Apple has not yet announced a 5G phone, and the general expectation is that these will be released in 2020 when it hopes the networks are more stable. (Express photo by Nandagopal Rajan)Apple on Tuesday announced the launch of the iPhone 11, the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone Pro Max as well as its latest Apple Watch Series 5 at an event in Cupertino. Apple CEO Tim Cook also showcased a new iPad base model and announced aggressive pricing for the Arcade and Apple TV+ services.
With the new iPhones, straddling different price points and feature sets, Apple will try to woo holiday buyers in the US and other parts of the world. The success of these new phones will be crucial since Apple’s numbers have been under pressure over the past few quarters as people have been putting off upgrades.
As per IDC’s quarterly mobile phone tracker, 2019 will remain a challenging year for iPhone shipments with volumes expected to drop to 177.9 million, down 14.8% year over year, “mostly due to market maturity as well as a lack of 5G devices.”
Highlights: Apple iPhone 11 launched
The new iPhone 11, the successor of the iPhone XR which was the “most popular phone of last year” as per Cook, comes with dual cameras and is powered by the A13 Bionic processor will be priced at $699 — Rs 64,999 in India. The Apple iPhone 11’s 12MP dual camera set up has an optical 2X zoom out and a slow motion camera up front.
The iPhone 11 Pro will come with triple cameras, Super Retina screen and surgical grade stainless steel body. The phone comes with a 12MP wide camera, 12MP telephoto camera and 12MP ultra wide camera, the latter being a first for the iPhone. The new chipset will make the phones capable of powering artificial intelligence driven features as well as support more apps that will need some machine learning happening at the device level. Apple also showcased what is called deep fusion where the neural engine of the A13 Bionic processor will work with the multiple cameras to offer an unparalleled computational photography experience. The iPhone 11 Pro will be priced at $999 (Rs 99,900) while the larger iPhone 11 Pro Max will be priced $1099 (Rs 1,09,900).
Apple Watch Series 5 features an always-on display without compromising on the battery life.Apple also announced a new seventh generation iPad base model with 10.2-inch Retina display it with the A10 fusion chip and support for the full Apple keyboard.
The Apple Watch Series 5 features an always-on display without compromising on the battery life and an inbuilt compass.
Apple has also gone aggressive with its services. The Apple Arcade, its subscription-based gaming service, will become available with over 100 titles for users from September 19 at $ 4.99 per month. Apple TV+, the company’s new venture into which it has poured in over $5 billion to produce new shows like See starting Jason Momoa, will become available in over 100 countries starting November 1 at just $4.99.
In India, both services have a monthly subscription of Rs 99 each which will have the competition worried. Also, the Apple TV+ service is free for a year for those purchasing a new iPhone or iPad.
The author is in California on the invite of Apple.
