Apple seeks old magic with new products

Old magic was buried together with Jobs. Even without magic I'd still pay to get some. It's far better than PLASTIC competitors like shamesung.

What's wrong with plastic?

It works fine for me. My Samsung Galaxy S4 is perfect for me. I also have an iPod Nano, a Nexus 7 tablet, and an iPad. I just get what works for my needs. iPhones are fine, but not what I wanted. No biggie.

I agree with Samsung being a Shamesung, but plastic is alright. I love my Nexus 5, which is manufactured by LG. Another, but honest and dependable manufacturer from South Korea.

I don't expect much other than an assortment of rectangles of various shapes, big deal.

zichi - you're forgetting the big white elephant in the room, and it's called Android. Apple never lost much to Windows, but are getting wiped out of the mobile market by Android. Apple products lack in functionality, speed and value for money. They look good, but are fragile. I've seen countless iPhones and iPads with cracked screens. My Nexus 7 (2012) was dropped many times, and it's outer frame looks like a cracked eggshell, but the screen still looks and works perfectly and the battery still lasts for 8 hours, after 2.5 years of use and (heavy) abuse. You wouldn't be able to do that to any iPad out there...

Don't be so quick to tout the OS X and IOS systems. They are glitchy, require expensive updates to perfectly functional programs like Word for MAC and are increasingly getting away from being the best work creative platform to just being expensive gaming and retail (for Apple products) toys. I still use MACs because of so many years of wasting time with Windows has made me gun shy. I switched to MAC and everything worked for about a decade. Now, MAC is all over the board and you can't take advantage of everything MAC without constant and incessant "upgrades". Android products are starting to become attractive and they are certainly cheaper. Good luck MAC. 25% of your core users are still relying on Snow Leopard. Once you alienate those folks, you'd better have something fantastic in the offing or you will continue to shrivel.

I'm a reformed Apple fanboy, but I'll stay up to see this one.

Somewhat worried though that the anticipated wearable will cost more than I can afford and require an iPhone to be useful (I can't afford an iPhone).

I expect more little boxes full of electronics made in China by slave labour with oodles of functions that are very cool but that nobody really needs.

I hope the new iPhone battery lasts longer. I can't live without it, but it would be nice if it lasted all day.

Apple glorious days were over since Steve Jobs went away. Apple is no longer cool as good old days. Samsung new Galaxy phone is so cool with curve screen and virtual reality games. It can monitor the blood pressure, heart beat and pulse. Apple taste is no longer sweet due to shorter battery life.

Apple need the special magic such as smelling of the cooked food from Iphone and Ipad. If not it will become extinct as Mount Fuji.

You don't use Apple products because otherwise you wouldn't say that.

I'm saying that exactly because I (have to) use Apple products... Also I can't help but notice the many cracked iphones among fellow train commuters.

I think this is the most important product announcement for Apple since the original unveiling of the iPhone in 2007. And with good reason: the new iPhone models--now pretty much confirmed with new 4.7 inch (120 mm) and 5.5 inch (140 mm) diagonal screen sizes--will try to take back the market for larger-screen cellphones now dominated by Android handsets, especially the Samsung Galaxy S and Samsung Galaxy Note models.

Apple need the special magic such as smelling of the cooked food from Iphone and Ipad. If not it will become extinct as Mount Fuji.

Ha ha! This morning when I looked out my window, Mt Fuji was still there.

Another row of icons!!!! -- sorry I couldn't help it.

Anyway, people saying MACs are good is just totally bogus. Any Thinkpads pre-2008 will crush any MACs, and VAIO Z-series is on a total other league. Panasonic Toughbooks are of different beast. Buy high-end PCs and compare them to MACs please, don't tell me you bought some cheap $300 laptop then judged PC sucks.

Panasonic Toughbooks are a totally different discussion. Any testing engineer had used one at least once. I'm using them currently. Never broke one yet... A MAC won't really be of any use here - first the hardware won't last ONE DAY, second, there is no specialized testing software running on Apple OS...

Tomoyuki KumagaiSEP. 08, 2014 - 09:02AM JST I agree with Samsung being a Shamesung, but plastic is alright. I love my Nexus 5, which is manufactured by LG. Another, but honest and dependable manufacturer from South Korea

Shamesung has been making commercials which directly attacks Apple. Hence, "shamesung". Not to mention multiple copycatted technologies. I'm so glad Apple fought back. Apple is a reputable company, shamesung Isn't.

Not to mention multiple copycatted technologies

I hope you do realize that all the recent iOS updates did was to introduce technologies copied from Android... each and every one of them...

Mac is annoying and overpriced,all proprietary non open source stuff such as itunes over mp3's...Their iphone 6 better kick ass with waaaay better camera,battery life or bye bye Mac(70% of company depends on iphone,good luck with that)...We need a kick ass Japanese designed phone ...where are they...Mac uses allot of Japanese patents in their phones anyway

There we go, the big launch ended. Their biggest innovation this time was a bigger screen(copied from all other manufacturers that launched such phones for years now). Oh, and a watch, copied from all other manufacturers that launched such watches for years now.

The iPhone 6 Plus has a screen large enough to be next to the Samsung Note 4 and G3, but is it mature enough? Well, in the display department the 5.5″ size is the same as the G3′s and in the same ballpark as the 5.7″ of the Note 4. However, the iPhone 6 Plus features a 1080p resolution, whereas its rivals are boasting QHD screens. The camera department is another area where the iPhone 6 Plus gets destroyed by the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and LG G3 with their respective 16MP and 13MP cameras. Even though it has gained OIS, the 8MP snapper of the iPhone 6 Plus seems to be a bit behind the curve there.

No mention of the very glitchy online launch viewing that frustrated countless viewers.

Expandable memory? Camera specs? More than 20mpxls?

iPAY? Ha! Not a chance!

Summary: iFLOP

However, the iPhone 6 Plus features a 1080p resolution, whereas its rivals are boasting QHD screens.

You fall into the 'bigger is better' trap. There is no point in making screen resolutions higher than the eye can detect. You drain the battery; use too much memory and slow performance for no gain whatsoever. It's like the other main feature of most Android phones: quad cores processors. All they do is spend a lot of time turning off most of the cores to save battery life.

The camera department is another area where the iPhone 6 Plus gets destroyed by the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and LG G3 with their respective 16MP and 13MP cameras.

I'm so glad Apple didn't fall into this trap of too many pixels. Same problems: memory and battery life etc. Who uses photos that size???

Expandable memory?

Never needed. Just get a 128M model.

Camera specs? More than 20mpxls?

Exactly 'specs'. Give me a better camera any day. I don't need 'specs'.

iPAY? Ha! Not a chance!

We shall see my friend...

For the last 4-5 years Apple has been steadily slipping, losiing in metric after metric. Each time iphone fans would make a BIG deal about the remaining metrics in which apple still dominated. Apple may have a tough time reversing its waning sales growth

2020, perhaps a visit the optometrist is overdue.

The option of user-expandable storage is that the user can do it anytime. Mine has 32GB of internal memory, plus an occupied expansion slot with an additional 128GB uSD (which I got at a bargain price) which comes in very handy as I record 4K video that I can wirelessly view on my 4K tv. That's also why the quadcore is onboard. The 20.7 Mpxl main cam is essential.

Applefans may be satisfied with low-res VHS quality video and 4-year-old camera specs, but that crowd is shrinking.

Waterproof? Most are now. NFC? Got that two years ago. Apple has no merits for me. If you're satisfied with their products, then fine for you. But don't try to sell it like it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.

John Galt: Applefans may be satisfied with low-res VHS quality video and 4-year-old camera specs, but that crowd is shrinking.

But the design's so cool! As are their billboards!

The "new" iProducts are out, and there is nothing new about them.

John> You video in 4K so you can watch it on your 4K TV? Good for you! I guess you can now justify buying a 4K TV when there is no 4K content available. ;-) All the fAndroids look at the numbers and think that the highest number must be best. Quad core, x Megapixels etc. etc. So Android smartphone makers give their geeky acolytes what they want.

The thing is that specs aren't phones. Apple on the other hand build a whole device that is elegant in hardware (no crappy plastic) and software. That works as a product, not a bunch of components. It's no wonder you see on this and other threads fAndroids not getting why Apple users like their products. They JUST. DON'T GET. IT. But that's OK. The geeks can get off on the numbers and wonder why the others like Apple products. You don't have to get it.

For Apple, not having external memory is a feature. Having a camera with less megapixels, but better image quality is a feature. Not wasting battery life with extra pixels that don't make a difference (except to make developers' lives hell) is a feature. Anyway, as far as I can see the 6 and 6 plus blow the competition out of the water. But that's just an opinion. Let's see how the sales figures compare to Galaxy in three months time...!

"not having external memory is a feature" - Wait. What? This is delusional at best. Spoken like a true iSheep. So I take it you also consider not having external memory as an option to be a feature? How about not being waterproof? Also a feature? I won't knock the iPhone's camera, it is indeed good. Just as good as any other flagship Android on the market at the moment in fact. As for the plastic argument, that's null and void. There are a few Android models made from the same material as the iPhone, without all the fragile glass parts. Looks like YOU just don't get it 2020hindsights. But that's okay. It's people like you that continue burning money on Apple products that keep superior Android products cheaper for everyone else. Oh, and in case you haven't been following, Android sales figures, not just Samsung Galaxy's, have already surpassed the iPhone in most countries. http://static.businessinsider.com/image/53894737ecad042c13fedae2/image.jpg

2020hindsights Sep. 11, 2014 - 09:10PM JST Anyway, as far as I can see the 6 and 6 plus blow the competition out of the water. But that's just an opinion. Let's see how the sales figures compare to Galaxy in three months time...!

Sure, Apple makes money. Profits are a trailing indicator and just because you have high profits now does not mean future. Apple is making money because it operates in the high end niche market of smartphones. Will that continue? But I have seen the gap between the top end phones and the lower end shrink over time. This is a natural part of the process as a market matures. The byproduct of market maturation is profit margins tend to go down and money is then driven by volume. And that is the dangerous line Apple is walking. If its volumes get too low, or it loses its shine it can be a very quick crash to the bottom.

"not having external memory is a feature" - Wait. What? This is delusional at best. Spoken like a true iSheep.

I wouldn't call it a feature, but I also wouldn't call it a hindrance. I've never needed external memory myself. The only thing that takes up any memory on my phone is photos, which I dump occasionally. I stream all videos and music from my home computer, so I don't need storage for those things.

There are a few Android models made from the same material as the iPhone, without all the fragile glass parts.

The 'fragile glass' ended with the iphone 4. I broke my iphone 4 screen four times dropping it. I've had my iphone 5 for two years, and dropped it countless times, never breaking the glass even once. I'm assuming the glass on the iphone 6 will be even stronger.

Sure, Apple makes money. Profits are a trailing indicator and just because you have high profits now does not mean future.

No one knows the future. So trying to dis Apple because of a possible future is a waste of time. Looking back at their releases, each new phone release outsells the new one. The sales of the iphone 6 over the next week will tell us whether or not Apple has lost their mojo. If they make more sales than on previous releases, then the overall market share doesn't matter, and neither does some unknown future. All that will matter is that they've increased their sales over previous releases. Or decreased, depending on how it goes.

StrangerlandSep. 12, 2014 - 09:21AM JST The sales of the iphone 6 over the next week will tell us whether or not Apple has lost their mojo. All that will matter is that they've increased their sales over previous releases. Or decreased, depending on how it goes.

Why is Apple is offereing $200 trade in for any Iphone 5 or later model? Some carriers are offering 4.7" Iphone 6 with 64GB or 5.5" screen with 16GB for $99 if you trade in. If you have a good product, why is Apple offering this kind of deal? Must be desperate of Samsung.

"not having external memory is a feature" - Wait. What?

Too easy for somebody to remove from your phone. You could lose your photos that you hadn't backed up yet.

Let's see how the sales figures compare to Galaxy in three months time...!

Sure, Apple makes money. Profits are a trailing indicator and just because you have high profits now does not mean future.

I'm saying lets compare how many phones are sold of each. In the future. From now. Not because they make money, but to see how many people want to buy them compared to Samsung. Or anybody else.

I won't knock the iPhone's camera, it is indeed good. Just as good as any other flagship Android on the market at the moment in fact.

Actually, it's better than Android cameras on many points e.g., autofocus, but that's not to say that others are bad either. Apple focuses on a good camera, most Android handset makers focus on numbers.

Oh, and in case you haven't been following, Android sales figures, not just Samsung Galaxy's, have already surpassed the iPhone in most countries.

Android is an OS not a manufacturer, so you can't compare. But pick any manufacturer's phones, I bet they undersell Apple 6 and 6 plus. Android market share isn't even interesting because Apple has developer mindshare. Apps come out on iOS first. That's where the money is.

If you have a good product, why is Apple offering this kind of deal? Must be desperate of Samsung.

Comedian!

@2020hindsight,

Too easy for somebody to remove from your phone. You could lose your photos that you hadn't backed up yet. You mean like iCloud? Lol! Please...