Apple revealed four new products today, all of which will go on sale this fall. There’s the iPhone XS, Apple’s upgrade to the iPhone X, the iPhone XS Max, the iPhone with the largest screen ever, the Face ID on a “budget” iPhone XR, and the new Apple Watch Series 4. Apple will continue to sell the iPhone 8 and iPhone 7 alongside the iPhone XS and iPhone XR models, because, frankly, the new iPhones are extremely expensive.
The iPhone XS isn’t very new. This is an “off year,” when Apple doesn’t update their hardware extensively. Make no mistake, it’s certainly an upgrade, but not an exceptionally exciting one. The iPhone XS is faster. It’ll have an improved machine learning core and faster primary cores to make it exceptionally fast. Even Face ID is faster now. It’ll also come in a gold color. Fortunately, this comes with a gold glass plate on the back, which makes it look much better than Apple’s white and gold color combinations of the past.
Finally, there’s the camera. There are plenty of software enhancements to use the new, more powerful machine learning core. However, the camera sensor itself was upgraded. The lens system is the same, a wide angle and a 2x zoom lens, but the sensor now has larger pixels. You can think of sensor pixels like little buckets that collect light. If they’re larger, they can collect more light. That means your photos have more detail and look better at night.
Then there’s the iPhone XS Max. This is a big update. It’s replacing the “plus model” iPhone with a 6.5″ display. The iPhone XS Max is the size of the iPhone 8 Plus, but with no bezels. It’s the largest screen Apple has ever put on an iPhone. In fact, it’s long 1.4 inches away from being the size of the iPad Mini! It’ll also support landscape home screen and list detail apps, like the iPad view of Messages and Notes.
The iPhone XS starts at $999 for 64GB. The iPhone XS Plus starts at $1099 for 64GB. The new iPhone costs up to $1,449, with a $200 difference between sizes. It’s Apple’s most expensive iPhone ever too.
The iPhone XR is Apple’s “budget” iPhone with a 6.1″ screen. I put “budget” in quotes because it starts at $749. That’s what Apple’s normal iPhones cost, once upon a time. The iPhone XR has a new LCD display, the best LCD display Apple’s ever made. They’re calling it a “Liquid Retina” display. For those who can’t stand the flicker of OLED displays (I find turning up the brightness helps), you’ll be happy to know that the iPhone XR still has the latest Apple processor (the A12 Bionic), and the same wide angle camera as the iPhone XS, without the screen flicker. It even has Face ID (like it or not), and can shoot portrait selfies with the front facing camera.
Now let’s talk about what the iPhone XR does not have. It doesn’t have a stainless steel enclosure, it’s lacking a second camera, and it doesn’t have 3D touch. If you push harder on the iPhone XR display, you might just break it. However, that lone rear camera can still do depth detection for portrait photos, so you won’t be missing out on much from the iPhone XS.
The iPhone XR is the most colorful iPhone since the iPhone 5C. It comes in white, black, blue, yellow, coral, and (Product) Red. Apple only charges $50 to go from 64GB to 128 GB, and $100 to go from 128GB to 256GB. The iPhone XR costs between $749 and $899, and, if you can deal with the lack of a secondary camera and no 3D touch, it’s the best deal Apple’s offering. The iPhone XR won’t be released until mid-October though.
If you like the iPhone 8 or iPhone 7 more, you’ll get a fantastic deal. They start at $449 for the two-year-old iPhone 7 or last year’s iPhone, the iPhone 8, for $599. The iPhone 6 series, iPhone SE, and iPhone X have been discontinued.
The Apple Watch Series 4 is the biggest change to the Apple Watch since it was introduced. It features a larger display. The 38mm watch now has a 40mm watch face, and the 42mm version is up to 44mm. That might not sound like much, but it’s a significant size increase for screen area. The larger screen can now fit eight complications, and the Apple Watch Series 4 will come with a number of new watch faces. The bezels are also significantly smaller. The watch itself is thinner as well, though all your existing watch bands will work with the Apple Watch Series 4. Finally, you’ll find a smoother curve on the edges of the Apple Watch, giving it a more elegant appearance.
For Your Health
The Apple Watch Series 4 has a new heart rate sensor, which is surrounded by a metal ring. That metal ring works with the digital crown. The new digital crown completes a circuit between your left and right hands and the watch. From there, highly sensitive sensors in the watch are able to pick up on your heart rhythm. The Apple Watch Series 4 has a built-in ECG (EKG, as it’s mostly referred to in the US), capable of reading the electrical impulses from your heart. No device has ever been able to seamlessly give this kind of insight into your health, and it’s FDA approved.
The Apple Watch can also now detect falls, automatically calling emergency services if it doesn’t detect movement. You could replace a Life Alert with an Apple Watch, or simply find comfort in the fact that, if you are seriously injured in some way, your watch will be able to get you help, even if you’re unresponsive.
With Apple’s latest version of the watch comes an improved gyroscope. This allows more accurate workout tracking, even with yoga and boxing. The Apple Watch is still “swim proof,” so you can trust it in the pool. It’s the ultimate workout companion.
The Apple Watch Series 4 will go on sale this Friday. It ships next week. The aluminum model starts at $399 and the stainless steel Apple Watch starts at $699 with a sport band, and $799 for a Milanese loop (which now comes in gold). The Series 3 is still on sale, now starting at $279.
Anything Else?
Surprisingly, no. Apple didn’t launch a new AirPods case, though we know it’s coming soon. They didn’t mention the AirPower charging mat that they introduced last year. Apple still hasn’t released this. Apple didn’t mention unique updates to iOS or macOS, and they didn’t reveal new Mac hardware either. This was a surprisingly minimal event, but I hope you’re not disappointed.
