Today's The Day
After months of rumors, today is the day Apple presumably sets the record straight on their new iPhone. Starting at 1:00 pm EST (10:00 am PST), the company will be live streaming a special event from the brand-new Steve Jobs Theater on their Apple Campus in Cupertino, California, and we'll be providing real-time updates from the keynote as they happen.
While Apple hasn't confirmed exactly what they plan to reveal during this event, details on new iPhone models are practically a given at this point.
Late last night, credit card company Discover updated their website to include three new editions of the smartphone: iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X Edition. Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple TV (2017) were also mentioned on the site before all references to the new Apple products were removed.
As for what we can expect from new iPhone line, a leak back in July suggested the new devices will support augmented reality (AR). They may also be larger than the previous model, and Apple could completely eschew a home button.
About two months prior to that, an anonymous informant claimed that Apple is working on an artificial intelligence (AI) chip for the new iPhone line. According to the source, this chip, referred to as the “Apple Neural Engine,” would increase the phone's battery life and perform tasks currently handled by humans, so perhaps more details on that will be included in today's event.
Straight From the Steve Jobs Theater
Wireless charging, edge-to-edge displays, vertically aligned rear cameras, 3D facial recognition...the possibilities for the new iPhone are seemingly as plentiful as the number of devices in circulation.
But, of course, we needn't speculate much longer. Apple CEO Tim Cook is about to take the stage and confirm all the details on the new iPhones and everything else that the industry-leading company is ready to share with the world.
We will be updating this article live as the conference continues.
- Apple kicks off their livestream with a visual love letter to their sleek new Steve Jobs Theater, complete with a backing soundtrack from The Beatles.
- CEO Tim Cook offers a touching tribute to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
- Cook offers an overview of Apple Park, which he says was "built to reflect Apple's values for both technology and the environment" and is powered 100 percent by renewable energy.
- First update is on Retail with Angela leading the talk. She overviews the new features found at Apple's largest stores ("townsquares") and shares a video about "Today at Apple."
- Apple's newest flagship store will open in Chicago on October 20.
- Cook returns and begins his updates with Apple Watch, which he reveals is now the #1 watch in the world.
- Apple Watch updates are led by Jeff. He reveals Watch OS4 will have a completely redesigned workout app.
- Health-related updates for Apple Watch include enhancements to the heart rate app, the addition of a notification feature for an elevated heart rate when the wearer doesn't appear to be active, and the announcement of the Apple Heart Study — a partnership with Stanford Medicine focused on irregular heartbeats.
- Apple Watch OS4 will be available on September 19.
- Cellular will be built into Apple Watch.
- Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple Music will allow you to "stream 40 million songs on your wrist."
- Series 3 will have a new dual core processor that's 70 percent faster, enough to allow Siri to talk via the Watch.
- Watch will include W2, a custom chip that is 50 percent more power efficient.
- Apple was able to give Watch cellular capabilities without increasing the size of the case from Series 2 to Series 3.
- Series 3 comes in a variety of cases and bands, including a new band known as the "sport loop" and a new grey ceramic finish.
- Series 3 without cellular will cost $329 and with cellular will cost $399. Series 1 will be $249. Orders begin September 15, and Series 3 Watches will be available September 22.
- Cook returns to introduce Apple TV 4K and invite Eddie to the stage to overview its features.
- Two big advancements in picture quality: 4K and High Dynamic Range (HDR).
- Whole Apple UI has been redone in 4K.
- New Apple TV's CPU performance is twice as fast.
- 4K movies will be the same price as HD. Any past iTunes HD purchases will be updated to 4K HDR at no extra charge.
- The Apple TV app is expanding from just the U.S. to seven additional countries by the end of the year.
- Live sports and live news features are being added to Apple TV app.
- Jenova Chen from That Game Company takes the stage to share details on their new game, Sky, a "romantic social adventure game" that can be played with one finger on the Siri remote.
- The game will be available exclusively via Apple devices this winter.
- Apple TV starts at $179, can be ordered starting September 15, and ships September 22.
- Cook returns to talk about the iPhone.
- After reviewing the technological milestones hit by previous iPhone versions, Cook says he has "huge iPhone news for you today."
- Tim says iPhone 8 is "a huge step forward for iPhone" before inviting Phil to the stage.
- The design is all new with glass in front and back. It comes in silver, space gray, and gold. It's made from aerospace-grade aluminum, and the glass is "the most durable ever in a smartphone."
- Microscopically sealed for water and dust resistance.
- The first display with "true tone" technology.
- Stereo speakers that are 25 percent louder with a deeper bass than iPhone 7.
- iPhone 8 will feature a new chip: A11 bionic. It will have a six-core CPU, including two performance cores that are 25 percent faster than the A10.
- iPhone 8 features the first-ever Apple-designed GPU, which is 30 percent faster.
- For the first time ever, the iPhone camera has hardware-enabled noise reduction.
- The iPhone 8 has two new sensors in its dual camera.
- iPhone 8+ will ship with a new feature called "portrait lighting" that uses machine learning to change the lighting over the contours on a subject's face.
- iPhone 8 has the highest quality video capture ever on a smartphone.
- The iPhone 8 has an Apple-designed video encoder that does real-time image and motion analysis.
- The new iPhone doubles the frame rate for slow motion videos to 240 fps.
- Augmented reality is officially coming to the iPhone, and Phil offers several examples of how ARKit and the iPhone can be used together.
- Atli Mar of Directive Games previews The Machines, an AR game designed to be played using the iPhone 8.
- Wireless charging is a feature of iPhone 8.
- iPhone 8 will incorporate Qi wireless charging.
- iPhone 8 will come in 64GB and 256GB, starting at $699. iPhone 8+ will come in 64GB and 256GB starting at $799. Preorders begin September 15, with devices available September 22. Upgrades to IOS 11 will be available on September 19.
- Cook returns to talk about "the future of the smartphone" and reveal a product "that will set the path for technology for the next decade" — iPhone X.
- Cook says this is "the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone."
- Phil returns to share the details. The display on the X is edge to edge and it has glass on the front and back.
- The X comes in space gray and silver.
- The X's "super retina display" is 5.8 inches on the diagonal. It is the highest resolution in pixel density ever in an iPhone, and the device supports Dolby Vision and HDR10.
- You can simply tap the screen to wake up the phone.
- The X doesn't have a home button. You swipe from the bottom to go to the home screen from any point in the system or to switch between apps.
- To talk to Siri, you can press the side button or simply talk.
- Face ID will be used to unlock the iPhone X using Apple's new TrueDepth Camera System.
- Face ID technology will run on the A11 Bionic neural engine processing system, which can perform 600 billion operations per second.
- All the processing for Face ID is done on the device and not sent to a server for added security.
- The chance that a person could unlock your iPhone using Touch ID was 1 in 50,000. For Face ID, it's 1 in 1,000,000.
- Face ID also works with Apple Pay and third-party apps that work with Touch ID.
- The TrueDepth Camera System is useful for more than Face ID. It also enables "animojis" — animated emojis that you control with your face.
- Craig takes the stage to provide the first live look at iPhone X. He has a little trouble opening up the first device, but no problem with the second.
- You can also move between apps by swiping along the bottom of the screen.
- Craig demonstrates the abilities of Face ID, from unlocking the iPhone X to using Apple Pay.
- He shares his impressions of a cat, monkey, and unicorn using the iPhone X's animoji feature.
- iPhone X has 12MP dual cameras, larger and faster sensors, dual optical image stabilization, and more.
- The iPhone X is "tuned for AR applications," according to Phil, and is a "breakthrough" for selfies.
- The X's battery life will be two hours longer than iPhone 7.
- Like the iPhone 8, the X is "built for a wireless world."
- Phil offers a "sneak peak" of the future of charging: AirPower, a mat large enough for you to charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods on at the same time.
- The AirPower charger should be ready in 2018.
- The iPhone X will come in 64GB and 256GB versions starting at $999. Orders begin on October 27, with the devices shipping on November 3.
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