Apple shows off revamped iPhone, TV box

Apple unveiled its newest attempt to lay claim to the living room on Wednesday at its two hour grand event in San Francisco, presenting the world with the latest iteration of Apple TV alongside two new iPhone models. CEO Tim Cook called the new system the "future of television" and detailed how it will deliver a wide range of information, games, music and video into users' homes.

"TV plays a huge role in our lives and it occupies an important place in our homes," Cook said in his presentation.

This is part of what analyst Ben Bajarin called Apple's "groundwork for a broader living-room strategy" as it attempts to create a business model not so heavily reliant on the success of the iPhone. A huge leap forward from the TV boxes sold by the company since 2007, they will be on sale starting in late October.

The iPhone did however also make a prominent appearance at the event, with two new models called the 6s and 6s Plus, which will be available on September 25. They will have more memory and faster processors, as well as a new 12 megapixel camera and the new "3D Touch" feature which the screen sensors use to distinguish between a light tap and extended pressure, opening up new menus and functions for apps - whether made by Apple or third party developers.

A new plus-sized iPad was also revealed, which includes a detachable keyboard. While new software and accessories for the Apple Watch were also on display, it was clearly not the star of the show.

Apple faces stiff competition in the television market from Google's popular streaming video device Chromecast, as well as similar products made by Amazon and Nvidia.

es/bw (AP, dpa)