Apple unveils smart watch, large iPhone

Apple had a big day yesterday with the much-anticipated announcement of the iPhone 6, a larger screen iPhone, a smart watch line and a mobile payment service.

During a media event in Apple’s hometown of Cupertino, CEO Tim Cook took to the stage to show off the company’s new products.

These include the 4.7″ iPhone 6 and the 5.5″ iPhone 6 Plus, which are set to launch in Australia and nine other markets next Friday.

While both will use Apple’s trademark Retina display, the larger screen model will have a full 1920 x 1080 resolution - compared to 1334 x 750 for its smaller sibling. Both will use the new A8 64-bit mobile processor and run the new iOS 8.

The new models support VoLTE and Wi-Fi, calls, more LTE spectrum bands than their predecessors, 150 Mbps LTE-Advanced networks and Bluetooth 4.0.

Apple also announced its first foray into the blooming wearable devices market, unveiling a new line of smart watches named the Apple Watch.

The watches use a specifically designed navigation interface Apple calls Digital Crown. They will integrate with later iPhone models - newer than the iPhone 5 - to allow users to perform functions including sending and receiving messages through their wrists. The devices will also come integrated with a line of health and fitness tracking apps.

There will be three collections of the devices - the Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition. In the US, prices will start at US$349.

Along with the new products comes Apple Pay, an NFC-based contactless mobile payment service that uses TouchID biometric identification as a security measure.

Apple has teamed up with American Express, MasterCard and Visa for the new payment service, which will work with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as the Apple Watch and its compatible handsets.

In another security measure, credit card details are not stored on the device or Apple servers; transactions are instead authorised using a one-time number generated from a unique Device Account Number stored on the iPhone or Apple Watch.

Apple Pay will roll out in the US via an iOS 8 software update from October, starting with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Apple did not provide details of any international launch plans.

The new iOS 8 meanwhile includes a host of new features aimed at consumers - such as a new health dashboard designed to consolidate information from across multiple health and fitness apps - and the enterprise - such as expanded security and management functionality.

Perhaps the biggest surprise to come from the plethora of announcements was how few surprises there were. At least, it would be a surprise if it wasn’t part of a clear trend. Apple was once famous for its secrecy but, as with its other recent unveilings, each of Apple’s new products had been leaked well ahead of time in the form of rumours that spread all over the internet.

Among the few things not predicted accurately were the name of the new smart watch line - the media had collectively dubbed it the ‘iWatch’ - and of the new larger screen iPhone.

Analysts are enthusiastic about the potential of Apple’s new forays to serve as a shot in the arm for the mobile payment segment - which has so far been slow to take off - and to drive consumer awareness of wearable devices.

“Apple reckons its new Apple Pay service will be the one that makes traditional wallets a thing of the past,” Ovum principal analyst Eden Zoller commented. “Rhetoric to this effect is nothing new in the m-payments space but so far it has left consumers cold. But if anyone can help make this happen then it is probably Apple.”

Analysys Mason head of consumer research Martin Scott meanwhile believes that Apple is destined to drive the smart watch market. “Other manufacturers will benefit from a ‘halo’ of increased interest and awareness in smart watches as a credible device type, but we do not anticipate any vendor matching Apple in the short or medium term,” he said.

Multiple analysts have meanwhile separately predicted that the launch of the iPhone 6 will help stimulate sales in the lagging global smartphone market.

Pictured: The Apple Watch