On Wednesday Apple held its annual iPhone keynote at the Steve Jobs theatre in Cupertino. Rumours and leaks meant that there were no major surprises, but the products announced were welcome additions to the lineup. This post will highlight the key features of the four new devices unveiled at the event
iPhone XS and XS Max: S is for best.
iPhone XS is the new flagship iPhone. The device comes in 2 sizes; 5.8-inch (like the previous iPhone X), and the massive 6.5-inch, iPhone XS Max. Although iPhone XS Max has the largest display ever on an iPhone, the overall size of the device is similar to the iPhone 8 Plus. Both models will come in Space Grey, Silver, and Gold colour options, with Gold being the new colour this year. iPhone XS keeps the same design as the iPhone X, with an OLED Super Retina HD display, Face ID, a stainless steel band running around the edge of the enclosure, and a glass back for wireless Qi charging. Both models are rated to IP68 water resistance for up to 2 metres for 30 minutes of submergence, this is an improvement over the IP67 rating of previous iPhones.
The real highlight of iPhone XS is the new A12 Bionic chip, which is the industry's first 7-nanometer chip. Firstly, A12 Bionic includes an improved ‘next-generation' Neural Engine. Not only does this open up new AR possibilities, it brings with it improvements to portrait mode and also powers a new and improved Face ID system, which combined with smoother algorithms results in a significantly faster Face ID on iPhone XS. A12 Bionic features a six-core fusion architecture with two performance cores and four efficiency cores, as well as a four-core GPU. The neural engine itself has an additional eight cores, resulting in an 18-core chip - yes, this is a phone. As a result, iPhone XS is 50 percent faster and more efficient than iPhone X.
Battery life has improved on the new devices. iPhone XS lasts 30 minutes longer than the iPhone X, while the XS Max offers battery life that lasts an hour and a half longer than iPhone X.
The iSight Duo camera on the iPhone XS sits at 12-megapixels but has been updated with a new sensor which is twice as fast as iPhone X. New camera features on this device include advanced depth segmentation, Smart HDR (allowing for better highlight and shadow detail across photos), and further improvements to portrait mode. There is also a new depth control feature, allowing users to adjust the depth of field blur both in real-time preview and post-capture. When recording video on iPhone XS, larger pixels and that faster sensor allow for improved low-light performance and video stabilisation. The sound in videos is now for the first time recorded in stereo thanks to an array of four microphones.
The iPhone XS uses LTE Advanced for faster download speeds and introduces Dual SIM support through the combined use of a nano-SIM and digital eSIM. This feature will be enabled in an update later this Fall. If you're in China, iPhone XS will come with a physical dual-SIM tray, where the SIMs sit back to back in the SIM tray.
iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max will be available in 64GB and 256GB capacities, along with a new 512GB option. iPhone XS will start at £999, whilst iPhone XS Max starts at £1099. Pre-orders started today Friday, September 14, ahead of launch day on Friday, September 21.
iPhone XR: R is for not-so-regular.
iPhone XR is this year's ‘budget' iPhone, taking over from iPhone 8 as the phone ‘for the masses'. iPhone XR features an edge-to-edge, 6.1-inch "Liquid Retina" LCD display with wide colour and True Tone support. This is considerably bigger than the 5.5-inch display on iPhone 8 Plus, but the overall size of the device is smaller. The edge of the enclosure is anodised aluminium like the iPhone 8, rather than the stainless steel found on iPhone XS. A glass back allows for wireless Qi charging.
iPhone XR is available in 6 bright colours, similar to those of iPhone 5c back in 2013; White, Black, Blue, Coral, Yellow, and (PRODUCT)Red. A seven-layer colour process is used to colour the glass back, resulting in vibrant colours akin to the (PRODUCT)Red iPhone 8. The aluminium band and camera trim are then colour matched with the back glass. The XR is splash and water resistant with a rating of IP67, just like iPhone 7, 8 and X, which should protect against everyday spills and can even withstand submersion up to 1 metre for up to 30 mins.
iPhone XR has no home button, instead using Face ID for authentication and the same swipe-based gestured introduces on iPhone X. The Liquid Retina display does away with 3D Touch but instead includes a new feature Apple calls Haptic Touch. Haptic Touch is essentially a long press on the display (like on a non-3D Touch device such as an iPad) to invoke an action, but now the device responds with haptic feedback just like 3D Touch. This addition in iPhone XR really does give credit to the rumours suggesting the entire 2019 iPhone lineup will lack 3D Touch.
iPhone XR is powered by the same A12 Bionic chip as iPhone XS. Albeit with less (rumoured) RAM. Of course, the A12 features that next-generation Neural Engine, which in addition to everything mentioned previously, allows for a more advanced camera system capable of portrait photos despite only having a single camera lens. The camera has a 12-megapixel f/1.8 aperture wide-angle lens with an all-new sensor, delivering faster auto-focus, while larger and deeper pixels improve image fidelity and low-light performance on both photos and videos. Both the new depth control feature and smart HDR from iPhone XS are also found on iPhone XR.
The iPhone XR also uses LTE Advanced for faster download speeds and features the same Dual SIM setup found in iPhone XS.
iPhone XR starts at £749 and will be available in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB models in the colours listed above. iPhone XR will be available to pre-order Friday, October 19, with availability in stores beginning Friday, October 26.
Apple Watch Series 4: The redesign.
Apple Watch Series 4 was probably the highlight of this event, featuring the first Apple Watch redesign since its introduction in September 2014. Series 4 will be available in two sizes; 40mm and 44mm – an increase over the traditional 38mm and 42mm options of Series 3. The new screens are 30 percent larger than before and, combined with a UI refresh for watchOS 5, allow watch faces to display up to eight complications, while native apps can show more information. Series 4 has a thinner body, but Apple claim battery life is the same as Series 3. Around 18 hours can be expected from light use, however, if you're out and about, say on a run, using cellular and the GPS, expect around 6 hours. The Digital Crown has been re-engineered to include haptic feedback as you are scrolling, resulting in a more responsive experience. The built-in speaker has been made 50 percent louder, and as a result, the microphone has had to move the other side of the device, to reduce echo for better sound quality. Making and receiving calls on Series 3 was already a good experience, so this should be even better.
It's not just the front of the Series 4 that has been redesigned; the back has been rethought. Firstly, the back of the enclosure 4 is made entirely of ceramic and sapphire crystal. This means radio waves are able to pass more freely through both the front and the rear, meaning you should get better reception when using cellular on Series 4. The sensors on the back of the watch have some new additions, with added heart detection features that can detect low heart rhythm with background detection for atrial fibrillation, and low heart rate monitoring to detect very low blood flow from the heart. Series 4 is also able to perform an electrocardiogram (ECG) with no additional equipment required - a first from a consumer device. ECG's will be available using the built-in app launching this Fall, however, it will be initially limited to the U.S. as Apple requires approval from health authorities to ship the feature in other regions.
Under the hood, Apple Watch has gone 64-bit, with a new dual-core Apple S4 chip, providing up to twice as fast performance over the Series 3 (which was already pretty fast). Another part of the S4 is a faster accelerometer and an improved gyroscope, allowing for better sensitivity. It's these new features of S4 that allow another new feature of Series 4: detecting a fall. The watch analyses the trajectory of your wrist trajectory and impact acceleration to determine if a fall has occurred. Series 4 then sends the user an alert after a fall, which can be dismissed or used to initiate a call to the emergency services. However, if the watch detects you have been immobile for 60 seconds after the fall, it will automatically call the emergency services and send a message along with your location to pre-set emergency contacts.
Both the 40mm and 44mm models come in GPS and GPS + Cellular versions, in Silver, Space Grey, and Gold aluminium case options, along with stainless steel options in Silver, Space Black, and for the first time Gold. The gold stainless steel watch resembles the gold around the edges of iPhone XS. Apple has also introduced a gold Milanese Loop to compliment the new watch. There is also a new Nike+ collection for Series 4, which include redesigned Nike watch faces to take advantage of the bigger displays. The Nike+ collection comes with new band colours, including a Summit White Sport Loop with reflective yarn for increased visibility at night. There is also a new Hermès collection with a variety of new bands, along with cool new watch faces that change colour as the minute hand rotates around the face.
Sadly, there is no Apple Watch Edition line for Series 4, which is a shame if you were a fan of the shiny ceramic models.
Apple Watch Series 4 starts at £399 for the GPS-only model and £499 for GPS + Cellular. Series 3 is still on sale, starting at £279 after receiving a price drop to replace Series 1. Pre-orders for Series 4 began today, with availability beginning Friday, September 21.
The rest.
Alongside these new devices, Apple introduced a Fall 2018 collection of cases and accessories such as watch bands. It is also worth noting that, as expected, iPhone 6s, SE and X were all discontinued today - meaning that Apple no longer sells an iPhone with a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Jet Black iPhone 7 and the (PRODUCT)Red iPhone 8 were also discontinued, but other colours are still available. Personally, I've always felt these were two of the nicest finishes Apple ever released for iPhone, and whilst the red is available on iPhone XR, I am very sad to see Jet Black go.
iPad Pro, AirPower, and Macs were all absent from this event, so expect another keynote in 4-6 weeks to round off the Fall 2018 product announcements.
:))