Dragging U2 onstage to end Apple’s big iPhone 6 event was more than a disappointing denouement to an otherwise solid piece of marketing theater: It was a tacit admission that the recorded music industry is gasping for its last breath.

During his peculiar onstage banter with Bono, Apple CEO Tim Cook called the iTunes-exclusive release of U2’s new album, Songs of Innocence, “the largest album release of all time.” He also crowed that dumping the record for free on iTunes’ half-billion users would make music history.

It did, but for all the wrong reasons.

One of the smaller details Apple failed to mention during today’s keynote was its new watch’s tolerance of liquids. While the Apple Watch is designed to stay on your wrist all day, it’s not suited for all situations.

It turns out that the Apple Watch will be just fine with a little water, but don’t plan on wearing it while swimming.

CUPERTINO, Calif. — The iPhone 6 is about the only phone that can make your iPhone 5 look fat and schlumpy.

The first thing you notice when you get your hands on one is that the iPhone 6 is pleasing to the touch: The aluminum feels great, the screen is big, bright and beautiful. This is the total package, possibly the best smartphone ever made, and definitely the best in class. I’m not ashamed to say I tried to sneak out of Apple’s demo tent with one.

Apple has some new software to go along with its new iPhone 6 and Apple Watch announcements from this morning.  iTunes version 11.4 is now available for Mavericks as free update.

iTunes 11.4 adds support for iOS 8 ahead of the public release on September 17th. The release notes state that update adds the ability for users to sync favorite music, movies and other content on iOS 8 devices.  The update is available now in the Mac App Store, or via direct download on the viTunes website.

During today’s mega keynote, Tim Cook enthusiastically showed two new ads for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Both feature Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake narrating.

Apple has posted the new spots to its YouTube channel, and you can expect to start seeing them on TV tonight.

iOS 8’s release is eminent with Apple announcing today that its new software will be released to the public on September 17th.

To get the App Store ready, Apple is officially accepting iOS 8 versions of apps from third-party developers.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus take everyone’s favorite smartphone to the next level. They are bigger, faster and thinner than their predecessors, with better battery life to boot.

In the videos below, you’ll get Cult of Mac leader Leander Kahney’s first hands-on impressions, straight and unfiltered from the demo room after Apple’s big press event in Cupertino, California.

Tim Cook just took Apple into uncharted waters with a new product that could completely redefine the smart watch category, but when he took the stage, Tim says he Steve Jobs was on his mind.

Minutes after the keynote closed, Tim Cook met up with ABC News’ David Muir and said that he thinks Jobs was smiling down on the event, and would be incredibly proud to see what the company is doing today. Cook also talked a little bit about the development of the Apple Watch, revealing that it’s the first post-Jobs device Apple has released.

Watch the short interview below:

CUPERTINO, Calif. — The Apple Watch doesn’t look like it comes from some distant future, where cars drive themselves and we never have to go through airport security again. Instead, it’s clearly the best smartwatch Apple could design based on knowledge gleaned from today’s experts — including those in arcane arts like metallurgy and horology.

And you will absolutely want one.

It may not look like it yet, but after trying out the Apple Watch, I’m convinced it will become an essential piece of kit – as important as your iPhone.

Apple finally showed the world today what the media has been calling an “iWatch” for months. Apple Watch is the first new product category to come out of the company since the original iPad.

It marks a “new era” for Apple, according to CEO Tim Cook, and introducing the Apple Watch was even deemed worthy of a “One more thing” tease (as made famous by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs).

There’s a lot to digest about Apple’s first wearable, so we’ve made it easy for you. Here are the 10 most important things you need to know about the Apple Watch.

Sony added the Xperia Z3 and the Xperia Z3 Compact to its smartphone lineup at IFA last week, and they’re the best devices the Japanese company has built so far. But are they good enough to take on Apple’s new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus? Can a water-resistant form factor and PS4 Remote Play beat Touch ID and Cupertino’s speedy A8 processor?

Find out how the latest flagships from Apple and Sony stack up against each other below.

Apple’s new iPhones are a big improvement over their predecessors in almost every way. Both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus pack the larger, sharper displays loyal users have been begging for, as well as a faster A8 processor, twice as much RAM, and improved iSight cameras.

But how does the iPhone 6 stack up against the latest devices from Samsung? Check out our comparison below to see if Apple’s new baby has what it takes to beat the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Note 4 in a specifications smackdown.

We finally know all the detail of the iPhone 6, but there’s just one question remaining: Which one are you going to get? The iPhone 6 has all the features of its bigger brother, but is your pocket jonesing for the iPhone 6 Plus and its monstrous 5.5-inch screen?

Pre-orders don’t start until September 12th, but you can vote in our poll above and drop the reasons for your choice in the comments below while you wait for iPhone 6 launch day on September 19th.

The iWatch is no longer a unicorn.

Apple finally unveiled its wearable device today — dubbed the “Apple Watch” — and Cult of Mac was there to get a hands-on look at the highly customizable smartwatch.

That like-new iPhone 5s in your pocket? Obsolete. How about that smartwatch or fitness band you’ve been carting around on your wrist for the past six months? Old news. If you whip out your leather wallet and try to pay with a rectangle of plastic — at least at the corporate stores Apple works with — chances are you’ll be looked at like an old fogey.

Apple has, once again, thoroughly owned the mobile category, expanding the ways we communicate, live and transact business in our daily lives.

This domination of the smartphone, smartwatch and mobile payment categories, as revealed in today’s big iPhone 6 and Apple Watch event, has us ready to hand over another load of cash to the Apple mothership, and gladly. As usual, there were some surprises — some awesome and some not so much — but here are the main takeaways.

Tim Cook and company brought down the house at the Flint Center in Cupertino, and while investors haven’t reacted positively, Apple fanboys are still trying to recover from the hurricane of incredible new products Apple just announced.

The Apple Watch, big iPhones, Apple Pay and even some new software features were previewed at Apple’s first fashion-forward event. But there were a couple of disappointments hiding in the dark corners of the Flint Center as well. Like, where was the talk about the Apple Watch’s battery life? And why is there no sapphire glass on the iPhone 6?

Here are the biggest disappointments from today’s Apple keynote:

The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have bigger screens, badder cameras and you can use them in place of your wallet.

Apple just took the wraps off Apple Pay, its much-rumored mobile payments service. CEO Tim Cook is so excited about it that he looped the demo over and over during the keynote. It’s being touted as an “easy, secure and private” way to get your caffe latte on the run.

One thing’s for sure: this is a massive shift in the payments industry.

The iPod Classic is dead.

After serving faithfully in the iPod lineup since 2009, the iPod Classic and its iconic click-wheel interface have finally gotten the ax. Along with redesigning the Apple website and adding an Apple Watch page, Apple has removed the iPod Classic from the iPod section of its site.

We knew this day was coming for years, and what better way to give the old iPod the boot than right as the sexy new smartwatch is walking through the doors at Apple’s campus.

Fare thee well, oh click wheel. Fare thee well.

All the finishing touches have been added to iOS 8 ahead of its release later this month, leading Apple to seed the final GM beta to developers.

iOS 8 GM is now available to developers in the iOS Dev Center with the public release slated for September 17th, 2014 – two days before the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus hit Apple Store shelves. The new mobile operating system will be made available to iOS users for free, and is compatible with the iPhone 4s and greater, as well as the iPad 2 and greater.

Apple’s live broadcast of today’s keynote was one of the worst of all-time, but if you didn’t catch all the detail of the Apple Watch you can now head to Apple.com/watch to learn all the deets on Apple’s new wearable.

Apple Watch doesn’t launch until 2015 and there’s still no word on battery life, or how much the high end models will cost, but for now you can drool over its Sapphire display and six different wrist straps.

Along with the new Apple Watch page, the website has been redesigned with a sleek new menu bar that’s just as flat as iOS 7 and 8. The website is also responsive with a new mobile view on iPhone and iPad. Promotional pages for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are also available, but the Apple Store is still offline.

Apple just released U2’s new album, free to all iTunes users, onstage at the Flint Center in Cupertino this morning at the end of Apple Event.

After the two hour event, which unveiled both the new iPhone 6 models and the highly anticipated Apple Watch, Tim Cook introduced “one of the best artists of all time.”

U2 took the stage at the Flint Center in California and rocked the crowd of tech and fashion journalists. Then the two celebrities, one tech and one rock, released the new U2 album Songs of Innocence exclusively to iTunes through October 13 of this year.

As expected, the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus offer more screen space, with 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screens respectively.

The exciting thing?

Apple has pulled off a major engineering miracle: they’re also thinner, faster and smarter than their older cousins — and you don’t have to be richer to get your hands on one. You’ll also be able to use these phones as wallets and health trackers, marking a huge advance in how smart our phones really are.

When Tim Cook started off the keynote by saying “Today, we are pleased to announce the biggest advancement in iPhone,” we were slightly wary of the hyperbole as journalists should be. But after getting a good look at the two new iPhones, we couldn’t agree with him more.

You know that feeling you get when you buy a fresh piece of tech? You hurry out of the store, race home with whatever you’ve bought, and feverishly unbox your newest acquisition and revel in its glory. It’s a pretty awesome feeling. Do you know what feels even better than that? Winning fresh tech in a contest!

Right now you can have that winning feeling by entering the The Rebel Photographer Giveaway and The 11 inch MacBook Air Giveaway at Cult of Mac Deals.

Today Apple unveils the iPhone 6 and mythical iWatch, and Cult of Mac is on the ground in Cupertino, enthusiastically reporting all the action from The Flint Center. Leander will be at the event, elbowing his way to the front of the line for the keynote and hands-on sessions.

This liveblog post is where we’ll cover all the announcements and festivities in Cupertino. We’ll have full updates, analysis and entertainment—everything you could possibly want to know about Apple’s newest, most magical devices.

The event kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific, but we’ll be firing up the liveblog hours before to give you details from ground zero. What mysteries await us inside Apple’s mysterious white box? You’ll have to come back and find out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gwoLjYIeIw

Available in many major cities, Zipcar is this wonderful service that allows you to rent a car by the hour with your smartphone. In my neighborhood, there are half-a-dozen Zipcars parked, just waiting to be scooped up for a quick Ikea run or jaunt to the grocery store. It makes owning a car largely superfluous, at least if you live in a city with good public transportation.

But even though I live in an area with a lot of Zipcars, it’s still hard to find one that is unused on a busy Saturday or Sunday afternoon. But now Verizon has a plan on how to compete with Zipcar, and it’s a doozy: they’re going to allow anyone turn their own car into a Zipcar, rentable by iPhone or other smartphones.