Apple Announces 3 New iPhones and More!

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On Tuesday Apple made many long-awaited announcements, giving us a glimpse of what’s coming soon. Apple revealed upgrades to many products, as well as to its stores.

Apple has plenty of new tech coming for its customers, as well as an update to its retail spaces (don’t call them “stores”) in which you can learn, play, converse and buy.

To summarize, Apple announced:

• A new approach to its retail properties
• A New Apple Watch
• A New Apple TV
• Three new iPhones

New Retail Spaces

If your significant other announces that he or she is going to Apple Town Square, you may wonder where they’re headed. If they say they’re going to the Apple Store, you can gently correct them and tell them there is no longer going to be an Apple Store.

The Apple Store will now be known as “Apple Town Square.”

Apple is acknowledging that much more happens at its retail locations than just shopping. People come there to do other things and Apple wants to make its gathering spots more inviting.

These town squares will reflect that philosophy with a new approach to the design of retail space. Flagship stores in New York, Paris, Milan, Washington, DC and Chicago will be redesigned to incorporate spaces where people can do much more than shop.

Spaces will be created for learning, collaborating, researching and more. The Board Room will help app designers create new apps. The Forum will help people create using photography, music and more. Classes will be held at the stores town squares to help customers learn how to use Apple products.

The Avenue will feature Apple products so people can actually buy stuff. You know, like in a store…

Apple Watch Series 3

Apple announced its third version of the Apple Watch, the Series 3. What’s new with this version is mostly that this Watch can have a separate cellular connection so you don’t need to take your phone with you.

Apple proudly announced that its Watch has risen from being number two in the world to being number one.

You can make and answer phone calls and text messages from the Watch, even if your phone is not anywhere nearby. You don’t need to have a separate phone number for your Watch either, it uses the same phone number as your iPhone.

If you use Find My Friends, it will assume you’re wearing your Watch and show your location where your Watch is, if your phone isn’t nearby.

The Watch has an altimeter so it can better gauge your workout. It will know whether you’re working hard to climb stairs, ladders or mountains.

Apple is also getting serious about people using the Apple Watch as a heart monitor. The Watch will be able to alert you if your heart rate is elevated with it detects you’re not exercising. (Note: You may want to turn this feature off if you’re on a first date with someone who makes your heart go pitter-patter…)

Apple is also partnering with Stanford University in a study to determine whether the Watch can detect irregular heartbeats, a condition known as atrial fibrillation or AFib. Apple and Stanford will be asking Watch owners later to volunteer for the study.

Siri can speak to you from the Watch. Ask it a question and you can get a spoken reply from Siri.

Even with a cellular connection the Watch will have an 18 hour battery life and be “swim proof.”

The cellular connection is only available in certain countries and with certain carriers. Be sure to check whether your carrier offers a connection to the new Apple Watch.

Note that you will have to pay your cell phone carrier a fee to connect your phone to your plan. Check with your carrier to find out how much that will be.

You will be able to play Apple Music by streaming it directly to your phone, even if your iPhone is far away.

The price of the new 38mm Apple Watch will begin at $329 without a cellular connection and $399 with a cellular connection. Getting the 42mm version adds $30 to the price.

The original Apple Watch will be offered at $249, with Series 2 no longer being sold by Apple.

A gray ceramic Edition Watch will be available with a price starting at $1299.

Orders for the Watch Series 3 begin tomorrow, September 15 with deliver beginning on September 22.

Apple TV

Apple also introduced an updated model of its Apple TV with new features and a better picture. This version adds 4K and HDR for a sharper picture and more vibrant colors. This model is called Apple TV 4K.

At the presentation, Apple showed this image to illustrate the difference between plain old 4K TV and 4K HDR TV:

The insides of this streaming box have been upgraded too for a faster and smoother experience. Gaming can be more sophisticated, as shown by a demonstration of a new game called Sky that was played on the new Apple TV using the remote that’s included with the device.

This version will also alert you to sporting events and breaking news. You can get notifications when your favorite teams are playing and see all sporting events currently being played. You can choose to see all the scores or hide them, if you don’t want to get spoiled by the results.

Videos will be available in iTunes now in 4K. If you previously purchased a movie in HD from iTunes, Apple will upgrade that movie in your Library to 4K without extra charge, if the movie is available in 4K on iTunes.

Apple TV 4K will be available for ordering tomorrow, September 15. The model with 32 GB of storage will cost $175. The model with 64GB of storage will cost $195.

iPhones

Apple introduced not one, not two, but three, count ’em, three new iPhones:

• iPhone 8
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone X

The iPhone X is pronounced “iPhone ten” as in X = Roman numeral 10. Your confusion is forgiven if you’re wondering where iPhone 9 is. Let’s just say Twitter had fun with the missing iPhone 9:

sorry

iphone 9 can’t come to the phone at the moment

why

Oh because 7 8 9 😏

— Sammy (@SammyAlbon) September 12, 2017

iPhone 8 and 8 Plus

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are more advanced versions of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Their screen sizes are the same as their predecessors, with the 8 having a screen of 4.7″ and the 8 Plus being 5.5″.

But the big difference in the build of the phone is the glass back that allows for wireless charging. That means you can rest your phone on a pad to have it charge, instead of having to insert a cable into the phone.

You can still insert the lightning cable, but resting your phone on a pad is a lot easier. Plus that means you can charge the phone while listening to corded headphones since the headphone jack that went missing in the 7/7 Plus is still missing…

Here’s a quick summary from Apple of the iPhone 8:

36 new features in 8 seconds. Miss one? Tap to freeze. Learn about iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. https://t.co/FB3QLTcFXr pic.twitter.com/OSxjROx2Kb

— Apple (@Apple) September 12, 2017

The 8 and 8 Plus come with an A11 Bionic chip that is supposed to be just as speedy as it sounds. These phones are designed for 3D games and augmented reality apps. Apple showed the example of being at a Major League Baseball game and using the MLB app to see the stats of the players on the field using augmented reality.

The screens are more advanced with truer and brighter colors and more pixels on the display. The phones are water and dust-resistant.

The cameras are more advanced with faster processors and image stabilization for better focus.

Apple showed a Portrait Lighting feature that darkens the background of the shot so all that shows is the subject’s face. This feature will be available on the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X.

 

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus can be ordered beginning tomorrow, September 15, and will become available on September 22. These phones are available with 64 or 256 GB of storage space and in Space Gray, silver or gold. (Sorry, rose gold, Jet Black and Product Red did not make the cut.)

Pricing begins at $699 for the iPhone 8 and $799 for the iPhone 8 Plus.

iPhone X

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the first iPhone, Apple is releasing a special edition iPhone X, as in 10. This iPhone is radically different from previous iPhones not just in its looks, but also in how you use it.

The first thing you will notice immediately when you see the iPhone X is the screen. Instead of having a border (known as a bezel in tech terms), the phone’s screen is edge to edge.

Although the phone is physically smaller than the iPhone 8 Plus, the screen is larger at 5.8″ versus 5.5″. The display is richer too, with the iPhone X having an OLED screen that’s packed with pixels, far more pixels than the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus. Apple calls this screen a Super Retina display.

Like the 8 and 8 Plus, the X has a glass back to allow for wireless charging. The X is also water and dust-resistant.

The camera on the X is like the 8 Plus, the iPhone X has the Portrait Lighting effect. But unlike the 8 Plus you can use Portrait Lighting with the front camera with the X.

You Can’t Go Home

But unlike any iPhone before it, the iPhone X has no home button. That’s right, you can’t tap on the home button on the X because there isn’t one.

That missing feature dramatically changes how you interact with the phone. Simple gestures, such as tapping the face of the phone, turning on the phone, and swiping up from the bottom are all new with the X. Expect a learning curve when you first get the X, as what became intuitive before must be relearned.

You can still summon Siri and pay with Apple Pay, but those functions involve the pressing the power button now, instead of the newly non-existent home button.

Face ID

Without a home button, you can no longer use your fingerprint with Touch ID to unlock the iPhone X. Instead, you can use your face.

That’s right, the iPhone X introduces Face ID. The iPhone X can map your face so that all you have to do is look at the phone to unlock it.

But you do have to look at it to unlock it. The phone has what Apple calls “Attention Awareness.” If you’re not looking at the phone, you cannot unlock it.

Face ID works in the dark and works even if you are wearing a hat or glasses or growing a beard. No word yet on whether Face ID will work for those who are visually impaired or wearing sunglasses.

Mac Observer reports that Apple says that Face ID will work with most sunglasses.

Apple tested Face ID with photos and with masks and proclaimed that neither will fool the feature.

Apple, “Face ID can’t be fooled easily.”

Arya Stark, “We’ll see about that”#AppleEvent #iPhoneX pic.twitter.com/tTIjVbcBkV

— Safwan Ahmedmia (@SuperSaf) September 12, 2017

The company did admit that identical twins can fool Face ID. So if you have an identical twin, whom you do not trust with your Phone, you should stick with using a passcode to unlock your phone and forget using your face.

Like Touch ID, Face ID can be used with Apple Pay and third party apps for identification.

Animojis

The same tech that maps your face for Face ID on the iPhone X is also used on an innovative new feature called Animojis. These are 12 different emojis that can conform to your facial expressions so you can make them smile, grimace, wince, or anything else you can do with your face.

You can insert these animojis into text messages you send in Apple’s iMessage app. You can even record an animated video message as an animoji and send it to a friend.

Availability

If you want the iPhone X, you’ll have to wait a bit. Orders begin on October 27 with the phone being available on November 3.

The iPhone X is available in silver or Space Gray (nope, gold isn’t an option) with either 64 or 256 GB of storage.

Prices for the iPhone X begin at $999.

Other iPhones

Apple will also be offering older iPhones for sale, including:

• iPhone 7/7 Plus
• iPhone 6/6 Plus
• iPhone SE

iOS 11

Not much was said about iOS 11, other than the date it will become available to the public: September 19. So we still do not know whether older apps will work with this update.

See, Why Your Favorite iPhone Apps May Not Work in a Month

Your Thoughts

Which of Apple’s announcements are most interesting to you? Are the upgrades worth it to you? Will you be getting a new iPhone? If so, which one?

Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!

*Portrait Lighting photo by Geordie Wood on Apple’s website

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Verizon Deals

Verizon has announced new deals related to Apple’s new tech. From Verizon:

— iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus: For a limited time, get up to $300 back on iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus with device payment when you sign up for Verizon unlimited and trade in select phones. iPhone 8 starts at $29.16/a month for 24 months and the Plus starts at $33.33 a month.
— Apple Watch: For a limited time you’ll get the first three months on the $10/month NumberShare plan for free and waived activation and upgrade fees. The Watch is available starting at $66.66 a month for 6 months.

Learn more at the Verizon Wireless website.

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Voice of America Learning English

Are you an English learner? If so, you can learn about tech as you learn English with my personal technology column at Voice of America Learning English. This week’s article is: How to Use Your Phone as a Magnifying Glass.