THERE is always something unique about Apple when it comes to its phone and watch launch, which happens only once a year.
The trend setter in the mobile communications industry is known for its secrecy in terms of what it is going to launch, which kept the whole industry guessing and speculating about its new products for weeks prior to the launch.
Even the names of the iPhones become a guessing game? Will it be an iPhone 9 series or the 11 series since last years’ were the 8 and X.
The series
It turned out that the Cupertino-based tech company has decided that the new iPhones do not necessary have to follow the next number after the previous ones, hence the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR on its silver plate.
So no iPhone 9 and 9 Plus folks, but three full-screen iPhone X beauties.
Apple has also dropped the use of the suffix “Plus”, normally used to described its most premium device of the day. For the first time, the word “Max” is brought to the table. Be prepared for others to follow this naming convention soon.
Wow factor
While more powerful devices are expected, Apple nows how to give that “Whoa...” factor.
The semi-sphere psychedelic-coloured Live wall paper on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max is something to die for. It gives the impression as if the screen of the phones is made of curved screen.
This may also set the trend for wallpaper style of many phones in the next one year.
Most powerful iPhones
No doubt that the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR are Apple’s most powerful and advanced iPhones to date as Apple unveils the state of the art industry-first 7-nanometer A12 Bionic chip with 8-core Neural Engine to power the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR.
The A12 Bionic features a six-core fusion architecture with two performance cores that are up to 15 percent faster, four efficiency cores that are up to 50 percent more efficient, a four-core GPU that is up to 50 percent faster, powerful Apple-designed Image Signal Processor (ISP), video encoder and more.
With all this power, iPhone XS offers 30 minutes longer than iPhone X, and iPhone XS Max offers an hour and a half longer than iPhone X, between charges.
The 5.8-inch iPhone XS and 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max, which is the biggest iPhone to date, also feature stunning Super Retina displays, a faster and improved dual camera system that offers breakthrough photo and video features.
The A12 Bionic chip with next-generation Neural Engine also offers faster Face ID, wider stereo sound, a beautiful new gold finish and introduce Dual SIM.
More on screen
The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Super Retina displays feature a custom OLED design support Dolby Vision and HDR10 and have iOS system-wide colour management for the best colour accuracy in the industry.
The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max offer a million-to-one contrast ratio with remarkable brightness and true blacks while showing 60 percent greater dynamic range in HDR photos. iPhone XS Max delivers a more immersive experience with over 3 million pixels for videos, movies and games, offering the largest display ever in an iPhone in a footprint similar to iPhone 8 Plus.
For those who are looking into a different colour on top of the usual white, black, silver and dove gray, they should be happy as the iPhone XS and XS Max also come in gold, which is used as the company’s main promotion photos.
It is also good to know that iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max reach a new level of splash and water resistance of IP68 for up to 2 meters for 30 minutes and protect against everyday spills including coffee, tea and soda.
More affordable iPhone
The iPhone XR, which Apple brings to the table today, is not a lower end device too, but a more affordable one, and the most colourful range it has ever launched in years.
A stunning all-screen design pushes the display of iPhone XR to its edges. The most durable front glass ever in a smartphone is wrapped in an elegantly matched anodised band made from durable 7000 series aerospace-grade aluminium, and the glass back design enables wireless charging.
Not just two or three colour option, the iPhone XR comes in six new finishes: white, black, blue, yellow, coral and (PRODUCT)RED.
A seven-layer colour process gives the glass back beautiful nuanced hues, and the aluminium band and camera trim are colour matched to give a sophisticated finish.
This new design is splash- and water-resistant, with a rating of IP67, and protects against everyday spills including coffee, tea and soda.1
The iPhone XR also integrates breakthrough technologies from iPhone XS in an all-screen glass and aluminium design with the most advanced LCD in a smartphone featuring a 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display and six beautiful finishes.
The phone also brings the powerful A12 Bionic chip with next-generation Neural Engine, the TrueDepth camera system, Face ID and an advanced camera system that creates dramatic portraits using a single camera lens.
Availability
The first-tier countries will get their iPhone XS and XS Max from Sept 21, 2018, and the iPhone XR from Oct 26, 2018.
Malaysia availability is still not available yet.