Apple revealed three new iPhones, a new iPad and a new Apple Watch, while also starting a price war with Netflix at their annual fall event.
On Tuesday, CEO Tim Cook, Senior Vice-President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller and other Apple executives took the stage at the Steve Jobs Theater on the company’s Cupertino campus, California, to make a series of much-anticipated announcements.
The iPhone 11 is a very modest follow up to its predecessor, with the overall design remaining the same as the iPhone XS. Arguably the biggest surprise of the announcement is the price tag on the iPhone 11 – $699, making even cheaper than the XR. The new iPhone features a 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display, Face ID, a dual-camera on the back and a new A13 Bionic chip.
The chip according to Apple will make the phone the “fastest CPU and GPU ever in a smartphone”.
The new iPhone 11 comes in six new colour options: white, black, yellow, red, lavender and green.
The iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max are the first Apple phones to sport the ‘Pro’ denomination, until now only used for Apple’s high-end products.
Apple said the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max will deliver the best iPhone experience ever. The iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max features a brand-new triple-camera system and an ultra-wide-angle lens. Moreover, the much-critiqued Apple battery life has also been improved, increasing by four or five hours compared to their predecessors.
The iPhone Pro features a 5.8-inch Super Retina XDR display, while the iPhone Pro Max will be slightly bigger with a 6.5-inch Super Retina XDR display. They both include the aforementioned A13 Bionic chip.
The iPhone Pro and Pro Max are available in a new colour, midnight green, as well as Apple’s traditional colour options in space grey, silver and gold..
The price tag on the Pro versions is slightly higher, but in line with Apple’s previous price point – the iPhone Pro will start at $999 while the iPhone Pro Max will start at $1099.
Apple also announced the Apple Watch Series 5, which hasn’t changed in design from its predecessor, but features new materials and software and capabilities.
The new Apple Watch sports an Always-On display with LTPO, 18-hour “all-day” battery life, emergency calling in the cellular model and the latest software, watchOs 6. The watch will be available from September 20 in aluminum, stainless steel, new titanium, and new ceramic, as well as in special Nike models for the sportier customers, and Hermès models in space-black and polished stainless-steel for the fashion aficionados.
The Apple Watch Series 5 GBP starts at $399, while the cellular models start at $499.
Following the current stream of sustainability initiatives in consumers tech, the seventh-generation iPad will be made of 100% recycled aluminum, with a 10.2-inch Retina display A10 Fusion chip and Apple Pencil support. The new iPad starts at $329 but will be down to $299 for education customers.
Finally, in possibly the most enticing announcement of the event, iPhone took on Netflix by launching a $5 per month video streaming service – Apple TV+.
The new streaming service, available on November 1 in over 100 countries, will feature original content every month.
The announcement is a big shift in Apple’s strategy, which has seen a drop in iPhone sales this year, with their flagship product making up less than 50% of Apple’s overall revenue this summer for the first time since 2012.
Following the announcement, Netflix shares fell 3.3%, while Disney, which also recently launched its streaming service and owns Hulu, dropped 2.3%.
