Apple iPhone 6 and smart watch hands-on review

The long wait is over – Apple has taken the wraps off its new flagship smartphone. Read on for all the details from the launch, plus our hands-on impressions

The wait is over: the iPhone 6 is here at long, long last

Apple iPhone 6 hands-on - Makeover time 1

The great and the good of the tech world gathered today at the Flint Center in Cupertino for Apple's launch event, and Stuff is still among them. Here's everything you need to know about the iPhone 6, complete with our first hands-on impressions of the device.

The iPhone 6 is the thinnest iPhone ever made. At just 6.9mm, it makes the 7.6mm iPhone 5s sound positively fat, on paper at least.

Taking a leaf from the iPad design book, the iPhone 6’s overall shape is a lot more organic too. Its softer, rounder edges look as if they’ll feel a lot more comfortable in the hands than the straight, sharp edges of the iPhone 5s.

The power button has thankfully moved to the right hand side for easy access – a welcome change given the overall larger size of the device.

Hands-on impressions

The metal body is really, really nice, and for anyone who’s teetered between small-but-look-how-wonderful-the-apps-are iPhones and big-but-oh-the-apps-are-slightly-less-wonderful Androids, the iPhone 6 in particular will feel like a nice compromise.

It’s very thin and very light, like a small iPad Air. But while the influence of the Air is obvious, there’s a sharp difference between it and the previous iPhone, last year's 5S. Or rather, there's a blunt one: where the 5S is an edgy, chamfered block, the 6 is much softer. Think of an HTC One (M8), but lighter and thinner.

Smart Watch

"It's something functional, yet incredibly beautiful. It empowers people, it enriches their lives," Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the reveal about the digital watch that comes in two sizes and three designs. "Apple Watch is the most personal device Apple has ever created."

The watch, which must be wirelessly connected to an iPhone, can answer phone calls, send short text messages and view emails. It can also track physical activity through built-in sensors, including a heartbeat monitor. It will go on sale early next year starting at $349.

Meanwhile, the company unveiled the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus with screen sizes of 4.7 inches (about 12 centimeters) and 5.5 inches respectively, compared to the current model's 4 inch screen. The new smartphones will have a faster processor, a thinner case and near-field communication technology to allow its new mobile payment system called Apple Pay.

"Apple Pay will forever change the way all of us buy things and it's just one more reason why iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are the biggest advancements in the history of iPhone," Cook said.

The company said the payment platform will be more secure than a typical credit card transaction since it does not store the card information on the phone and instead uses a set of uniquely assigned numbers for each transaction. Only U.S. customers will be able to use Apple Pay initially when it is available in as a free download in October.

In the U.S., the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will start at $199 and $299, respectively, with a two-year phone contract. They will go on sale in 10 regions, including Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore on Sept. 19.