Another year, another iPhone.
Apple held its annual fall event today at its Cupertino HQ to announce its latest hardware, revealing a trio of new iPhones, an upgraded Apple Watch, and a new iPad, along with some subscription service announcements.
Expectations weren’t high for the event, as many in the tech world expected that the company would only be making light tweaks to its gadgets to improve performance, rather than unveiling any new game-changing features. That’s essentially what happened, and the company also decided to drop prices on some older products and keep them in the lineup for consumers who might experience sticker shock with the high-priced new gear.
But Apple still always finds a way to control the conversation in tech, and 2019’s crop of releases is no different. Here are the five biggest announcements from the event, the gadgets that you’ll soon be using—or lusting after—until 2020.
iPhones Go Pro
iPhone 11 Pro
Apple
The iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max are unmistakably the deluxe version of Apple’s line, taking the Pro moniker from the company’s top-level computers. Most of the design improvements here are in the display and finish, giving the mobile a look that most users would be happy to put on a pedestal on display instead of inside their pockets. There’s also an additional camera on the rear of the device for a total of three, which gives you even more options for the types of photos and videos you can take. Most importantly for power-starved users, the Pro models have batteries that will last up to four and five hours longer than last year’s XS model, respectively.
The iPhone 11 Pro announcements include:
iPhone 11
Apple
The new iPhone 11 design looks like a step up from last year’s XR and adds a second camera to the back of the device for ultra-wide photos, but there’s not much else new. That’s not to say the new camera’s aren’t impressive—Apple claims the iPhone camera is the most popular in the world, and that the new 11 will be the most powerful video recorder on a smartphone (outside of the Pro models, of course).
The iPhone 11 announcements include:
Apple Watch Leans Into Its Smarts
Apple Watch Series 5
Apple
The Apple Watch got a major redesign and a heart-focused update for the Series 4 last year. This year, the improvements are much more subtle—but the company had plenty of updates about health research tied to the Watch, and even a new Apple Research App that will allow normal users to enroll in research studies when it launches later this year. Three larger research efforts with big name partners like the World Health Organization and National Institute of Health were announced: the Apple Sound Study, the Apple Women’s Health Study, and the Apple Heart and Movement Study.
The Watch presentation also featured a moving video full of testimonials from Apple Watch wearers who avoided major health catastrophes after acting upon the data captured by the already available versions of the Watch.
The Watch announcements include:
The Plain Old iPad Gets a Glow-Up
iPad
Apple
The standard iPad got a big upgrade, too, after other models in the line got makeovers last year and earlier in 2019. The screen size bumped up to 10.2 inches and the tablet now has Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard support, so it’s closer to the entry-level PCs Apple is looking to unseat.
The iPad announcements include:
Apple at Your Service
Apple
Apple provided more details on their new entertainment service subscriptions, Apple Arcade and Apple TV+. Arcade will give subscribers (and up to six family members) access to any game on the platform for $4.99 per month, with exclusive titles and the ability to play on iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs. The service will come online on September 30 on iOS and Apple TV and October for Macs.
The Apple team also provided more details about the company’s shot at knocking off Netflix, Apple+. The streaming service will launch on November 1 for $4.99 per month—although everyone who buys a new piece of Apple hardware will be treated to a free year’s membership. Tim Cook showed off a truly bonkers trailer of the new Jason Momoa show, See, to give the audience a taste of what will be available on the platform.
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