This week Apple unveiled the new iPhone Xs ( Pronounced “Ten Ess” ) line up and Apple Watch Series 4. Apple also announced the release dates for iOS 12, WatchOS 5, TVOS 12 and Mojave. Don and I have been talking a lot about preparing for these releases, now is the time to make sure you really ARE ready. WatchOS 5, TVOS 12 and iOS 12 are available to everyone on September 17th, Mojave will be available on September 24th. Pre-orders begin today for both Apple Watch Series 4 and iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max. The iPhone Xr will be available for pre-order in October.
There are a lot of new features in the new iPhone and Watch, let us take a peek at the new features of iPhone and the Series 4 watch.
The new iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and iPhone Xr
Last year’s iPhone X was a massive hit, so Apple has gone further down that road, dropping the Home button and Touch ID completely, the focus has been shifted to Face ID. The three models follow the good, better, best product line up we’ve all become familiar with. The less expensive option is the iPhone Xr, the mid level model iPhone Xs, and finally a larger iPhone Xs Max.
- iPhone Xr: 64gb for $749, 128gb for $799, 245gb for $899
- iPhone Xs: 64gb for $999, 256gb for $1149, 512gb for $1349
- iPhone Xs Max: 64gb for $1099, 256gb for $1249, 512gb for $1499
What do you get for your money? All three new iPhones rely on Apple’s new A12 Bionic chip, which promises faster performance and reduced power consumption compared to last year’s A11 Bionic. Along with snappier overall responsiveness, the A12 Bionic enables new computational photography capabilities. Users of these iPhones will enjoy Smart HDR, which combines multiple images behind the scenes to produce better photos and depth-of-field editing for adjusting the background behind a photo’s primary subject.
Apple also improved the camera hardware, enhancing the dual 12-megapixel rear-facing cameras in the iPhone Xs and Xs Max with larger, deeper pixels and an improved True Tone flash. The iPhone Xr lacks 2x optical zoom because it has only a single rear-facing 12-megapixel camera, but thanks to the A12 Bionic’s processing power, it can still take photos in Portrait mode and do depth-of-field editing. The rear-facing cameras on all three models can capture up to 4K video at 60 frames per second-now with stereo sound. The front-facing camera on each iPhone is a 7-megapixel TrueDepth camera that can also capture 1080p video.
If you carry separate work and personal phones, or if you travel abroad frequently, you’ll appreciate the new dual-SIM capability that lets these iPhones support two phone numbers simultaneously, each with their own plan.
What differentiates these iPhone from one another? One big difference is the screens.
- iPhone Xs: 5.8-inch OLED “Super Retina HD” display with a 2436-by-1125 resolution at 458 ppi
- iPhone Xs Max: 6.5-inch OLED “Super Retina HD” display with 2688-by-1242 resolution at 458 ppi
- iPhone Xr: 6.1-inch LCD “Liquid Retina” display with a 1792-by-828 resolution at 326 ppi
Apple makes much of the iPhone Xr’s LCD display, which is essentially a newer and larger version of the screen in last years’s iPhone 8. It won’t look as good as the OLED screens in the iPhone Xs models, but unless you’re watching a lot of videos or playing photo-realistic games, you might not notice.
Another difference between these models is size. The iPhone Xs is the smallest, clocking in at a few millimeters and grams under the iPhone Xr. On the other end of the spectrum, the iPhone Xs Max has essentially these same dimensions as the previous iPhone Plus models.
The other major difference between the iPhone Xr and the iPhone Xs models is the case material. The iPhone Xs models have glass backs and are edged in stainless steel that comes in silver, space gray, and gold. In contrast, the iPhone Xr features colorful aluminium casings in red, yellow, white, coral, black and blue. Both are gorgeous, but if you’re like many people, a protective case will prevent you from appreciating the case material.
Are you feeling it’s time to upgrade your phone but unsure about the lack of a Home button? You are not alone, many iPhone users have said they just aren’t sure about losing that button. For many, like myself, the lack of a Home button was an easy transition. However, if you are still a holdout, you can still get your hands on the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models.
Apple Watch Series 4: Bigger Screens and Health Monitoring
In a first for the Apple Watch line, Apple changed the size and shape of the Apple Watch Series 4, boosting the vertical screen dimensions to 40mm and 44mm, up from 38mm and 42mm, and making the screens a little wilder to retain the same proportions. However, the new models are 1.1mm thinner and thus have less total volume. You’ll want to try on the different models before buying to see how they look and feel on your wrist. Happily, the Series 4 can use the same bands as previous models. Apple claims the new display, which extends into the corners of the screen, is “edge-to-edge,” and while there still is a black border, it’s smaller than before. The overall viewing area is about 30% larger.
To use the extra screen space effectively and show off the power of its new S4 chip, the Series 4 comes with some new faces. The Infograph face can incorporate up to either complications, the Breathe face moves in time with a deep breath, and Vapor, Fire, Water, and Liquid Metal faces animate behind virtual clock hands.
More practically, the Apple Watch Series 4 incorporates new and enhanced sensor. Later this year, the electrodes built into the Digital Crown and the back crystal let you record an electrocardiogram and, after 30 seconds, receive a heart rhythm classification that can identify signs of atrial fibrillations. Records are stored securely in the Health app, where you can share them with doctors. Even if you don’t use the ECG app manually, the Series 4 analyzes your heart rhythms in the background and alerts you if it detects irregular rhythms or if the heart rate exceeds or falls below a threshold.
Plus, the Series 4 can now use its accelerometer and gyroscope to detect hard falls. If you fall, the Apple Watch sends you an alert, and if you don’t move for 60 seconds after the notifications, it calls emergency services and notifies your emergency contacts of your locations.
Other improvements include a speaker that is 50% louder, a relocated microphone to make calls clearer, haptic feedback in the Digital Crown, a back made of sapphire crystal and ceramic for a better cellular reception, and Bluetooth 5 for faster data transfer over greater distances.
All this technology comes at a cost, and Apple has raised prices to match. GPS-only models of the Apple Watch Series 4 cost $399, and cellular-capable models are $499 (plus you’ll need to pay an additional $10-$15 for a cell plan). The Apple Watch Series 3 remains available at lower prices: $279 for GPS and $379 for cellular.
The new health-monitoring features of the Apple Watch Series 4 are compelling for anyone who is concerned about falls or heart monitoring. But, the increases prices may steer some back to the Series 3 which for many, has all the features they might be looking for.