MacRumors

Just under a week after Apple's "Hey Siri" event, Tim Cook will appear on the new Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, September 15, the late night host revealed on Twitter. Colbert's announcement included a picture of him "using" Siri on his Apple Watch to remind him of the interview.

Colbert's Late Show has made an effort to not only speak with celebrities like George Clooney, but also politicians like Vice President Joe Biden and tech CEOs like Tesla's Elon Musk and Uber's Travis Kalanik. Thus far, Colbert's interviews with tech luminaries have seen him ask both pointed questions, like why Uber is pursuing self-driving vehicles if it claims to be creating better jobs for taxi drivers, and sillier ones, like if Musk is a super villain. It's likely Cook's interview will broach Apple's newly announced products: the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the new Apple TV and the iPad Pro.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs every weeknight at 11:30 p.m. on CBS, with the show uploading both interviews and extended interviews on its YouTube channel the morning after.

Apple has taken its online storefront down in order to prepare for the launch of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus pre-orders, which will begin at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time or 3:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, September 12. Pre-orders will be available on Apple's site, via the Apple Store app, and on several carrier sites.

Ahead of when pre-orders kick off, people planning to make a purchase should check their upgrade eligibility and pricing options on Apple's website, using the new "Get ready for pre-order" tool.

Apple will accept pre-orders in first wave launch countries including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the UK, and the United States.

The iPhone 6s is available in 16, 64, and 128 GB capacities in the United States for $199, $299, and $399, respectively, with a two-year contract. Contract-free pricing begins at $649. Apple's higher-priced iPhone 6s Plus is available in 16, 64, and 128 GB capacities for $299, $399, and $499, respectively, with a two-year contract. Contract-free pricing on the larger-screened device starts at $749.

Apple is also offering its own iPhone Upgrade Program in the United States, letting users pay a monthly fee for their iPhone with a trade-in option available after 12 months of payments. Pricing, which includes AppleCare+, starts at $32.41 per month for the entry-level 16GB iPhone 6s and goes up from there. Participating in this program requires an in-store purchase, but Apple is accepting online reservations at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time on September 12 for in-store appointments.

Recently, Apple has been quick to point out that security and privacy for its users is a priority for the company, repeatedly noting that Apple does not rely on serving ads based on user data to make money. Yesterday, Apple announced two new features, Live Photos and 'Hey Siri', that have raised questions about the privacy and security about the features. The company explained its privacy procedures to TechCrunch.

Live Photos are treated like any other photo or video on an iPhone, which means that the Live Photo is encrypted at all times. The only way a Live Photo leaves a device is when a user decides to share it or selects to use iCloud. Live Photos record the 1.5 seconds before and after your picture, though Apple says the camera is restricted in what it can save.

“Although the camera is “recording” while you’re in Live Photo mode, the device will not save the 1.5 seconds before until you press the camera button,” says Apple. “The pre-captured images are not saved to the user’s device nor are they sent off the device.”

This means that the camera is always recording the last 1.5 seconds of footage it sees, though it will continuously delete that footage unless it's "saved" when a user takes a photo. The 1.5 seconds after a photo is taken is also saved when a user takes a photo. Live Photos is turned on by default, but a user can turn it off by clicking the orange Live icon in between the HDR and timer icons.

Hey Siri allows a user to active Apple's personal assistant with their voice, which means that the iPhone has to constantly "listen" for a user's vocal activation. However, Apple tells TechCrunch that nothing a user says is recorded until Hey Siri is activated.

The feature can only be activated in a two-step matching process. First, the iPhone must "hear" the general "Hey Siri" activation phrase. The phone then must match that activation phrase with the personalized way the user says "Hey Siri", which prevents the feature from activating when other people say the phrase. If the phone "hears" "Hey Siri" but it's not a vocal match for its owner, the feature will not activate. This process is done locally on the device, and no audio is sent off of the iPhone.

After "Hey Siri" is activated, the privacy and security protocols in place work similarly to how Siri works now. Audio is sent off to Apple and associated with a device using a random identifier rather than an Apple ID or other personal information. If a user turns off Siri, Apple will delete all the User Data associated with the random identifier.

"Hey Siri" is an optional feature that a user must opt into during iOS 9's setup process. Users, if they choose, can opt to never enable the feature.

The full explanation, including descriptions directly from Apple, can be read at TechCrunch.

Apple today announced that it is now allowing developers to submit apps for review that take advantage of the new features in iOS 9, OS X El Capitan, and watchOS 2 as the company prepares to launch iOS 9 and watchOS 2 to the general public next Wednesday.

Developers are also able to seed apps with iOS 9 and watchOS 2 features to external beta testers using TestFlight. Prior to today, only internal testing was available, giving developers little time to beta test their apps.

You can now submit your apps that take advantage of the latest features in iOS, OS X, and watchOS. Build your apps using Xcode 7 GM seed, test with the GM seeds of iOS 9, OS X El Capitan, and watchOS 2, and submit them for review.

Apple normally allows developers to begin submitting apps directly after golden master versions of new software are released, but this year, the iOS 9, watchOS 2 and OS X El Capitan GMs were released on Wednesday, but submissions were not allowed until this afternoon.

Following reviews by Apple's App Store review team, iOS 9 and watchOS 2 apps will begin appearing in the iOS App Store in time for the iOS 9 launch.

iOS 9 and watchOS 2 will be released on Wednesday, September 16. OS X El Capitan will be released two weeks later on Wednesday, September 30.

Apple introduced the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus with several new features this week, one of the most significant being 3D Touch. The pressure-sensing technology enables iPhone users to perform additional multi-touch gestures called "Peek" and "Pop" to access Quick Action shortcut menus or preview content within apps.

Apple added a 3D Touch page to its website earlier this week with some examples of what Peek and Pop gestures can be used for, including previewing emails and websites, viewing photos you've taken while taking new ones, quickly accessing your contacts, taking a selfie, quick compose and more.

One of the more useful actions that 3D Touch makes possible is pressing the iPhone screen to turn the on-screen keyboard into a virtual trackpad (pictured on left).

One press turns your keyboard into a trackpad.
Press the keyboard within apps such as Notes, Mail, and Messages, and your keyboard behaves just like a trackpad. You can then use a cursor to easily select and manipulate text with precision.

Existing iPads running iOS 9 will also have similar functionality, with users able to control an on-screen cursor by moving two fingers anywhere on the screen, including over the QuickType keyboard, to select, edit and move text.

3D Touch also enables iPhone 6s and 6s Plus users to press the left side of the Home screen to switch to multitasking view, press lightly for finer lines or more deeply for thicker ones in Notes, swipe left to delete an email or swipe right to mark it as unread in Mail and more.

Two days after its jam-packed "Hey Siri" event that saw the debut of several new products, Apple has uploaded a full video of its presentation to its YouTube channel. The same video is also available on Apple's own event website.

Apple's "Hey Siri" event presentation was well-organized but fast-paced, as it covered the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the iPad Pro and its Pencil/Smart Keyboard accessories, the iPad mini 4, the Apple TV, and several new Apple Watch products, from new Rose Gold/Gold finishes for the Apple Watch Sport to exclusive Hermés Apple Watch models.

Rumors have suggested Apple's big fall extravaganza will be its final event this year, meaning there won't be a second event in October as there has been in years past. Apple has, however, split its upcoming product releases up over September, October, and November. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will launch on September 25, while the Apple TV will come in late October and the iPad Pro will launch in November.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs famously dismissed the need for a stylus when introducing Multi-Touch on the original iPhone over eight years ago, touting the finger as the best pointing device in the world.

"Who wants a stylus? You have to get them, and put them away, and you lose them. Yuck. Nobody wants a stylus. So let’s not use a stylus."

Macworld 2007 was quite awhile ago, however, and Apple on Wednesday ultimately reversed course and introduced the Apple Pencil for iPad Pro, which it refers to as a creative tool for scribbling, sketching, annotating and editing.

Apple Pencil features a pointed tip with highly responsive sensors that allow for precise input down to a single pixel. To achieve this, Apple engineered the Apple Pencil and iPad Pro display to work together to detect position, force and tilt.

For example, as seen in the video below, you can press lightly for a thinner stroke, or press harder for a darker, bolder stroke. Likewise, you can draw with the Apple Pencil on an angle to produce broad, shaded strokes.

The iPad Pro's subsystem scans the Apple Pencil's signal 240 times per second, providing the tablet with twice the data points it would normally collect for a finger. This results in the Apple Pencil being very responsive, with almost indistinguishable latency, as seen in TechCrunch's hands-on video below.

Apple Pencil has a built-in rechargeable battery that lasts up to 12 hours on a single charge, but more interesting is its ability to gain 30 minutes of battery life from just 15 seconds of charging. A magnetic cap hides a male Lightning connector that allows the Apple Pencil to be plugged into the iPad Pro to charge.

Apple Pencil will be available in November for $99 alongside the new Smart Keyboard. While the Apple Pencil is officially compatible with the iPad Pro, it remains to be seen if the tool will work with older iPads as a traditional stylus.

Apple design chief Jony Ive and Hermès artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal about how the Apple Watch Hermès came to be.

Interestingly, the two companies began collaborating on the premium Apple Watch last year, several months before the wrist-worn device was released.

“It’s something highly unusual for Apple to do—to talk about an unannounced project,” said Mr. Ive, 48 years old. They decided to partner over lunch in Paris, where Hermès is based, last October.

Jony Ive believes that, while the Apple Watch Hermès was the most expensive product introduced at Apple's media event earlier this week, the premium watch does not make Apple an "exclusive" company. He later compared the Apple Watch Hermès to the Apple Watch Sport, stating that the same amount of time and effort went into designing both models.

“We don’t think in those terms,” Mr. Ive said in an interview Wednesday, after the Apple Watch Hermès was unveiled. “I’m not comfortable with words like exclusive.” […]

“Look at this next to one of the sport collection,” he says, referring to the $349 rubber-bracelet version that accounts for the majority of watch sales to date, according to people familiar with the matter. “There’s not one that had more care invested in its designing or making.”

Nevertheless, Apple's partnership with luxury goods maker Hermès is further evidence the Apple Watch is being positioned to both the high-end technology and fashion industries. The returns could be lucrative, with the Apple Watch Hermès lineup ranging in price from $1,100 to $1,500.

Apple Watch Hermès watches feature leather straps handmade in France, with ten different models to choose from in Single Tour, Double Tour and Cuff designs. The collection will be available for purchase in October at select Apple Store and Hermès locations in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Toronto.

Following the release of the first public beta for iOS 9.1 yesterday, along with the GM version on Wednesday, a few of the testers have come across a new feature introduced in the update. Somewhere in the Settings app, it appears that Apple has quietly added a set-up process for the new "Hey Siri" feature coming to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, thanks to a built-in M9 motion coprocessor that enables the phones' always-on functionality.

Although unconfirmed by Apple, the discovery in iOS 9.1 suggests that Siri will be able to begin detecting specific user voices and determine whether or not the owner of the iPhone in question is speaking to her. Similar in vein to the way Apple aimed its Touch ID feature to work better and better the more you unlocked an iPhone using the fingerprint scanning sensor, it seems the set-up process will guide users into stating words or phrases to better acclimate Siri with each iPhone owner.

Found in General > Siri > Allow 'Hey Siri', the new always-on feature is the next step-up in the technology by Apple, allowing users to ask Siri questions or make changes within the iPhone's apps by simply stating "Hey Siri" near the iPhone. The new set-up process discovered today could also just be a way for Siri to work better detecting voices in general, and not be specific to each user. With the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus launching in just two weeks, it won't be long until everyone can find out for themselves.

Thanks Alan and Daniel!

Apple's new iPad Pro is powered by a 64-bit A9X processor that delivers up to 1.6 times faster performance over the iPad Air 2, with up to twice as fast graphics. Apple also says the tablet is faster than 80% of portable PCs shipped in the last 12 months.

Apple's website notes the underlying technology behind the iPad Pro's desktop-class performance is a new storage controller that increases read and write speeds so that large files, such as 4K videos or RAW photos imported from an HD camera, can be opened much quicker (via AppleInsider).

The A9X chip is capable of processing data so quickly, it demanded a new memory architecture. iPad Pro features a revamped storage controller that helps deliver performance better than some desktop computers. This increases read and write speeds, so you can quickly open even the largest files. Like the big 4K movie you just edited or all the RAW images you imported from your HD camera.

iPad Pro launches in November in Silver, Space Gray and Gold, starting at $799 for a 32GB Wi-Fi only model. A 128GB Wi-Fi only model will cost $949 and a Wi-Fi + LTE 128GB model will cost $1,079. A new Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard will launch alongside the tablet for $99 and $169 respectively.

One of the novel new features coming in the iPhone 6s is the new Live Photos feature which captures an additional 3 seconds of video surrounding photos on the new iPhones. The new feature is on by default and allows you to take photos as usual. Apple describes it:

A still photo captures an instant frozen in time. With Live Photos, you can turn those instants into unforgettable living memories. At the heart of a Live Photo is a beautiful 12‑megapixel photo. But together with that photo are the moments just before and after it was taken, captured with movement and sound

Live Photos will be viewable on existing iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watch devices with the latest operating systems. Apple is also opening up the API for developers to support the new format in their own apps. Facebook has already committed to supporting Live Photos in their iOS app later this year.

While few details about the new image format has been released, TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino reveals in a video that the new format will take up approximate twice the space of a normal 12MP photo. Panzarino describes that even the current iPhones start taking photos the moment the Camera app is launched, and that traditionally, only the last photo the moment the shutter is pressed is stored. The new system will simply take the surrounding photos and compress them into this new format.

Meanwhile, @DanMatte reveals that the new Live Photos format is a bundle of images based on the JPEG file format, allowing them to be easily sent as a still image to devices that don't support Live Photo. Apple's developer documents indicate that you can share the image as a regular JPEG if desired.

More details should come out as the new iPhones begin shipping on September 25th.