Everything You Missed From the Apple Launch

Everything You Missed From the Apple Launch
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iPhone X

iPhone X

In the ten year anniversary of the iPhone, Apple is releasing three phones in the next push, instead of the typical two. Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage for the first time at the Steve Jobs Theatre to unveil the next generation of Apple technology.

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be more traditional upgrades from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus: better camera, louder speakers, the usual. However, the revolutionary iPhone X has some pretty cool, futuristic features.

In what many consider to be the most exposing leak in tech history, a seemingly comprehensive document was leaked last week with details on expected features and upgrades for the next wave of technology which Cook officially introduced today including Apple TV, Apple Watch and iPhone. Here’s what you need to know:

Apple Watch has cellular

The Apple Watch Series 3 has built in cellular capabilities meaning that you no longer have to have your watch near your phone in order for it to receive calls. In the demo, they phoned a woman who was paddle-boarding and they had a conversation with her through her Apple Watch.

Siri also talks back with the Series 3 preventing users from having to look down at their wrist to get answers to questions posed to her. Instead, she can read the answer back and users can keep their focus.

Apple Watch Series

Apple Watch Series

Apple TV may be all you need now

Apple TV announced some attractive updates for consumers, most notably that they now offer 4K resolution. With live sporting events, live news and endless movies now offered via AppleTV, it’s making a push, along with systems like Playstation Vue, SlingTV, and Roku, for staying on the cutting edge of viewing habits and technology.

The Thousand Dollar Phone

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, largely have the same features minus some increased processing power and a few cool features like portrait mode only exist in Plus. They both will include wireless charging and True Tone display, a technology that changes the brightness and temperature of the display based on the environment.

However, the big announcement of the day was the unveiling of iPhone X (pronounced as roman numeral, ten) calling it the “biggest leap forward since the original iPhone.” iPhone X marks a significant change in what many users have come to expect from iPhone but it seems that Apple is confident that the interface changes won’t be a deterrent.

For example, iPhone X doesn’t have a home button. Instead of using Touch ID via the home button to unlock the phone, iPhone X uses FaceID, or facial recognition, and a swipe upward to unlock the phone. They claim that this technology is 20 times more secure than Touch ID and accounts for fraudulent attempts to use a photo or mask to unlock someone’s phone.

Functions like Siri and ApplePay were activated by the Home button, however, so those triggers have been changed to the slightly larger lock button.

Another cool addition is the use of animated emojis, or Animojis. This feature uses the facial recognition technology to match your facial movements and display them as one of twelve emojis including a cat, a unicorn and poop. Gone are the days of misinterpreting tone or wondering what someone’s face looks like when they say something. Animojis represent a new interactive way for people to engage with each other and it all happens in iMessage.

Prepare for the obsessive selfie-snapper in your life to take photos to the next level. With such advanced technology in the front of the camera for facial recognition, it also adds capabilities to the front-facing camera, including portrait mode. With the iPhone X, users can snap selfies that display the depth and crispness that everyone loves about portrait mode. The camera also has an improved photo sensor which can be adjusted to make for professional looking lighting effects when using the flash (back-facing camera) making it even easier to take great photos with your phone.

All of these new gadgets don’t come for free. The iPhone X’s $999 price point is catching people’s attention, it’s a thousand dollar phone. However, Apple is confident that neither the price point nor the change in UI for the iPhone X will deter sales. Pre sale orders will dictate whether or not they’re right.

Apple Watch: Presale - September 15

iPhone 8 and 8 Plus: Presale - September 15

iPhone X: Presale - October 22

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