Apple unveils latest developments

Apple CEO Tim Cook is directing the technology giant’s big event in San Francisco, unveiling a new deal between Apple TV and HBO, touting growth in iPhone sales and Apple Pay adoption, and announcing a set of tools called ResearchKit to help hospitals and research centres develop apps for patients.

Apple also unveiled a shiny, skinny and silent MacBook weighing in at just two pounds.

Apple cut the price of Apple TV and is partnering with HBO to offer its stand-alone streaming service, HBO Go, on Apple devices in time for the Game Of Thrones US premiere on April 12.

Cook said 2,500 banks are now signed up with Apple Pay, which is available in 700,000 retail locations across the US.

Cook is later expected to unveil the company’s newest device, the Apple Watch, and make the case for why it is a must-have gadget.

Apple teased the smartwatch in September but has given few details since then.

Scheduled to hit the market in April, industry watchers are eager to see if Apple’s version will be the tipping point for the sluggish smartwatch market.

There was similar scepticism when Apple released the iPad in 2010, yet the company has successfully sold millions and its popularity has shaken up the PC market.