New Apples for spring

TWO new iPads, one watch and four iPhones will go on sale in Australia within days after Apple launched a surprise grab-bag of gadgets in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The gear will include the most expensive iPhone launched to date, with a price creeping closer to $3000, and will feature a host of camera upgrades, faster chips, better screens and new colours.

But the company shocked many prospective buyers by offering last year’s prices for almost all of this year’s iPhone models.

Analysts say that Apple likely did enough to inspire virtual queues for its September 24 launch.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook kicked off the “California streaming” event from the company’s Cupertino campus, with surprise upgrades to the company’s iPads.

Both its standard, 10.2-inch iPad and the iPad Mini received overhauls, with 12megapixel front-facing cameras for better video calls in both models.

But the event’s focus quickly switched to upgrades for Apple’s best-selling product,

the iPhone, with four new models revealed and set to be released for pre-orders in Australia on Friday.

“These are the best iPhones we’ve ever created,” Mr Cook said.

The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Mini will both receive substantial camera improvements including a larger sensor, Sensor Shift OIS to reduce blur, and Cinematic

Mode for keeping faces focused in videos, as well as a faster chip and the promise of a longer battery life.

The company’s larger iPhone 13 Pro models were also given a camera upgrade to deliver better low-light shots and macro photography, in addition to faster screen refresh times, a smaller notch, and up to one terabyte of storage.

The extra space will come at a much higher cost, however.

While almost all new iPhones feature the same prices as last year’s models, the top iPhone Pro Max will command an extra $350, making it the most expensive iPhone to date at $2719.

But Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi said the cost increase was not as grim as some analysts predicted and would likely be accepted by potential buyers.

“This ticks a lot of boxes for those people – 5G, the best cameras, and a new design.”

Apple also showed off a new Apple Watch Series 7 with a larger screen, fastcharging and greater dust resistance, though did not reveal a price or release date for the device.