Apple Keeps Innovating. Being Different.

Tim Cook greeted a very large audience in Cupertino, the location of major historic significance for Apple.  Introducing the new iPhone, a beautiful new iPhone.  The iPhone 6 and 6 plus has larger displays with a new Retina HD Display, a higher resolution over prior Retina display.  It has an ion strengthened glass with a more beautiful and colorful display.

Apple live Event on Sept 8, 2014 (video)

Phil Schiller took the stage.

The app store has over 1.3 million apps!

Built into IOS8 is a desktop style scaler to view web pages more readily.

The new iPhone 6 and 6plus has a new A8 chip which is a desktop 64 bit processor and has 2 Billion transistors built with a new 20 nanometer process.  25% faster cpu performance and 50% faster graphics performance as compared to iPhone 5.  It is 50% more energy efficient and better sustained performance.  A new graphics performance enhancement is called “metal” which allows developers to reduce the Open GL code necessary.

A8 processor

M8 next generation motion processor for enhanced monitoring of fitness activity.

New sensor that determines elevation.

New LTE 150Mbps and 20 LTE bands and working with over 200 global LTE carriers.

Volte – voice over LTE for clearer voice signal

3x faster Wifi – 433 Mbps

Apple has combined LTE and fast Wifi to enable phone calls to be sent over Wifi when the LTE signal is hindered by location such as in a building.  When you leave the building and switch from wifi to LTE, the phone call is seamlessly transitioned from wifi to LTE.

New Cameras with higher resolution on iPhone 6 and 6plus.

• 8 megapixel iSight camera
• True tone flash
• 1.5 micron pixels
• f/2.2 aperture for better low lighting pictures
• all new sensor for better photos – focus pixel technology – fast autofocus
• macro photo capable
• better panning photos
• 5 element lens
• digital image stabilization / 6plus adds optical stabilization using gyroscope (low lighting)

• 1080p HD video with either 30 or 60 fps
• Slo-mo  video at 120 or 240 fps
• Cinematic video stabilization
• Time-lapse video
• Focus pixels provide continuous autofocus on video
• Burst mode selfies
• Single Shot HDR picture
• HDR videos

• share audio messages with a simpler one handed control
• Health app fitness tracker
• Touch ID finger print with use on third party applications

Manufacturing environmental check list for protecting the environment was shown.

You want one now?  Well get in line, here is when they become available.

Available Sept 18, 2014 (pre-order Sept 12)

iPhone 6 comes in gold, silver and black

16GB  $199 / 64GB $299  / 128GB $399  with 2 year contract

Tim Cook then shared a couple of videos about the iPhone 6 and 6plus and revealed after that it was “Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon”.

Next, he introduced the new “Apple Pay” and stated that the daily US transactions are $12 Billion is spent on credit and debit, “that is over $4 Trillion”.  He stated that we conduct over “200 million transactions per day where we scramble for our credit cards and go through what is a fairly antiquated payment process.”

Tim went on to state that “this process uses either credit or debit cards that rely on the exposed numbers and the outdated and vulnerable magnetic stipe interface, which by the way is 5 decades old, and the security code which all of us know are not secure. It is so easy to lose your card or have it compromised, it is no wonder that people have dreamed of replacing these for years but they have all failed. The reason most have failed in the past is that they have focused on business models around their self interest rather than on the user experience.  We love this sort of problem.  This is exactly what Apple does best.  So we have created a totally new payment process and we call it Apple Pay.”  He went on to show a video of an iPhone 6 with Apple pay, the user authenticates with their fingerprint using Touch ID on the iPhone and an encrypted payment token is sent instantly with NFC communication through the POS device.

Apple Pay is built into every iPhone6/6plus and includes NFC radio antenna(near field communication) which is the standard for all contact-less payments.  Authentication occurs with Touch ID using your finger print.  A new chip called the “Secure Element” stores all of your payment information encrypted and securely.  When a person gets the new iPhone 6/6plus, they may chose to transact a payment with the credit card on file with their iCloud account on the Apple servers.  Additionally, you may photograph all your credit cards and enter them into your passbook app.  Each credit card is checked with your bank to make sure it belongs to you and you are ready to use Apple Pay. It is fast, secure and private and with just one touch you have paid.

Security is enforced using both hardware and software. When you enter your credit cards onto passbook, Apple does not store your credit card number and they do not give it to the merchant.  Instead, they create a “device only account number” and store it safely in the “Secure Element” chip.  Each time you pay, they issue a one time payment number along with a dynamic security code to ensure better fraud protection.  Should you lose your iPhone, you can use “find my iPhone” and suspend all credit cards payments from that phone. Also, because your credit card number is not stored on the device, there is no need to cancel your credit cards.

A very important note on privacy, Apple does not store your purchase activity.  They “do not know, what you bought, where you bought it or how much you paid for it”.  The transaction is between you, your merchant and the bank and the cashier does not see your name, credit card number or security code like they do today when you hand them a plastic card.

Apple Pay is starting with transactions of credit and debit cards from the three largest payment networks; American Express, Master Card and VISA and 83% of the largest card issuing banks.  You can use Apple Pay in over 220,000 merchant locations that accept contact-less payments today.

I was very impressed with the technology which is much better than existing contact-less smart cards which have been shown to be problematic because the credit card number can be decrypted with a reader instead of on the server.  Hackers can walk past you with a reader in a suitcase and steal your credit card information.  This is not the case with Apple Pay technology.

Apple Pay is also revolutionizing online transactions with one click using the secure authentication and payment tokens.  No credit card information is ever sent to the merchant.

Tim Cook ended by stating that there is “one more thing” followed by a sea of cheers. Apple has been working “incredibly hard on an entirely new product”.  He said  “ i am happy to share the next chapter in Apple’s story and here it is” as a video proceeded to show a revolving globe, then an array of elegant wheels, brackets, facets, time pieces of exquisite precision, jewelry quality and elegant.  Then a series of different Apple watches for the masses.  Not iWatch but Apple Watch.

Apple Watch  |  Apple Watch Sport  |  Apple Watch Edition

• incredibly accurate and precise to within 50 milliseconds
• customizable and intimate way to communicate with you
• it is a comprehensive health and fitness device
• a new user interface, no prior interface would work, a new navigation was created
• the watch digital crown when rotated, it can zoom, scroll, select
• it is as much about personal technology as it is about style and taste
• great function and great looks
• the display recognize tap and pressure
• it detects pulse and daily activities
• It is recharged using “Inductive charging”
• It is water resistant and can be worn all day
• it has a range of watch faces to personalize your watch.
• It can play music and has numbers apps
• It can accept voice commands and use Seri functionality
• The fitness app encourages you to set goals for the day and achieve them.