by Matt Kapko

Behind the scenes at Apple’s iPhone 6s event

Feature
Sep 14, 2015
Consumer ElectronicsiPadiPhone

Apple held its big media event last week at a legendary music venue flanking San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza. The company customized much of the building to fit its design aesthetic. All those little details that make Apple events unique were lost on anybody who wasn't able to attend. Here's an inside look.

Apple’s Sept. 9, 2015 ‘special event’

Apple took over the famous Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for its September 2015 “special event’ in San Francisco last week. It took the company more than two hours to reveal all of the updates to its product line.

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

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Image by Matt Kapko

The entire southern edge of the venue plaza was roped off for an estimated 1,500 attendees, and millions more watched the live stream online. The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium was originally built in 1915.

Area around the special event venue

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Government buildings and cultural institutions, including San Francisco City Hall, the Supreme and Superior Courts of California, the Asian Art Museum, and San Francisco’s Public Library, surround the rectangular plaza around the venue.

Apple, Apple everywhere

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Apple covered much of the venue with widely recognized logos. Journalists, analysts and special guests checked in at the front of the building, while Apple employees entered from the sides and filled much of the hall’s upper-level seating area.

The panic before the storm

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A swarm of journalists and analysts breathing down each other’s necks waited not-so-patiently for Apple to open the floodgates.

Inside the venue

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Many of the attendees immediately started staring at their screens as soon as they got inside. Not surprisingly, Apple devices were the dominant gadgets.

On stage with Apple’s Schiller

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Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, spent more time on stage than anyone else. He’s shown here discussing the upgraded cameras on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

Live app demos

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Children used to aspire to become astronaut or professional athletes. For far too many young people, today’s heroes are those that get to demonstrate new apps during one of Apple’s media events.

One more thing … OneRepublic

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Apple CEO Tim Cook ended the marathon of product announcements with a surprise performance by what he called “one of his favorite bands,” OneRepublic.

Hands on with the hardware

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The real stars of the event waited for attendees in an adjoining hall where the company set up a temporary Apple Store of sorts to show off its latest hardware, including the massive new iPad Pro.

iPad Pro and Smart Keyboard

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The iPad Pro docked with Apple’s new Smart Keyboard.

iPad Pro multitasking

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The iPad Pro’s new multitasking features let you enter a split-screen mode with two applications running concurrently side-by-side.

New iPad hints at Apple’s future in enterprise

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Apple’s Smart Keyboard and the new multitasking features provide a glimpse of Apple’s vision for the future of iPad and workplace computing.

‘Rose Gold’ iPhone 6s

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Apple expanded its iPhone lineup with a new pink (Apple calls it “Rose Gold”) device, shown here on the far right.

Colorful new iPhones

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A rear view of the iPhone 6s lineup sits on matching docks.