Apple held its annual fall event today at its Cupertino HQ to announce its latest hardware, revealing a trio of new iPhones, an upgraded Apple Watch, and a new iPad, along with some subscription service announcements.
The 5 Biggest Announcements From Apple's iPhone Event
Another year, another iPhone.
The 5 Biggest Announcements From Apple's iPhone Ev
Expectations weren't high for the event, as many in the tech world expected that the company would only be making light tweaks to its gadgets to improve performance, rather than unveiling any new game-changing features. That's essentially what happened, and the company also decided to drop prices on some older products and keep them in the lineup for consumers who might experience sticker shock with the high-priced new gear.
But Apple still always finds a way to control the conversation in tech, and 2019's crop of releases is no different. Here are the five biggest announcements from the event, the gadgets that you'll soon be usingor lusting afteruntil 2020.
iPhones Go Pro
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iPhone 11 Pro
The 5 Biggest Announcements From Apple's iPhone Ev
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The iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max are unmistakably the deluxe version of Apple's line, taking the Pro moniker from the company's top-level computers. Most of the design improvements here are in the display and finish, giving the mobile a look that most users would be happy to put on a pedestal on display instead of inside their pockets. There's also an additional camera on the rear of the device for a total of three, which gives you even more options for the types of photos and videos you can take. Most importantly for power-starved users, the Pro models have batteries that will last up to four and five hours longer than last year's XS model, respectively.
The iPhone 11 Pro announcements include:
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- 2 sizes: 5.8 inches (Pro) and 6.5 inches (Pro Max)
- Surgical grade stainless steel make with matte finish in midnight green, space grey, silver, and gold
- Super Retina XDR Display
- A13 Bionic chip,which Apple claims will offer the best performance in any smartphone
- Up to 4 hours better battery performance than the XS for the 11 Pro, 5 for the Pro Max
- Fast charging adapter included in the box
- 3 camera lenses for Pro photos: 12 MP wide camera lens, 12 MP telephoto lens, and 12 MP ultra wide camera lens
- Deep Fusion computational image processing (coming later this year)
- New Night Mode for photos
- New video capture and editing options
- Video editing in the photos app
- New line of Apple phone cases
- Pro starting at $999, Pro Max starting at $1099
- Pre-order this Friday, September 13, shipping September 20
iPhone 11
The 5 Biggest Announcements From Apple's iPhone Ev
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The new iPhone 11 design looks like a step up from last year's XR and adds a second camera to the back of the device for ultra-wide photos, but there's not much else new. That's not to say the new camera's aren't impressiveApple claims the iPhone camera is the most popular in the world, and that the new 11 will be the most powerful video recorder on a smartphone (outside of the Pro models, of course).
The iPhone 11 announcements include:
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- 6 new colors: black, white, yellow, green, purple, and PRODUCT(RED)
- 6.1 inch Liquid Retina Display
- Spacial audio, using a sound virtualizer
- A13 Bionic chip
- Dual Camera: a 12 MP wide camera and a 12 MP ultra-wide camera
- Smart HDR photo editing
- New Night Mode for photos
- New video capture and editing options
- QuickTake video recording
- 12 MP front camera with 4k and slow motion settings
- 1 hour of battery life more than last year's iPhone XR
- Faster FaceID
- Starting at $699, $50 cheaper than last year's iPhone XR
- Pre-order this Friday, September 13, shipping September 20
Apple Watch Leans Into Its Smarts
Apple Watch Series 5
The 5 Biggest Announcements From Apple's iPhone Ev
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The Apple Watch got a major redesign and a heart-focused update for the Series 4 last year. This year, the improvements are much more subtlebut the company had plenty of updates about health research tied to the Watch, and even a new Apple Research App that will allow normal users to enroll in research studies when it launches later this year. Three larger research efforts with big name partners like the World Health Organization and National Institute of Health were announced: the Apple Sound Study, the Apple Women's Health Study, and the Apple Heart and Movement Study.
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The Watch presentation also featured a moving video full of testimonials from Apple Watch wearers who avoided major health catastrophes after acting upon the data captured by the already available versions of the Watch.
The Watch announcements include:
- watchOS 6
- New Always-On Retina Display
- 18-hour battery life
- Built-in compass
- Improvements to Emergency SOS
- Aluminum, stainless steel, ceramic, and new titanium casings
- New Nike and Herms models
- Starting at $399, and $499 for Cellular models
- Pre-order starting now, dropping September 20
- Apple Watch Series 3 still available, and price dropped to $199
The Plain Old iPad Gets a Glow-Up
iPad
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The 5 Biggest Announcements From Apple's iPhone Ev
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The standard iPad got a big upgrade, too, after other models in the line got makeovers last year and earlier in 2019. The screen size bumped up to 10.2 inches and the tablet now has Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard support, so it's closer to the entry-level PCs Apple is looking to unseat.
The iPad announcements include:
- iPad OS
- Apple Pencil
- Smart Keyboard
- A10 Fusion chip
- Starting at $329.
- Available starting September 30
Apple at Your Service
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The 5 Biggest Announcements From Apple's iPhone Ev
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Apple provided more details on their new entertainment service subscriptions, Apple Arcade and Apple TV+. Arcade will give subscribers (and up to six family members) access to any game on the platform for $4.99 per month, with exclusive titles and the ability to play on iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs. The service will come online on September 30 on iOS and Apple TV and October for Macs.
The Apple team also provided more details about the company's shot at knocking off Netflix, Apple+. The streaming service will launch on November 1 for $4.99 per monthalthough everyone who buys a new piece of Apple hardware will be treated to a free year's membership. Tim Cook showed off a truly bonkers trailer of the new Jason Momoa show, See, to give the audience a taste of what will be available on the platform.
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