It’s September, and new iPhones are in the air. Apple invited the press to the Steve Jobs Theater on its new Apple Park campus Tuesday to show off the new products after a brief memorial to the theater’s namesake.
iPhone X: A new, expensive iPhone
Apple finally unveiled the iPhone X (pronounced “ten,” it appears to be a Roman numeral).
“It is all screen,” Apple vice president Phil Schiller said. “It is incredible to hold.”
The phone comes in space gray and silver. It is engineered to be water- and dust-resistant.
The screen classified as “Super Retina.” It is 5.8 inches diagonally with a 458 pixels-per-inch density, the highest ever in an iPhone. The Super OLED screen stretches edge to edge with minimal bezel on the front. It supports HDR vision and True Tone, which adjusts your screen coloring based on your surroundings.
The iPhone X wakes up when you pick it up or tap the screen, even when the phone is locked and the screen off. To unlock the phone, users swipe up from the bottom. This gesture also acts as a virtual home button since the physical circle button is gone. If you swipe up from the bottom and pause without swiping all the way, it opens multitasking.
For security, the iPhone X will use Face ID. Your iPhone will recognize you using a bevy of sensors built into the front of the phone. Schiller claimed the system will work even in the dark or after you change your hair or clothing..
The processing for Face ID happens locally on the phone, so Apple will not see this data.
The iPhone X camera will use dual optical image stabilization for its two cameras (arranged vertically on the back). The front camera now supports portrait mode for improved selfies as well.
All these features will take more battery, Schiller said, so they increased the iPhone X’s battery capacity. It will have two more hours of battery life per day. That battery can be charged wirelessly on a Qi charging pad like the iPhone 8.
The iPhone X starts at $999 for a 64 GB model. You can order it Oct. 27. The phone ships on Nov. 3.
iPhone 8 and 8 Plus: The regular new iPhones
Forget 7S: the new pair of regular iPhones are called the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. These use glass on the front and back and come in silver, space gray and all-new gold. Apple claims its exterior glass is the “most durable glass ever in a smartphone.”
The glass back enables Qi wireless charging, a huge change for the iPhone line. The charging happens over a short range when you set the phone on a charging pad. The pad needs to be plugged into the wall, but no cord needs to be plugged into the phone to charge.
The new phones will have Retina Displays with 3D Touch and, new this year, True Tone technology.
The new phones will have better cameras. Again, the 4.7-inch iPhone 8 will have one camera and the 5.5-inch 8 Plus will have two. Having two rear cameras allows the 8 Plus to have photography features like “portrait lighting,” which will ship in beta this fall, that adds portrait-style light and shadow to photos.
The iPhone 8 will start at $699 for 64 GB of storage. iPhone 8 Plus starts at $799. Preorders open Sept. 15, phones release Sept. 22.
New Apple Watch with LTE data
Apple Watch Series 3 was announced with LTE data built in. The watch, by having its own data connection, allows users to get texts and stream Apple Music without a paired iPhone. No word on how much this will affect battery life.
The new watch model includes a faster processor that supports conversations with Siri. There will be an altimeter (most useful for skiing and snowboarding) and a W2 chip for AirPods.
Despite all this, Apple claims the Series 3 is just “two sheets of paper” thicker than previous models.
Apple also showed off watchOS 4, the newest operating system for its wearable. WatchOS 4 adds more health-focused features, like notifying you when your heart rate becomes irregular but you don’t appear to be working out.
The new Apple Watch with cellular service is $399, $329 without. Orders begin Sept. 15, available Sept. 22.
Apple TV 4K
Apple pushed a refreshed version of its set-top box, Apple TV. This version will support 4K resolution for videos.
It will support High Dynamic Range videos, or HDR. HDR videos show more detail across different lighting amounts within one shot.
The TV app (available on iOS and Apple TV) will support live news and sports.
The new Apple TV is $179 or $199 for more storage. Preorders start Sept. 15 and it launches Sept. 22.
iOS 11 details and release date
iOS 11 will include something called animojis. These are emojis whose faces animate to match your expressions. These can be sent to people over iMessage.
It will also have Apple Pay in iMessage for sending friends money, improved multitasking and drag and drop on iPad, ARKit for building Pokemon Go-esque augmented reality apps, a new control center and Do Not Disturb while driving mode.
iOS 11 will release Sept. 19.
In related operating system news, macOS High Sierra releases Sept. 25. It will be a free upgrade for Mac users. It adds a new filesystem, external GPU/VR support and improvements to built-in apps like Mail, Safari and Spotlight.
How to watch the speech
The event has ended, but Apple has put up a recap.
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