IT'S been a while since we've had a true 'Apple moment' at one of its press events.

Tuesday's expected introduction of the iPhone 6 (and possibly more) could end that drought.

All signs indicate Apple plans to come out swinging this time — determined to regain the attention of former customers who have drifted toward larger Android devices in recent years.

That would certainly be entertaining to watch, but it's not going to be easy to accomplish. To woo away the Android faithful, Apple needs to make Samsung, the leader in Android devices, look outdated — and it needs to amaze increasingly jaded consumers.

For the past few years, Samsung has had little to no competition in the large-screen smart phone space. The expected introduction of a pair of larger iPhone models could erase that advantage. Reports indicate Apple is preparing to roll out both a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 (compared to the 4-inch iPhone 5 and the 3.5-inch iPhone 4).

That levels the playing field a bit, but size isn't everything.

The iPhone 6 also needs a feature set that outshines the recently unveiled Galaxy Note 4. Samsung turned heads with its presentation at Berlin's IFA tech

conference last week, showing off a device with a 64-bit processor and bountiful storage capacity. It also upgraded the quality of the Note's camera, but not quite as much as some fans had hoped it would.

That opens a potential door for Apple, which will likely roll out a second-generation 64 bit processor and camera upgrades of its own.

It can't stop there, though.

Near-field communications — or NFC — is a janky tech term that the average consumer may or may not have heard, but its convenience cannot be overstated.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster puts the odds of Apple

integrating "some payment feature” technology like NFC into the iPhone 6 at about 70 percent -and that could be the real differentiator for the device.

Apple's long-time ally Disney has best showcased the convenience of NFC technology with its MagicBands - wristbands themepark attendees can wear that act as admission tickets, hotel room keys and payment devices. Now picture that in your day-to-day life, coming from the one device you always have on you.

Paying for your groceries by tapping your phone against a scanner? Paying for gas simply by entering a code at the pump (and having it charged directly to your credit

card)? That's head-turning stuff.

To drive NFC home, Apple also needs to announce a long list of payment and retail partners. If no one accepts the payments, it isn't going to matter how cool it is.

That same NFC technology, of course, could — and should — be integrated into the iWatch (or whatever Apple decides to call its smart watch), but is this finally the moment the long-rumored device will be revealed?

It's been a while since Apple has introduced a truly new hardware product. (The iPad made its debut in 2010.) And while the company has been doing just fine financially, some detractors have noted Apple seems to have lost some of its innovative edge since the death of founder Steve Jobs in 2011. A strong debut for the iWatch could mute those criticisms.

The iWatch, though, needs to avoid the failings of its smart watch predecessors. Competing devices from Samsung, LG and Motorola have all been knocked (rightfully) for their poor battery life. (The just-released Moto 360, according to some reviews, needs to be charged mid-day.) And, for the most part, smart watches have been, well, ugly. Neither of those scenarios is acceptable for a mass audience.

Chris Morris has covered consumer technology and the video game industry since 1996, offering analysis of news and trends and breaking several major stories.