Apple iPhone X event in 5 easy steps

Apple held its usual hype-fest at its new Cupertino headquarters last night. There they unveiled its latest lineup of gadgets and software. However, could this be the first time in quite a while that we’ve seen Apple innovate once more?

If you have 2 hours to spare then feel free to sit through the entire event.

However, if you have more going on in your life, I have tried to break down the fruit-fest in to five headings and a few sentences under each.

So, let’s sprint through this together.

New iPhones

Yup, unless you’ve been without power or an internet connection, you will have heard that there are some new iPhones. In fact, Apple revealed triplets.

The iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X, as we already know, are as expected.

The first two are small upgrades over last year’s iPhone 7 lineup (standard Apple practise), whilst the iPhone X is an eye-wateringly expensive glimpse in to Apple’s future.

The iPhone 8 is the iPhone 7 with wireless charging, upgraded cameras and a faster processor. It retains the iPhone 7’s water resistance, thankfully and launches later this month starting at £699 (£799 for the iPhone 8 Plus).

The iPhone X is an actual new device. You get practically a full-screen display as well as a powerful new front-facing camera with Face ID and other skills.

It starts at £999 with the top dog asking £1149 and you can pre-order yours from 8:01 am on Oct 27th.

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iOS 11

Even if you’re not intending to buy an iPhone 8 or X, you can still play with the new iOS 11 software (as long as your iPhone supports it).

The latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system officially launches on Sept 19th.

iOS 11 brings the ability to record your onscreen activity and adds a better tool for snapping and editing screenshots.

It also includes a peer-to-peer payment option for Apple Pay, a redesigned Control Center and new augmented reality (AR) features thanks to ARKit.

Apple’s AR skills are being lauded as being a “game changer” and, well, it could be. The thing is, the ZenPhone AR (released last month – Google got there first again) has one massive Achilles Heel. Battery life.

It looks like this will be a shared problem with the iPhone. Word is that, after 30 minutes of AR gaming, then it’s time to hit that wireless charging.

Well, at least it will be handy to see if your new Ikea bookcase will actually fit and suit the room though.

iPad users are handed an easily accessible dock for saving your favorite apps.

Face ID

Touch ID, Apple’s fingerprint-scanning technology, has been around since the iPhone 5s launched in 2013. Yesterday, Apple started its countdown to destruction.

Last night Apple introduced Face ID, a face-scanning system exclusive to the iPhone X. Although, they did have a little problem with it, but that’s live demos isn’t it?

Face ID uses an array of cameras and sensors to unlock your device, activate Apple Pay and more. Apple also says its a lot more secure than Touch ID.

Scanners

Now, this is the bit that I am actually excited about. Where most people are looking at Animoji (also reveled at the launch) and talking chickens, I can see this 3D-scanning tech becoming awesome.

Not only is there the opportunity for us to have a virtual presence that actually looks like us, but how about scanning objects and then pinging that over to a 3D printer?

This is definitely something I hope that Apple builds upon and, perhaps, Android too.

Apple Watch Series 3

The fruity wearable also got some pretty big upgrades.

Apple Watch 3 features LTE, which means you can use it to make calls or play songs on Apple Music without syncing to your iPhone.

Apple also announced some upgrades to its watchOS software, including a redesigned workout app and improvements to the heart rate monitor. Your Apple Watch will display your heart rate right on the home screen, and it can warn you if

Your Apple Watch will display your heart rate right on the home screen, and it can warn you if you’re heart rate goes up when you aren’t working out. A potential life saver.

The Apple Watch Series 3 launches on Sept 22nd starting at £329.

An upgrade to watchOS 4 will be available for older models starting on Sept 19th.

Apple TV 4K

Finally, Apple is upgrading its set-top box to support 4K video. If you have a 4K television this is great news.

The Apple TV 4K can stream high-resolution video from services such as Netflix.

It offers High Dynamic Range too for brighter and more realistic colours.

Apple’s also putting a big emphasis on live sports. The Appcolours4K features a dedicated tab for live and upcoming games.

If your favourite team is playing or if there’s a particularly close match, it will even surface those games automatically.

Round up

Well, that’s it in a nutshell.

The iPhone X might be more expensive than most of us thought it would be, but I am sure it will still sell well.

It is easy to bash Apple on that aspect alone, but at least they have delivered a new device and managed to present some things that have not been seen on a phone before.

It’s now down to the buying public to react with their cash. Now, we just have to wait until next year for Samsung’s folding phone.

I like that the Apple Watch no longer needs to be tethered to a Phone and Apple has brought 4K to its telly box. This could see the Ultra-HD tech adopted a bit more widely. That, hopefully, could have the knock-on effect of 4K TVs becoming cheaper. Perhaps. Maybe.