Aftershocks of "Apple Live"

CEBU, Philippines – One of the world's leading consumer electronics brands finally unveiled its annually anticipated revue of smartphone offerings early last week - opening the floodgates to a string of accolades and negative criticisms in online forums and social media threads as an after-effect.At the center of all the attention is Apple's new "iPhone 6 Plus" - one of the products that were unveiled in "Apple Live" event held on September 9.

Apple loyalists and detractors also directed their respective cheers and jabs at the new "iPhone 6," Apple's new "Apple Watch," and the brand's new "contactless payment technology" called "Apple Pay" - new product offerings which also made their debuts during the occasion.

Essentially, the criticisms aimed at the iPhone 6 Plus stem from the smartphone's physical size. With a screen measuring 5.5 inches, Apple detractors were quick to liken the iPhone 6 Plus to Samsung's Galaxy S line - going as far as saying something to the tune of "even Apple is affected by peer pressure."

Given the iPhone 6 Plus' overall form factor, it's difficult to deny how similar its size and basic design is to Samsung's Galaxy S family of phablets. However, the iPhone Plus 6 does have a form factor edge in its thin chassis - which measures less than half an inch.

Physical measurements aside, the primary 8 Megapixel cameras of the iPhone 6 Plus and the smaller iPhone 6 (whose screen measures 4.7 inches) also got some flack from Apple detractors.

In a time when 13 Megapixels has somewhat become the "standard" pixel count for a premium-rated smartphone, raising this point does have some merit. However, Apple loyalists do have a stronger point in questioning the actual "quality of pixels" (i.e. the image quality) that can be captured with such products.

In the case of Apple's new Apple Watch - the brand's first smartwatch offering - the sentiments of local and international tech pundits outshone the arguments and debates between Apple loyalists and detractors. Based on Apple's product naming history, a huge chunk of the "leaks and rumors" news bits revolving around the smartwatch speculated that it would be called the "iWatch" - which turned out to be wrong.

Steering clear from looking into the functions and features of the device in detail, digital media outfits were more piqued by the device's name since it didn't follow Apple's "i-based" naming scheme. By naming its first smartwatch "Apple Watch," international tech pundits are convinced that Apple is now shying away from its iMoniker format.

This is seconded by the name of the brand's new digital payment service called "Apple Pay," which steers clear from the likes of "iWallet" or other similar sounding i-prefixed names.

All in all, last week's Apple Live event proved that the plethora of "leaks and rumors" orbiting around this year's iPhones were mostly spot on - mostly spot on in the sense that they failed to foresee Apple's apparently new product-naming scheme.