Today Apple announced details on several new products. Details on this year’s iPhone are of particular interest. Here is my extra-concise recap: what, when, and how much. If you want to watch the entire presentation yourself Apple has uploaded a video.
iOS 11, watchOS 4, tvOS 11
Free, available September 19
Minor updates on the surface with lots of improvements under the hood that allow more powerful apps. Of particular interest are:
- redesigned Control Center
- greatly improved Siri
- centralized file management
- Apple Pay for person-to-person payments
- Indoor maps for airports and shopping malls
- Do Not Disturb While Driving mode
- New split screen capabilities on iPad
For details watch the overview video from MacRumors, or read what Apple has to say.
macOS 10.13 High Sierra
Free, available September 25
Minor updates on the surface with lots of improvements under the hood. Read what Apple has to say about it. The update is compatible with any computer that can run macOS 10.12 Sierra.
iPhone 8, 8 Plus
64GB $699 / 256GB $849 / add $100 for the “Plus” size
Preorders on September 15, available September 22
- Specs all-around improved (image color, volume, camera, etc.)
- 30% faster than iPhone 7
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Qi wireless charging
- iPhone 8 Plus has new “Portrait Lighting” mode
- Seems to be compatible with iPhone 7 cases
- See more details here.
iPhone X
64GB $999 / 256GB $1,149
Preorders on October 27, available November 3
-
One of the more fun new features, “Animoji” uses the camera with face mapping technology on the iPhone X to animate emoji using your own facial expressions. 5.8″ Display with 2436×1125 resolution
- Super Retina Display with OLED technology
- Face ID replaces Touch ID
- Significant camera improvements over iPhone 8
- Portrait mode on front camera
- “Animoji” characters track your own face movement
- 2 hours more battery than iPhone 7
- Qi wireless charging
- See more details here.
Apple Watch Series 3
38mm starting at $329 / $399 with cellular
42mm starting at $359 / $429 with cellular
Preorders on September 15, available September 22
- 70% faster
- Cellular connectivity option (
$10/month extra from your cellular carrier) - Music streaming over cellular
- Now available in grey ceramic
- See more details here.
Apple TV 4K
32GB $179 / 64GB $199
Preorders on September 15, available September 22
- 4K resolution (2160p) and HDR (Dolby Vision and HDR10) ability when used with compatible televisions
- Twice as fast processing, four times faster graphics processing
- Bluetooth 5.0
- HDMI 2.0a
- Gigabit ethernet
- See more details here.
Minor details
- Many new Watch bands and band colors
- Your HD iTunes movie purchases will be upgraded to 4K HDR for free where available
- Live sports and live news coming soon to TV app
- AirPower charging pad coming next year to allow multiple devices to simultaneously charge wirelessly
- iPhone 7 dropped to $549
- iPhone 7 Plus dropped to $669
- iPhone 6s dropped to $449
- iPhone 6s Plus dropped to $549
- iPhone SE dropped to $349
- Apple Watch Series 1 dropped to $249
- New AirPods have a Qi wireless charging case (no other noted changes)
- Minor update to the Siri Remote for Apple TV has a more visually prominent Menu button and costs $20 less.
- iPhone X accessories have been announced such as silicone cases, leather cases, and folio cases.
- The new iPhones use industry-standard wireless Qi charging, which is compatible with accessories from major brands such as Belkin and Ikea.