They didn't announce a pen you take out of your pocket and say "Open Channel D" !
Apple, you love them or you hate them, there doesn't seem to be a middle ground. I wonder, though, if we aren't getting to the stage where there isn't a whole lot else that can be done to Smartphones to distinguish them? Check up on some of the Chinese offerings with weird names and you will find features common to most high emd phones, for just a few hundred bucks, rather than thousands.
Probably the biggest driver to Apple products is the operating system, if you are a committed Apple iOS user, then you will stick with what you know, no learning curve. Similarly for Android users. I don't see any compelling reason to switch from a high end Samsung, LG or Google phone to Apple.
You can't escape the cost issue either, 20% of the smartphone market, 80% of the smartphone profit.
I'm happy for the Apple fans, they have a device that ranks alongside the best but no specific USP.