Today’s Apple Unveiling: The 411

In case you missed Apple‘s two-hour event today, here are some details.

The Cupertino company announced the thinner iPhone 6-series, available for preorder Friday, Sept. 12 and available in stores a week later, Sept. 19.

iPhones 6
4.7” display, improved
With a two-year contract: $199 (16 GB), $299 (64 GB), $399 (128 GB)
With a new A8, 64-bit chip, up to 20 percent faster than 5s
Marginally improved battery life
Improved camera with faster auto-focus and “Burst selfies”
Now includes barometer

iPhone 6 Plus
5.5” display
With a two-year contract: $299 (16 GB), $399 (64 GB), $499 (128 GB)
New keyboard design with improved landscape mode
Battery performance exceeds iPhone 6
Including the features of iPhone 6

Apple Watch (Sport, Edition)
Available early 2015, starting at $349
Made of crystal of sapphire with personalization options
Apps designed for lightweight interaction on wrist from the iPhone 5, 6-series
Controlled by touchscreen, Siri, Digital Crown, dial on side
The watches communicate with each other
Magsafe wireless inductive charger

Apple Pay
Simplifies payment with Visa MasterCard and American Express, stored in Passbook from iTunes account
Open API allows in-app use (Target, Groupon, Open Table, Panera, Sephora, Starbucks, Uber)
In stores, hold iPhone near the contactless reader with your finger on Touch ID (Whole Foods, McDonalds, Macys, Bloomingdales, Subway, Staples Toys R Us, Wallgreens, Disney)

iOS 8 (for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch 5^th gen.)
Available on September 17
Improved photo organization
Messages lets you share location, add your voice, or video
QuickType lets you tap to choose suggestions for your next word based on your messaging style
Keyboard is now open to developers for new options, including swipe
Let health and fitness apps communicate with each other
iCloud Drive for PDF, images presentations, etc.
Family Sharing for music, books, apps, and photos, calendars, etc.
Improved connectability between Apple devices
Spotlight includes Wikipedia entries, palces nearby, trending news, etc.

U2
After the tech announcements, Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized the relationship between music and technology, inviting U2 to the stage. The rock band surprised fans by performing its new single “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone),” from a new album, Songs of Innocence, available for free on iTunes through Oct. 13.

Apple’s stock price opened at 99.08 per share, reaching a high of 103.08 before ending the day at 97.99 per share.