We’re liveblogging Apple’s iPad event!
OK, folks, who’s ready for new iPads? Apple’s just about to begin its big keynote, and we’re pretty sure we’re going to see some fresh tablets. Maybe iMacs too, and a final version of OS X Yosemite to go with them. But who needs speculation at this point? Follow along as we report live from Apple’s press event in Cupertino. Then, when we’re done with that, you might want to stick around even longer: There’s a chance we’ll be getting hands-on with all the new stuff.
Hello, and good morning from Cupertino!
I’m Dana Wollman, your friendly neighborhood reviews editor, and I’ll be your liveblogger today.
I’m joined by Brad Molen, our esteemed senior mobile editor and reviewer of iPads. Which you know, we’ll probably be seeing today.
We’re seated here in an intimate little auditorium here on Apple’s campus. We’ve already gotten the warning that the event’s about to begin.
Seated nearby, we’ve got my friend and former colleague Joanna Stern from the Wall Street Journal. Clayton Morris from Fox News. And John Gruber from Daring Fireball, who I had never met in person before.
It really is a cozy little space here. The tall gentlemen seated near me have basically no leg room. We’re all packed in together. Good thing we’re all friends here!
On the speaker system here we’re got some upbeat music. Not Pharrell, for once, thank goodness.
Oh, and on stage, there are some computer tucked to the side. Specifically, an iMac and one of the MacBooks.
Makes sense: I expect we’ll hear about OS X Yosemite again today. Maybe iMacs too.
MacBooks, though? Don’t get your hopes up. I’m not.
Here we go: The house lights went dark.
We’re starting with a video, as we often do.
It’s Apple employees… yelling?
Lots of yelling and cheering all around.
Lots of scenes from various Apple Stores around the world.
With plenty of closeups of all the recently announced devices, of course. The iPhone 6 and what have you.
Applause.
Good lord, the applause. (What journalists applaud at these events?)
And here’s Tim Cook.
(He changed his outfit since we saw him in the hallway.)
Tim’s talking about the new iPhones, calling them the “best phones we’ve ever created.”
And he’s quoting some reviews, starting with Walt Mossberg at Re/code.
And a reminder that these iPhones are the fastest-selling iPhones in history.
(But you knew that.)
By the end of this week, the iPhone 6 will be in 32 countries. And it’s launching in China in a few hours.
This is also the first time Apple is launching an iPhone on all three of China’s major networks.
“This is our biggest iPhone launch ever.”
Got it? Good.
“The iPhones also get the benefit of another major announcement we made last month.” (He’s talking about Apple Pay.)
Bear with us here: Recapping is part of the experience!
But in case you didn’t know, Apple is claiming Apple Pay support from all of the major US banks. Including 500 more, presumably smaller banks too.
And lots of major retailer support too. Macy’s, etc.
You want a pair of Beats headphones, and “boom you bought them.”
Lots of chuckles at that Beats plug there.
“I’m excited to announce today that we are beginning on Monday.”
So, you’ve got an iPhone 6 / 6 Plus already? Get ready to use the mobile payment feature starting then.
But wait, now we’re switching gears to Apple Watch, which you also may have read about.
“Great reception from the health and fitness community” and from “people who know a lot about fashion and style… even more than I do.”
This month, Apple Watch is on the cover of Vogue China. (We already reported that!)
And now, a recap of the apps Apple Watch will have at launch. Delta, Starwood and others.
And now, Apple is about to roll out “WatchKit” for developers. That’s coming next month.
“We can’t wait to see what experiences they come up with.”
“Apple Watch is shipping early next year, and every day I look forward to that day.”
So this is the part where we back up and talk about the whole lineup.
Which means it’s time to talk about the underlying operating systems: iOS and Yosemite.
With that, Craig Federighi, the software guy, is taking the stage.
Let’s start with iOS 8.
Joanna Stern just got a shout-out for her review of the OS.
Nearly half of the install base is running iOS 8, he says.
Here we go, he’s comparing to Android.
Fragmentation!
Only 25 percent of Android users are running KitKat, or so he says.
“iOS 8 is a major feature release.” (Very true.)
In particular, though, Craig is focusing on new features for developers. Extensibility for third-party apps, for example.
In case this is all new to you, I suggest you read Brad Molen’s thorough review of iOS 8.
And, I mean, our liveblog photos going up should jog your memory too.
Some laughter there as Craig name-checked a Klingon-themed third-party keyboard.
On to HealthKit.
Y’all know how this works, right? Works with all sorts of health apps and devices, like scales?
Moving on, a recap of Metal. This is more on the performance side, of course, and graphics performance.
But that’s kinda hard to demonstrate in a liveblog.
Next recap: Swift, Apple’s programming language.
“Its impact could be greater than any other language,” says the Wired review he’s quoting to us.
(Hah, only one person started applauding at first, and then everyone jumped in.)
And now, iOS 8.1.
Key points: Support for Apple Pay.
Ability to access all your photos and video at their original resolution, with no downscaling.
That’s gonna be in public beta for now.
And now, OS X Yosemite.
So far, a recap of the design. Flat, iOS-inspired.
New typography, new icons in the dock. A new “Today” view in the Notification Center. Revamped Spotlight search.
New look for every native app, including Safari, which now hides favorites behind the address field.
Safari, as you might know, also has Spotlight suggestions. Similar to the new Spotlight suggestions on the Mac desktop, and on iOS 8.
New tab view in Safari. “Birds-eye view” of all of your tabs, with all of your pages from the same site in one stack.
Now Craig is talking about performance improvements in Safari.
In particular, JavaScript performance and battery life (at least two extra hours versus other browsers).
Then there’s the new Mail app. The Markup feature I told you about in my preview over the summer. Mail Drop for sending large attachments (up to 5GB).
Messages has a new design. Brings on a lot of features you’ll also find in Messages for iOS 8. Add participants, etc.
We’re going at blazing speed here! Brief mention of iWork here.
New sidebar view if that’s exciting to you.
Moving on! iCloud Drive.
Filed under: Apple
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