Last month, Apple asked the world to “gather round”, and as always, the world tuned in eagerly to WWDC to find out about the tech giant’s latest iPhone.
By now you have probably heard that Apple’s new launch this year will consist of the iPhone XS and XS Max, iPhone XR, and Apple Watch Series 4.
It comes as no surprise that Apple builds on last year’s iPhone X to create an updated “S” version, as it does every alternate year.
This means that the new-generation iPhones aren’t exactly new designs, but come with updated features instead.
Here are some of the cool ways that the new iPhone XS and its counterparts take a step further into the future.
Biggest iPhone Screen, Ever
iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max (read, “ten S” and “ten S Max”) carry on the all-screen design of iPhone X, and also continues down the route of “no home buttons”.
Like the iPhone X, they come with Super Retina displays and OLED screens that support Dolby Vision and HDR10, and provide the “best colour accuracy in the industry”.
The iPhone XS comes with a 5.8-inch screen, as the iPhone X did.
What’s different is that the iPhone XS Max takes size to the next level with a 6.5-inch screen, the largest display on an iPhone yet.
For comparison, the phone itself stands at a similar size to the iPhone 8 Plus, which houses a 5.5-inch screen.
With a bigger screen comes a whopping 3 million pixels, so you will view photos, videos, and games sharpest on the iPhone XS Max.
Photography To Impress
Adding on the camera capabilities of the iPhone X with its 12-megapixel dual camera system, iPhone XS and XS Max introduce Smart HDR, which increases detail and dynamic range of photographs.
As before, the dual cameras include a wide-angle and a telephoto lens, with are both equipped with optical image stabilisation.
If the “Portrait Mode” impressed you before, it now allows you to shoot with “professional-level bokeh”, and adjust the depth of field of your photographs both during and after image capture.
These upgrades apply to the front camera too, so your selfies can look like they were taken by a professional photographer.
More Power With The A12 Bionic Chip
Apple’s latest A12 Bionic chip is its first 7-nanometer chip, and boasts improved energy efficiency.
This gives the phone up to 15% faster performance cores and up to 50% faster graphics performance.
According to Apple, the new chip’s eight-core design allows it to complete 5 trillion operations per second, compared to 600 billion operations per second with the previous A11.
Even with all this power, Apple says the iPhone XS will last 30 minutes more, and the iPhone XS Max one and a half hours more, than the iPhone X between charges.
Other Improvements And Fun Features
With the launch of the iPhone XS, Apple also advances some existing features, such as making face recognition operate faster than before, with the phone’s TrueDepth perception in its front camera.
The improved front camera also kicks up the fun of Animoji, now letting you customise your own animated likeness with ‘Memoji’ in iOS 12.
Additionally, iPhone XS and XS Max have increased water resistance, enduring up to the depth of 2 metres for up to 30 minutes.
Prices And When To Purchase
As you can always expect, the latest iPhones come with pretty heavy price tags.
The iPhone XS will cost $1,649 and up, while the iPhone XS Max begins at $1,799, available in 64GB, 256GB and 512GB, and with the choice of space grey, silver, and a new gold finish.
But regardless of the crazy prices, Apple fans are still always waiting to get their hands on any new iPhone the company rolls out.
Customers will be able to pre-order the new iPhone series from Friday, 14 September, and purchase in stores from 21 September.
A (Sort Of) Cheaper Option, iPhone XR
While the iPhone XS and XS Max take the limelight, let’s not forget Apple’s third new phone, the iPhone XR, which comes in 6 vibrant colours, and begins at $1,229.
Also featuring an all-screen design, it actually has a larger screen than the iPhone XS, coming up to 6.1-inches.
Albeit with a lower pixel resolution, LCD instead of OLED display, and a single (instead of dual) 12-megapixel camera, iPhone XR also comes with Smart HDR, and the whole host of cool new camera abilities including Depth Control and Memoji.
Also running on the A12 Bionic chip, iPhone XR is available in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB, making for a pretty good, slightly more affordable option.
Apple Watch Gets A Long-Awaited Updated
It’s been a whole 4 years since Apple last redesigned their smart watch, and now, Series 4 has arrived.
To mention some of its more impressive and useful upgrades, the Apple Watch Series 4 seems to work harder for your health, with its new ability to detect hard falls, and even take an ECG reading from your wrist.
They start at $599 with GPS, and $749 with GPS and cellular.
Weighing these futuristic new features against their hefty price tags, will you be waiting in line to grab your next iPhone or Apple Watch?
Featured Image Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez, Shutterstock