Authoritative Reports Finally Confirm Two New iPhones And iWatch In Two Sizes With NFC
The NYT and WSJ have published very authoritative and fairly exciting reports on what Apple will be announcing next week. Two new iPhones with larger screen sizes and a wearable device, along with plenty of details that we hadn't heard yet.
By Sadho Ram — 05 Sep 2014, 01:50 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
All those rumours about iPhones with larger screen sizes and a wearable computer a.k.a. the iWatch are no rumours anymore, thanks to a very authoritative report by the New York Times
Russian blog Rozetked recently released a video that claims these as real versions of the iPhone 6 (left) and 6L (right)
Image via forbes.comThe NYT confirms that the bigger iPhones, which have been widely written about over the last year, will come in two screen sizes, one measuring 4.7 diagonal inches and the other 5.5 diagonal inches
Stephanie Arditte danced in front of Apple’s flagship store in Manhattan as she waited for a service appointment on Thursday
Image via nyt.comWhen Apple wants to make a big splash, it returns to its history. Thirty years ago at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts, a roomy auditorium in Cupertino, Calif., Steven P. Jobs introduced the original Macintosh. On Tuesday, Apple will return to the center to unveil a set of long-anticipated products: two iPhones with larger screens and a wearable computer that the media has nicknamed the iWatch.
nytimes.com
The larger version will cost more. Unlike the older iPhone, which have somewhat sharp edges, the new ones have softer, rounded edges similar to those of the latest iPads. To deal with concerns that a bigger phone will make typing with one hand difficult (the current iPhone has a 4-inch screen), some changes to the design of the iPhone' user interface will allow people to type or use apps with just one hand; there will be a one-handed mode that can be switched on and off, two employees said.
ndtv.com
With the bigger iPhones, Apple will be catering to a growing appetite for big-screen smartphones. IDC, a research firm, estimates that at least 20 percent of all smartphones shipped last year in China, the largest smartphone market in the world, were five inches or larger. It predicts that manufacturers this year will ship more “phablets,” or smartphones with screens measuring at least 5.5 diagonal inches, than laptops.
nytimes.com
Meanwhile, Apple's smartwatch will be the first brand-new product unveiled under Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, who took control of the helm three years ago, shortly before Steve's death
It is expected to come in two sizes and combine functions like health and fitness monitoring with mobile computing tasks like displaying maps. It will have a flexible screen and, like the new phones, will support technology that allows people to pay for things wirelessly.
wsj.com“I believe it’s going to be historic,” said Tim Bajarin, a consumer technology analyst for Creative Strategies who attended the original Mac event in 1984. He added, “The design of this product is all Tim’s fingerprints."Apple, which is highly secretive, has not officially commented on any of the new products. But multiple employees of Apple and its partners who were briefed on the products shared some details on the condition that they not be identified.
nytimes.com
While the iPhones are expected to be released in the coming weeks, the smartwatch is unlikely to be in stores until next year. The price of the new devices is not yet publicly known.
Some said the smartwatch was one of Apple’s most ambitious projects to date. The company put an enormous amount of time and money into designing the wearable device’s sensors so that they can track movements and vital signs, like heart rate and footsteps, much more accurately than existing fitness devices, two employees said.
ndtv.com
It has a flexible display panel that is protected by synthetic sapphire, which is tougher than glass, they said. The device’s circuit board, which includes its sensors and chips, was described as tiny, about the size of a postage stamp. For replenishing the battery, the smartwatch will rely on a wireless charging method. Apple had at one point tested solar charging for the watch, but that experiment failed.
nytimes.com
For software, the watch will take advantage of HealthKit, a set of tools for storing health data that Apple introduced in June. The device will also rely heavily on Handoff, a new software feature that allows users to push content between their Apple devices.
wsj.comBoth iWatch and the iPhones will include hardware and software that support NFC, which allows devices to exchange information wirelessly over very short distances
Apple CEO Tim Cook, shown at the company's developers' conference in June, is under pressure to fulfill a pledge to get the electronics maker into a new product category this year.
Image via wsj.netIt could make paying for things with a phone less of a hassle. Apple has teamed up with American Express, MasterCard and Visa to support the payment system, said several people involved in the partnerships. With the deal, these people said, iPhone owners will be able to use their devices as a sort of digital wallet, improving their ability to pay for items at select partner merchants without handing over cash or a credit card.
wsj.comAlong with these partnerships, the abundance of new NFC-enabled iPhones could jump-start mobile payment, which has so far failed to gain traction among American consumers. Google, for instance, released a digital wallet in 2011 that has achieved little success. And Isis — a mobile wallet backed by three major American phone carriers, which was renamed Softcard this week — never caught on either.
nytimes.com
What is NFC?
Near field communication (NFC) is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into proximity, usually no more than a few centimeters. NFC standards cover communications protocols and data exchange formats, and are based on existing radio-frequency identification (RFID) standards including ISO/IEC 14443 and FeliCa.
NYT reports that some analysts think Apple's entrance into the world of mobile payment will make all the difference
“Apple owns the hardware and the software here, unlike Google,” said Josh Beck, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities. “Not to mention Apple has this huge cache of customer credit cards, and an affluent customer base.” Representatives of American Express, Apple, MasterCard and Visa declined to comment.
ndtv.com
Even though Apple has continued to turn in healthy quarterly profits, investors have clamored for the company to deliver new kinds of products. They worry about the saturation of the smartphone and tablet markets, which could slow Apple’s profit growth.
nytimes.com
While the iPhone, Apple's No. 1 source of revenue, will probably continue to be a cash cow, Bajarin of Creative Strategies said the smartwatch could also become a significant source of profit
It could appeal to gadget and fitness enthusiasts as well as health care companies and people with chronic ailments. “I would not underestimate the incredible earnings potential that could come from a wearable that really catches the fancy of the customer,” he said.
ndtv.com