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At its debut Apple Park public event Tuesday, Apple is expected to unveil a range of new hardware and software products — including three new iPhones, a new Apple TV, and two new Apple Watches.
Check here for updates as specific products are announced. So far it’s just been a Beatles song followed by a tribute to Steve Jobs, paired with the introduction of the new Steve Jobs Theater in the company’s new headquarters.
Next up, a discussion of the virtues of the new Apple Park campus and Angela Ahrendts discussing Apple’s retail operations.
Apple Watch Series 3
Apple announced Watch OS 4, new operating software for its line of watches that focuses on expanding Apple Watch’s various fitness and health capabilities.
They also announced a new version of the Apple Watch — Series 3 — that comes with a cellular data chip, meaning the watch functions independently from the phone. A person probably wouldn’t want to do this in most circumstances, but for a lot of exercise uses, it’s important. With the Series 3 watch, for example, you can take a run without your phone and rely on the watch for streaming music and also make sure that you won’t miss an important text message or phone call.
Old bands will be compatible with the new watches, and they will cost $399. There is also going to be a non-cellular Series 3 watch for $329 and a price drop on the old Series 1 watch to $249.
Apple TV 4k
Apple's little black puck that you plug into your television has fallen slightly behind the technical curve of competing offerings from Amazon, Roku, and others. That's changing today with Apple's announcement of a new, more powerful box, powered by the same custom A10X Fusion chip that powers the iPad Pro and the ability to display 4k video and meet the contemporary High Dynamic Range standard.
It's basically a full-fledged small desktop computer at this point, a further hint that Apple has real ambitions for the device as a gaming platform — though the previous iteration of this product largely failed to live up to potential in this regard.
iTunes is also going to start selling 4k movies and, even better, will automatically upgrade previously purchased HD content to 4k quality.
iPhone 8 and 8 Plus
As expected, Apple is releasing updates to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus — called the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. They have louder speakers with deeper bass, new screens that feature the TrueTone color-correction technology previous only available on iPads, and a powerful new A11 chip that promises to be both more powerful and more energy-efficient than its predecessor.
As previously the Plus model is physically larger, with a bigger screen and longer battery life, and also features a superior two-lens camera.
The iPhone 8 also features what Apple is calling “wireless” charging — a feature that already exists on the Apple Watch and that still features wires. The difference is that instead of plugging a wire into the phone, you’ll be able to inductively charge it via contact with a charging pad — a somewhat more convenient and elegant method.
Pricing starts, as usual, at $699 for iPhone 8 and $799 for iPhone 8 Plus, but the minimum storage tier has gotten more generous than it was for the iPhone 7.
iPhone X
Last but by no means least, there’s the iPhone X (Apple pronounces the “X” as “ten”) which features a new Super Retina OLED display. It’s a 2436x1125 display with 2.7 million pixels, adding up to the highest pixel density the iPhone has ever achieved. It runs from edge to edge with no bezel.
The home button is gone from this bezel-free phone, and can be awakened with an arbitrary tap or by raising the phone. You bring up the home screen with a wipe.
Instead of TouchID, you are going to identify yourself to the phone via a new facial recognition system that Apple calls Face ID. The same “true depth” camera that allows Face ID to work will also let users create animated emoji (“animoji”).
It costs $999 with 64GB of storage, and there’s an upgraded option with 256GB of storage. Preorders open on October 27; shipping begins November 3.
