Apple users: rejoice.
The tech giant recently announced a host of new innovations at their annual keynote event. The most popular item on the agenda was the new addition to the iPhone line. No not the iPhone 8, which is also new, but the iPhone X.
The iPhone 8, which will come in standard and plus sizes, will have an identical screen size to the iPhone 7, but will weigh a miniscule quarter to half an ounce more.
One of the most welcome changes will be the doubling of storage memory. The iPhone 8 will have a 64GB and a 256GB option instead of the usual 32GB and a 128GB options. This update is great since we will have to wait twice as long before we are forced to scramble to make room in our phones.
The phone will have a full glass body, so now it is also twice as likely to get scratched. The screen display is virtually the same resolution and contrast as it was, but the iPhone 8 will have True Tone and wide color displays. This display improvement will barely be noticeable in our day-to-day usage, since iPhone screens are already stunning.
The camera also saw minor improvements with the iPhone 8 being a little better with 4K video, slo-mo recordings, stabilization, and some other features.
In summary, it is the same phone with minor upgrades that will make our selfies a little better and improve phone speed by an insignificant amount of time.
On the other hand, the iPhone X, pronounced iPhone 10, will come with some serious tech improvement. Apple finally decided to make a phone that can actually be considered an upgrade to the current iPhone. The iPhone X will have a screen slightly bigger than the iPhone 8 Plus, but with less weight. A bigger phone with less weight? That’s quite the stretch made by Apple engineers.
The iPhone X will have an infinity screen that makes the bezel size minimal. The phone will also have the new all-glass design, so having a bare iPhone with no protection is not a great choice. There is no home button, so the fingerprint ID is being replaced by facial recognition.
The new iPhone will also have numerous upgrades to the camera. While the camera remains at 12 megapixels, the internal features are all welcome. As good as the back camera is, my favorite additions were found in the front-facing camera. I always felt that the selfie camera did not receive much attention or ingenuity throughout the years. The front camera will have portrait mode and portrait lighting, giving it the attention I think it deserves. The iPhone X is phenomenal, but it will have a deep price tag of $999. Definitely not student budget friendly.
Apple also announced the Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple TV 4K, which I’m thrilled about. Now, I can buy the older Apple Watch make and previous Apple TV models at a discounted price for the holidays. The new watch and TV accessory are virtual replicas of their predecessor, but the watch has improvements that make it less dependent on a phone and the Apple TV has more streaming options and 4K quality.
The last noteworthy announcement from the keynote was the new software update: iOS 11. If you haven’t upgraded already, you have been missing out on a variety of changes. The new iOS brings some reshuffling of the drop-down menu and multitasking shortcuts.
The best new addition is the synching of iMessage and apps, which allows the user to send messages directly from apps foregoing the sharing feature. It is a small change, but I find that it makes messaging and app interaction easier, particularly if you’re constantly sharing in group chats.
I love the new Apple products, but they don’t have enough features to warrant replacing my old products and the prices are very discouraging. So, I’ll probably wait until next year to have the iPhone X.