iPhone's importance highlighted in special Apple website

Apple's iPhone has been with us for seven years now and while it is very much an iconic and familiar device a lot of features and functionality continue to be added. Arguably Apple's most important product category (and its most profitable), the iPhone has managed to successfully lead the industry in various areas around the world, and not only has it survived waves upon waves of competing products, it's managed to evolve various ecosytems from apps to health, wearables, car infotainment and mobile payments.

To accompany Apple's recent series of advertisements focusing on the many features that the iPhone, Apple has developed the "Why there's iPhone," website. While sounding a bit cryptic, the website is actually a very clear rundown of the various features of the iPhone which make it such a successful and beloved device. The iPhone's raison d'être is simple and consistent.

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Cameras and photo quality are the new proving ground for flagship smartphones

The sincerest form of flattery: Motorola 'borrows' Apple's Shot on iPhone 6 campaign to show its new Moto X is a worthy competitor to Apple's camera phone

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Over 1.5bn new photos are shared every day on Facebook, WhatsApp and Snapchat alone, which equates to about 550bn a year

Forget processor speeds, performance or screen resolution. The battleground for flagship smartphones today is camera and picture quality. We're taking an insane amount of pictures on our devices, everything from baby and pet shots, to selfies and food shots and our smartphones are the best devices for this sort of manic snap-happy photography fest.

Most smartphone users don't even take calls anymore, they may message or text and even play games and use apps and social media services, but you can be certain almost everyone takes pictures and video. Smartphone makers have responded by packing in the megapixels and improving the aperture for better low-light photography.

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Apple releases iOS 9 beta 4 and watchOS 2 beta 4 to developers

Apple today released iOS 9 beta 4 and watchOS 2 beta 4 to developers. The new watchOS introduces new features and watchfaces, a nightstand mode plus added functionality. iOS 9 beta introduces a variety of new apps including News, a new and improved Notes app and multitasking features and picture-in-picture capabilites on iPad Air 2 devices. Apple's beta releases seem to be on track to the iOS 9 launch this Fall. 

New iPhone ad focuses on extensive app ecosystem

Apple's continuing its new iPhone ad campaign which highlights what sets it apart from the competition. The most recent ad, which is titled 'Amazing Apps' pays homage to the App Store's 'one and a half million of the best apps available.'

This highlights the iPhone-first strategy of many developers who know that getting their games, applications and utilities on iOS gives them more opportunities to earn. Of note is the mention that Apple carefully curates which apps make it to the walled garden, which means less crapware and bogus applications available (although, you can't avoid some abandoned or outdated ones). The ad is a refreshing 'if you got it, flaunt it.' reminder of how much power our iPhones have thanks to a thriving app ecosystem.