Putting to rest months of speculation, tech giant Apple today unveiled two thinner and larger screened smartphones, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6-Plus, as it looks to fend off competition from Korean handset maker Samsung.
Also, after years of rumours and speculation, Apple unveiled its first wearable device, Apple Watch.
The smartphones and the smartwatch were launched at the Flint Centre in Cupertino, California, where the iconic Macintosh was first launched 30 years ago.
The iPhone 6 will be priced at USD 199 (16GB), USD 299 (64GB) and USD 399 (128GB) with a two-year contract. The iPhone 6 Plus will be available for USD 299 (16GB), USD 399 (64GB) and USD 499 (128GB) with a two-year contract.
The new handsets will be available in the US, Canada, the UK and six other countries from September 19, while other countries will follow later. The devices can be pre-booked from September 12.
It may still take some time before the latest version of the iPhone makes it to India. Market analysts said the handsets are most likely to hit Indian shores either around Diwali in October end or in November like the previous launches in the country.
The current iPhone 5S is retailing in India at about Rs 41,500 for the 16GB version.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the new devices are thinner compared to the predecessor iPhoner 5S and feature a continuous, seamless design.
"These are the new iPhones. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. These are the best phones we have ever done," he added.
The iPhone 6 features a 4.7-inch display, while the iPhone 6 Plus has a 5.5 inch screen. Compared to a thickness of 7.6 mm of iPhone 5S, the sixth generation has a thickness of 6.9 mm (iPhone 6) and 7.1 mm (iPhone 6 Plus), respectively.
"These iPhones obviously have bigger displays, but more importantly, they're amazing products in every single way," Cook said.
The devices feature Apple-designed A8 chips, which have 25 per cent faster processing power and upto 50 per cent faster graphics. The handsets feature 8MP iSight camera and support Voice over LTE. The iPhone 6 also has an improved face detection for selfies and group selfies.
For the fitness freaks, iPhone 6 has a barometer that senses air pressure to measure relative elevation. The iPhone can now tell if the user is going up molehills, mountains, etc.
The iconic creator of iPods and iPads also announced its foray into payments with Apple Pay.
