Gather Round: 3 New iPhones for 2018

Apple Watch Series 4

The number one smartwatch in the world has had an upgrade. The next generation Apple Watch has a rather beautiful design, including a new, larger, edge-to-edge display with curved corners. It’s also thinner, meaning even more information can be seen without it feeling bulky. The new watch face is customisable and all previous bands will fit the Series 4. It will come in silver, gold, space grey, stainless and a brand-new gold stainless finish. While the battery life remains the same, the speaker has been redesigned to be 50% louder than before and 64-bit dual core is twice as fast. The black ceramic and crystal back now lets radiowaves to move through the front and the back, allowing for improved cellular connection. This smartwatch is swim-proof, automatically detects when you are working out and scans in the background for an elevated or unusually low heartrate. What’s more, it can now detect if you’ve had a fall and can initiate contact with emergency services. Taking this smartwatch to the next level, is its ability to take an electrocardiogram (ECG) simply by putting your finger on the digital crown.

The Apple Watch Series 4 starts at £399 and is released on 21^st September.

iPhone Xs & Xs Max

We all had a fairly clear idea of what to expect from the next Apple flagship device and they didn’t disappoint. The iPhone Xs, successor to the popular iPhone X, has a 5.8-inch OLED super retina display with rounded corners and is covered in more durable glass. It comes in gold, silver and space grey and is dust and water-resistant up to 30 minutes in 2 metres of water. The Xs’ design is smaller but has a large display, which is its highest quality yet. It has 30 minutes longer battery life than previous releases.

The iPhone Xs comes in a supersized version, which Apple have crowned the iPhone Xs Max. As the rumours suggested, this model has a 6.5-inch super retina OLED display. Creating a cinematic video experience, coupled with a richer stereo sound, it also enables a split-screen view when used horizontally.  Both models are available with 512 GB storage and feature the new, powerful A12 bionic 7-nanometer chip, which can process up to 5 trillion operations per second. The Xs Max has an hour and a half longer battery life than previous releases and features dual sim capability. The dual 12MP camera on the Xs and the Xs Max features zero shutter lag, auto-focus, optical image stabilisation. Its true depth camera with smart HDR also features a new depth of field slider. In short, the iPhone Xs series pays homage to its soon-to-be extinct predecessor in its aesthetic design, but with bigger, better and quicker software advancements.

The iPhone Xs starts at £999, while the Xs Max starts at £1099. Both will be released on 21^st September.

iPhone Xr

Lastly, Apple unveiled its cheapest phone in the 2018 line-up. This model is made from aluminium and has more durable glass too, however it has a 6.1-inch edge-to-edge LCD display, meaning you’ll get the feel of an iPhone X, at a cheaper price point. Apple’s most advanced LCD display yet, which they’ve dubbed the liquid retina display, includes haptic touch rather than 3D touch. This model has a single 12MP wide angle camera system and in portrait mode you can achieve a distinct background blur. The Xr is dust and water-resistant and lasts up to an hour and a half longer than the iPhone 8 Plus. It will be available in white, black, blue, coral, yellow and red. All three devices will come with Face ID.