Say hello to the future. The first-ever Apple special event at the Steve Jobs Theater took place Tuesday Sept. 12 in Cupertino California, where Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook unveiled the future of the smartphone, the iPhone X. Other new additions to the Apple family were also revealed, included the iPhone 8 and 8-plus, watch series-3, and apple TV 4k. But all eyes were on the futuristic reveal.
It is not a huge surprise that on the tenth anniversary of the iPhone, Apple released the iPhone X, the “X” standing for the numeral, 10. But there were a few unexpected changes. It felt like tradition for Apple to release a phone and follow up with an “S” version of the same every other year. But this year, the tech-giant skipped a release of a 7s and 7s-plus, and went straight to the eight. Interesting enough, the new iPhone 8 feels a lot like what you would expect from a 7s,; and we’ll probably never see an iPhone 9, with the iPhone X starting a new era of smartphones for the corporation.
There are a lot of similarities between the three new phone models, but a few big differences. The iPhone X is a beautiful and phenomenally powered device with a glass and stainless steel design, 5.8-inch super retina display, a new innovative approach to security with Face ID and new ways to communicate with Animojis. The new iPhone 8 and 8-plus will have eye-catching new glass and aluminum designs, along with countless advancements that enhance everything people love about iPhones. Since the new models are glass, Apple designed the glass with a 50 percent deeper strengthening layer for more protection. If you are eligible for an upgrade but are on the fence about which new iPhone to buy, know you won’t have to decide between wireless charging and unmatched performances with Apple’s new A11 bionic chip since all three offer both.
The A11 Bionic will enable amazing new photography features like portrait lighting, and game changing augmented reality experiences in IOS 11. The chip also uses machine learning, on the iPhone X, to recognize changes in your appearance. Partnered with the true depth camera system, a unique facial map is created which becomes your passcode, and Face ID is attention aware which means the phone will only unlock when you are looking at it. Face ID is designed to resist photos or masks, and allows you to pay with apple-pay in the blink of an eye. Since the iPhone X now has Face ID, the home button has been removed and replaced with a new gesture style of navigation. But not to worry, the iPhone 8 and 8-plus still include the timeless feature.
All three models will include a 12-megapixel camera capable of video recording at 60 frames per second in 4k resolution. The iPhone X and 8-plus have dual 12 megapixel cameras, and all three models have a 7-megapixel front camera with 1080p HD video recording. The iPhone X will allow the front camera to now take portrait photos, and boy do they look stunning.
There are many good things to say about the new iPhones, but also a few negatives that stick out like sore thumbs. First, the price of the new iPhone X starts at a staggering $999 for 64 gigabits of storage, or $1,149 for a 256-gigabyte model. Second, Apple has eliminated the 128-gigabyte model; so if you have one now, you may feel forced to go with 256 gigabytes model.
The new iPhone 8 models hit stores on Sept. 22 along with the new watch and apple TV. The iPhone X will be available for pre-order Oct. 27, and will hit stores Nov. 3. Don’t expect your new phone to come with a wireless charging pad since Apple won’t be releasing the AirPower mat until 2018. The slowly dying lightning port will live on for a little while longer.