Rather than focusing on its popular communication technologies, which have not shown significant developments in recent years, the company is now experimenting in major up and coming fields: wearable technology and e-financing.
On Sept. 9 the company debuted the new iPhone 6, which features an improved user interface, sharper camera and one of the company’s latest ventures: Apple Pay.
Apple Pay is a new method of payment in which iPhone 6 and Apple Watch users can make secure card payments at stores. The technology uses near-field communication (NFC) chips that are detected by specialized machines in several popular U.S. retail stores like Macy’s, McDonald’s and Staples. While Apple Pay seems to provide faster and safer payment methods, it requires stores to buy the equipment to read NFC cards, which could damage Apple’s efforts.
However, the company’s venture into the wearable tech industry has a higher chance of success. The wearable technology industry — consisting of goods like smart watches, e-textiles and health trackers — has become a major field of interest among companies like Google, Adidas and Garmin.
Although Apple has yet to release more information on the Apple Watch (yes, it’s not the iWatch), it seems that the main perks to the smartwatch are its user-interface and aesthetic appeal. Like most other smartwatches, the Apple Watch does require a connection to a phone —in this case, an iPhone — which means that there could be additional costs on top of the Apple Watch’s $349 price tag.
That isn’t to say that the company has given up altogether on the popular iPhone. The latest versions have improved retina display in addition to better camera quality. Apple has also implemented a mechanism that allows the phone’s camera to move to correct for shaking when a picture or video is captured. Small changes are being made to the phone in terms of design as well, such as the rounded edges as opposed to the traditional squared-off edges.
Here’s a demo of the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, as shown on TechCrunch:
