The iPhone, but not as we know it
Blayne Slabbert says iPhone devotees will have to fork out close to $3000 for some of the latest models.
The iPhone as most of us know it is over as Apple phases out familiar designs and features from the past four years.
It’s the end of the home button, fingerprint scanner and relatively affordable iPhones.
They have been replaced by the look and user interface of the iPhone X model, which was first released last year, and higher prices with some models costing close to $3000.
It is a similar generational change that occurred when the iPhone 6 was released four years ago, replacing the blocky design that had been around since 2007.
While Apple is once again advancing the technology it uses, some users will find the changes and increased prices jarring.
Apple announced three new models at its event in San Francisco.
The first is the iPhone Xs (pronounced ‘‘ten S’’, though some may say ‘‘excess’’), which has a 5.8-inch (14 centimetre) screen with prices starting from $1899.
Unusually, last year’s iPhone X has been dropped by Apple and you can no longer buy it.
Apple tried hard to demonstrate improvements from the iPhone X but the changes are minor, the most notable being upgrades to its camera, battery life and processing speed.
It’s joined by the larger, 6.5-inch (16.5cm) iPhone Xs Max, which is the same physical size as the iPhone 8 Plus but with more screen space. Its prices start at $2099 and go up to $2799.
Both phones feature dual cameras and OLED screens, which are brighter and have better colours than standard LCD
While all this tech sounds amazing, none of it will make a significant difference in people’s digital lives or make them compelled to upgrade.
screens. They also have Face ID, which uses your face and the front camera to unlock the phone.
The biggest change comes to the iPhone Xr, which has replaced both the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus and sits between the two in terms of size and price. Apple hasn’t used the ‘‘r’’ tag before and it is not known what it stands for.
The new model, has a 6.1-inch (15.5cm) screen, bigger than the iPhone 8 (4.7-inches, 12cm) and the iPhone 8 Plus (5.5 inches, 14cm).
Physically, the iPhone Xr (194g) is much heavier than the iPhone 8 (148g) but slightly lighter than the iPhone 8 Plus (202g).
It has no fingerprint sensor or home button, which have both gone the way of the headphone jack. Those have been replaced by Face ID and gestures. So, instead of pushing the home button, you swipe up from the bottom to get to the home screen.
Prices for the iPhone Xr start at $1399 for the 64GB model. This compares with $1249 for the iPhone 8 and $1449 for the iPhone 8 Plus when they were first released last year.
Both models are now selling for $150 less.
The iPhone 7 is also selling for less ($829) but the iPhone SE and iPhone 6S have both been dropped.
All the new iPhones will run on iOS 12, Apple’s latest operating system, which will work on models going back to the iPhone 5s and will be available later this month.
So, there are now fewer iPhone models available but they cost more.
As people hold onto their phones for longer, phone manufacturers are increasing prices to keep profits up, a strategy that has helped Apple become the first trillion-dollar company.
The event was also shorter and perhaps more muted than previous ones. Apple spent a lot of time talking about small improvements to its products, which showed that it’s now becoming harder to wow audiences.
For example, Apple spent several minutes talking about the new neural engine that allows realtime machine learning in the iPhone but the examples were about tasks such as selfies and games.
Also, augmented reality has been available for more than a year but there is no ‘‘killer app’’ that takes advantage of the technology.
While all this tech sounds amazing, none of it will make a significant difference in people’s digital lives or make them compelled to upgrade from last year’s models.
While the new iPhones will be available in New Zealand on the same day as the United States, Kiwis miss out on the dual Sim card feature, which lets you have two phone numbers.
There was also no mention of when the HomePod, Apple’s smart speaker, will go on sale in New Zealand and the company’s wireless charging pad (first announced last year) was also not discussed.
Also, while Apple announced a new smartwatch model, Kiwis will not get the two best features.
The Apple Watch 4, which starts at $699, has a larger display though the watch is still physically about the same size as the previous model.
However, Kiwis still can’t buy an Apple Watch with cellular capability, which lets you get online and make and receive calls without having an iPhone with you.
They also won’t get the ECG feature, which lets the watch take an electrocardiogram.
The Apple Watch goes on sale in New Zealand on Wednesday, while the iPhone Xs and Xs Max go on sale on Thursday. The iPhone Xr is available on October 26.