What to expect at Apple's Sepember 9 event

Apple's mystery unveiling on Tuesday is expected to be a watershed moment for the California giant - and the entire tech industry. Here are key things to watch for:

9 SEPTEMBER'S  APPLE EVENT CAN BRING MAJOR CHANGES IN TECH WORLD

1.Can Tim Cook step up?

Chief executive Tim Cook will seek to vanquish the notion that Apple lost its magic when its famed co-founder Steve Jobs died.

Cook could help APPLE establish its dominance in a new category with an "iWatch" at the event set in the very location where Jobs introduced the Macintosh computer 30 years ago.

Since Jobs died in late 2011, pressure has been on his successor Cook to show the world that Apple can shine just as brightly without the iconic pitchman known for perfection in design and mastery in marketing.

Apple lovers have been eager for the company to seize a new gadget category the way it dominated smartphones, tablets, and MP3 players with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod respectively.

"I don't believe this project is a knee-jerk reaction to other smartwatches," said Creative Strategies president Tim Bajarin.

"While the roots go back to Steve Jobs, this product is Tim Cook and Jony Ive."

The genesis of what is being referred to in the media as "iWatch" stemmed from Jobs and his frustration with health care matters while battling illness that took his life, according to the analyst.

Bajarin spoke of sources telling him the Apple wearable computer has been in the works for seven years.

Cook would fittingly be putting his stamp on the first "next big thing" launched by Apple without Jobs. While an iWatch will wirelessly tap into capabilities of iPhones or iPads, managing health is expected to be a strong theme.

Bolstering that likelihood is Cook's reputation as a fitness fanatic who was among the early users of Nike Fuel activity tracking wristbands.

2.Can Apple shake off security fears?

Another thing to watch for will be how Apple addresses the elephant in the room - security of photos, videos and other data stored on devices or online in servers at iCloud or iTunes.

Cook told The Wall Street Journal this week that Apple is stepping up its iCloud security by sending people alerts when attempts are made to change passwords, restore iCloud data to new devices, or when someone logs in from a new gadget.

His comments came after Apple took a bruising over a "targeted attack" that led to the release of nude photos of celebrities including Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence.

Apple has insisted there was no breach of its cloud storage system and that the celebrities had their accounts hacked by using easy-to-guess passwords, or by giving up their personal data to clever cybercriminals.

Security could play into the off-chance that Apple will announce iPad enhancements such as adding fingerprint scanning, in a break from its practice of keeping smartphone and tablet events separate.

3.How big will the iPhone go?

While the unveiling of new-generation iPhones with larger screens is considered a sure bet, people will be watching to see how big Apple will go and when models will make it to market.

Apple has remained consistently tight-lipped, but analysts are expecting the iPhone screen to be boosted to at least 4.7 inches, and a 5.5-inch screen is also likely, allowing Apple to compete in the new "phablet" segment.

4.A payments company?

Watch also to see how aggressively Apple moves into mobile money with near-field-communication chips built into iPhone 6 models letting them be used as Internet age wallets.

There are reported to be 800 million accounts at Apple's online iTunes shop, where people's credit card data could be easily synched to mobile wallets, quickly creating a vast sea of users.

With this, Apple could jump-start the effort to use mobile devices for payments.

5.What else is coming?

Some reports speculate that Apple may also unveil an upgrade to its iPad Air, which would be a departure from its tradition of a separate announcement for tablets.

The new mobile platform iOS 8 will have capabilities that go beyond health and payments, say some analysts. This could involve smart-home technology or other systems that put Apple at the center of the ecosystem.

"Ultimately, we believe the pivot toward software and services and the rise of a more comprehensive enterprise strategy could help Apple become much more than just a hardware company," said Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes.

Windows 9 Build 6.4.9830 Ready

Work on Windows 9 continues these days, as we’re getting insanely close to the public launch of the very first beta of what could be another major revamp of our beloved operating system.

It appears that Microsoft has recently completed development of another Windows 9 build, as version number 6.4.9830 has been spotted online, most likely as the company was test-driving its features.

WINDOWS 9

No specifics are available at this point, but we already know that a public beta is expected to be released later this month for anyone willing to give it a try and help Microsoft improve the final product.

“Why are these builds numbers so important?” you might ask. The reason is as simple as it could be: with Microsoft fueling the secrecy surrounding Windows 9 on pretty much every single day when it refuses to disclose details about the upcoming operating system, there’s no doubt that people are trying to keep an eye on everything related to this project.

This new build is living proof that development of the new Windows 9 advances and a public beta is quickly coming, with people close to the matter indicating that Microsoft is preparing an event on September 30 to present plans for the new operating system.

Since Microsoft completes development of new Windows 9 builds on a regular basis and the company has already submitted new testing versions to partners, it’s only natural to expect leaks to reach the web in the coming days, but as far we can tell, such a thing is very unlikely to happen.

Microsoft has implemented new security measures to make sure that Windows 9 leaks are impossible, but in case partner builds indeed reach the web, it should be very easy for the company to determine the original owner.

Needless to say, Microsoft does not want any Windows 9 leaks to be released online before the public unveiling, and since Alex Kibkalo’s arrest, the amount of information on new Windows projects has been reduced dramatically. 

And still, we do know that Windows 9 will be released in stable form in April 2015, with Microsoft planning to introduce new features to the testing build using a new internal update mechanism that would not require fresh installations.

The feature lineup is expected to include options such as a Start menu, a desktop version of Cortana, options to run Metro apps on the desktop, Internet Explorer 12, a revised Modern UI, and many other improvements.

More information will be disclosed later this month by Microsoft itself, while download links for the public beta should be disclosed either in late September or in early October

The first round Android Wear: MOTO 360

The Moto 360 -- which holds the distinction of being the first circular Android Wear timepiece -- is available in the US starting September 5 for $250. It will come to other parts of the world later this year (local pricing has yet to be determined).

MOTO 360

It's been a long time coming. Despite its end of summer launch window, the Moto's curved stylings were enough to overshadow the first pair of Android Wear watches, the squared off, uninspired, cheap-looking LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live. In the meantime, though, a second wave of Android Wear watches has already begun jockeying for attention (and disposable income).

DIFFERENT DIALS OF MOTO 360

But those new models are still over the horizon. The 360 is here now. But was it worth the wait?

I finally have one on my wrist, and have had a chance to start playing around with it. It's definitely an eye-catcher, but not entirely as exciting as it once was on paper.

FEATURES 

The Moto 360 is the first round Android Wear smartwatch. Others will come, including the LG G Watch R, but this is the first you can buy. At $250 in the US (it'll arrive in other countries later this year), it's $30 more than the original LG G Watch, and $50 more than the Samsung Gear Live.

It has a look that definitely feels premium: everything about the Moto 360 looks clean and well-made: polished steel, a thin watchband that tucks underneath, and a beautiful set of specially-designed software watch faces.

The Moto 360 has a few hardware features that could set it apart besides design: it has inductive charging, which works without any dongle. Yes, you still need the included charging dock to drop the watch into, which still saddles you with an accessory. Still, it's a lot nicer than most clip-on charging accessories.

There's also an optical heart rate monitor on the watch's backside, like Samsung's smartwatches have. Motorola's is differently engineered, and also has different software: a beautiful round dial shows not only your heart rate, but your activity intensity, estimated by heart rate. The app will track how many targeted active minutes a day that you exercise, with a goal of 30 moderate activity minutes five days a week.

The Moto 360 leans heavily on voice commands, like all Android Wear watches, but Motorola promises an extra dash of natural language processing and noise-cancelling microphone excellence on the Moto 360. The Moto 360 understands what I say, but in noisy places it might have an edge on the competition.

SIZE

The Moto 360's 1.56-inch-diameter round display is big, bold, and feels a lot larger than a square display. It has a 320x290 resolution, effectively, at 205ppi. Actually, it's not fully round: there's a bit of a black bar on the bottom, perhaps a consequence of Motorola going for such a thin bezel that a custom round display needed to be crafted. That bit of black ruins the effect a bit, and mars the look of Motorola's pre-installed beautiful round watch faces. In a way, it shatters some of the illusion that the watch is trying to create when it's in watch mode. It's a shame, because every other part of the Moto 360's screen, and its really thin bezel, is really impressive to behold.

Sennheiser's momentous

Family-run German company Sennheiser has won rave reviews for headphones like the Momentum On-Ears. Among music fans, however, they're not as well known as Beats, the rival company co-founded by rapper Dr Dre, adored by celebrities, and this year snapped up by Apple in a multimillion-dollar deal. By adding Momentum quality to in-ear headphones suitable for listening when you're out of the house, Sennheiser wants to change that.

The Momentum In-Ear headphones will cost £90 in the UK and $99 in the US, with Australian pricing yet to be announced (the US price converts to AU$106). There are two versions: one for Android or Windows smartphones and tablets, on sale in September, and one for Apple iOS devices hitting shops before the end of the year.

Of course, when any successful brand is translated to a new form, it remains to be seen -- or rather, heard -- whether they deserve the name or if it's just a shameful attempt to cash in on the cachet of the higher-end models. But for the new in-ear models, Sennheiser trumpets newly developed transducer technology, a stainless steel acoustic pipe and high-quality dynamic speaker system that it says gives a powerful bass response and detailed vocal projection.

Sennheiser has also introduced a new range of on-ear headphones this week, called Urbanite. The headphones will arrive in September, costing £150 and £200 from John Lewis in the UK, and $199 or $249 in the US, with Australian prices yet to be announced (the US price converts to around AU$215 or AU$265).