Turnout for the September 9th meeting was high, with keen interest in discussing Apple’s announcements. As predicted, two iPhones were announced, an iPhone 6 with a 4.7” screen and an iPhone 6 Plus with a 5.5” screen. The starting configuration for either one is the usual 16GB of storage, but then the other two capacities being offered are 64GB and 128GB instead of 32GB and 64GB. There is an improved camera with even better ability in low light conditions, and a higher frame rate for even slower slow motion effects. The 6 Plus has optical image stabilization.
Apple also announced an Apple Watch (not the expected name “iWatch”) which will be available early next year in two screen sizes. The watch will require an iPhone to pair it with and receive notifications—calls, text messages, etc.—that come in to the phone.
To me the most interesting announcement was a mobile payment system called Apple Pay. It relies on a new NFC (near field communication) chip in either the new iPhone or the Apple Watch. Tapping the merchant’s pay terminal will complete the transaction. Authentication on the iPhone involves using the Touch ID built into the Home button. The Apple Watch monitors for continuous contact with a person’s wrist after initially entering a PIN code. It’s not necessary to reenter it for each transaction.
I also mentioned a couple of good YouTube tech reviewers: Marques Brownlee’s MKBHD and Jonathan Morrison’s TLD Today. The latter has an especially funny parody of Apple’s typical announcements, Meet the iPhone 6 (Parody).
I had mentioned having some trouble with my Wi-Fi at home, so I showed everyone a Mac program WiFi Explorer that shows the channels being used by nearby Wi-Fi networks (you and your neighbors). Interference can occur if your network overlaps or coincides with your neighbor’s. Jim mentioned that the default channel for wireless G networks is channel 6. If you decide to change it in your router’s settings, go all the way to channel 1 or channel 11. Otherwise there will be some overlap.