This is iPhone X

Cody Lee ∙ September 12, 2017

During today's event legendary "one more thing..." section, Apple announced the iPhone X (pronounced iPhone 10). Matching up with the majority of the rumors, the handset features an OLED edge-to-edge to display and several other advanced features.

Display

The Super Retina Display, as Apple calls it, is a 5.8-inch OLED panel with a resolution of 2436 x 1125 and 458ppi. It supports Dolby Vision and HDR10 tech for better colors, has a one million-to-one contrast ratio, 3D Touch of course, and supports Apple's True Tone color.

Face ID

Because the display is edge-to-edge, there is no more Home button. Its tasks will be split up among a few features: Siri is now activated by the side button, going to the Home screen and exiting apps is now done via a slide gesture, and unlocking the phone is now done with Face ID.

As the rumors predicted, Face ID is used to unlock your phone via facial recognition. Using a host of new sensors, Face ID recognizes authorized users quickly for access to your phone, Apple Pay and other protected apps. It uses a TrueDepth camera and a neural engine inside the new A11 processor, and Apple says it adapts over time and works regardless of if the user is wearing a hat or glasses.

And the fancy new face-recognition tech isn't just for security, it also has some fun applications. Apple has introduced Animoji, which basically embeds your voice and facial expressions into an animated emoji that you can share with friends in a mini video-like form. It sounds gimmicky, but it actually looks pretty cool.

Here's more from Apple on Face ID:

Face ID revolutionizes authentication on iPhone X, using a state-of-the-art TrueDepth camera system made up of a dot projector, infrared camera and flood illuminator, and is powered by A11 Bionic to accurately map and recognize a face. These advanced depth-sensing technologies work together to securely unlock iPhone, enable Apple Pay, gain access to secure apps and many more new features. Face ID projects more than 30,000 invisible IR dots. The IR image and dot pattern are pushed through neural networks to create a mathematical model of your face and send the data to the secure enclave to confirm a match, while adapting to physical changes in appearance over time. All saved facial information is protected by the secure enclave to keep data extremely secure, while all of the processing is done on-device and not in the cloud to protect user privacy. Face ID only unlocks iPhone X when customers look at it and is designed to prevent spoofing by photos or masks. Cameras

The new 7-megapixel TrueDepth camera that enables Face ID features wide color capture, auto image stabilization and precise exposure control, and brings Portrait mode to the front camera for stunning selfies with a depth-of-field effect. On the rear you have a redesigned dual 12-megapixel rear camera system with dual optical image stabilization. The ƒ/1.8 aperture on the wide-angle camera joins an improved ƒ/2.4 aperture on the telephoto camera for better photos and videos.

A new color filter, deeper pixels and an improved Apple-designed image signal processor delivers advanced pixel processing, wide color capture, faster autofocus in low light and better HDR photos. Plus, the new quad LED True Tone Flash offers twice the uniformity of light and includes Slow Sync, resulting in more uniformly lit backgrounds and foregrounds.

Other features

The iPhone X starts at $999 and comes in 64GB and 256GB flavors. Pre-orders will begin on October 27, with the phone actually launching on November 3.

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Apple: 4K iTunes content same price as HD, previous purchases upgraded for free

Cody Lee ∙ September 12, 2017
Apple TV with Wonder Woman on screen

Apple SVP Eddy Cue is on stage now at Apple's event to announce the new 4K Apple TV. In addition to the hardware, Cue made a couple of major ( and frankly, surprising) announcements regarding 4K content in iTunes.

Apparently, when iTunes rolls out its 4K content, it will be priced the same as high definition content. So no need to worry about that big price gap between 4K and HD that you've seen in physical media. Also, folks wondering what happens to all of their previous HD purchases will be happy to hear that Apple will upgrade them to 4K versions (where available) for free.

Here's more on the move from Eddy Cue:

“Bring the magic of the cinema straight to your living room with the new Apple TV 4K,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “Customers will love watching stunning 4K HDR movies from an impressive catalog on iTunes, while also getting automatic upgrades of 4K HDR movies already in their iTunes library and enjoying 4K content on services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, coming soon.”

These are nice surprises indeed, given that folks were expecting to pay more for new and upgraded 4K content, and should help push Apple TV 4K sales.

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Here is Apple Watch Series 3 with cellular support

Cody Lee ∙ September 12, 2017

We're covering Apple's iPhone X event in Cupertino this morning, and the first major product announcement is the Apple Watch Series 3. Apple's COO Jeff Williams has taken the stage to announce the third generation of Apple's wearable. Its has built-in cellular support (well there is cellular and non-cellular models), a 70% faster dual core processor, and it's 50% more power efficient.

Cellular

Williams demonstrated the Watch's cellular capabilities on-stage by calling Deirdre Caldbeck of the Apple Watch team from his Series 3 Watch (sans iPhone), using AT&T. Caldbeck was shown on video, paddle-surfing in the ocean, and it actually made for a really impressive live demo. The call connected quickly, and the audio quality was surprisingly clear given the conditions.

Here's more from Apple on cellular:

Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) features a full LTE and UMTS cellular radio that switches seamlessly to cellular when it is away from iPhone. The watch shares the same number as iPhone so there’s no need to provide an additional number to family, friends or colleagues; and to help get customers started, participating carriers are also offering special introductory cellular plans at launch. Customers have the ability to make cellular calls directly with Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) and, when paired with AirPods, enjoy a seamless and fully wireless experience. Apple also pioneered an industry-first antenna design that uses the display itself as both a transmitting and receiving element for LTE and UMTS, while introducing a built-in eSIM that is over one-hundredth the size of a traditional SIM card, making over-the-air activation possible without compromising space.

Apple says that the Watch will also be capable of streaming Apple Music without an iPhone, although it doesn't sound like this feature will be ready at launch time.

Internals

Powering the Apple Watch Series 3 is Apple's S3 chip. It features a faster dual-core processor, which allows for quicker app launch times and smoother graphics, and, for the first time, enables Siri to speak using the built-in speaker. It also features a new W2 wireless chip with 85% faster Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and better power efficiency, and a barometric altimeter that assists with tracking activities, elevation gained, stairs climbed, and more.

Apple Watch Series 3 is the same size as its predecessor (Apple does say, however, that they extended the crystal that encases the heart rate monitor by two sheets of paper) and comes in a host of new case and band colors/designs. It will be available for pre-order on September 15, and start shipping on the 22nd, starting at $329. Apple also notes that carriers will be offering special introductory cellular plan pricing.

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