Here's everything you need to know from the big Apple 2018 iPhone launch

So Tim Cook and the gang have done their thing in Cupertino and it’s Christmas come early for Apple lovers.

But what exactly have they announced this time?

iPhone XS and XS Max

• It’s pronounced “tennis”
• The iPhone XS has a 5.8 inch OLED display - the same as the original iPhone X - which has been branded “super retina” quality
• The iPhone XS Max has a 6.5 inch OLED display - it’s the same physical size overall as an iPhone 8 Plus, but with an extra inch of display
• They come in gold, silver and space grey
• There’s a new glass, which is “the most durable ever”
• It’s more waterproof, rated for up to 2m for ten minutes
• Under the bonnet, the two phones are near identical
• The new chip in the XSs is the A12 Bionic - the smallest features on the chip are an astonishing 7 nanometres across - and apps can now launch 30% faster
• They’re available with storage up to an enormous 512GB - that’s half a terabyte
• The camera on the XSs is a 12MP wide-angle camera, and a 12MP telephoto camera, with a new 7MP sensor on the front. There are new features such “smart HDR”
• The camera can now record video with stereo sound, and takes very high-quality low-light footage
• The battery on the XS lasts 30 minutes longer than the X, and the XS Max lasts a whopping 90 minutes more
• Both iPhones now have dual sim support - this is mainly a feature for the Chinese market
• The iPhone XS starts at $999 for 64GB
• The iPhone XS Max starts at $1099 for 64GB
• They’re available to preorder on Friday 14 September, and will ship a week later, on Friday 21 September

iPhone XR

• This is Apple’s new ‘cheap’ phone
  
• It’s pronounced “ten R”
  
• It’s made from aluminium, as opposed to the steel of the XSs
  
• It comes in red, blue, white, black, yellow and coral (sadly, not the orange we were promised by one ‘leak’)
  
• The LCD display is 6.1 inches and is branded as the “liquid retina” display
  
• It doesn’t have 3D Touch - instead it has “haptic touch’ - essentially it will click if you hold your finger on a button, similarly to the old iPods
  
• It has the same chip as the XSs, the A12 Bionic
  
• The front camera is the same as the XSs
  
• There’s only one rear camera - the 12MP wide-angle camera
  
• Battery life is “an hour and a half longer than the iPhone 8 Plus” (which is shorter than the XSs)
  
• The iPhone XR starts at $749 for 64GB
  
• They’re available to preorder on Friday 19 October, and will ship a week later, on Friday 26 October
  

Apple Watch 4

• The new 4 series has been launched
  
• One has a 45mm screen, up from 42mm, and the other had a 40mm screen, up from 38mm
  
• Both watches are the same physical size as their 3 series predecessors, just with bigger displays
  
• It comes in three aluminium finishes, and three stainless steel versions too
  
• All the older bands are compatible with the new watch
  
• The digital crown now has haptic feedback
  
• The speaker is 50% louder than before
  
• It features the S4 chip and a CPU that gives “up to two times faster performance”
  
• The new accelerometer is “next generation” and eight times faster at sampling data
  
• The battery lasts “all day”
  
• This means that the Watch can now detect a fall, which is a huge new selling point. Why? They explain:
  

“Identifying a fall sounds straightforward, but it requires a large amount of data and analysis. With falls, there’s this repeatable motion pattern that happens. When you trip, your arms go forward; but when you slip, your arms go upward.”

The watch looks for these signs and, if it spots them, it pushes the option for calling the emergency services.

If there’s no movement for the next minute, it will call them automatically.

How many people will now think to buy one for their elderly relatives?

• It costs $399 for the GPS version and $499 for the cellular version
  
• They’re available to preorder on Friday 14 September, and will ship a week later, on Friday 21 September
  
• The new watchOS 5 is launching on 17 September
  

And a few other things…

• The iPhone 7 has had a price cut to $449
  
• The iPhone 8 has had a price cut to $599
  
• The Apple Watch 3 has had price cut to $279.
  
• The new phones will be carried by all the major carriers, although only EE and Vodafone seem to be fully supporting features like the cellular Apple Watch and the dual sim support
  
• The Mac is getting a new OS - Mojave, in two weeks
  
• Apple is now run on 100% renewable energy, and they have stated that their next goal is to use 100% recyclable materials
  

(Images: Apple)