Announcements from Apple Live 2018

The Apple Live event commenced today with announcements for their upcoming products, including the latest iPhones and improvements to the Apple Watch Series 4.

Here are the highlights of today’s event:

iPhone XR announced: will include a notched 6.1-inch LCD display and Face ID. Starting at $749 for a 64GB model. Apple is calling the 6.1-inch screen a Liquid Retina display, which offers a 1792 x 828 resolution at 326 PPI, featuring Apple’s True Tone technology. The front-facing camera has been upgraded to Apple’s TrueDepth system from the iPhone XS, with a 7-megapixel sensor that allows for Face ID as well as features like portrait mode selfies, Animoji, and Memoji.

iPhone XS and 6.5-inch XS Max: with Dual SIM support, improved cameras, and a 512GB option. New display with better dynamic range, wider stereo sound from the speakers, and speed increases to Face ID. The max model has a 6.5 inch screen, far bigger than the iPhone 8 and Galaxy Note.

A12 Bionic Chip: a six-core chip that’s among the first in the industry to use a 7nm process for faster apps. Includes an updated Neural Engine, a special part of the chip designed to handle AI tasks. It was introduced as, “the smartest, most powerful chip ever in a smartphone.”

Apple Watch Series 4: includes bigger display and built-in EKG scanner. There are two new sizes, 40mm and 44mm and a 30 percent larger display. Apple is using a new dual-core 64-bit S4 processor, custom designed by the company’s silicon team to improve performance. It also has received clearance from the FDA in the US to be used as a medical device.