Hot new launches

September keynote offers up full details on all–new Apple gear

Keynote details the Fall's all–new Apple gear.

At a special event in September, Apple announced this year’s new model iPhones and an all–new Apple Watch. The iPhone X reinvented the iPhone by eliminating the Home button, introducing Face ID, and giving us an edge–to–edge screen. Now, as usual for the year after such a milestone, there’s an “S” model, identical in appearance, but the new iPhone XS (that’s “ten ess,” not “excess”) has some impressive improvements under the hood and also comes in a plus size, iPhone XS Max, with the largest display ever on an iPhone. Instead of the anticipated iPhone SE2, Apple introduced the budget iPhone XR, with the same powerful processor as the new flagship models but otherwise slightly more modest specs. The redesigned Apple Watch Series 4, meanwhile, also boasts a 30% larger, edge–to–edge screen, plus exciting new technologies including an electrical heart sensor that makes it possible to record an accurate ECG test right on your watch.

iPhone XS and XS Max

The new iPhone XS is the same size and design as the iPhone X it replaces, but there’s a powerful new processor inside: the A12 Bionic. It’s the industry’s first 7–nanometer chip in a smartphone, with more RAM and a GPU up to 50% faster. It’s also more energy–efficient, so on top of improved performance the XS could deliver half an hour more battery life than the iPhone X.

The screen is the same as in the iPhone X but now has 60% greater dynamic range, plus support for Dolby Vision and HDR10, meaning sharper HD display for photos, video playback, and gaming. The stereo sound field is enhanced, and speaker volume is boosted by 25%. Face ID and wireless charging are also said to be faster, and 4G networking gets a speed boost with support for the much faster Cat 16 LTE. Reception should improve in remote areas with new support for the 600MHz band.

The dual camera system is the same as in the iPhone X but now boasts improved low–light performance. A new Smart HDR algorithm produces higher– definition photos using automatic focus stacking, and the Photos app now offers the impressive ability to adjust depth of field in Edit mode, after you’ve taken a shot. (Phil Schiller called it “a new era of photography,” although the XS is not the first phone to offer this.)

The case is the same surgical– grade stainless steel as before, but the glass part is more durable than ever, Apple claims, and the iPhone XS is water and dust resistant to IP68 — two meters greater depth than iPhone X. The screen now incorporates 120Hz touch sensing — which means it checks for input faster, so it should be more responsive than before.

The iPhone XS Max has all the above, with a 6.5–inch, 2,688 x 1,242 pixel OLED display. It also has a larger battery, promising up to 90 minutes more battery life than the now–discontinued iPhone X.

iPhone XR

The new ‘budget’ iPhone ($749) has the same A12 Bionic chipset as the XS but the case is aluminum instead of stainless steel; liquid resistance is IP67, the same as iPhone X; and instead of OLED the display is a more modest LCD — 6.1–inch, 1,792 x 828 pixels at 326ppi. This makes the display bigger than that of the iPhone 8 Plus (5.5–inch) but the overall size of the device is between iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. It has no Home button but uses Face ID.

The camera system is more modest than the XS’s, with a single wide–angle lens, but it offers the same after–shoot depth–of–field adjustment, Smart HDR (as on iPhone X), and support for Portrait Mode (although implemented in software). Promised battery life is up to 90 minutes longer than iPhone 8 Plus.

For the ultra price conscious, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus remain available, starting at $449, as do the 8 and 8 Plus, from $599.