Every year, Apple holds its keynote, where they proudly present everything their engineers and designers were working hard on. This year was a bit different. It is the first time that the keynote was held in the Steve Jobs Theatre located in the new breathtaking complex that the company is soon to finish completely.
Besides the new theater and new devices, this year was special, as it marks 10 years since the release of the first iPhone.
However, let's move on to the details about the products presented in the keynote.
Apple Watch Series 3
The keynote started off by the company representatives presenting what they have been working on in the Apple Watch department. The first shared information included the fact that the Apple Watch has become the most sold smartwatch and regular watch in the world, surpassing one of the most well known brands, Rolex.
Additionally, the company claims that the customer satisfaction rate is 97%, which sets a new industry standard.
One of the biggest changes with the new Apple Watch is built-in cellular connectivity. This enabled the device to independently function without being connected to your Apple iPhone at all times. Furthermore, this makes it possible to go for a run, without the need to take your phone with you.
It is now possible to easily connect AirPods and listen to over 40 million songs stored on the iTunes platform.
When it comes to the specs, the company has implemented a new dual core CPU that is 70% faster than the previous generation. The Wi-Fi is 85% faster than the previous generation, ensuring a better experience for its users. The antenna is the display of the device and the electronic SIM chip is even smaller than the nano SIM card.
When it comes to software, Apple has improved smart activity coaching and added new features for swimmers. Also, more detailed heart rate information is present, such as the resting heart rate and recovery heart rate, aimed at active users who use the device for fitness tracking. The company has added a notification for high heart rates while the person is inactive, a feature that will protect the health of their customers. Also, the Apple heart study that monitors arrhythmia and other similar heart problems is coming later this year.
The Apple Watch Series 3 is the same size as the previous generation. You can now pick a new selection of colors and materials used for bands.
The Apple Watch OS update is going to be available on September 19th, whereas the new devices can be ordered on the 15th, while they are going to become fully available on September 22nd.
When it comes to pricing, the new Apple Watch Series with an in-built cellular is $399. There is also a cellular free version that is sitting at $329. The company has also noted the price cuts they are making for their first series of Apple watches, which are now $249.
Apple TV
The biggest change coming to Apple TV is 4K support. The company also boasted support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) 10, and Dolby Vision.
On the software side, the UI is completely redone in 4K as well. The Apple TV software now supports streaming of live news and sports events. This feature is going to be available in several countries once it is released, but the service is to be expanded in many other markets in the coming months.
The Apple TV app for the iPhone and iPad is also going to support the Live Sports feature and Live News. Of course, if you are not the fan, both these features can be turned off in the Apple TV app.
When it comes to hardware, the device relies on the A10X chip, the same one that is used in the iPad Pro tablet devices. This enables the device to support all the new technologies.
In the online store, movies are going to be reworked and released in 4K, without any price changes. Furthermore, 1080p movies that were purchased before the release of this device are going to be upgraded to 4K resolution.
The company has presented a completely new support system for games via the Siri Remote. Thatgamecompany has showcased a breathtaking multiplayer game called "Sky".
The new Apple TV comes with 32GB or 64GB of storage and are priced at $149 and $199.
The availability is the same as for the Apple Watch, orders starting from September 15th, and shipping on the 22nd of September.
The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus
The new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus borrow a lot from the previous generation's design. The biggest change is the materials used in production. The device is now completely covered in high-resistance glass, which was a necessary change for wireless charging. The device will come in silver, space gray and gold finishes. The device is water and dust resistant. Screen size remains the same as the previous generation. It supports a wide color gamut, true tone technology (ambient light) and stereo speakers are louder than the previous generation.
Under the hood, the new chip is A11 Bionic. It is a 64 bit six core cpu. The two cores are high performance, and are 25% faster than the previous generation. The four cores are high efficiency but, when used in combination with performance cores, the whole CPU is 70% faster than the previous generation. The company also mentioned an Apple-designed GPU that comes with a 30% performance boost.
iPhone 8 sports 2GB of ram, whereas the plus version comes with 3GB.
The CPU also supports image signal processing, a pixel processor which focuses on sharpness, and multiband noise reduction. All this helps the iPhone perform significantly better when it comes to the camera.
The iPhone 8 sports a single 12MP sensor on the back, a sensor which lets 83% more light than the previous generation. It also comes with a new technology named Deeper pixels, which makes the photos more detailed.
The iPhone 8 Plus has an additional 12MP sensor. One is f/1.8, whereas the second is f/2.8. The new cameras now have better low light performance, and a better looking bokeh portrait feature.
The iPhone 8 Plus also supports the Portrait lighting feature. Through machine learning, the face is detected and light is added on the face, simulating different studio lighting techniques. There are various portrait lighting effects.
Apple has designed their own video encoder. This allows the camera to take videos in higher framerates. The motion analysis also makes the video look much more natural and captures more details. It is now possible to shoot in 4K 60fps, and 1080p 240fps. This is the double when compared to the previous generation.
The Augmented Reality support is big news. The cameras are calibrated in the factory, making them ready for the AR application immediately. This also helps developers more easily create content for iPhone users. Directive games showcased their amazing AR game, a competitive strategy game in real time using AR.
Another new thing is Wireless charging for iPhone smartphones. The platform the company has picked is Qi, an open wireless standard. It has great support from manufacturers and it is going to provide customers with a broader choice of manufacturers, plus, the technology is already spread across numerous locations around the world.
There are two storage options, one with 64GB, and the other with 256GB.
The starting price is going to be $699 for the 64GB model, and $799 for 64GB iPhone 8 Plus model.
With these devices, the company is also releasing iOS 11 on September 19th. Availability is the same as for Apple Watch and Apple TV.
iPhone X
At the end of the keynote, the company also showcased another model of the iPhone. The company claims this is a step into the future of smartphones.
The all new design iPhone X sports an edge-to-edge display that sits at 5.8 inches. It comes with a custom resolution of 2436 x 1125 pixels, which provides 458 pixels per inch. The screen is named the Super Retina Display and is based on OLED technology. It supports HDR 10 and Dolby Vision of 1:1,000,000 contrast. It also supports true tone and Apple's 3D touch.
The company has decided to completely ditch the home button and fingerprint sensor on the front of the device. It is possible to either raise to wake or tap to wake the device, while unlocking is performed with a simple upward swipe over the screen. This action will also take you from any app to the home screen.
To multitask, you can also swipe upwards, but in a slower and better controlled motion, which will open up the recently used apps tab.
Unlocking is where the company has gone a great length to introduce new features. Apple has introduced a new technology, the Face ID. It relies on the True Depth camera system. It includes an infrared camera, front camera, dot projector, and flood illuminator. In the unlocking process, these sensors project 30,000 dots on the user's face, detecting the shape of the face to unlock the phone. The sensors also work in the dark without any issues.
All this is made possible with the new A11 Bionic Neural Face Engine. It sports a dual core design and is capable of procession 600 billion operations per second. It is used for immediate face recognition and phone unlocking. Also, every time you use the Face ID, all the smallest changes on the face are recorded and the device learns everything about it. If you grow a beard, put on glasses or go through similar changes, the Face ID is smart enough to still recognize you. All of this data is stored on the phone, ensuring the highest level of security, as there is no server involvement.
Furthermore, Apple boasts how much it has worked on security, making it impossible for someone to impersonate you, or use your photo to unlock the phone. During the keynote, it was mentioned that the new technology provides much better protection than fingerprints. The chances of someone unlocking your phone have lowered from 1:50,000 to 1:1,000,000 with Face ID. Practically, only your twin can unlock the phone when you are away.
Face ID also works with Apple Pay. All you have to do is double click on the side button and look at the phone to approve the transaction. This will also work with third-party apps that support fingerprint scanners.
The company has also made another fun use of the front facing sensors. People can now use Animojis. The camera collects the movement of 50 facial muscles and reproduces the movement on the emojis in the Messages App. This is a fun feature that many people are going to find convenient, as they can send an audio message portraying their facial expressions with the message.
The back cameras are placed vertically and have different sensors than those found in the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. The first is a 12MP sensor at f/1.8, whereas the telephoto is f/2.4. The company has included dual optical stabilization, which will further improve the video and image taking capabilities of the device. Users can hope for an even better low light zoom. The cameras use quad LED true tone flash and zero shutter lag. These cameras are also factory-calibrated for AR use.
All of the sensors in the front make it possible for front facing cameras to take awesome photos. Both portrait mode and portrait lighting features are supported by the front-facing camera.
The device is also water and dust resistant. It is going to come in space gray and silver colors.
When it comes to the battery, the company claims that users are going to get 2 hours of extra battery life in comparison to the iPhone 7.
It also supports wireless charging.
The company took the chance to also showcase a new wireless charger they are working on. It is branded as the AirPower charger. It is a bit bigger deck where you can place several different devices that are going to simultaneously charge. This includes the iPhone, the Apple Watch Smartwatch, and the new AirPods, all of which now support wireless charging. But this is something customers will have to wait for until 2018.
When it comes to availability and price - the 64GB model is going to cost a whooping $999. It can be preordered on October 27th, while the shipping is going to begin on November the 3rd.
Apple representatives have also mentioned several times that all of their devices are completely eco-friendly, free from all the unhealthy materials.
This year's Apple keynote was quite interesting. The company has definitely showed how fast they are moving forward and what their plans for the future are. It is clear that the company is going to continue moving forward, as they are incorporating technologies that are also used by the competition.
When it comes to pricing, iPhone X is quite expensive, but it comes with features that are not present in other type of device, and those who want to enjoy them will have to pay extra.
Finoit Technologies is a renowned mobile application development company providing web development services and IOT application development services. We have developed over 450 mobile apps, and have assisted many solopreneurs in their journey of startups by functioning as a tech partner and rolling out their product ideas. For questions/queries, you may write to us at [email protected]
