Apple Showcases New And Improved iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches And More

New Toys (photo: ArsTechnica)

As expected, APPLE unveiled new versions of its iPHONE, the 6S and 6S+, touted by CEO TIM COOK as the "most advanced iPHONES ever created." The lengthy, two-hour presentation also launched the new iPAD PRO and new and improved versions of the APPLE WATCH, iOS, APPLE TV and iCLOUD.

• The new iPHONES can come in a Rose Gold aluminum finish, made of 7000-series aluminum, same as used in the aerospace industry.
• The 4.7-inch 6S and the 5.5-inch 6S+ are covered by brand new glass with 3D Touch, - pressure-sensitive touch is bringing up things that looks an awful lot like right-click menus
• A third-gen A9 chip creates a big jump in performance -- 70% faster CPU than A8, 90% faster GPU than A8.
• A M9 motion coprocessor is built directly into the chip.
• A new Hey Siri feature enables users to speak to their iPhone whether they're powered on or not.
• All-new iSight camera, 12MP, boasts 50% more pixels than before.
• For better selfies, there's a 5MP FaceTime HD camera, using the Retina Display as a flash.
• 4K video
• The 3D Touch also enables user to take "Live Photos"
• Wireless advances - 300Mbps LTE makes it two times faster

The 16GB 6S and 6S+ start at $199 and $299, respectively, with 2-year contracts. They're $299 and $399, respectively, for the 64GB versions and $399 and $499, respectively, for the 128GB versions. They're available SEPTEMBER 25th.

Other New Toys

The iPHONE was just a small part of the presentation; the showcase started with the new and improved APPLE WATCH, which CEO TIM COOK asserted already enjoyed a 97% customer satisfaction rate. This year's models will have new watch faces and third-party complications. Among the improvements to the watch and its over 10,000 apps:

• Transit is added to Maps, making it easier to find and use public transportation.
• FACEBOOK messenger can be accessed.
• Alerts and notifications from the AirStrip app, which monitor vital signs and lab results in real time    
• The watch can be connected to sensors to a pregnant woman's belly, which can monitor her and her baby's heartrate and automatically sends that data to her doctor
• HERMES has designed the new APPLE WATCH face, with either a leather band or ones with gold and rose gold in anodized aluminum -- or a stainless steel case with a product red band

They'll all be available SEPTEMBER 16th.

The iPad Pro

The new iPAD Pro is bigger (12.9-inches diagonally) with far better graphic clarity (2732x2048 pixels, 5.6 million pixels in all) and speed (360X faster graphics than the original iPAD). They've doubled the memory bandwidth and provide a 10-hour battery life. The iPAD Pro starts at $799 for 32GB, 128GB is $949, 128GB with LTE is $1,079.

New accessories include a full-size software keyboard, which can double as a musical instrument. The Smart Keyboard serves as a cover, stand, and keyboard -- and the cover is made of fabric.

Then there's the APPLE Pencil, which contains a digitizer than scans twice as often when you're drawing with the pencil. The lightning connector can be charged by plugging it into the iPAD Pro.

Cost: $169 for keyboard cover, $99 for APPLE Pencil.

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