Apple chief executive Tim Cook took the stage in San Francisco on Wednesday morning to show off the company’s latest roster of gadgets at an annual showcase anchored by upgrades to the iPhone.
This year, though, much of the attention was consumed by a new, full-featured Apple TV box for streaming video and playing games on the big screen.
Apple also debuted a widely anticipated, big-screen iPad Pro.
Here’s what’s new:
iPhone 6s
Apple’s biggest product is in the midpoint of a two-year upgrade cycle. This being an off year, the new phone is getting relatively modest changes and minimal alterations to the device’s size and shape.
The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus come with a new aluminum alloy and a new color option — “Rose Gold” (what others might call “pink”) and a faster, A9 Apple microprocessor.
“3D Touch,” a new feature imported and upgraded from the Apple Watch (where it’s known as “Force Touch,”) enables iPhone users to get different responses from the phone depending on how hard, or how long, they press the screen.
A new capability called “Live Photos” captures a brief, three-second moving image that accompanies still pictures. Viewers can activate Live Photos as a setting within the camera app and activate the motion on photos in their library with the new 3D Touch feature. Apple says the moving photos will also function within the Facebook app.
The “Hey Siri” feature can now always be on, so owners can summon the Siri digital assistant with their voices, without pressing any buttons. Apple has also upgraded its TouchID fingerprint sensor.
The new phones’ camera is 12 megapixels for more detailed photos, up from 8 megapixels in last year’s iPhone 6. And the camera can shoot in 4k for ultra high-definition video, a standard that has yet to be widely adopted on TVs.
An Apple Android app called Move to iOS facilitates moving data from a phone running Google’s mobile operating system to an iPhone.
Prices are unchanged — $199 to $399 for an iPhone 6, $299 to $499 for an iPhone 6 Plus — with standard, two-year
