SAN FRANCISCO: The new iPhones came as expected. But Apple also moved into the living room with an upgraded streaming TV box and introduced its iPad Pro aimed at reviving the tablet market.
At Wednesday's media event in San Francisco, Apple unveiled two updated iPhones, aiming to build on the success of its large-screen handsets introduced late last year.
The new smartphones are the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, which have roughly the same overall dimensions as the last version.
"They look familiar, but we have changed everything about these iPhones," chief executive Tim Cook said.
One of the key new features is called "3D touch," which responds to pressure exerted on the screen to allow users to look farther inside messages and applications.
By responding to sensing pressure, the phones enable new "peek and pop" abilities to allow users dip in and out of content without losing their place. "Press lightly to peek at a photo, email, web page or other content, and press a little deeper to pop into the content itself," Apple said in a statement.
The new iPhones will use the upcoming iOS 9 operating system, which supports new features such as 3D touch.
The 6S has the 4.7-inch (about 12-centimeter) display of its predecessor and the 6S Plus -- one of the more popular handsets in the "phablet category" -- has a 5.5-inch screen.
But the devices have more powerful processors that allow for improved graphics, harder glass and a new aluminum body, and keeps the same pricing as the earlier big-screen phones.
iPad Pro
The new iPad Pro has the power and capabilities to replace a laptop computer, Apple said.
Cook called the device "the biggest news in iPad since the iPad."
The new tablet with a 12.9-inch display also includes a detachable keyboard and stylus.
The device features "desktop-class performance" and operates faster than 80 percent of portable PCs that shipped in the last 12 months, said Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller of the device.
The new iPad will be available in November starting at $799, with a keyboard option at $169.
"It is thin and light enough to work all day and be taken everywhere," Schiller said.
The iPad Pro includes a stylus called Apple Pencil -- despite comments from late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs that consumers did not want such an accessory.
Cook said he expects the new tablet to offer new possibilities for computing as the original iPad did.
"The iPad is the clearest expression of our vision of the future of personal computing," Cook said.
"In just five years, iPad has transformed the way we create, the way we learn and the way we work."
The new tablet has 10-hour battery life, and a "forcetouch" screen which responds to the amount of pressure applied.
Bob O'Donnell at the research firm Technalysis said on Twitter that the new iPad "sure looks a lot like a Windows 2-in-1 (computer)...in fact, kind of similar to @surface," referring to the Microsoft tablet computer.
Upgraded streaming box
The upgraded streaming television Apple TV device includes voice search, touchscreen remote control and an app store in a challenge to Google, Amazon and video game console titans.
Apple TV was overhauled as people increasingly stream films and television shows on-demand online and turn to mobile applications for entertainment.
"Our vision for TV is simple, and perhaps a little provocative," Cook said.
"We believe the future of television is apps."
Apple released a software kit for outside developers, and showed off early versions of Apple TV applications already being crafted by show streaming services Netflix and Hulu, as well as HBO.
Game makers are already working on applications, as are home-sharing service Airbnb and real estate-focused service Zillow, according to Apple executive Eddie Cue.
The new Siri virtual assistant software built into Apple TV will allow for natural language searches for shows -- for example, by asking for something funny or a certain actor by name.
The new Apple TV will launch in late October at a starting price of $149.
Apple TV has lagged rivals with similar devices.
According to the research firm Parks Associates, Roku leads the US market with a 37 percent market share, to 19 percent for Google Chromecast and 17 percent for Apple TV. Amazon's Fire TV devices have 14 percent.
AFP
