The new iPhones are here! During today’s annual Apple event at the Steve Jobs Theater, the company revealed their newest line of smartphones for the remainder of 2018 and into 2019! These phones are the iPhoneXs, iPhoneXs Max, and the iPhoneXR (along with the Apple Watch s4, if you’re into that). Apple made the claim that these new iPhones are the most advanced iPhones ever created, and for good reason. So let’s talk about everything there is to know about the new iPhones!
The iPhoneXs, Xs Max, and XR all follow in the footsteps of their predecessor, possessing screens that stretch from corner to corner. So, if you’re looking for that clickable home button in these new phones, then you’re out of luck, sorry to say.
The iPhonesXs and Xs Max have a beautiful, sleek look with a glass finish that surrounds the entirety of the phone. The glass is the most durable one that Apple has developed, making dropping your phone a little less heart-stopping. No cracks on your screen with these phones! The iPhoneXs and Xs Max come in three colors: gold, silver, and space gray. As far as size goes, the iPhone Xs offers a 5.8 display, while the iPhone Xs Max packs a powerful punch with its 6.5 inch display–making it the largest iPhone ever!
Meanwhile, the iPhone XR is made from aluminum glass and has, what Apple is calling, “Liquid Retina” display. This LCD display is bigger and more beautiful than that of the iPhone 8 Plus, at 6.1 inches–making it a little bigger than the Xs, but not quite the massive size of the Max. And probably the best part of the XR look? It comes in 6 different colors: red, coral, yellow, light blue, white, and standard black.
For starters, all of the new phones will be set up with the latest iOS 12 software, allowing for features you love, like Siri, to run better and faster than ever before. The update for that will be rolling out to all iphones on September 16th.
Are you a little clumsy and worried about dropping your phone in the pool or the dreaded toilet? Well, worry not! The iPhone Xs and Xs Max have been tested by Apple by being dropped in liquids that range from salt water to orange juice to beer and come out completely fine!
These phones also offer surround sound that will make you feel more immersed than ever in the videos you’re watching and the music you’re listening to. There’s no need for portable speakers with the new iPhones, because with sound like this, the phones themselves are the speakers!
Face recognition on these phones runs faster and more efficiently than ever before. Apple makes the claim that it is the, “most secure facial authentication ever in a smartphone.” With that in mind, you can know that nobody’s getting on your phone without having your face!
These new iPhones are all running on the A12 Bionic chip, the first 7-nanometer chip ever created. It can process 5 trillion operations per second and hold up to 512GB of storage. Simply put, that’s over half a terabyte of storage space, or around 200,000+ photographs that can be stored on an iPhone. It is the smartest and most powerful chip ever created for an iPhone, and allows apps to launch up to 30% faster than they did before.
Augmented reality, or AR, has also been improved across the board, creating the best AR experience for an iPhone user to date. It has enhanced surface object detection, possibly even making it hard to tell the difference between what’s AR and what’s not! And probably the coolest part of this all is what Apple is calling, “AR Quick look”, which will let you view products from the internet in your own home through the usage of AR. That means you can view that new coffee maker you’re thinking of buying on your own counter and decide if it fits the style of your home or not!
The cameras in the iPhone Xs, Xs Max, and XR are the best iPhone cameras created to date. Using the camera you can make your Instagram shots look more stunning than ever before. By using new tools such as the image signal processor and facial landmarking, the iPhone camera is able to quickly analyze a photo and give it the best lighting and shadowing possible. The camera is so complex, that it can complete up to 1 trillion operations with every photo taken. Talk about the wonders of technology.
But probably the coolest part of the new camera? You can adjust the depth of field in all portraits after you shoot. So if you take a picture of someone and aren’t satisfied with the way the background looks after you take it, then you can use the photo editor to bring the background into or out of focus. Pretty cool, huh?
Shooting videos are better than ever, too. With 4K capabilities and surround sound recording, you can create your own videos worthy of an Oscar nomination. There’s no need for fancy recording equipment when you’ve got the new iPhones in your hand!
Each of the new iPhones has improved on the battery life of previous models. On the iPhone Xs, you’re going to get about 30 minutes of additional battery life to your day than you would if you were using the X. However, if you’re going to be using the Xs Max or the XR then you’ll get a whopping hour and a half added onto your battery life by the end of each day. With that in mind, maybe you can give your portable charger a well-deserved rest!
During the conference, Bethesda games introduced us to Blades, the newest mobile game in the Elder Scrolls series. The game is a first-person RPG that lets you explore the world and fight any enemies that come your way. Using the latest iPhone graphic technology, the game is able to look totally breath-taking, showing details you may have missed before. And the new surround sound feature allows you to hear every little detail of the forest around. What used to only be possible on a PS4 in your living room is now possible in the palm of your hand.
Another app shown today was Homecourt. Homecourt is an app specifically designed for basketball players, allowing them to analyze shots they’ve taken and suggests improvements that can be made. It recognizes a hoop and a basketball court through the usage of the new iPhones’ camera. It shows what cannot be seen with the naked eye, such as toss angle, jump height, and more. So if you’re looking to improve your game, this app is for you.
Directive Games also introduced an app of their own which is able to utilize AR to bring classic arcade games to life. Team up with your friends and face off to shoot down enemies in real time. Go for the high score on the leaderboard!
Ultimately, the iPhone you choose depends on your personal tastes and, more importantly, how much your wallet is willing to cough up. The iPhone XR is the cheapest option, starting at $749 with storage space options of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. The iPhone Xs is starting at $999, while the Xs Max starts at $1099, both phones offering 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB of storage space.
The iPhone XR will be up for pre-order on October 19th and will then be shipped out on October 26th. The Xs and Xs Max, however, will be up for pre-order starting September 14th and will ship the following week on September 21st. So order yours and be the first to have the newest technology in the smartphone world!
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