Apple to unveil new devices amid high expectations

Big-screen iPhones and possibly an 'iWatch' will be among the new devices

Apple pulls back the curtain today on its latest innovations, amid frenzied anticipation over new big-screen iPhones and possibly an 'iWatch' which could shake up the world of wearable computing.

A mystery event set in San Francisco has pumped up expectations for Apple to unveil a stunning new device to its line-up of iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Macintosh computers.

"Apple's iWatch category launch will be one of its most important and brand-reinforcing launches in years," Forrester analyst James McQuivey commented yesterday in a report indicating a quarter of adult US Internet users anticipate buying wearable computing devices in the coming year.

"Apple will show again how computing platforms are won or lost on the one-two punch of eager consumers and hungry ecosystem partners."

Apple is seeking to show that it hasn't lost its world-dazzling magic when it comes to innovation, and to shift attention from a recent celebrity photo theft scandal.

Apple has been customarily tight-lipped ahead of the event at a performing arts center where late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh computer 30 years ago.

But those who follow Apple are expecting bigger versions of the iPhone and - perhaps more significantly - an entry into wearables with an 'iWatch'.

The choice of venue has fueled talk that Apple will crash the wearable computing party with a smartwatch, in a bid to dominate the segment the same way it ruled smartphones, tablets and MP3 players with iPhones, iPads and iPods.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook has stated that wearable computing makes more sense on the wrist than in eyewear such as Google Glass.

Work on a wrist-worn computing device with a heath theme is believed to have begun years ago at Apple, inspired by famed co-founder Steve Jobs and his battle with an illness that took his life in 2011.

Apple is fine-tuning a new mobile operating system that could allow for mobile payments and includes a health platform, which could mesh nicely with an 'iWatch' for tracking activity, sleep, pulse and more and connecting to an iPhone or iPad.