Apple held its ‘Apple Special Event’ in its headquarters in Cupertino at Steve Jobs park, announcing a range of updates on its new subscription services as well as new products including new iPhones.
For those who’ve missed the event, Apple kicked off by focusing on its premium subscription services, a product area it is increasingly betting on to grow revenue to offset the declining sales of iPhones. To help you sort things out, here are the biggest highlights from the event.
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Apple’s game service finally has a price!
Apple Arcade, a new gaming service that will let subscribers play over 100 games across an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac, gets its price at last. The service goes live September 19 in more than 150 countries including most of Europe at $4.99 (approx €4.52) per month for a family subscription with a one-month free trial.
Furthermore, the App Store will be updated with a dedicated Arcade tab which will show information on the latest games. Interestingly, Apple will support PS4 and Xbox One controller from iOS 13, giving an option to play with either on-screen or physical controls.
Apple’s original video subscription service
Apple’s upcoming video streaming service, dubbed as Apple TV+ is launching on November 1st for $4.99 (approx €4.52) per month in 100 countries including most of Europe. Notably, the CEO of Apple Tim Cook also said that the customers who purchase any iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod will get a free one-year subscription to the service.
Apple TV+ will offer a powerful and inspiring lineup of original shows, movies, and documentaries, including “The Morning Show,” “Dickinson,” “See,” “For All Mankind” and “The Elephant Queen.” Through Family Sharing, up to six family members can share one Apple TV+ subscription. Subscribers can watch Apple TV+ originals both online and offline, and ad-free.
Seventh-generation iPad with a slightly larger screen
Apple, today squeezed a new iPad in its launch event. The 7th generation iPad brings more screen area and support for the full-sized Smart Keyboard.
The latest iPad comes with a 10.2-inch Retina display, Apple Pencil support, A10 Fusion chip, advanced cameras, and sensors. Powered by iPadOS, it brings compelling new capabilities and intuitive features designed for the unique experience of iPad. Starting at just $329 (approx €298), the new iPad is available to order starting today and in stores starting Monday, September 30 in most of Europe. Having said that, Apple is yet to get more specific about the shipping date. We’ll keep you posted.
Apple Watch Series 5 with always-on display
Apple upgraded its smartwatch lineup by launching the Apple Watch Series 5. The latest Watch from Cupertino giants stable debuts Always-On Retina display, which means it’s easy to see the time and other important information, without raising or tapping the display.
Apple Watch Series 5 also comes with a built-in compass and international emergency calling features for safety purposes. In fact, the international emergency calling allows customers to call emergency services directly from Apple Watch in over 150 countries, even without iPhone nearby.
Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS/GPS+Cellular) is available for pre-order in most of Europe and other regions from September 20. In terms of pricing, Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS) starts at $399 (approx €362) and Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS + Cellular) starts at $499 (approx €451).
iPhones with exceptional cameras!
Apple announced the newest version of its flagship product – the iPhone 11 with some significant focus on cameras. Talking about the iPhone 11, the successor of iPhone XR sports a 6.1-inch display, and the design is almost identical to last year’s device.
The biggest change is the dual-camera setup – 12MP wide-angle camera with f/1.8 aperture and a 12MP ultra angle camera with f/1.4 aperture. Also, it can shoot 4K in 60FPS and even slo-mo, which Apple calls this ‘Slofie.’ It is powered by A13 Bionic chipset, which as per the company claims has the fastest CPU and GPU in a smartphone. The Apple iPhone 11 is priced at $699 (approx €634), and it will start shipping on September 20th in most of Europe and other regions.
Along with iPhone 11, the company also announced iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, a new pro lineup for iPhone. It has a new Super Retina XDR display, brightest display ever in an iPhone. Just like iPhone 11, both Pro and Pro max are powered by A13 Bionic chip under the hood.
iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max — Price and availability
For the first time, the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max come with the triple-camera system offering a pro-level camera experience with an Ultra-Wide, Wide and Telephoto camera. Moreover, the company also emphasised on delivering huge improvements to low-light photography as well. The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max will be available in 64GB, 256GB and 512GB models in midnight green, space gray, silver and gold starting at $999 (approx €905) and $1,099 (approx €995) respectively.
It will be available for pre-order beginning Friday, September 13 and in stores beginning Friday, September 20. The pre-orders and sale will go live in most major markets of the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Ireland, Singapore, Germany, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Canada, and most of Europe.
Main image credits: Apple
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