During the Apple Keynote special event, the public has been treated with a bunch of reveals, most especially the new batch of iPhones – XS, XS Max and XR. Here are the rest of the notables.
- Apple iPhone XS render leaks, might arrive on September 12 launch
- Apple iPhone Xr might be launched alongside iPhone Xs, Xs Max
Apple Watch series 4
Apple started with the latest incarnation of the Apple Watch, which looks larger by 30% than the series 3. It also boasted that it can monitor heart activity with ECG/EKG features. It even sports a capability to detect when you “fall.” All in all, the new gadget looks sleeker.
iOS 12 and MacOS Mojave rollout
The rollout dates for both operating systems will be at the 17th for iOS 12 and the 24th for MacOS Mojave. So start anticipating those updates during the said schedules.
iPhone XS and XS Max
Here we are at the best part of the keynote – the new iPhones announcement. As expected, the XS and XS Max monikers stuck as their final names. Both phones have the same features and chipsets, the A12 Bionic processor. The only obvious difference is the size, with the XS at 5.8” and 6.5” for the Max model. Some improvements like speaker quality, faster Face ID response times and the camera which added Smart HDR and Portrait mode have been cited.
A slight increase in battery life for both phones was mentioned, taking in comparison to that of the iPhone X. XS will have 30 minutes more battery power while the juice on XS Max will have an hour and a half more. Both phones will also have dual sim capabilities, with an actual sim card and the other an e-sim to be provided by carriers worldwide in coordination with Apple. China, on the other hand, will get their handsets with actual dual sim trays as e-sims are not allowed in their country.
iPhone XR
The biggest surprise though is the iPhone XR, Apple’s own take of a budget smartphone offering. It has no 3D touch (it will instead have Haptic feedback), has an aluminum body and will come with an LCD screen. The kicker here is it also has the A12 Bionic chip, sized at 6.1” and has the best battery life than most iPhones ever released – an hour and a half more than the iPhone 8 Plus.
It will also come with the same wide angle camera that the XS has, an IP67 rating for water and dust protection and will come in a wide array of colors.
Price and Availability
XS and XS Max will be available for pre-order on September 14 and will cost $999 and $1099 respectively. The release date for both phones is on the 21st of the month. XR will get a much delayed availability (October 26) and can be pre-ordered a week prior. It is priced at $749 for the 64GB model, with 128GB and 256GB pricing to come sooner.
The only downside is that the 3.5mm jack is missing on all three. It looks like Apple will take the wireless earphones route for much longer.
We will have detailed reviews for each smartphone soon, so keep your eyes peeled on this space.
