MacRumors

Apple today announced the iPad Pro at its "Hey Siri" media event in San Francisco. The 12.9-inch tablet has a resolution of 2732x2048, which is 5.6 million pixels -- more than any iOS device and even the MacBook Pro with Retina display.

The iPad Pro has 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, allowing users to run apps such as iMovie with desktop-class performance.

iPad Pro features a four-speaker audio system -- two speakers on each side -- that balance frequencies and put out up to three times the audio level of the iPad Air 2. The tablet also features 10-hour battery life, an 8-megapixel iSight camera, Touch ID, Smart Connector and Lightning connector.

Apple introduced two accessories for the iPad Pro. The first is a Microsoft Surface-like Smart Keyboard, which is built into a Smart Cover accessory and connects magnetically to the iPad Pro's new three-dot Smart Connector. The second is Apple Pencil, a stylus built using technology that can detect position, tilt and force.

Apple Pencil also calculate angle and orientation to produce both broad or shaded strokes. The Pencil also enables precision that allows artists to touch a single pixel. Apple says the Pencil's battery lasts for hours and that it can charge by connecting to the iPad Pro's Lightning charger.

Apple Pencil will retail for $99 while the Smart Keyboard will retail for $169. Both will be available alongside the new iPad Pro.

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.

At today's media event in San Francisco, Apple confirmed two previous rumors by announcing a new line of Apple Watch Sport band colors alongside a new array of metal finishes for the Sport line. Although they were touched on briefly, the new Sport bands were said to be part of a "Fall collection" and will portray softer and darker colors than the bright, neon line of Sport bands Apple put out in the Spring.

Apple updated its storefront shortly after the event ended with the full list of new Sport band colors available to buy for the Apple Watch. They include: Walnut, Stone, Antique, Fog, Turquoise, Midnight Blue, Vintage Rose, Lavender, Orange, and (Product) Red.

These were announced alongside two new finishes in anodized aluminum -- gold and rose gold -- for the Sport version of the Apple Watch that will allow customers the option of a less-expensive gold finish. There's also a brand new Space Black stainless steel Apple Watch with Black Sport band, a Saddle Brown classic buckle band, and a new classic leather band with a two-tone look. The (Product) Red sport band was confirmed earlier today.

All of the new Apple Watch models and band options are available for purchase beginning today from Apple's online storefront.

Apple today announced the iPad mini 4 at its "Hey Siri" media event in San Francisco. The tablet is virtually a 7.9-inch version of the iPad Air 2 and is 6.1mm in thickness, which is 18% thinner than the previous generation. The tablet also weighs just 0.65 pounds with a 30% faster CPU and 60% faster graphics than the iPad Mini 3.

The new tablet also has all of the expected improvements in its camera, with advanced optics, an improved sensor, and an Apple‑designed image signal processor. The iPad Mini 4 includes Touch ID and uses new iOS 9 features like Slide Over, Split View, and Picture in Picture to provide users with a more robust and economical mobile experience.

iPad Mini 4 is available in Space Gray, Gold, and Silver for $399 (16GB), $499 (64GB), and $599 (128GB), including cellular options. Apple has dropped the iPad mini 3 from its lineup, while the iPad mini 2 is available for $269.

Apple's highly anticipated "Hey Siri" event today will see the introduction of a number of new products including the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, a new Apple TV set-top box, a larger iPad Pro, and more. The event is being held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, with the festivities beginning at 10:00 AM Pacific Time / 1:00 PM Eastern Time.

Apple is providing a live video stream on its website and via Apple TV.

In addition to Apple's video stream, we will be updating this article with live blog coverage and issuing Twitter updates through our @MacRumorsLive account as the keynote unfolds. Highlights from the event and separate news stories regarding today's announcements will go out through our @MacRumors account.

Apple's online stores around the world are currently down in advance of the event, and we've already seen the first signs of today's product releases with (PRODUCT)RED Apple Watch Sport Bands arriving at Apple retail stores overnight.

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An overnight report from 9to5Mac claims the new operating system for the revamped Apple TV will be called "tvOS", and it appears Apple may indeed have moved to trademark that term as long ago as November 2014.

A series of trademark filings for the name were made in mid-to-late May in a number of countries by a company called Television OnStream LLC, which appears to be a shell corporation created just days earlier and based out the Corporation Trust Center in Delaware. Apple commonly uses this tactic to hide its trademark filings, although many other companies employ similar strategies.

The mid-May timing is also interesting given it occurred just a few weeks ahead of WWDC where Apple was rumored to be introducing the new Apple TV until what appeared to be a last-minute decision to push back the announcement to this month.

All of the May trademark applications cite a priority date of November 2014 for a filing made in Jamaica, yet another of Apple's typical strategies for hiding trademarks. Jamaica is a frequent location for Apple's initial filings as the country does not publish an online database of trademark filings, making it difficult to track them down.

In another similarity to Apple's previous trademark patterns, Television OnStream LLC conveniently shortens to an acronym of "tvOS", much as Apple previously hid its "iPad" trademark behind a company named IP Application Development.

One final similarity between the "tvOS" filing and known Apple trademarks is the use of specific law firms to handle the filings. For example, Television OnStream used London-based firm Locke Lord to handle its Italian filing, and Apple used the same firm to protect its "watch OS" trademark in Italy earlier this year. In Turkey, the same trademark lawyer handled both Apple's "watch OS" filing and Television OnStream's "tvOS" application, and in Mexico both companies used the law firm of Arochi & Lindner to handle their filings.

As is common with these filings, there is no concrete link between Apple and the new "tvOS" trademark, but given recent rumors and a number of similarities to Apple's past behavior in hiding trademark filings, it appears likely Apple is indeed behind the "tvOS" applications.

Update 8:02 AM: iGeneration points out that references to tvOS are also currently hidden within Apple's iTunes Connect interface for developers.

(Thanks, Rodney "ArmCortexA8" and Lennart!)

Apple will release a (PRODUCT)RED Sport Band for the Apple Watch, and likely other new Sport Band colors, according to a retail source. At least one Apple Store has received inventory of the new bright red band ahead of Apple's "Hey Siri" media event in San Francisco today. Apple donates a portion of the proceeds from (PRODUCT)RED-branded items to the Global Fund to help the fight against HIV and AIDS in Africa.

Tech blogger Larry Greenberg shared a picture of the (PRODUCT)RED Sport Band box on Twitter a few hours ago. The band could look similar to the custom red Sport Band that Apple design chief Jonathan Ive gifted to former British professional rugby player Will Carling in April.

Last week, we corroborated a report that Apple will unveil new Sport Bands for Apple Watch at its September 9 media event. The additional colors beyond (PRODUCT)RED could include other shades of red, orange, yellow, blue and beige, as shown off at the Milan Design Week in April.

Apple is also expected to introduce new metal finishes for the Apple Watch Sport, possibly including lower-cost anodized rose and yellow gold versions. The new color will likely resemble the rose gold Apple Watch Edition and to-be-announced rose gold iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

Other Last-Minute Rumors

- iPhone 6s could have always-on Hey Siri per AppleInsider
- iPad Pro could cost $799/$899/$999 for 32GB/64GB/128GB per 9to5Mac
- Apple TV software platform will be called tvOS per 9to5Mac

The Apple Online Store has been taken offline this morning, less than six hours prior to Apple's highly-anticipated "Hey Siri" media event in San Francisco, where the company is expected to announce the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, iPad Pro, iPad mini 4, fourth-generation Apple TV and new Apple Watch bands and finishes, alongside further details about iOS 9 and watchOS 2.

Apple's media event starts at 10 AM Pacific with a live stream (spoiler free) available on Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple TV and PC. MacRumors will also have full coverage of the event, with a live blog on our front page and updates on our @MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

We'll also have specific coverage of today's announcements in separate news stories, and our forums are a great place for readers to discuss the announcements before, during and after the event.

Apple will be on stage tomorrow at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco to announce several new products, including the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, iPad Pro, iPad mini 4, fourth-generation Apple TV and new Apple Watch bands and finishes. The keynote should also provide updates about iOS 9 and watchOS 2.

MacRumors will be providing live blog and Twitter coverage of the "Hey Siri" media event, which commences at 10 AM Pacific on Wednesday. Below is a roundup that previews what to expect at the keynote based on previous reports from MacRumors, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch, Re/code, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other sources.

iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus

The ninth-generation iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will look virtually the same as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, retaining 4.7" and 5.5" ion-strengthened glass displays respectively with similar exterior designs.

It has been rumored for a few years that iPhones will eventually switch to sapphire crystal displays, but well-informed KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently claimed the material has yet to pass Apple's internal drop tests.

Apple has addressed bending issues by designing the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus with Series 7000 aluminum, which is stronger and marginally thicker compared to Series 6000 aluminum used on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

The rear shell will still have a layer of anodization to protect against corrosion and allow for different color options, including space gray, silver, gold and a new rose gold color. The new color should look similar to the rose gold Apple Watch Edition.

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Apple's upcoming revamped Apple TV will support a full App Store, and TechCrunch has shared some details on one of the first third-party apps that will be available for the device. According to the site, live video streaming service Periscope is building an app for the Apple TV, which will likely allow users to watch content streamed from the Periscope iOS app.

We don't have a specific unveiling or launch date for Periscope on Apple TV. Twitter and Periscope did not respond to our inquiry before press time. The app might be previewed in tomorrow's Apple keynote to show off the potential of the Apple TV software development kit. Apple wants to get developers' minds swirling with ideas for what they could build.

Periscope, owned by Twitter, is an app that allows users to capture and broadcast live video streams. Currently, Periscope videos can be watched solely on the web and through smartphones using iOS and Android apps, but with an expansion to the Apple TV, video streams will be available natively on larger screens for the first time.

Apple's revamped Apple TV will debut tomorrow, at the company's iPhone-centric September 9 event to be held at the Bill Graham Civic Center. Along with a full App Store that will include both apps and games, the new set top box will include deep Siri and search integration, a touch-based motion-enabled remote control, an A8 processor, and additional storage space.

Apple's event will begin at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time tomorrow morning. MacRumors will have live coverage both on MacRumors.com and through our MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

A new image of the packaging for the "iPhone 6s" has turned up online (via MacX), appearing similar to images of a box for the "iPhone 6s Plus" that were shared in late August. Both boxes showcase a koi pond-like fish against a white surface, suggesting the rumored packaging could be what Apple will use to box the next-generation iPhones, which are expected to be the centerpiece of the company's September 9 event tomorrow.

The fish image has also begun rumors surrounding the "iPhone 6s" and "iPhone 6s Plus," suggesting the new smartphones will include a motion wallpaper feature. Similar in spirit to the dynamic wallpapers Apple introduced in iOS 7, the supposed update would bring something more akin to the in-depth motion backgrounds of the Apple Watch and will feature images from fish in a koi pond to different color smoke clouds.

Apple has announced that pop star Ellie Goulding will open the 2015 Apple Music Festival in London on September 19, while country singer Carrie Underwood and rock band Mumford and Sons are also set to perform at the Roundhouse on September 21 and September 27 respectively.

The full lineup for the 2015 Apple Music Festival is now set:

- September 19: Ellie Goulding
- September 20: Take That
- September 21: Carrie Underwood
- September 22: One Direction
- September 23: The Weeknd
- September 24: The Chemical Brothers
- September 25: Disclosure
- September 26: Pharrell Williams
- September 27: Mumford & Sons
- September 28: Florence + The Machine

Little Mix, NAO, Lion Babe, Leon Bridges, Jack Garrett and James Bay have been confirmed as special guests at the 2015 Apple Music Festival, with the remaining special guests to be announced soon.

Apple Music Festival, a renamed version of the iTunes Festival, is a free 10-day music festival at London's Roundhouse, featuring performances each night broadcast live and on-demand through Apple Music.

U.K. residents can apply to win tickets to the Apple Music Festival on Apple Music and through various media partners.