Scottish Daily Mail

£1,000 iPhone’s here!

Apple shows off radical new facial recognitio­n feature in front of millions … and it promptly fails

- By Sean Poulter Consumer Affairs Editor

‘Our biggest leap forward’

APPLE unveiled its £1,000 iPhone last night – ten years after the tech giant’s first mobile phone arrived to revolution­ise communicat­ion and lifestyles.

The firm has sold more than 1.2billion iPhones over that decade, helping it become the most profitable company in the world.

It is now pinning its future on the iPhone X, which was unveiled alongside two other new iPhones, a third generation of the Apple Watch and other gadgets.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook described the iPhone and its technology as magical, saying: ‘No other device in our lifetime has had the impact on our world like the iPhone. It literally changed the way we live. The first iPhone changed the world. The new one will change the world for the next decade. It is the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone.’

He was speaking at the Steve Jobs Theatre on Apple’s new futuristic campus in Cupertino, California.

The iPhone X, pronounced ten, starts at $999 in the USA, but will cost £999 in the UK, continuing a trend in which Apple – and other global brands – charge British consumers more for sought-after devices. Apple did not provide any details, but some versions of the new handset that have more memory will cost more than £1,000.

It includes a new Face ID security feature, which uses the front-facing camera on the handset to allow only the authorised user to unlock the phone, even in the dark. Looking at the handset and swiping up the screen will turn it on.

Apple claims it is more secure than existing fingerprin­t scanners and the chance of the phone being unlocked by someone who looks familiar is one in a million. The same technology will be used to allow the user to authorise payments using Apple Pay technology at tills. However, it suffered a difficult baptism when it failed during an attempted demonstrat­ion by an Apple executive in front of a worldwide audience of millions watching over the internet.

The new handsets come with a screen that runs across the full width and depth of the device, doing away with the convention­al home button and fingerprin­t security scanner on the front.

And in a first for Apple, it is made from steel reinforced glass rather than alustroke minium, which allows for wireless charging. Apple’s British chief design officer, Sir Jony Ive, said: ‘For more than a decade, our intention has been to create an iPhone that is all display. The iPhone X is the realisatio­n of that vision. It marks a new era for iPhone – one in which the device disappears into the experience.’

Apple said its watch has become the best selling in the world in cash terms, overtaking brands such as Rolex, Omega and Cartier. The third generation version has an enhanced heart rate monitor that includes a heart attack and alarm, which will sound if it detects an elevated heart rate when the user does not appear to be active or if there is an unusual rhythm.

Previously, the Apple watch connected to an iPhone and used its links to the mobile phone network and web. The new generation will be able to connect to the mobile network and wi-fi independen­tly. This means users can receive and make calls or listen to music through the watch.

The new design will cost $399 in the US with in-built mobile phone connection­s. Again, Britons must pay more, with a starting price of £399. Previously, Apple has explained the higher prices in the UK on the 20 per cent VAT rate and claims that the costs of doing business are more expensive in this country.

Ernest Doku, mobiles expert at uSwitch.com, gave the iPhone X a lukewarm welcome. ‘On the ten-year anniversar­y of the iPhone, Apple was always going to have to move mountains with the latest versions of its iconic handset,’ he said. ‘While it’s satisfying to see the new iPhones pack a slew of new features, Apple still faces a challenge in convincing both the uninitiate­d and long-term fans alike that these new devices are the true innovation the market has long needed.’

 ??  ?? SCREEN: Super Retina Display with 2.7 million pixels – more than any previous iPhone
SCREEN: Super Retina Display with 2.7 million pixels – more than any previous iPhone

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