Would you pay $1G for this?
APPLE BETS YOU WILL
READY FOR the iPhone X to become the Apple of your eye?
The souped-up phone unveiled in California on Tuesday relies on facial recognition software to identify users — and the home button with its thumbprint security is a thing of the past.
That change freed up valuable real estate to give the phone a 5.8-inch display that makes up the entire front of the device.
The $1,000 gadget (photo) — Apple’s most expensive iPhone — is “the biggest leap forward” since the original smartphone came on the scene, said CEO Tim Cook.
The company presented the much-hyped, 10th anniversary edition smartphone — the “X” is pronounced “ten” — along with an iPhone 8 and its big sister, the iPhone 8 Plus at the Steve Jobs Theater at its Cupertino campus.
Senior Vice President Phil Schiller said Face ID — which requires users to look at the phone with eyes open for it to unlock — was even more secure than fingerprints.
“Nothing has ever been simpler,” Schiller said. “Face ID is the future of how we unlock our smartphones and protect our sensitive information.”
But Apple execs suffered an awkward moment when software engineer Craig Federighi did a demo of the facial recognition feature and the iPhone X failed to recognize him.
“Ho, ho, ho,” Federighi said as the phone defaulted to password mode.
Apple stock prices dipped from $163 a share to $159 after the glitch, and closed at $161.
Face ID will even work in the dark, Apple said, thanks to a projector that beams out some 30,000 infrared dots captured by a special infrared camera.
It also continues to learn faces over time, so changes like a beard or glasses with not throw it off.
The new phone, which can be ordered Oct. 27 and will ship Nov. 3, is also able to animate emojis to mirror people’s expressions, Schiller said.
Apple also hyped the iPhone X’s 12-megapixel dual cameras, with portrait mode that Schiller said would “revolutionize” selfies, and its wireless charging feature.
The iPhone X will cost $999 for the 64 GB version and $1,149 for the 256 GB version — nearly as much as Apple’s 12-inch MacBook laptop that starts at $1,299.
For those not quite ready for generation X, the iPhone 8 costs less (from $699 and $799) and still has significant upgrades — especially in the camera features. Both also have wireless charging.
Apple also debuted a new cellular Apple Watch with a built-in connection so it no longer needs an iPhone nearby to perform most tasks.
And a new Apple TV will launch Sept. 22, the company said, with support for 4K video streaming.