Apple’s New Releases: What Do They Have To Offer?

Apple%E2%80%99s+New+Releases%3A+What+Do+They+Have+To+Offer%3F

Leslie Pacheco Morales, Author

At the beginning of September, Apple announced its latest products: the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X, which include new features.

The iPhone 8, which became available Sept. 22, comes in two sizes, regular and plus. This phone is slightly bigger and heavier than the iPhone 7. The back is made of glass, allowing it to charge wirelessly, whereas the 7 is made of aluminum. Apple claims the 8 is “the world’s most durable glass ever in a smartphone.” The charging case for the Airpods (the wireless ear buds) should be coming out soon.

There aren’t many differences between the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 7. It is water- and dust-resistant, but that doesn’t mean one can go for a swim with the phone in a pocket and expect it not be damaged. The 8 still has the home button with Touch ID, but it also has True Tone, which automatically adjusts white balance to match the light around the phone. It comes in three colors: gold, silver and space gray. It has two storage capacities, 64- or 296-gigabytes. Prices for the iPhone 8 begin at $699.

The new phone everyone has been raving about is the iPhone X, pronounced “iPhone Ten.” According to Apple, the company’s goal when they made the original iPhone was to “create a deeply intelligent device whose enclosure and display as a single, uninterrupted element.” With the iPhone X, they’ve achieved it.

The iPhone X, which was released Nov. 3, comes in one size and is very different from the 8 and the 7. The back is also glass, it can charge wirelessly, and it is water- and dust-resistant. But what is shocking about the X is that it doesn’t have a home button. Now, to go to the home screen, one simply swipes up. This gives a “continuous surface, with nothing to get in the way of your experience,” according to Apple.

Since there is no home button, that means there is no longer Touch ID. Now there is Face ID to unlock the phone. Although there have been concerns about it not being safe enough or secure enough, it is said to be more secure than Touch ID. It can distinguish between the user’s real face and photographs using the “true-depth camera system,” which projects an infrared-radiation dot map on the face to map it. It projects and analyzes more than 30,000 invisible dots to create a precise map of one’s face and can also work in the dark.

“Face ID is so secure you can use it with Apple Pay. And check out with just a glance,” according to Apple. “Even if your friends don’t recognize you, Face ID will.” It also comes with two rear cameras: a wide-angle camera and a telephoto camera.

Prices for the iPhone X begin at $999 (for 64 gigabytes) and $1,149 (for 296 gigabytes). The phone comes with earpods, a charger, and a headphone jack adapter. When buying from the Apple website, the X comes unlocked, meaning it can be connected to any phone carrier, or it can be bought directly from a phone carrier.