Apple unveils iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and $999 iPhone X
At its September 2017 keynote event on Tuesday, Apple revealed the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus and, separately, the much-anticipated iPhone X (ten).
The prices are $699 for the 8, $799 for the Plus, and $999 for the X. The 8 and 8 Plus ship on Sept. 22, and the X ships on Nov. 3.
What’s new with iPhone X?
Arguably the most exciting new feature of all three new phones is the “wireless charging” now available when the phone sits on a charging pad, called AirPower. (The pad must be plugged into an outlet, but the phone charges wirelessly.) The new Apple Watch Series 3, and the AirPod case, can also charge on the wireless charging pad—all at once.
“You’re going to want to use this by your bedside… in your car,” said Apple VP Phil Schiller as he rattled off the use cases.
The iPhone X has edge-to-edge glass a la Samsung Galaxy and Galaxy Note; an OLED “super retina” screen (more vibrant colors than LCD); HDR display that supports Dolby Vision; “TrueDepth” camera; and a feature called “Animoji” that lets you record a message and choose an emoji to speak your message.
The iPhone X has no tactile home button. You unlock the phone simply by looking at it and swiping up. Apple calls the feature FaceID.
Apple CEO Tim Cook called iPhone X, “the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone.”
And what about the iPhone 8?
The 8 has edge-to-edge glass on front and back; comes in three colors: silver, “space gray,” and gold; and the encasement is “microscopically sealed for water resistance.”
The phone also has a new chip inside, called the A11 Bionic, that is 25% faster than the previous A10 chip.
And iPhone 8 has a far better camera: it boasts the “highest-quality video capture ever in a smartphone,” Apple VP Phil Schiller said on stage; and, as many expected, it has augmented-reality capability using Apple’s ARKit. Apple used a game demonstration to show off the AR possibilities in mobile gaming.
The 8 and 8 Plus do not have FaceID.
The new iPhones are the first new iPhones since September 2016, when Apple debuted the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. The 7th generation iPhones, in addition to being sans-jack, came with: a better camera; better speakers; retina HD display; and a smoother, stronger enclosure.
“No other device in our lifetimes has had the impact on the world that the iPhone has,” CEO Tim Cook said on stage.
At the keynote event, Apple also rolled out a new Apple Watch Series 3 and new 4K Apple TV.
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Daniel Roberts is a writer at Yahoo Finance, covering tech and media. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite.
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