Apple has revealed what its next set of iPhones will look like. At its annual hardware event in California, CEO Tim Cook and other executives have announced three new iPhones and a new version of the firm’s smartwatch.
Topping Apple’s handset offering are the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. Both phones are improvements on the iPhone X which was revealed last year and feature improved battery life. Joining them is the iPhone XR – a slightly cheaper device that has an LCD screen.
In addition to the phones, Cook announced the Apple Watch Series 4. The watch is focussed on monitoring the wearer’s health and is one of the most significant improvements since the firm started making its watch three years ago. Here’s a round-up of everything that Apple announced during its event.
iPhone XS and XS Max
Apple is upgrading its flagship iPhone X with two new devices: the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max. Both come in gold, silver or space grey with the big difference between them being their size. The XS has a 5.8-inch OLED screen and packs in 2.7 million pixels while the XS Max has a 6.5-inch OLED screen and 3.3 million pixels.
Inside both phones is Apple’s latest chip, which it has dubbed the A12 bionic. The company says it is the first seven nanometer chip to be used in a smartphone and it is capable of running five trillion operations per second compared to the A11 bionic’s 600 billion. It has 6.9B transistors, a six-core CPU, four-core GPU and an eight-core neural engine.
Both of the iPhones have a dual-camera system on their rear. One of these is a 12MP wide-angle cameras that has a new image stabilisation sensor and it’s supported by a 12MP telephoto camera that has 2x optical zoom. On the front of the phones is a True Depth camera that allows for its FaceID facial recognition. Apple has put a lot of its effort into camera software and says its improved its bokeh technology to allow field of depth editing of photos.
Compared to the iPhone X, Apple says the XS has a 30 minute longer battery life and the XS Max will last for up to an hour and half longer. Both phones have the ability to have two SIM cards, allowing two numbers to be used on one handset. When either phone gets a call, that SIM card becomes active to answer the call.
Both the XS and XS Max will have the option of more storage than any other iPhone. They’re both available with 64GB, 256GB or 512GB of internal capacity. They’re both available for pre-order on September 14 and will ship from September 21. When it comes to price, the iPhone XS will start at $999 (£999) and the XS Max will start from $1,099.
iPhone XR
The iPhone line-up is also being expanded, with a 6.1-inch LCD phone called the iPhone XR. Apple says its screen, which is liquid retina, is the first edge-to-edge LCD handset available.
Like the iPhone XS and XS Max it has the A12 bionic chip, FaceID, and no home button. It has the same TrueDepth Camera on the front. However, the XR only has a single 12MP wide-angle camera on its rear and it doesn’t have Force Touch, which detects how hard you press on the phone’s screen.
The XR is being made available in white, black, blue, coral and yellow. Apple is also making a Product Red version of its phone. All of the versions are made of an aluminium band with a glass rear.
When it comes to cost, the iPhone XR is set to start at £749 and come with three different storage options: 64GB, 128GB and 256GB. It will be available for pre-order on October 19 and start shipping on October 26.
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