Apple Event Recap: iPhone 11, New iPad, Apple Watch, and More!

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Apple certainly made a fuss about this announcement. They claimed it was “By Invitation Only” (as all of them are), and went out of their way to amp it up from the very beginning. Tim Cook spared the usual talk about iPhone growth, iOS adoption, or sales, potentially because they weren’t as impressive as usual, to jump into announcements. So I think I’ll do the same. Here’s everything Apple announced yesterday, from new services to the new iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro.

Apple Arcade

Apple announced Apple arcade during WWDC, but they didn’t tell us everything about it. We know many games are coming out for the service, and they’ll be high-end games, but didn’t know what the game would cost. Well, it’s going to cost $4.99/month for a family subscription. The whole family can play for just $5/month. That’s actually a great deal. It’ll come out on September 19th.

Apple Arcade won’t just have indie titles. Konami is back to introduce a new version of Frogger, Frogger in Toy Town. The new game has 3D graphics and realistic physics as well as new powerups to make Frogger’s journey more involved than ever. Capcom presented a new underwater 2D platformer with 3D graphics and actual underwater sound recordings. Apple Arcade won’t just be great for indie developers, it’ll bring in larger developers to make top-tier games for Apple’s platforms.

Apple TV+

Apple also announced this during WWDC, but hadn’t discussed many details. Since then, more trailers have come out, like that for The Morning Show, which seems to have gained a small following in anticipation of its fall release. Apple also showed off a trailer for See, a new show about humanity thousands of years in the future, after blindness has turned humanity to more primitive ways. It looks to be an interesting action show, and I do love a good post apocalypse story. Apple’s first shows will release on November 1st, with new shows coming out every month. It’ll be $4.99/month for a family subscription. Again, Apple’s undercutting expectations.

Also, if you buy a new Apple product, you’ll get one year of AppleTV+ included for free. A whole year! So if any of Apple’s new products look impressive, expect a year of Apple TV+ included to sweeten the deal!

iPad

Apple introduced a new 7th generation iPad. It still has Touch ID, surprisingly, and now works with a Smart Keyboard. It has a 10.2″ display, slightly larger than the old model. It has the A10 fusion chip. It’s not Apple’s latest tablet chip, but it’s an upgrade over previous models. It seems like an upgrade over the 9.7″ iPad Pro. It has Apple Pencil and Smart Keybaord support, along with an improved processor. If you had an older iPad Pro, it could be a cheap way to upgrade without moving to a new iPad Pro.

Also, it’s made from 100% recycled aluminum. It’ll start at $329, and might be the perfect upgrade for someone looking to improve their tablet experience or replace a simple laptop. If you’re mostly using your laptop for web browsing, this could be a perfect cheap upgrade

Apple Watch

The Apple Watch presentation started out with videos from people who survived thanks to their Apple Watches. People who had heart problems and falls. One man fell and woke up to EMTs because his watch called 911 for him. A woman talked about how it detected her elevated heart rate and it saved her life and her baby’s from a potentially deadly infection. Others discussed how they lost weight and improved their health thanks to the motivation from the app. Even a young autistic boy who found he could run, despite loud, cheering crowds, thanks to his headphones linked to his Apple Watch.

It seems like, more than any other device, the Apple Watch is not only saving lives, but improving them too. It was a touching introduction to Apple’s Apple Watch presentation.

Apple Watch Series 5

The Series 5 has a new feature, an always-on display. Finally, the Apple Watch will have a feature that it has lacked from day one. It uses a LTPO display that allows it to refresh down to once per second. Along with other battery savers, it can stay on at all times, while only updating more rapidly when you have to look at it. It will still have an 18 hour battery life, just like the Series 4. It’s great for when you can’t look directly at your watch, or need to sneak a glance at your watch, like when you’re in a meeting, on a train, or working out.

The new Apple Watch will also have a compass, so you’ll be able to use it for navigation. In many ways, you’ll be able to leave your iPhone at home, or at least in your pocket or purse.

With the new watch, every model has international emergency calling, even without your iPhone. This can also work with fall detection and other safety features, so you’ll be safe abroad. You may not know to dial 999 in the UK instead of 911, but your Apple Watch will.

The Series 5 will come with a wide variety of case options, including 100% recycled aluminum, steel models, and titanium models. After introducing a titanium Apple Card, I suppose they had some extra metal to spare. The Series 5 will also bring back the ceramic Apple Watch.

The shape is identical to the Apple Watch Series 4, but the internals are new, the screen is new, and you’ll be able to find more finishes and case options than ever before.

iPhone

Oh, was this an iPhone event? I almost forgot! So I suppose it’s time to see if Apple’s iPhone will be a steady and boring upgrade or something new and revolutionary, right? This year, Apple’s releasing three new iPhones. They’re the upgrades over the iPhone XR and iPhone XS. Apple’s going with a new naming scheme, releasing the iPhone 11 to serve as an upgrade over the iPhone XR, and the iPhone 11 Pro to serve as an upgrade over the iPhone XS. Let’s take a look!

iPhone 11

The iPhone 11 is the upgrade over the iPhone XR. Only now, Apple doesn’t want consumers to think of it as the lesser iPhone. Instead, it’s the base model. It features a new dual camera setup with a color matching camera bump in a rectangular shape.  It still won’t have 3D Touch though. Like the iPhone XR, it will continue to use Apple’s sad excuse for 3D Touch, Haptic Touch. Dolby Atmos support now brings realistic sound to the handset, although, without the 12 speakers that Atmos uses, this is likely just stereo audio optimization.

Camera

The iPhone 11 will have one more camera than the iPhone XR. The new dual camera setup has a wide angle camera and an ultrawide camera as well. This isn’t like the dual camera setup in the iPhone XS, which has a zoom lens. The ultrawide camera will work with the primary camera though, capturing data even when you’re looking through the other camera. That data can be used for depth effects, improved details, and even dual recording. The new camera interface will also show the screen outside of your photo before you take it, so you know what it’ll look like if you zoom out with the ultrawide view. It’s a pretty handy feature, and will make your iPhone kind of disappear when you’re lining up a shot.

The process for creating images have gotten better as well, with more machine learning to improve photos with subject identification, which can improve lighting on subjects in smart HDR view. Apple is using the additional camera, which can capture more detail about an image, to add layers to the image processing stack. The end result is an improved image from similar camera hardware as last year’s iPhones.

The new camera introduces Night Mode, which drastically improves photos in dark situations. It uses a series of photos to reduce motion, along with a mixture of longer exposures and short ones. In fact, long before you push the shutter, it’s deciding how to take the photo. Can it use longer exposures? Doe sit need noise cancellation? Will it need many exposures to reduce movement? Once you press the shutter, it will have already taken a few photos, and then a few afterwards, to give you the perfect shot at night.

The new video features also have improved video stabilization, so handheld videos look as though they could have been done with a gimbal. However, on the iPhone 11, only the primary camera will have optical image stabilization.

Finally, with both the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11 Pro, you can also now record videos in the same way you would in Snapchat or Instagram. Press and hold the shutter button and it’ll take a video, even if you’re in the photo mode.

Front Facing Camera Improvements

Apple improved the front camera as well, adding a wider sensor for landscape photos. When you turn your phone sideways, it’ll go into the wide angle mode. That way your personal selfies won’t make you look like you’re in a fishbowl, and your group shots will look great.It’s better not to use an ultrawide angle for close selfies, as it’ll make your nose look large and make your face look unrealistically thin.

They also added slow motion to the front camera, which Apple jokingly called “slowfies.” Slow motion selfi… yeah, you get it. They showed this off with a dramatic photo that was actually just a woman taking a selfie in front of a hair dryer. It could add some cool effects, but likely won’t be something you use daily.

A13 Bionic

The last generation Apple processor was faster than anything else on the market in benchmarks. However, other companies were beginning to catch up to Apple in real world tests. The A13 extends Apple’s gigantic lead over their Android competition when it comes to raw processor power, but if Apple didn’t upgrade the memory in the new devices, you may not notice. The new A13 processor has the fastest processor and GPU ever in a smartphone, by a lot, but without a memory upgrade, it’ll still lag behind Android competition.

Battery Life

The iPhone has never had very great. But this year, the iPhone 11 will improve upon the battery life of the iPhone XR by a full hour. The iPhone XR was already Apple’s best iPhone for battery life. Users were shocked to find it can easily last a full day with regular use. Now it’ll be even better, if only by a little bit.

Price

The price of the iPhone 11? $699. Finally, an affordable iPhone that doesn’t feel like it’s compromising too much.

iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max

While the iPhone 11 is mostly an upgrade over the iPhone XS (ignoring the terrible lack of 3D Touch), Apple has actual upgrades over the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max as well. The new devices bring the ultra wide angle from the iPhone 11 and add in an improved 2x telephoto lens. This is Apple’s first “Pro” iPhone. So what makes it a “Pro” iPhone?

“New” Design

The iPhone still looks like the iPhone 6, but now it’s using coated matte glass on the back and the same stainless steel bands from the iPhone X. There’s a new finish though, midnight green. I actually like the new deep green finish, but some hate it. It wouldn’t be a new Apple finish if it wasn’t polarizing, would it?

Cameras

Apple has improved their telephoto camera, bringing in more light. That additional light will drastically improve the terrible telephoto camera in the iPhone XS. The telephoto lens on the iPhone XS was so bad I called it out in my review. Even when you zoom in 2x, your iPhone will still use the wide angle sensor but cropped, as the digital zoom on the wide angle lens is better than the telephoto in most lighting conditions.

There are three cameras now. There’s the 0.5x zoom ultrawide angle camera, the 2x zoom telephoto, and the main wide angle camera. The main camera will still be the best of the three, but the telephoto lens has been improved, so it won’t be as useless as it is on the iPhone XS. Apple also has optical image stabilization on two of these cameras, but hasn’t specified which ones. Likely it’s the main wide angle lens and the telephoto lens, as a wide angle lens doesn’t need it as much.

Apple will introduce a new photo technique in a future update called “Deep Fusion.” This uses machine learning in low to medium light to produce something that looks natural. It shoots 9 images, even 4 images before you take a photo. It combines these photos in a second, using machine learning to generate pixels. Essentially, it figures out what a subject should look like and adds details to help. It means your photos will look far better than they should, but won’t actually capture what you’re looking at.

Video

All cameras can shoot 4K video and can be combined. The cameras will produce the same color and detail, so you can, even in a video, smoothly transition between the cameras. This is also true of the iPhone 11, only without the telephoto camera. They’ll be pre-focused and ready to go, even if you’re not using them. Each camera will have already done adjustments for exposure and color balance before you even begin using them.

FiLMiC Pro and 3rd Party Support

The cameras will all be available to third party developers. That means you’ll be able to use every camera to their full potential. You’ll be able to preview what each camera would look like before looking at it, shooting with all three cameras at the same time. You can even record with all three cameras at once, which means you can essentially do three shots at once, and combine them later in post with cuts. Honestly? It’s the first new feature that actually made me think the iPhone 11 Pro could be worth the upgrade over the iPhone XS. Imagine being able to take three shots of video at once, helping to ensure you never miss the perfect shot, whether it’s wide screen or a rapid zoom in for details.

Processor

Apple’s new chip is faster than ever and also more power efficient. It enables the iPhone 11 Pro to have better battery life while being far more powerful than any processor on the market. It’s the same processor as the one in the iPhone 11, although Apple likely gave the 11 Pro a memory boost over the 11. They haven’t confirmed memory specifications though, as they never do for iPhones.

Screens

Apple ditched 3D Touch in the display, instead leaning on the utterly sad haptic touch. It’s truly pathetic. Apple traded in a standout feature for a sad knockoff. I’ve used both. Haptic Touch feels out of place and unnatural. It’s obtrusive. I’d rather they eliminate it, but then you lose useful features hidden in context menus. It’s truly a disgustingly bad experience. It’s so disappointing to see Apple ditching important features in the name of profit margins. Apple has been removing 3D Touch features from iOS 13, forcing even iPhone XS users to use Apple’s awful Haptic Touch features. Now there won’t be any pressure sensitivity. Apple crippled their own phone.

The new screen is called the Super Retina XDR, and supports Dolby HDR. This doesn’t seem to actually be a large improvement over last year’s model, despite the new name. You’ll notice an improved contrast ratio… on the spec sheet. In actual use, you likely won’t notice it, as the iPhone XS already had HDR and a fantastic contrast ratio. The screen brightness will be improved slightly though, so you’ll be more likely to notice that.

Battery Life

The battery life on the iPhone 11 Pro will be 4 hours longer than the iPhone XS, and the Pro Max will be 5 hours longer. This is a huge leap forward for the battery, and is apparently thanks to the A13 chip. It brings the iPhone 11 Pro closer to the battery life of the iPhone 11, and actually makes the iPhone Pro Max Apple’s longest lasting iPhone battery ever.

Durability

Apple actually did drop testing with the iPhone 11 Pro. The frosted glass back and steel frame make it the most durable iPhone yet. The matte texture should make it easier to grip as well. Perhaps you won’t want to use a case with this iPhone. However, since it’s absurdly expensive, maybe you will.

Price

The iPhone 11 Pro will start at $999, and $1099 for the iPhone 11 Pro Max. So much for cheaper iPhones, right? They’ll still be as expensive as the iPhone XS, despite losing the 3D Touch that made the iPhone XS worth the price. Now, iPhone XS users will have to trade in features to “upgrade.” However, as iOS 13 has already taken features away from 3D Touch, iOS 14 may eliminate them altogether. If you want to stay with iOS, you’re going to have to accept that this wonderful feature is gone now.

If you trade in an iPhone X, you can get the iPhone 11 Pro for $599. It’s still an absurdly high price for a phone, especially one that you’ll have to sacrifice a feature for, but at least Apple makes it easy to save some money. If you’re on the iPhone Upgrade Program, it’ll be the same price as last year. However, seeing as the iPhone 11 Pro won’t offer as many features over the iPhone 11 as the XS had over the XR, you may decide to save some money and go for the iPhone 11. You’ll lose a telephoto lens, but gain wide angle and superb battery life. That’s actually my plan.

Apple’s Fall Event

All in all, this may have been Apple’s most disappointing fall release to date. The iPhone isn’t getting large upgrades and is actually losing one of its most standout features. The Apple Watch will add an always on display, but is otherwise unchanged. The iPad looks like an old iPad Pro from 3 years ago with a slightly larger display. The real winners here seem to be Apple Arcade and Apple TV+, which came in at $5/month, half of what was expected. Apple’s services may carry them through 2019. As innovation appears to suffer on the iPhone, and consumer interest dwindles, Apple will pivot to services.