By Samantha Kelly, Aditi Sangal, Clare Duffy, Catherine Thorbecke and Jennifer Korn, CNN
By CNN's Samantha Kelly
As expected, the company is bringing USB-C charging to the iPhone.
Now Apple customers can use the same USB-C chargers to power their iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. (No more scrambling to find the right charger for each device).
This news officially ends the run of the Lightning port and charger -- exactly 11 years after it was first announced.
In the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple said a dedicated USB-C controller will allow for transfer speeds of up to 20 times faster than with USB-2 technology.
by CNN's Jennifer Korn
Apple announced camera upgrades for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, including automatic portrait mode that can detect when there is a solo person in a shot and smart HDR to better capture animals.
The phone camera will also feature super-high resolution photos, an "action mode" for images and 4K cinematic mode for video.
From CNN's Catherine Thorbecke
Lisa Jackson, Apple’s VP of environment, policy and social initiatives, said that the company’s Watch Series 9 will be Apple’s “first-ever carbon-neutral product.” She said this has been certified by an independent third-party.
Doubling down on sustainability initiatives, Jackson also said the tech giant will no longer use leather in any new Apple product, including watch bands.
Instead of leather, Apple said it will begin using a new textile that it is calling “fine woven.”
Fine woven will be made of 68% post-consumer recycled content, giving it a significantly lower carbon footprint than leather, Apple said.
The company said it will achieve its carbon neutral goal by shipping products by ocean and using carbon credits to offset the rest of the emissions. Carbon pledges, however, are difficult to track, and offsets have been widely criticized as insufficient.
From CNN's Catherine Thorbecke
Apple said that its latest iPhone 15 model will start at $799, and the iPhone 15 Plus will start at $899.
Apple introduced the prices for its latest Apple Watch products:
Apple Watch SE starts at $249.
Apple Watch S9 starts at $399.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 is priced at $799.
Customers can place orders today and they will be available on September 22.
By CNN's Samantha Kelly
Apple showed off the second iteration of its rugged Ultra smartwatch line, now with a brighter display that promises readability in the brightest sunlight. It features the updated S9 custom chip and a new UWB chip. It includes the same Double Tap feature as the Series 9, features more information on the display for more intensive tracking.
Tim Cook called it Apple's most technically advanced smartwatch yet.
By CNN's Jennifer Korn
Actress Octavia Spencer took the stage as a very skeptical Mother Nature in a new ad boasting Apple’s environmental track record.
In a fast-paced, witty clip, the company announced plans to phase out leather in iPhone cases plus all plastic packaging by next year. Spencer's Mother Nature grilled nervous Apple's executives, including a muttering CEO Tim Cook, about the company's plans to reduce its carbon footprint.
Apple said it has reduced electricity and transportation emissions, and it used 100% recycled aluminum in the enclosures of MacBooks, Apple TVs and Apple Watches.
In 2020, the company pledged to be completely carbon neutral by 2030, and Apple said it is on pace to meet that goal.
"We've innovated and retooled almost every part of our process to reduce our impact on the planet," CEO Tim Cook said. "By 2030, all Apple devices will have a net zero climate impact."
The company said it will achieve that goal by shipping by ocean and using carbon credits to offset the rest of the emissions. Carbon pledges, however, are difficult to track, and offsets have been widely criticized as insufficient.
At the end of the ad, Spencer was satisfied -- but said she'd be back next year to hold Apple to account, urging the company not to "disappoint your mother."
By CNN's Samantha Kelly
The company showed off its next-generation Apple Watch, the Series 9, featuring a custom S9 chip for faster processing and the promise of using a hand gesture to control the watch.
A new gesture control called Double Tap will allow users to tap their index finger and thumb together twice, to answer or end phone calls, play and pause music, or snooze alarms. The hand gesture can also scroll through widgets, much like turning the digital crown.
The company said this is enabled by an enhanced neural engine that processes data from sensors and machine learning. It is available starting next month.
"It will become one of those magical experiences you rely on everyday," the company said.
A similar hand tap will be used to control the Vision Pro mixed reality headset when it launches next year.
Other Apple Watch Series 9 updates include the ability for Siri to take requests, such as asking it to start a workout, and a new edge-to-edge display that double the brightness than the Series 8 watch. It also comes in a new pink color.
From CNN's Catherine Thorbecke
Apple’s keynote September event started with a short video featuring the voices and stories of people who say the technology saved their lives.
"We're so excited you could join us today for some big announcements about two essential products: Apple Watch and iPhone," CEO Tim Cook said during his opening remarks. "Like we just saw, nothing's more important than helping save lives, and it's amazing to see all the ways people use Apple Watch and iPhone everyday."
