It’s that time of the year where Apple announces its new lineup of products and services. At the September 10 event, the tech giant quite a few announcements to make. Without further ado, here are the highlights.
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Apple Arcade
Apple is officially introducing a gaming subscription service, They are calling it the first such service that spans across mobile, desktop, tablets, etc. Although Google Stadia might disagree. Nevertheless, Apple Arcade will host a number of exclusive games thanks to its partnership with companies such as Konami and Capcom.
The service will be launched on the 19th of September and will be available in more than 150 countries worldwide. Apple Arcade will be priced at $4.99 per month family subscription with a 1-month trial included.
Apple TV+
The streaming service has come under a lot of discussion during the past few months. Apple finally made things official as Apple TV+ is set to launch on the 1st of November. This will include a host of exclusive content with 9 originals at launch. Among them are,
- The Morning Show, hosted by Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell.
- See, starring Jason Momoa
- For All Mankind, from Ronald D. Moore, executive producer of Battlestar Galactica
- Dickinson
- The Elephant Queen, a documentary on the threat of elephant extinction
- Helpsters, a series from the creators of Sesame Street
- Snoopy in Space
- Ghostwriter
Following launch, Apple promises to add more content in the following months. This would include series such as Servant, Truth Be Told, a show from Oprah Winfrey, feature films Hala and The Banker, etc.
Apple TV+ will be priced at $4.99 per month for a family subscription and will be available in more than 100 countries. Additionally, new Apple product purchases will now come with a free 1-year Apple TV+ subscription.
iPads
Apple also announced its 7th generation iPad. It comes with an A10 Fusion chip and a 10.2″ retina display. The company promises up to 10 hours of battery life. Priced at $329 the new iPad will start shipping by September 30.
Apple Watch
One of the key points for the Apple Watch has been the health aspects associated with using the device. As such, the company will be releasing a new research app. This will come with 3 health studies.
- Apple Hearing Study
This will focus on hearing health. A collaborated effort with the University of Michigan, the research data will be shared with World Health Organization as a contribution towards its Make Listening Safe initiative. - Apple Women’s Health Study
Here, the focus would be around menstrual cycles and gynecological conditions. According to Apple, ” this study will inform screening and risk assessment of conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), infertility, osteoporosis, pregnancy and menopausal transition. ” - Apple Heart and Movement Study
With the aim of promoting healthy movement and improved cardiovascular health, the study will look at factors such as heart rate and mobility signals related to heart health, hospitalizations, etc.
Getting to the Apple Watch itself, the new Series 5 will follow suit from last year’s Series 4. The company claims the new edition will have an always-on display option and still maintain 18-hour battery life. This is partly thanks to the Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxid (LTPO) display, which essentially allows for dynamic refresh rates on the screen.
The new Apple Watch will also come with a built-in compass and will have international emergency calling enabled, in over 150 countries. This works regardless of whether you have an iPhone or not.
With Titanium or Ceramic finish options, the Series 5 GPS model will be priced at $399, while the cellular model at $499.
The new iPhones
As expected, the new iPhone comes in 3 models, the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max. These will be powered by Apple’s new A13 Bionic chip. According to the tech giant, this is dubbed to be the fastest CPU and GPU in a smartphone currently available.
The iPhone 11 is equipped with a 6.1″ Liquid Retina LCD display. The iPhone 11 Pro is housed with a 5.8″ screen and the 11 Pro Max with a 6.5″ screen. Both are OLED “Super Retina XDR displays”.
The cameras are what’s noticeably different this year. The rear camera of the iPhone 11 is a dual-lens setup with a 12MP f/1.8 wide lens and a 12MP f/2.4 ultrawide lens. The iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max will also include these 2 lenses along with a 12MP f/2.0 telephoto lens at the back, making it a triple camera setup. The front camera will be a 12MP TrueDepth lens.
The iPhone 11 series is capable of shooting 4K at 60fps and slo-mo at 120fps, both front and back cameras. Additionally, there’s also a new night mode, one that utilizes adaptive bracketing.
Apple also announced a new image processing system, called Deep Fusion. This is where the camera takes 9 images, pre shoots 4 long and 4 short exposure images (buffer). When you press the shutter it takes a longer exposure. The neural engine and ISP of the A13 chip combines these images pixel by pixel and optimizes to give the best photo.
In terms of battery life, the iPhone promises to be 1 hour longer than the iPhone XR. The iPhone 11 Pro will be up to 4 hours longer than the iPhone Xs and the 11 Pro Max, up to 5 hours longer than the Xs Max. Furthermore, an 18W fast charger will also come packed in the box.
iOS 13
Video editing is now possible with iOS 13. This allows for simple controls such as rotating, cropping, auto-enhance, filters, etc. Photo editing also has a few additions, with a new Portrait Lighting adjustment called “High‑Key Light Mono”.
There’s also a new version of AirDrop with improved directional accuracy. Basically, you can point at other people with iPhones to share files. This is made possible thanks to iOS 13 and the new U1 chip. According to Apple, this feature will be available with IOS 13.1, coming on September 30.
In terms of pricing, the iPhone 11 will cost $699, iPhone 11 Pro $999 and the 11 Pro Max $1,099. The iPhone 11 will come in 6 new colors, purple, white, green, yellow, black, and Product Red. The other 2 models will be featured in midnight green, space gray, silver, and gold.
So what will it be? Will you be going for a new iPhone, or sign up for the new streaming service? Let us know.
Featured image credits: Apple
