Apple is launching a new iPad mini 4 for $399

Apple’s iPad line has typically been the star of its own October event in years past, but the company is changing things up and including iPad updates in its big iPhone event today. The big news is the new iPad Pro, but Apple is also releasing the new iPad mini 4, the first substantial update to Apple’s smaller iPad in almost two years. As the rumors predicted, Apple’s 7.9-inch tablet has had its internals updated to match last year’s iPad Air 2. That means Apple’s A8x processor is on board, a substantial upgrade from the A7 the iPad mini has sported for the last two years. That extra processing power is particularly important, because it means the iPad mini should be able to run all of iOS 9’s fancy new multitasking features.

Apple also upgraded the iPad mini’s back camera, if that sort of thing is important to you. It now sports an 8-megapixel shooter; in all likelihood, it’s the same camera found on the iPad Air 2. Otherwise, the iPad mini 4 is just what you expect: it comes in space grey, silver and gold, includes storage starting at 16GB going all the way up to 128GB and keeps the same excellent Retina display the device has featured since 2013. As with last year, pricing starts at $399 for the 16GB model. This is the update we had hoped we’d see for the iPad mini last year — aside from adding Touch ID, the iPad mini 3 was identical to the model that preceded it. And with Apple keeping the iPad mini 2 on sale at a pretty significant discount, it was hard to recommend last year’s model.

That’s all changed now, as the iPad mini 4 is on par spec-wise with the iPad Air 2 — and it looks like Apple’s larger-screen iPad isn’t getting an update, at least not at this event. (Rumors say it’ll be updated sometime in 2016, but it’s not clear exactly when yet.) Apple also cut the price of the iPad mini 2 to $269 for a 16GB model. It’s a little disappointing that Apple seems to be slowing down the pace of iPad hardware updates, but it’s entirely possible this new pattern is due to the thought that consumers don’t upgrade their iPads nearly as often as they do their smartphones.

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Apple’s iPhone 6s is here, and it’s all about ‘3D Touch’

Apple just announced the iPhone 6s and… it’s pretty much exactly what we expected. Staying true to tradition, the iPhone 6s looks practically indistinguishable from last year’s device (there’s a new new iPhone 6s Plus as well). It’s built out of the same 7000 series aluminum as the Apple Watch Sport (which should allay bending fears), and it includes an even stronger glass display. The iPhone 6s also brings over the Watch’s “Force Touch” feature, except now it’s called “3D Touch.” It allows you to press down on the screen to open up new options throughout iOS 9, and it offers a bit of tactile feedback as well thanks to a revamped “Taptic Engine.”

In the Mail app, for example, you can hold down on a message for a quick preview, or you can peek at directions in Maps by holding down your finger. Third party apps like Facebook and Dropbox are already taking advantage of 3D Touch, and we also caught a glimpse of it an upcoming game called Freeblade. Basically, it’s a feature that has the potential to fundamentally change how we interact with iPhones.

Under the hood, the iPhone 6s is powered by Apple’s new A9 processor, which it says is 70 percent faster than the A8 at CPU tasks and 90 percent faster at graphics work. The new chip also has an upgraded M9 motion processor built right on (before it was a separate chip), and this time it’s always on. There’s also a second-gen Touch ID fingerprint sensor which should be faster and more accurate than the last model.

Apple also upgraded iPhone 6s camera with a new 12 megapixel shooter, which marketing head Phil Schiller says packs in 50 percent more pixels than the last camera. All those pixels should make for far more detailed photos — at least, judging from the shots Apple showed off. And yes, as we expected, the new camera can shoot 4K video (good luck shooting that on the entry model’s piddly 16GB of storage). The iPhone 6s front-facing camera also got a few upgrades: it’s now using a 5MP sensor, and it has a selfie-flash capability that lights up the phone’s screen briefly.

3D Touch also makes it way into photos: A new “Live Photos” feature lets you hold down on pictures to play video clips. It looks like the phone is basically shooting a bit of video every time you take a shot. You can also set a Live Photo as your home screen on the Apple Watch. Third-party developers will be able to take advantage of the feature, too — Apple says Facebook has a Live Photos-capable app coming later this year.

Pricing-wise, there aren’t any surprises. The iPhone 6s starts at $199 on-contract for the 16GB model, with 64GB and 128GB options available for $299 and $399. Pre-orders begin this Saturday, September 12, and it’ll be available starting on September 25. The iPhone 6 and 6 plus, meanwhile, get discounted by $100. It’s a shame to see Apple stick with a 16GB entry model when Android phone makers have been squeezing in 32GB of storage for a while now. Basically, it just makes many people upgrade to the 6GB model, which means better margins for Apple, but a worse user experience for people stuck with only 16GB.

As with all of the “S” iPhone models, the 6s is more about refinement than massive design leaps. It’s not exactly a device meant to entice existing iPhone 6 owners, instead it’s meant more for people stuck with older iPhones, or those whose cellphone contracts didn’t allow them to upgrade over the past year. And for those who’ve waited, it looks to be worth it.

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The new Apple TV is running a new operating system called tvOS

Apple’s Eddie Cue just introduced the new Apple TV, and he’s saying that the future of TV is apps. To run all these apps, Apple has developed a new operating system for the Apple TV called, appropriately, tvOS. It shouldn’t be a wildly different development experience than what’s already out there for the Mac and iOS — there’s shared technology and tools like Xcode and Metal, and a bunch of the first round of apps and games are near-identical to what’s out there for iOS already. Developers can even build universal apps that let you buy one app that works across your iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV. The first round of apps includes expected video options like Netflix, HBO Now, and Hulu, but there are also a bunch of iOS-style apps like Airbnb and Zillow and games like Crossy Road and a game from the Rayman series.

Slideshow-318432 But Apple isn’t just bringing iOS ports to the Apple TV — it’s also going to have exclusive games for the TV that aren’t available on your iPhone. There’s a Guitar Hero game coming to the Apple TV, and Apple just showed off another music game called Beat Sports that’s another exclusive. All in all it looks like Apple’s doing what everyone predicted they’d do years ago: using the massive number of iOS games and gamers out there and bringing it to the living room.

As for things that maybe aren’t as suited to the couch, Apple is demoing some e-commerce apps for the Apple TV. The first up is Gilt, a discount shopping site. It looks like a nice browsing and buying experience, but it doesn’t seem any better than just shopping on your laptop or iPad.

Apple also showed off a new MLB.com app; there’s been an MLB app for the Apple TV for a while now, but this one looks a lot more fully-featured than what’s been available before. Opening the newly-titled At Bat app (the same as what it’s called for iOS) will show you the full slate of games for the day, and you can get highlights, score, stats, and so forth. Video will come at 60 fps, and there’s a split screen mode that lets you watch multiple games at the same time. What’s going unsaid here is that you’ll likely need an expensive MLB.TV subscription to take advantage of most of these features — but it’s still a much better MLB experience than what’s been offered in the past. The old Apple TV, Android TV, and Roku apps seem much more simplistic by comparison.

If you’re a developer, the tvOS developer beta is available today, and it sounds like Apple will be offering hardware to developers so they can start building and testing apps before the new Apple TV’s late October release date.

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Apple unveils the iPhone 6s Plus

Last year Apple bet big with the launch of the iPhone 6 Plus, finally giving Apple fans the phablet they never knew they wanted. While its size might not be everyone’s cup of tea, it seems that Apple hasn’t tired of the large screen, because it’s decided to do another one: Say hello to the iPhone 6s Plus. Like with the iPhone 6s, the iPhone 6s Plus will also come in a new rose gold aluminum finish, plus the usual gold, silver and space gray. The display is purportedly made out of a stronger kind of glass and it has the same 5.5-inch size as it had before. But the most interesting feature here is a new kind of technology called 3D Touch, which adds pressure-sensitive Force Touch to the phone’s display.Slideshow-318434

You can do things like press a little deeper to peek at items or open up shortcuts. For example, you can force touch on an email to get a preview, or force touch on the camera icon to quickly activate the front-facing camera for a selfie. Craig Federighi, Apple’s iOS lead, also showed this ability in Maps; you can peek at directions or place a pin by force-touching. You’re also able to apply some force to the edge to bring up a whole carousel of open apps that you can then swipe between.

Underneath it all is Apple’s new A9 chip. It’s apparently 70 percent faster at CPU tasks and 90 percent faster at GPU tasks. It also has the M9 motion co-processor built-in. As for the rest of the phone, there’s now a second-generation TouchID fingerprint sensor plus a new 12-megapixel camera sensor. Good news for videophiles: New to the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus is the ability to record 4K video. The front-facing cam is also now 5-megapixels, which is good for those selfies. About those selfies, you’re also now able to take better-lit ones thanks to a new “TrueTone flash” that uses the Retina display as a flash when you’re using the front-facing camera.

Another new trick up the iPhone’s sleeve is a feature called Live Photos, which are a sort of a mesh between still images and video. Tap on a photo, for example, and you’d be able to see the water ripple, or cars moving. The Live Photos can have sound as well. When you’re taking a Live Photo, the camera is essentially extending the capture by a few seconds. You’ll be able to have a Live Photo displayed on your Apple Watch and Facebook is already coming out with an iOS app that would utilize Live Photos. As far as connectivity goes, both phones have 23 bands of LTE and faster WiFi. And, of course, it runs on iOS9, which is rolling out next week.

The iPhone 6s Plus will have the same price as last year’s iPhone 6 Plus: It starts at $299 for the 16GB version.

Developing…

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Apple’s iPhone 6s camera makes a huge leap in quality

Apple has completely overhauled the camera on the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, giving it a much higher-resolution sensor and 4K video. It has fitted its flagship iPhone 6s and 6s Plus with a 12-megapixel sensor, giving it 50 percent more pixels than the iPhone 6. The new phones will also be Apple’s first to go beyond 1080p video with 4K. Apple hasn’t touched the pixel count on its last three iPhone models, which have stayed at 8-megapixels, (despite other improvements). However, it clearly felt the need to counter rivals like Samsung’s Galaxy S6, which has an excellent 16-megapixel camera.

Apple got by with 8-megapixels on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus cameras because they reproduce colors accurately, perform well in low light and focus quickly and accurately. The new models don’t sacrifice any of those qualities thanks to an improved sensor and faster A9 processor, according to Apple’s Phil Schiller. He said “the goal was add add pixels without degrading quality,” so the sensor has 50 percent more pixels, including 50 percent more focus pixels.

Meanwhile, Apple said it’s doing 4K video in a different way than most manufacturers by capturing every frame discreetly at a full 8-megapixels — rather than capturing the differences between frames. That should result in better looking video even when the shooter or subject is moving. However, it’ll also make for very large files, so if you’re looking at a base 16GB iPhone model, 4K video will eat up your memory quickly. You also won’t get the full 4K effect on a new Apple TV, which is limited to 1080p playback.

For selfie-junkies, the front facing camera has been upgraded to 5-megapixels. Apple also brought a flash to the front camera with a clever cheat. The phone uses the Retina display as a flash, in a feature that Apple calls the “Retina flash.” When you take the shot, the display lights up to triple the brightness, providing enough illumination for a face at arm’s length.

Apple just launched a new 3D Touch feature on the iPhone, and you can use it for images too, via a new feature called “Live Photos.” Here’s how it works: the Live Photos option is turned on by default, and when you take a snap, it extends capture for a few seconds after you hit the shutter. You can then force-press on those type of shots and see motion in a photo or hear sound. Apple also gave its Watch a bit of Live Photos love, letting you use those photos as a face on the wearable. Other apps, like Facebook, will eventually support Live Photos as well.

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watchOS 2 Launching September 16 for Apple Watch

Apple today at its “Hey Siri” media event announced that watchOS 2 will be released to the public on September 16 for the Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition. The software is currently in beta for developers, and the final Golden Master (GM) version should be seeded soon.

watchOS 2 was announced last June at WWDC and features native third-party apps, third-party complications, new watch faces, a landscape Nightstand alarm clock mode, Activation Lock, FaceTime audio calls, new health and fitness achievements, an improved Siri experience, expanded hardware access for developers and more.

This story is developing. Refresh for the latest updates from Apple’s September 2015 media event or follow our live blog.

Apple Announces New Apple Watch Sport Bands and Gold and Rose Gold Finishes

At today’s media event in San Francisco, Apple confirmed two previous rumors by announcing a new line of Apple Watch Sport band colors alongside a new array of metal finishes for the Sport line. Although they were touched on briefly, the new Sport bands were said to be part of a “Fall collection” and will portray softer and darker colors than the bright, neon line of Sport bands Apple put out in the Spring.

These were also announced alongside two new finishes in anodized aluminum — gold and rose gold — for the sport version of the Apple Watch that will allow customers the option of a less-expensive gold finish, when in comparison to the Apple Watch Edition. There’s also a brand new Space black stainless finish, and a new classic leather band with a two-tone look. The (Product) Red sport band was confirmed earlier today.

This story is developing. Refresh for the latest updates from Apple’s September 2015 media event or follow our live blog.