Summary of announcements from Apple and the September 9 2014 event

DRAFT - ongoing information

Sources:

• Stream at http://www.apple.com/live/2014-sept-event/
• http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/09/09/apple-announces-47-iphone-6-and-55-iphone-6-plus-new-design-a8-cpu-retina-hd-display

• iPhone 6 4.7"
• gold, silver, space grey
• in contract $199 16GB, $299 64GB, $399 128GB
• bigger but thinner at 6.9mm thick (thinner than iPhone 5 which is 7.6mm thick)
• as good or better in every battery category
• Retina Display HD - 1334x750 pixels (1 million)
• 1400:1 contrast ratio (avg)
• 326 ppi (same as iphone 5)
• iPhone 6 plus 5.5"
• gold, silver, space grey
• in contract $299 16GB, $399 64GB, $499 128GB
• much bigger but still thinner at 7.1mm thick
• Retina Display HD - 1920x1080 pixels (2 million)
• 1300:1 contrast ratio (avg)
• 401 ppi
• A8
• 2 billion transistors (2x A7), 25% faster than A7, 50% more efficient overall than A7
• Next generation image processor for camera
• more advanced face detection
• M8
• Camera:
• New camera sensor
• Phase detection auto-focus (better faster auto-focus)
• better noise reduction
• Panorama up to 43megapixels
• Optical image stabilization
• 1080P video at 30 or 60 fps (like 5s), slo-mo video at 240fps (double before)
• h.265 for facetime calls
• front camera improved also
• f/2.2 (much better at capturing light - they say 80% better)
• burst mode for better selfies
• Other sensors:
• Next generation gyroscope
• Barometer (altitude detection)
• Networking:
• Now 802.11AC Wifi is available also - up to 3x faster than wireless N
• LTE:
• faster - up to 150MB/sec
• VoLTE - when supported by carriers, enables voice over LTE
• more bands in each phone - up to 20 (Verizon is said to be the one to buy if you are buying unlocked)
• BlueTooth LE
• Apple has worked hard to take advantage of all the capabilities of the Bluetooth standard.
• When supported by carriers - the ability to take a call from WiFi back to cellular will offload cellular demands and hopefully make calls more reliable.
• Display Zoom - makes icons and text bigger on the new screens with more pixels
• Reachability - double click the home button to make the top of the screen reachable

• New silicon and leather cases
• iPhone 5C starts free, iPhone 5s starts at $99
• new phones start shipping Sept 19th, pre-order starting 9/12/14
• 115 countries by the end of the year

IOS8

• Not available for iPhone 4, available Sept 17.

Apple Pay

• New payments process
• for iPhone 6/6+, NFC + TouchID + Secure Element + Passbook 
• Card number not stored - token created with dynamic security code - credit card info not on device
• Find my iphone allows disabling credit card
• Apple does not know what/where/how much you paid
• Cashier does not see your name, card #, or security code
• AMEX, MasterCard, VISA to start
• Some stores supporting it: Macy's, Bloomingdales, walgreens, Duanereade, staples, subway, McDonald's (including drive-through), Whole Foods, Apple stores, Disney (all stores and Disney World), Panera, Sephora, Petco, Toys 'R Us
• Online: one-touch checkout - Target, groupon, Uber, Opentable (to pay check at restaurants), tickets.com, starbucks
• Update to IOS8 in the US in October, 2014 (reminder: new iPhones only)

Apple Watch

• Starts at $349, available in 2015
• Models
• Watch - Stainless Steel and Sapphire Crystal
• Watch Sport - Aluminum and Ion-X Glass
• Watch Edition - 18-karat gold, Sapphire gold
• Apple pay works with Apple watch
• Has to be charged with a magnetically attaching charger on the back
• Sensors:
• Gyroscope
• Pulse rate
• Accelerometer
• S1 processor
• Taptic 
• Apps on the watch:
• too many to count
• What you can do with the watch:
• I'll write another post - there are too many things!

Music

• U2 - Free just-released to 500 million people album - to all iTunes users.