Apple iPad Air 2 and iMac event: What was announced and what wasn't

Do you want more iPads? Are you yearning for a fresh new MacBook? Perhaps you're weak at the knees at the thought of a new Apple TV, or maybe you just want more info on OS X Yosemite.

Either way, today's Apple event could have it all. That's right folks, we're staring down the barrel of a bumper launch event and TechRadar will be reporting live from the announcement to bring you all the latest.

Things are set to kick off at 10am PDT (that's 1pm New York time and 6pm for anyone in the UK), so make sure you stayed tuned for our live blog coverage followed by hands on action of any hardware which gets unveiled.

In the meantime, why not test your knowledge of Apple's iPad range with our super challenging iPad Quiz.

Follow the action live:

11.19: That's it. He's wrapping it all up. Thanks for watching folks... and there's no Bono! Yeah!

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/ios-8-1-update-adds-apple-pay-and-brings-camera-roll-back-1269482

11.18: He's thanking people now. This is it. No Apple TV I reckon. Or iPod.

11.17: He's chatting about what's been talked about, the design that's been made, how the products work together seamlessly.

11.16: What's left? Tim Cook is back... what's left from the 'It's been too long' tagline? What's been too long?

11.14: All new Mac Mini too - 4th gen Intel Core processor, two Thunderbolt ports, faster graphics and Wi-Fi, and it's coming in at $499.

11.12: We're back with Phil. 3.5GHz Intel i7, upgradeable to Intel i7. This is now Thunderbolt 2 20Mbps, Fusion drive. 8GB of memory too, and it's shipping today.

iMac retina

How much does it cost? He's stalling... he's stalling... talking about a 4K TV. These cost $3000 or more...but the iMac is $2499. Well, that's the base level.

11.10: Talking about this new iMac a lot on video. Upshot: it's got a bright display with loads of colours. And something about passivation in LEDs. I'll admit, it's over my head a bit.

This this is going to cost a LOT though.

11.08: 4x more pixels, uses a third less energy. Loads of new technology plopped in there. Even an all-new backlight.

Video time!

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/ios-8-1-update-adds-apple-pay-and-brings-camera-roll-back-1269482

11.06: Retina iMac announced! It's got a 5K resolution. The world's highest resolution display. The Retina 5K display. That's big.

67% percent more pixels in the 27-inch display. And it's just 5mm thin, says Shiller. That's pretty impressive.

Apple

11.04: FYI the iPad Mini 3 will have a 7.9-inch Retina screen, 5MP iSight camera, TouchID, and will cost up to $729 for the 128GB cellular version.

11.03: Boo. We're talking about the Mac. It's the 30th birthday, so something should probably have been done. But I was hoping it was all done.

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/ios-8-1-update-adds-apple-pay-and-brings-camera-roll-back-1269482

11.02: iPad mini with Retina is called iPad min 2, and will stay alive along with iPad mini and iPad Air, which will be $100 less than before.

11.00: Phil is wrapping up. It's feels like this is it. Surely not?

Silver, Space Gray and Gold. $499 for 16GB, 64GB is $599, and the 128GB is $699.

Whoa! iPad mini 3 is in! Starts at $399 for 16GB. That was dropped quickly! I know nothing about it!

SHOW IT AGAIN I DIDN'T WRITE IT ALL DOWN!

10.56: Now video editing from Replay. It seems a lot like HTC's Zoe app, but without photos. Probably does them too though.

With Metal, this app runs 20x faster... that's impressive.

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/ios-8-1-update-adds-apple-pay-and-brings-camera-roll-back-1269482

I'm starting to wonder if Apple has a dress code for the presenters. 'Keep the shirts tucked in, guys, Tim's the only one that's allowed it to all go free.'

10.55: Hearing from Pixelmator. It's an impressive app, but we seem to watching them do some consultancy work as we go. Good work on a slick presentation though, guys.

10.53: It will ship with iOS 8.1. Where's the iPad mini 3? This seems to me like it's going to be hidden at the end.

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/ios-8-1-update-adds-apple-pay-and-brings-camera-roll-back-1269482

10.51: TouchID is confirmed. Phil admitted that even Apple people tried to use TouchID on the first iPad Air... should have put it on there, shouldn't you?

And you can shop on the go, making online purchasing. Not in store, he was at pains to say.

10.50: New front facing camera for single shot HDR, HDR video, better low light (f/2.2). And burst mode from this too.

10.48: Phil is showing really lovely pictures of stuff. Like in a helicopter. JUST USE A REAL CAMERA.

Panorama is in there, as is burst mode. Oh, timelapse is in too.

Apple accidentally shot the George Clooney wedding party. Not literally shot. Caught on timelapse.

And slow-motion is in there too. Didn't see that coming, mostly because it seems weird on an iPad.

10.47: It's an 8MP iSight camera, 1.12 micron pixels. f/2.4 aperture. It's got image signal processing in the A8X chip. Oh no. People are going to start using iPads for photos all over the place. Don't be that Dad/Mum who records his kids with an iPad.

10.46: 10 hour battery life, with the motion co-processor and barometer. Oh DAMMIT.

The iPad has a better camera. No Apple, get rid of it! Lose the camera! We don't need it! #stopipadblocking

10.43: Two together are thinner than the early iPad.

For the new iPad Air 2, all the components have been laminated together to remove space between components.

And it's 56% less reflective. That's pretty good. I hate seeing my face.

10.44: The A8X chip is a new chipset for the iPad Air 2. 40% faster performance, 2.5x faster than last year when it comes to graphics.

10.41: It's so thin, you can barely see it. Apparently. It's like a thin pencil, according to the video. Phil Shiller. 6.1mm thin, the world's thinnest tablet, he says.

10.40: What do you do when you make the best tablet in the world? Asks Tim. How do you make it better? You do this:

Answer: a thinner iPad Air. 2. iPad Air 2.

10.39: 675,000 apps on the iPad. Fair amount.

10.38: Over 225 million iPads sold around the world. Not bad considering we all thought tablets wouldn't work. iPad sales outstripping best PC units from Lenovo, HP, Acer and Dell.

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/ios-8-1-update-adds-apple-pay-and-brings-camera-roll-back-1269482

10.37: That actually just happened. I didn't even dramatise it.

10.36: 'I'd like to talk about iPad' said Tim, tentatively. He paused, and adjusted his remote. Looking at the audience and swallowing slowly, he began to talk about the 'jam packed' technology inside.

'Magical,' he breathed.

10.35: Yosemite is live on the Mac AppStore today! Go forth people, it's free.

iOS 8.1 is coming this Monday as well. Man, we're 35 mins in and there has NOT been a lot of news. My legs hurt.

10.34: Actually funny video of a secret handshake at Apple. I laughed. I hope they put that on YouTube.

10.31: Colbert just changed his title to Supreme Commander of Secrecy. Come on guys, I've got a lot of words to write... this is wasting time.

All these jokes about secrecy - will Apple actually improve the leaking situation?

...Erm, don't do that, guys.

10.29: Dialling Stephen Colbert, Chief of Secrecy. We're doing some funny code names to make sure 'the line is secure'. Federighi just said a lot of things about Apples. OH APPLES! FROM APPLE!

I get it.

10.28: Proper live demo of the photos sharing across devices. He's a maverick. Playing with fire, Craig.

10.27: Demo time. Doing some Lolz about the improved security at Apple - in fairness, Federighi is pretty funny. 'Of course, we increased the amount of lasers on the path to the bathroom'.

10.24: Craig keeps coughing. Hope he's OK.

He's really animated about the interconnectivity between iOS 8 and Yosemite. He's just gone sparkly-eyed talking about Continuity.

10.23: iCloud Drive. It's a cloud drive. We knew that.

If you ask me, that should be a way to control your car remotely.

10.22: Yosemite does look nice, I'll admit that. Seems a much more clean and simple interface. If you've never used it but used an iPhone, you'll get it.

But remember: there's no Start Menu. Then again, Microsoft nearly did the same thing too.

10.21: Talking up Safari's speed and battery efficiency. 'Please don't use other browsers, guys! Safari is ace!'

10.19: Next up is Yosemite. Very clean, very useful... yes yes yes. Come on, we've been here.

Just noticed Craig has his shirt tucked in. Wonder if he and Tim had a chat about that one.

iOS 8

10.17: Let's turn our attention to iOS 8.1. He just said 'feedback' with bunny fingers. He's talking about the need for improvements.

What's coming? Public beta of shared Cloud Stream. Come on - we want to hear about these improvements. Hopefully the Mail app on the iPhone will be a bit more stable.

10.15: Apparently there's a Klingon keyboard for iOS 8? Who knew?

Apple

10.14: We're now going through the features of iOS 8. Come on Craig, we know this.

If you don't, check out all you need here: iOS 8 review

10.12: Craig Federighi is on stage now. Apparently 48% are on iOS 8. And now we're mocking KitKat for having 25% in a year, where iOS 8 has doubled that in 25 days.

Come on Apple, we don't need these jabs. You're better than that. Will Android Lollipop help solve this slowdown though? It still is an issue.

10.10: Apple iWatch (I know, Watch) is coming Early 2015 still. Nothing new there.

Apple

10.09: We're talking iWatch now. I'm still calling it that. Tim Cook made a joke about him loving fashion. Everyone laughed. A lot. Bit harsh.

Admittedly, he could tuck his shirt in but I don't think he's that scruffy.

Oh, and WatchKit has been developed so other developers can join BMW et al in making apps. That's coming in November.

10.08: Loads more vendors for Apple Pay. And it's coming on Monday in the US!

10.06:500 more banks signed up to Apple Pay. Or Apple Pat, as our Wearables editor keeps typing.

10.05: In China very soon. Pre-orders over there have been bananas. Come on, we've done iPhones already. I had a very stressful day in Cupertino. I'm getting flashbacks.

Oooh, Apple Pay.

10.04: Fastest selling iPhones in history. Nothing surprising there.

10.03: Big TC is on stage! Once again, an 'incredible year', apparently.

10.02: Only joking. I can touch type (I hope). We're now looking at people ecstatic at being first in to buy a new iPhone.

There's a video of a man videoing himself holding an iPhone 6 box. Using a new iPhone 6. That's cheating.

10.01: Crap, the lights have gone out. I can't stt the kybaord.

10.00: It's GO TIME it's GO TIME it's GO TIME. Where is Tim Cook?

FORGET THAT, it's starting.

09.58: The music just increased in intensity. I'm not sure if that really happened or if I'm becoming hyper-aware.

09.57: THIS IS ME RIGHT NOW.

09.55: Uh-oh. I can feel the glucose entering my system.

09.54: If you're there, and that is happening, film it please. That's a 'top YouTube video of the year' right there.

09.53: Seven minutes out. I bet Tim Cook's going through his pre-game now. Something involving jumping, shouting, shadow boxing and mouth warm up exercises is how I imagine it.

09.51: Someone just gave me a glucose tablet. I'm pretty sure that's illegal doping for a Live Blog. I feel better being upfront about it.

09.50: Classic Tweet from Si: "I'm at home, following your live updates, just got in from work, in Exeter, Devon, UK."

Best not tell him there's a live stream.

THERE ISN'T NOBODY LOOK FOR ONE.

09.48: I'm above the Apple Store in Berlin and I keep getting notifications to install the Apple Store app. Surely that's not the place to push such notifications?

09.46: Next up from Ashish: "Any chance of a surprise, maybe an Apple TV that can be used as a games console?"

I reckon a strong chance - in fact, so strong that it wouldn't even be a surprise given Google's done just that with Android TV. Which means it won't be a surprise. So, no, no surprise.

Tell you what would be a massive surprise: an Apple VR headset. If it happens, you heard it here first.

09.44: We have one! From Siku: "If the iPad 6 (Air 2) ends up having a 16:9 aspect ratio, NFC and a Flash support what will be your first reaction?"

My response will be: you are clearly a wizard and can predict the future. Also that I am impressed you can remember how many iPads there have been.

09.41: Our videographer is browsing pictures of food on Instagram. That's how chilled it is here. You wouldn't believe that we're about to hear about new tablets/set-top boxes/TVs/Macbooks/iMacs* in less than 20 minutes.

*Delete as appropriate.

09.38: There's a man with a blindingly bright light attached to a camera that hit me square in the eyes. I've had to wait this long to find my keyboard again.

People around me are rolling up their sleeves. This must mean it's action time.

09.44: If I remember.

09.33: If you're reading this on the way into work, on the way home, on your lunch break - well, you're either getting in late, going home early or just taking an odd lunch. BUT if you are, tweet me on @superbeav. I'll publish some of the good ones here.

09.32: I'm here, the Wi-Fi is working, there's plenty of time to go. I don't like it. It's too easy.

09:20: I'm inside!

Apple iPad launch

Oh look, a white Apple logo on a black background. Fresh.

09.10: Ah, the familiar queue for an Apple event.

Apple iPad launch

Turns out I'm not the only one here

09.00 PDT: Just one hour to go and I'm on my way to the venue. These iPads better be good.

07.00 PDT: Goodness, the Apple Store is down. What could it mean?

October 15: Apple has been sprucing up the event venue ready for tomorrow's big show. We'll be reporting live from the event to bring you all the latest.

Apple iPad launch

Looks just like the invite

October 10: Apple sends out invites for an October 16 event, with a cryptic message of "It's been way too long" - what could it mean?

Apple iPad launch

Were you invited?
Matt Swider