CEO Tim Cook praised the powerful phone as a global game-changer, first introduced 10 years ago. After a quick historical round-up of all the features Apple has added to the product over the past decade, he introduced Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, to describe the iPhone 8:
- new colors, including silver and a new gold finish;
- 7-layer color process;
- glass reinforced by laser-welded steel structure, the most ”durable glass ever in a smartphone;”
- sealed for water and dust intrusion;
- more “color accuracy” and 3D touch
- screen can ”read” the ambient light around it;
- louder speakers with a deeper bass;
- brand new powerful performance six-core chip, called A11 Bionic;
- first-ever Apple-designed GPU, 30 percent faster than previous versions of the phone;
- faster auto-focus in low-light for photography;
- improved noise-reduction;
- new camera, including all-new sensor, new color filter and improved optical image stabilization;
- includes two kinds of cameras, including a telephoto and technology for low-light photography;
- upgraded portrait mode in the camera, akin to a professional photo thanks to new ”portrait lighting” feature that incorporates machine-learning in real-time;
- real-time lighting filters you can use as you shoot your photo;
- “highest quality video capture” of any smartphone;
- new augmented reality feature, which includes new gyroscope and accelerometer;
- improved game technology;
- cool new apps like ”At Bat” which lets you point to a player in a live game and call up his stats;
- new wireless charging feature, so “you’ll never have to plug in a charger again;”
- 64 GB and 256 GB $699
- Plus will run $799, available to order Sept. 15;
“We do have ‘one more thing,”’ he said to loud applause, channeling his inner Jobs.
He called it “The Future of the iPhone.”
On the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone, Cook proudly revealed a product that’ll ”set the path for technology for the next decade.”
A slick video showed the “iPhone X,” which Cook called by its non-Roman-numeral name, or ”ten.” This may dispel rumors that “X” stands for “exclusive.”
He invited Schiller back onto the stage, who laid out the features of the new phone:
- new screen, edge-to-edge display; glass on front and back;
- water and dust-resistant;
- all-new display called “Super Retina Display” 5.8-inches on the diagonal;
- OLED technology features great contrast and high resolution;
- no more home button; now just swipe up from the bottom and go to home screen;
- slide up to multi-task;
- to call up Siri, just say “Hey, Siri” or press a side button which is now larger than before;
- to unlock the iPhone X, you now just look at it and it recognizes you; it’s called Face ID;
- a ”True-Depth Camera System,” includes an infrared camera and ”dot projector” that allows the iPhone X to recognize your face;
- an “A11 Bionic neural engine” that process face recognition;
- it remembers your face, even if you change your hair style or start wearing a hat; it adapts to you if you, say, start growing a beard;
- engineers used human masks made in Holllywood to create the face-recognition feature, which Apple says has layered security in place to protect the data;
- one in a million chance that a random person could unlock your phone with their face;
- Face ID works with Apple Pay and third-party apps like eTrade;
- longer battery life;
- using a small mat called AirPower, you can place your iPhone, Watch or even ear pods to wirelessly charge, starting in 2018;
- and last but not least . . .
- the iPhone X will cost $999 and you can order it in October and have it in your hands in early November.