Apple Keynote: September 9th, 2014

In January of 1984, the Macintosh was unveiled to the world. In January of 2007, the first iPhone was introduced. Now, in 2014, the... Oh. My. God. This can't be happening. This isn't happening. There's no way. How is this possible?

As tones of mellow and hipster-like music filled the room, crowds of reporters, bloggers, and fashion critics started flooding the Flint Center. As you overlooked the crowd, you could see the enormous amount of light emanating from the iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks. Everyone was eager, everyone was curious. What would Apple introduce to the market? Was it an iWatch? Was it a new iPhone? A new iPad? As Tim Cook appeared on stage, the apex of the curiosity and suspense had been reached. The keynote had begun.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus: Bigger Is Better

Tim Cook started by going straight into the new iPhones, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. They were the biggest iPhones Apple has ever created, and Cook claims they are the best iPhones Apple has created.

By just catching a glimpse, you could see there was no drastic difference between the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s apart from the size and the continuous design. The continuous design can be quoted as more "curvy," no longer having those sharp edges of the iPhone 5s. This is done to ensure better grasp of the larger phone. As for the size, as rumors had claimed, it was a 4.7-inch and a 5.5-inch. Naturally, the new sizes did constitute a new resolution. The new iPhone 6 runs a resolution of 1334 by 750 with 326 pixels per inch; the iPhone 6 Plus runs a resolution of 1920 by 1080 with 401 pixels per inch.

Thanks to these beautiful new resolutions, the text is sharper. The images are crisper. Graphics are beautiful. In compliance with the new resolution, there is also now more in store for the iPhone 6 Plus. It truly is a "phablet," for when you turn your phone in landscape, there is a new view.

In addition to the new landscape view, there is a new landscape home screen.

With over 1.3 million apps within the App Store, it would be irresponsible of Apple to be negligent to iOS developers. With the newly assembled Xcode, iOS 8 with the capability to run Metal, it's time for change. That change is going to be coming with Apple's A8 chip. Not only are graphics 84 times faster than the original iPhone, but processor performance is 50 times faster than the original iPhone. Talk about one-upping yourself. The new processor and Metal capabilities add the ability for higher frame rates, higher sustained performance, and games are now at a new standard. Now, it's up to the gaming industry.

Apple can only do so much when it comes to games. As they set the foundation for the gaming community with iOS 8 and Metal, the titles are coming. Big, industry-leading companies are now developing for Apple.

One of them, Super Evil Megacorp, gave a live demo from a game they are developing: Vainglory. Stephan Sherman of Super Evil Megacorp said, "We are so thrilled about the performance of iPhone 6 and Metal." That enthusiasm pours into the game, which is downright beautiful.

Naturally, none of this would be possible without iOS 8. Although it was not available to the public outside of the developer community until September 17th, iOS 8 was already causing quite a stir. Most of the commotion was due to the Health app. It can measure all physical activity, it adds interactivity to notifications, and will be able to support the groundwork for NFC. Essentially, iOS 8 laid down the foundation for Apple Pay and the Apple Watch.

So we've seen the new iPhone design, we've seen the games—what's left? The camera. The iPhone 6 camera has a better 8MP iSight camera, True Tone flash, new sensors, and focus pixels (which allow it to have better tone mapping, noise reduction, and can focus up to twice as fast). The video is now full 1080P with 30-60 fps. That is quite a bit; scratch that, that is a lot. The new camera is no doubt Apple's admission into the higher-end camera market.

Finally, the financial side. The lowest tier is naturally $199 and unfortunately a 16GB model. However, the second tier is a 64GB costing $299. Finally, the highest tier is a new 128GB tier costing a whopping $399.

Apple Pay: The Faster, Smarter Way To Pay

Apple, along with many other companies, have all had the vision to replace the wallet. With over 200 million daily transactions, a debit or credit card is no longer enough. A piece of plastic that has all your numbers exposed, is easy to steal, and is utterly unsafe should by no means be the standard for transactions. And thanks to Apple, it no longer might be.

Apple Pay is a faster, smarter way to pay. Tim Cook showed a comparison of two videos showing a traditional way to pay and Apple Pay. The difference was approximately about twenty-five seconds, with the traditional way taking about thirty seconds overall and Apple Pay taking five. Twenty-five seconds doesn't seem like a big difference? Well, put into perspective that 25 seconds is more than 80% time saved on every transaction. Not only is it faster, it is more secure.

First off, Apple Pay uses NFC. NFC is very secure and reliable. Second, you need Touch ID to allow any transactions. No fingerprint, no money. Third, it uses tokenization. Tokenization ensures that your card number is not saved, but a one-time payment number is used. Not only does the store not really know who you are or what your number is, Apple won't know what the store is or what you bought. Security and privacy going hand in hand, as it should.

The simplistic approach is applied online too. One-time checkout with the merchant with no real data being interchanged. Major companies like Uber, Groupon, Panera, MLB, OpenTable, and naturally Apple are adopting this method. With a new Apple Pay API soon to be available, there should be no reason why apps won't support this either.

Apple Watch, Available Fashionably Late

As Tim Cook got back up on stage, the favorite words any Apple enthusiast likes to hear. As Cook said "One more thing..." with a sheepish grin, everyone went dead silent. Everyone knew it was time for the Apple Watch.

In the announcement video, Jony Ive talks about the user interface of the new Apple Watch. Ive shows the great consideration taken to get to this point, and what were the ultimate deciding factors. Apple knew they couldn't just take the iPhone and squish it down into a watch, so they had to find alternatives to making a smartwatch.

The Apple Watch's functionality lies within the crown (the dial on the side), simply called the Digital Crown. With the Digital Crown, you can scroll, zoom, and navigate Apple Watch without covering the display, a problem that Tim Cook pointed out. The user interface is mostly simplistic, as that is the only thing it can be. The home page is round apps, upon which you can use the crown to zoom in and zoom out and touch interface to select the apps you want to use.

Kevin Lynch, a software engineer, took over as he did a live demo. He showed off the multiple watch faces, notifications, and maps.

As for the specs, it features a flexible Retina display, force integration, heart rate detection, and genuine craftsmanship. Other hardware specs lie within the different models. There will be WatchKit within Xcode, allowing third-party developers to create apps, notifications, and other Apple Watch-related software.

As Tim Cook gets back on the stage, he demonstrates the fitness and health portion of the watch. Apple Watch comes with two apps that give a complete picture of your health and fitness. The Activity app monitors movement throughout the day. The Workout app tracks dedicated workouts. Cook also emphasizes how the watch gets to know you. The more you use it, the more it can provide goals and accurate data. He also mentions the ability to control Apple TV, walkie-talkie apps, Apple Pay integration, and ensures that as developers use it more, it will get better.

An iPhone is required for the Apple Watch, however it does not have to be an iPhone 6; iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5s are all supported. The price, however, is not so flexible. The starting price is $349 in early 2015, but he ensures it is worth the wait.

One More Thing

As fanboys all over the internet had guessed, Tim Cook went into the details of Apple's relationship with the music industry. Reminiscing how iTunes changed the music industry, he commented saying "Music runs deep within Apple." And he was right. With iTunes Festival this month, iTunes still bringing in huge profits, Apple did have a strong connection with the music industry.

All the more reason to bring U2 into the mix.

As they were finished, Apple had a surprise for the people with an iTunes account. They were giving away U2's latest album for free. It is within your iTunes library now.

Time of My Life

What was clearly a monumental day for Apple, Tim Cook looked pleased as he walked off the stage.

"One More Thing. Having the time of my life. It's a privilege to work with everyone at Apple." — Tim Cook