Has Apple reclaimed its technology innovation crown?

One day after Apple’s big event it is time to take stock. Will the latest gadgets – the much anticipated watch, a mobile payments service and two larger iPhones – revive its reputation as an innovation leader?

The phones are the least controversial: bigger has to be better is Apple’s thinking based on sales of larger screen offerings from rivals.

Expert Bob O’Donnell from TECHnalysis Research agrees: “I think we’re gonna see a huge number of existing iPhone users upgrade to iPhone 6 because a lot of Apple people have been looking at their friends with larger Android phones and wanting to have those larger screens. So I think we’ll see a real growth. And I think Apple will gain share back from Android just because of the iPhone 6.”

Chief Executive Tim Cook had to score big with the first offerings developed and introduced under his reign.

The phones and Apple’s payment system impressed investors with the shares rising by almost five percent as they were unveiled.

“Perhaps most notable is what Apple is trying to do around payments. That’s something that we think has some pretty significant potential over the near and even longer-term and it was notable to us that they are thinking not just about retail point of service – or point of sale, I should say – but also online,” said S&P Capital IQ Equity Analyst Scott Kessler.

To begin with the payment system is only available in the United States.

The watch was more problematic. Everything hinges on Apple fans’ enthusiasm for wearables and doubts about whether it can become mainstream and a profit driver ended Apple’s rally and the share price ended almost unchanged on Tuesday.

But for the phones there is no doubting the near mania among some. At Apple stores worldwide they were queuing for the latest handsets even though they are not on sale until September 19.

with Reuters and AP