019). When I moved from the iPhone 7+ to the iPhone X - it just feels small-ish. So maybe... don’t know.

- iPhone X[r] - the “budget” iPhone X- I feel mixed about this one - as it is right in-between my current iPhone X and the new iPhone Xs... yet has the latest processor, latest camera developments (but in a single-lens setup), and has an LED screen (that is somewhat of an engineering marvel). I suspect this could be the “sweet spot” for a lot of iphone loyalists who just can’t stomach the $999 starting price of the current X and the new Xs - yet long for MOST of the features and “benefits”...

Apple Watch Series 4? The jury is out for me. I like my Series 1 - but am a bit irritated with iOS 12 on my iPhone X and communication with my Watch - which has been rather wiggy of late. I’m hoping this is rectified in the GM release this week - but am not holding my breath. But the new Watch... I’m trying to figure out what makes it something worth upgrading to.

I am a bit puzzled at the massive number of iPhone models (not even counting the storage variations within each model) - Seems like they are diluting the product sea... but we shall see.

And finally - while I am no ecco-nut, I am impressed that Apple has chosen to go 100% “renewable energy” to power their corporate headquarters and server farms. Why am I impressed - because we know most of it isn’t really about “saving the planet”? Because they did it without a government mandate - and spent their own $$$ to do it, and as far as I know, didn’t beg for huge subsidies. But I sure hate to think what a bad hail storm would do to that new space station home base!

[Swordmaker]

I'm sure there were lots of great innovations discused, like an iphone that has a little bit of a bevel on the edge, an iphone that is blue, an iphone with a somehwat nicer camera, etc.

Well, you didn't even bother to read the article, did you? The AppleWatch is the first consumer device ever that is FDA approved to perform a medical diagnostic grade electrocardiogram ECG/EKG on the user's wrist, and it can notify the user's cardiologist if there is a problem such as Atrial Fibrillation. It is approved by the American Heart Association for use by heart patients. That's INNOVATION!

Now add the Neural Engine on the three flagship iPhone models that can perform FIVE TRILLION calculations per SECOND, up from last year's 600 billion. That also is innovation. This on the fastest mobile processor developed by Apple. . . that was already twice as fast as any processor in any Android phone or tablet. It's now going to be 30% faster than that. Again, innovation.

And, yes, they did do something innovative with the cameras. They've added completely adjustable Bokeh, AFTER the photo has been taken. . . and HDR to videos, so that you can take low light video looking into the sun and get low light detail on your foreground subjects without washing out the entire scene in either real time of slow motion. Again, innovation.

I don't think you have a clue what "Innovation" means. What are you looking for? A time machine on your phone?

[pepsi_junkie]

I don't think you have a clue what "Innovation" means. What are you looking for? A time machine on your phone?

How about something that isn't just an incremental improvement of a phone, often copying advances already made by the competitors? That's all Apple seems to be now, they are a phone company that's a fast-follower of the innovations of other phone companies. Good business model, makes lots of dough. Yet we treat them like some sort of herald of technological advancement.

I'll give you the apple watch EKG thing as an innovation. Good for them on that one. The move to faster chips is the outcome of the smaller scale electronics that everyone is moving towards now so yeah, they get credit for moving to it but that's not something they invented. The "neural engine" for AI they introduced with the iPhone X seemed like it could have been game changing, so far I haven't seen anything special come from it. Maybe they could have had that power to do something truly new but they just put it on a faster chip.

Steve Jobs once said "people don't know what they want until you show it to them." He made things that never existed before. He basically created the smart phone. That's innovation and it changed the world. What has Apple done since Jobs died that has really changed the game?

[Dr. Sivana]

The Mac is ignored again. Mac Mini, Mac Pro, due for more than a cosmetic touch-up. It’s not like Apple doesn’t have the resources. I guess the iPod Touch will simply fade away. Maybe they can rename it the iPad Nano or something.

[Swordmaker]

-The A12 Bionic chip with the industry’s “first” 7nm process chip is a nice bit of enginneering. I didn’t catch the typical propaganda of “this latest chip is ___% faster than its predecessor” that I usually notice. did I just miss that?

They covered it. It's basic A12 processor is 50% faster than the A11, with the GPU at 30% faster. The A12's Neural Engine is even more impressive than that. At five trillion calculations per second, it's 625% faster than the A11's Neural Engine's 800 billion.

And finally - while I am no ecco-nut, I am impressed that Apple has chosen to go 100% “renewable energy” to power their corporate headquarters and server farms. Why am I impressed - because we know most of it isn’t really about “saving the planet”? Because they did it without a government mandate - and spent their own $$$ to do it, and as far as I know, didn’t beg for huge subsidies. But I sure hate to think what a bad hail storm would do to that new space station home base!

Apple has been 100% renewable energy in its server farms since 2013 and corporate offices in the USA. Where they were not was in the retail stores and offices off shore. Those were more difficult to make "green" as there were more hoops to jump through to either build power facilities they could own (Some where in countries where the power was socialized and were obligated to buy power from the national grid) and others had regulatory road blocks. This year, Apple was finally able to make all of their corporate and stores 100% renewable energy by either contracting the purchase of energy from a renewable source placing it into the grid, or owning the renewable generating facility, or co-generating sufficient renewable energy to offset any power they consume where they cannot get renewable (China comes to mind).

In fact, as I understand it, Apple is actually more than 100% as their owned renewable generating capacity is now generating more energy than they use, and they are selling power onto the grid. It's a minor profit point.

[Swordmaker]

The Mac is ignored again. Mac Mini, Mac Pro, due for more than a cosmetic touch-up. It’s not like Apple doesn’t have the resources. I guess the iPod Touch will simply fade away. Maybe they can rename it the iPad Nano or something.

I agree on all counts. Tim Cook and Jony Ives are not the product Jugglers that Steve Job was. The seem capable of only keeping two products in the air at once. Steve could juggle five and six and then say "Oh, there's one more thing. . ." with that wry grin which we all miss.

[roadcat]

The Mac is ignored again. Mac Mini, Mac Pro, due for more than a cosmetic touch-up.

Yes, disappointing. Got tired of waiting for an update to the Mac Mini. Bought another Mini last week, 2012 server model, more bang than the 2014 model which is current. iPhone and Watch are getting all the attention now.

[Mark17]

Thanks for the article bro. 👍

[dennisw]

I can’t see Apple powering its server farms with solar or wind. Far too unreliable and need base power to back them up. Base power will mean burning fossil fuels. Usually.

When they are saying 100% powered by renewable energy the translation here is: powered by hydro-electric and maybe geothermal.