At the most watched Apple event of all time (both live on Apple's website and on the Apple Events Apple TV channel), the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were first announced, as well as ApplePay, Apple Watch, and U2's album Songs of Innocence. I didn't get to watch it live on my Apple TV because it kept freezing every thirty seconds (boo), so I instead tracked it on Engadget's auto-refreshing live blog.
I'm pretty meh about the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus right now. They're just what I thought they would be- thinner phones with a bigger and sharper screen, better processor, better camera, you know the deal. It's really hard to get excited about a phone nowadays since every company, including Apple, is iterating rather than innovating on that front. I already have the iPhone 5S and my parents just got themselves iPhone 5S's so I think I might wait until my Verizon upgrade cycle allows me to upgrade to the 6 Plus or until I can't update the iOS on my 5S, possibly whichever comes last.
I'm more excited about iOS 8, which is coming September 17th. Of course, all the shiniest features like ApplePay with NFC (FINALLY!) are exclusive to the 6 and Plus, but you can grab iOS 8 on your iPad 2 (yeah, that hunk of junk!) or later and iPhone 4S (that OTHER hunk of junk!) or later. I would say it seems worth it. Being able to send audio messages in the Messages app, having a smarter keyboard, and store your app files in iCloud Drive seems small, especially if you don't have an iPad and/or a Mac to benefit from the interconnectivity features like handing off activities between iPhones and iPads or answering a phone call on your iPad, but the security updates alone will definitely prove worth the upgrade.
And I was on the edge of my seat for the Apple Watch (what, was iWatch taken?!) reveal. I think that the Digital Crown that allows you to use a dial like on analog watches to replace pinch to zoom on such a small screen is really clever. I can't give you much more impressions (nobody can really), but the fitness apps seem good, everything appears scaled just right, the Siri integration will definitely help out a lot...color me excited, especially since it can interface with an iPhone 5 or later.
Finally, I was thrown by the surprise U2 album. Giving away an album from one of my and my family's favorite bands for free to all 500 million iTunes customers (and later making it available to stream on iTunes Radio and new Apple pet music service Beats Music) makes history in a way nothing else in this announcement did and is basically like Thanksgiving come early. They've given the album to everyone who has an iOS device or a Mac or PC running iTunes, and you can download it for free or play it over iCloud until October 19th (the CD release is slated for October 13th). I've been listening to the entire thing and trust me, this is some of the band's best work and it's one freebie you do NOT want to miss out on.
I'm pretty meh about the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus right now. They're just what I thought they would be- thinner phones with a bigger and sharper screen, better processor, better camera, you know the deal. It's really hard to get excited about a phone nowadays since every company, including Apple, is iterating rather than innovating on that front. I already have the iPhone 5S and my parents just got themselves iPhone 5S's so I think I might wait until my Verizon upgrade cycle allows me to upgrade to the 6 Plus or until I can't update the iOS on my 5S, possibly whichever comes last.
I'm more excited about iOS 8, which is coming September 17th. Of course, all the shiniest features like ApplePay with NFC (FINALLY!) are exclusive to the 6 and Plus, but you can grab iOS 8 on your iPad 2 (yeah, that hunk of junk!) or later and iPhone 4S (that OTHER hunk of junk!) or later. I would say it seems worth it. Being able to send audio messages in the Messages app, having a smarter keyboard, and store your app files in iCloud Drive seems small, especially if you don't have an iPad and/or a Mac to benefit from the interconnectivity features like handing off activities between iPhones and iPads or answering a phone call on your iPad, but the security updates alone will definitely prove worth the upgrade.
And I was on the edge of my seat for the Apple Watch (what, was iWatch taken?!) reveal. I think that the Digital Crown that allows you to use a dial like on analog watches to replace pinch to zoom on such a small screen is really clever. I can't give you much more impressions (nobody can really), but the fitness apps seem good, everything appears scaled just right, the Siri integration will definitely help out a lot...color me excited, especially since it can interface with an iPhone 5 or later.
Finally, I was thrown by the surprise U2 album. Giving away an album from one of my and my family's favorite bands for free to all 500 million iTunes customers (and later making it available to stream on iTunes Radio and new Apple pet music service Beats Music) makes history in a way nothing else in this announcement did and is basically like Thanksgiving come early. They've given the album to everyone who has an iOS device or a Mac or PC running iTunes, and you can download it for free or play it over iCloud until October 19th (the CD release is slated for October 13th). I've been listening to the entire thing and trust me, this is some of the band's best work and it's one freebie you do NOT want to miss out on.
Luke: You don't believe in the Force, do you?
Han Solo: Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen *anything* to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. 'Cause no mystical energy field controls *my* destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.
Han Solo: Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen *anything* to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. 'Cause no mystical energy field controls *my* destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.
