MacRumors

Ahead of today's special media event, Apple has once again made its "Apple Events" channel available on the Apple TV.

Apple will also be streaming the event live on its website, and users will need to be running Safari on Mac/iOS in order to watch the stream.

Apple is expected to unveil the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 alongside the iWatch, and will likely provide updates on iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite.

Apple's keynote kicks off at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, and MacRumors will also be providing a live blog, live tweets via the MacRumorsLive Twitter account, and a spoiler-free page for those who want to watch the full keynote at a later time.

Over the weekend, Weibo user zzray showed off an apparently working 4.7-inch iPhone 6, offering a first look at the device. Now, the user has also posted more information about the device (Google Translate, via GforGames), including results from a Geekbench 3 test that reveal a 1.4 GHz ARM processor and 1 GB of RAM for the device.

The results show that the iPhone 6 scored a 1633 on the single-core test and a 2920 on the multi-core test, which is greater than the 1305 single-core and 2347 dual-core Geekbench 3 scores for the 1.3 GHz A7 chip on the iPhone 5s. This also contrasts a previous report, which claimed that the A8 chip would top 2 GHz while remaining dual-core.

The data also displays 1GB of RAM, which is the same amount of RAM included on the iPhone 5s. A wiring schematic said to be from the iPhone 6 that surfaced last month also indicated that the device would have 1 GB of RAM.

The user has also posted a photo from the iPhone 6 and compared it to the same shot taken with iPhone 5s and LG G3. The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 is said to come with an improved camera module which is said to offer faster focusing speeds and power efficiency. Other leaks have pointed to the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 featuring an optical image stabilization system.

Apple is expected to reveal both the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 alongside the iWatch at a media event scheduled for today at 10 AM. MacRumors will have live coverage of the event as it unfolds.

Minnesota-based medical group Mayo Clinic will be at Apple's special media event tomorrow to demonstrate how iOS 8's new Health app can benefit medical professionals, reports the Star Tribune. The paper states that Mayo will show how data from the Health app can flow into a sophisticated management system of a major health center.

Apple and Mayo Clinic have reportedly been working together for two years. The medical group's CEO Dr. John H. Noseworthy was quoted as saying that Apple's Health and HealthKit development tools have the potential to "revolutionize how the health industry interacts with people" when both were introduced at WWDC this past June.

Last month, Apple was also said to be in talks with health providers at Mount Sinai, Cleveland Clinic, John Hopkins, and Allscripts to roll out HealthKit to their facilities. According to sources close to the discussions, Apple has been positioning HealthKit and its Health app as an all-in-one solution for medical professionals to store patient data for easier access and to improve diagnostics.

Apple's media event kicks off at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, and MacRumors will have full coverage of the event as it unfolds.

This past July, Apple and IBM announced an exclusive enterprise mobility partnership that would see both companies collaborating on a series of new business apps and services. As a part of the agreement, IBM would begin selling iOS devices to its corporate customers, create iOS apps, and provide cloud services, while Apple would offer a new AppleCare service tailored to specific enterprise needs.

Now, in an interview with Tech Pro Research, IBM executive Glenn Finch has given new details on the company's partnership with Apple, including how its enterprise apps will fit into the iOS ecosystem. According to Finch, IBM will create a hundred apps across a number of industries including software for financial services, telecom, and health. The executive also noted that the apps with be tailored to "client demand", as feedback will play a major role in making design changes.

"The promise of this whole partnership," Finch explained to me, is that "you have a built-in adoption curve already present." His customers in the enterprise already use iPhones and iPads at home; they trust Apple, they trust the apps, and they intuitively know how to work with them. The devices are known.

Finch also spoke on where the companies overlap, stating Apple's focus on user experience and design compliment IBM's data-driven approach. AppleCare support for enterprises will also be a joint effort between the two companies, as Apple technicians will perform warranty work on hardware while app maintenance and support will be provided by IBM.

From a procurement perspective, Apple already has an enterprise group and IBM isn't looking to step on their toes - however, IBM has an army of salespeople with clients every day, something that Apple is sorely lacking. The two companies are working out the specifics there to make sure they don't trip over each other too much.

Apple and IBM will begin rolling out its first apps under the new partnership later this fall, as more apps are scheduled to be released in 2015. Both companies will also look to launch AppleCare support for enterprises later this year.

Last week, rumors suggested that Apple was planning to involve U2 in its upcoming iPhone 6 launch, with the band possibly performing at the event or including its new album on the iPhone 6. Those rumors were later dismissed by a U2 spokesperson, but it appears U2 may indeed be a part of tomorrow's event.

According to a new report from The New York Times, U2 will play a "significant part" in Apple's event at the Flint Center. Not only will U2 play at the event, its upcoming album will be integrated into Apple's products in some way.

Extending a decade-long connection with Apple, U2 will play a significant part in Apple's event, which will be held at a performing arts center in Cupertino, Calif., the company's home base, according to three people briefed on its plans. In addition to performing, the band will reveal an integration with Apple's products that is connected to its next album, which is expected to come out by the end of the year, according to these people, who spoke anonymously because the band's appearance -- and its deal with Apple -- is supposed to be a surprise.

Apple and U2 have had a long partnership, as Steve Jobs and Bono were good friends. Starting in 2004, Apple released several special edition U2 iPods, which included the band's signatures and U2's music. Apple has also been a longtime partner of (Product) RED, a charity founded by Bono, so another major partnership is no surprise.

It is not clear exactly what U2 will reveal on Tuesday or how it will be connected to Apple, but The New York Times says that reports suggesting the iPhone 6 will come with U2's newest album were false. Instead, U2's deal with Apple will see the band's music released in an "innovative way" with Apple's event serving as a "big, splashy stunt to generate publicity."

Apple, for its part, has been building a massive structure at the Flint Center at De Anza college, where its iPhone event will be held. Some rumors have suggested that the structure could be a stage, with a Cupertino resident remarking that it "looked like a sound stage going up for a rock concert."

Tomorrow's event, which will kick off at 10 a.m. PST, is expected to be Apple's biggest event in some time. The company will debut the iPhone 6 in 4.7 and 5.5 inch varieties and it is also said to be unveiling both its long-rumored wearable device and a new payments initiative involving both the iWatch and the iPhone 6.

Last year, we highlighted a profile of Apple's Boston-area speech technology team speculated to be working on enhancements to Siri. The group's efforts appear to have been ramping up since that time, with a June report claiming Apple is seeking to eventually move away from the Nuance-powered system currently used for Siri.

Apple's team in Cambridge appears to still be growing, with BetaBoston reporting Apple has leased 13,000 square feet of new space to house the team.

Several commercial realtors tell me that the Cupertino company has leased more than half a floor at One Broadway, an MIT-owned building that also houses Facebook’s small local team, several venture capital firms, and the Cambridge Innovation Center. The new office, about 13,000 square feet on one of the building’s upper floors, is a major expansion for Apple, which currently has a small team on the building’s fifth floor.

Earlier reports had noted Apple's recruitment of several former Nuance employees for the team, and BetaBoston reports Apple has recently added members from Amazon, research and development firm BBN Technologies, and data management firm Actifio.

Apple has reportedly not yet begin building out its new space in Cambridge, but it could house up to 65 employees once completed.

Apple may be developing a rewards program as part of its mobile payments initiative, reports Bank Innovation. Apple is reportedly working on a pilot program that will see it developing partnerships with multiple retailers, which goes hand in hand with several previous loyalty program rumors. A proprietary rewards program could give Apple a way to distinguish itself from other mobile payment services.

According to sources with knowledge of Apple's plans, the company has been in talks with InterContinental Hotels Group (seemingly incorrectly referred to as "IGH International" in the report), a global hotel chain, about a possible partnership for a loyalty program and has been hiring to fill positions related to the pilot program, which may be built into iTunes.

Bank Innovation specifically points towards an Apple job opening seeking a "Senior World Wide Partner Marketing Manager," who will create programs and training materials for "external partners" and who will focus on driving customer adoption of "existing and new features." Other similar job postings also hint at the development of a major program focused on third-party partnerships, which may be a loyalty program.

The site suggests that the company is just now beginning to hire for the division, which means a possible loyalty program is unlikely to be available right when its payments service launches.

Sources close to Apple say the company has just started hiring for this division, and that, before the recent high-profile iCloud hack, the plan was to announce the pilot on Tuesday along with Apple's other announcements. That very well may happen, or the announcement could be postponed until a later date -- when more deals are in place and the mainstream media moves on from the iCloud cyberattack. Since Apple's hiring for positions for this program now, but we don't expect this program to be fully ready in the near future.

If a rewards program is indeed in the works, it appears to be in the early stages. There's no word yet on the scope of the program or how it might work, but more information may be revealed tomorrow, when Apple unveils its mobile payments initiative for the first time.

Rumors about Apple's payment plans have been leaking out in recent weeks, and the company has reportedly signed deals with major credit card companies including Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, as well as major credit card issuers. Apple is also said to be partnering with multiple retailers for the service, including Walgreens, CVS, and Nordstrom.

Apple's payment service is said to rely on NFC, which will be built into both the iPhone 6 and Apple's upcoming wearable device. It will also integrate with Touch ID for security purposes, and it will take advantage of tokenization to provide additional security and to prevent theft.

With less than 24 hours to go until tomorrow's major media event, Apple has begun redirecting its entire homepage in the U.S., Apple.com, to Apple.com/live, which displays a countdown to the event. Apple's move to redirect all homepage traffic to its event countdown is undoubtedly an effort to ramp up anticipation for its upcoming announcements.

Apple's promotion of the event along with its location at the Flint Center, where the original Mac was unveiled, suggests that Apple has something huge in the works for tomorrow's announcements. While Apple's media events are always major affairs, Apple has made an extra effort this year to build up hype for the big unveiling.

Apple has plans to live stream the event on its website and the company will likely stream the event to the Apple TV with a dedicated channel, as it has done for past events. MacRumors will be providing live coverage of the event, both on MacRumors.com and on the MacRumorsLive Twitter account for those unable to watch Apple's live stream.

Tomorrow's event kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific Time at the Flint Center at De Anza College in Cupertino. Apple is expected to unveil a multitude of new products and services, including two versions of the iPhone 6, its much-rumored wearable device, and its mobile payments initiative.

When iOS 8 is released to the public this fall, users will be able to take advantage of several new operating system features, including app extensions. App extensions are designed to allow third-party apps to share services with other apps, letting apps work together and interface in ways that they never have before.

We've shared a brief look at app extensions in the iOS 8 version of 1Password, but as the launch date of the new operating system approaches, developers are hard at work integrating Apple's APIs into their apps and have been sharing more information on some of the ways app extensions will work.

Microsoft will be updating OneNote for iPhone and iPad to take advantage of Apple's iOS 8 share extension, adding useful new capabilities to the note taking app through built-in share sheets.

As demoed in the video above, a OneNote button in Safari (accessed via the share sheet) will let users quickly clip articles and information from the web, automatically inserting content into the OneNote app. The OneNote Share Extension will also allow users to export files to OneDrive, Microsoft's cloud storage service, and it's also possible to save photos from the device's camera roll to the app.

The sharing functions built into the OneNote app will undoubtedly become common features in many iOS apps in the future, making it easier than ever to share content between apps and services. In addition to offering inter-app sharing features, Apple's Extensibility APIs let apps access system-wide third party keyboards, add widgets to the Notification Center, share photo editing extensions, and more.

Microsoft plans to release its OneNote update on the same day that iOS 8 becomes available to the public, which should be shortly before the iPhone 6 begins shipping to customers.

Microsoft OneNote can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link: iPad/iPhone]

Though Apple is planning to unveil two iPhones tomorrow, in 4.7 and 5.5-inch varieties, there's been surprisingly little information on what the two devices might be called. According to a new report from Mac Otakara [Google Translate], Apple will refer to the smaller 4.7-inch iPhone as the "iPhone 6," while the larger 5.5-inch version will be called the "iPhone 6 Plus."

It is unknown what source Mac Otakara derived its information from, but the site has provided accurate predictions in the past. MacRumors has also heard the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus monikers from a second source, but it remains unclear if that is indeed Apple's naming plan.

Interestingly, the "plus" naming schematic actually dates back to very early iPhone rumors, where the device was reportedly referred to as the "iPhone Math" in a mistranslation that many assumed meant "iPhone Plus." Other possible names for the 5.5-inch iPhone included "iPhone Air," a term that surfaced from Chinese media sources and seemed to fit in with the rest of Apple's "Air" lineup, including the MacBook Air and the iPad Air."

With approximately 24 hours to go until Apple's September 9 media event, it won't be long before we find out the official names for the two devices. Along with the iPhone 6, the event is also expected to see the unveiling of the much-anticipated "iWatch" and Apple's mobile payments service.

A new report [Google Translate] from French site iGen.fr claims Apple may begin selling both of its iPhone 6 models at the same time. According to the report, which is based on the same source who accurately predicted previous Apple product launches, the two models would go on sale starting Friday, September 19. That has been the most widely expected date for the first wave of launches given Apple's previous announcement and launch patterns.

Perhaps in line with a lack of significant leaks of parts for the larger model, a separate source indicates that the 4.7-inch model is likely to be available in higher quantities than the 5.5-inch model. MacRumors has heard similar news from a reliable source, who has indicated that two different iPhone models are incoming with the larger model shipping at only half the rates of the smaller one.

Reports of a simultaneous launch for both iPhone 6 models contradicts some earlier reports, including a recent research note from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who believes Apple will stagger the launch of the two iPhone models. According to Kuo, Apple will begin selling the 4.7-inch in September and the 5.5-inch before the end of the year. This staggered launch is attributed to production issues with the 5.5-inch model.

Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 6 tomorrow at a press event being held at the Flint Center in Cupertino. Besides a larger display, the new iPhone may include a faster A8 processor, up to 128 GB of storage, an updated Touch ID and an improved camera module with image stabilization and a round True Tone flash.

With just one day to go until Apple's media event where it is expected to show off not only the iPhone 6 but also its much-rumored "iWatch" wearable device, last-minute leaks and rumors are continuing to roll in. The latest involves schematics and details on the iWatch, and while it is difficult to assess the validity of the claims and images (which have been reposted to Imgur) given that they come from an anonymous Reddit post, the slide images are detailed enough that they are worth highlighting as a possibility.

The poster claims the iWatch will include a microphone, speaker, and support for Siri, and be waterproof to 20 meters with battery life of over a day. The device will reportedly come in eight different varieties as four "colors" in two sizes each.

Purported schematics are labeled as coming from Quanta, which has been reported to be Apple's manufacturing partner for the device. The majority of the slides appear to show comparisons of how various parts have evolved between an earlier prototype stage (P2B) and the engineering validation test stage (EVT).

As shown in one poor-quality and obviously manipulated picture of what is said to be the device's housing, the body would be somewhat rectangular in shape, with a large circular region centered in the bottom where the device's health and fitness sensors are to be located to contact the skin.

While an assortment of iWatch rumors have pointed to displays of around 1.5 inches or as high as 2.5 inches, there have yet to be any leaks of claimed physical parts for the device, making it difficult to assess schematics such as these. At any rate, their validity will apparently become clear tomorrow as Apple officially takes the wraps off of the iWatch.

Update 8:08 AM: As noted by A Tech Website, the format of the slides does indeed match that used sometimes by Quanta for its confidential presentations.