Apple iPhone X pricing starts at a hefty £999 in the UK

Apple today announced the new iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, but it was the iPhone X that stole the show. In fact, it’s enough of a departure from recent models that Apple skipped the 9 and went straight to 10. The iPhone X includes unique features such as a nigh bezel-free Super Retina Display and Face ID unlocking and authentication system. All these new tricks make for a pretty expensive device, though, with the smaller 64GB model retailing for £999. The version with 256GB of storage will sell for £1149, and both models will be available to pre-order on October 27th, with the official launch pencilled in for November 3rd.

So far we’ve heard from Vodafone, EE and Three, which all say they’ll be stocking the device, though it’s going to be such a high-profile launch you’ll inevitably have your choice of practically any carrier. No word on contract pricing yet — we’ll likely have to wait until October 27th for the full skinny — but Apple’s site states the iPhone X will be available on two-year plans starting at £47.95 per month.

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!

Download macOS High Sierra on September 25th

Come September 25th you’ll be able to give macOS High Sierra a shot for yourself and see how little it (superficially) differs from the update that came before it.

When we previewed the patch at the end of June, we said that it was more incremental than anything. Sure, there’s support for virtual reality now thanks in part to Steam and then there’s hat creatively-named Apple File System but those are mostly under the hood improvements rather than being huge stand-out features like Continuity. Regardless, you’ll be able to start snoozing the update reminder starting next month.

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!

Apple iPhone X hands-on

Apple’s event just wrapped up, and we managed to get our hands on the brand new, completely redesigned iPhone X. Just as the rumors indicated, it sports an edge-to-edge screen packed into a small body — not that much bigger than the iPhone 7. It also packs facial recognition features into the front facing camera, there’s a glass back for wireless charging and there’s no home button for the first time. Our first photos of the device are below; we wanted to get them to you as quickly as possible. We’ll be updating this post with more pictures and impressions as soon as we can!

So, let’s talk iPhone X. Tim Cook was very adamant that this meticulously crafted machine represented the future of the smartphone, and he was probably right. After all, Apple’s sheer popularity means that whatever it sticks into its devices are what the rest of the industry has to respond to. You’re right to think the iPhone X seems a little familiar, though. Its 5.8-inch, edge-to-edge OLED display is indeed beautiful, especially up close. I originally expected the notch to bother me more at first since it’s noticeable larger than the one on Essential’s PH-1. Well, I was wrong. Apple has historically kept iOS’s top bar pretty clean, s it doesn’t really matter that there’s a huge chunk cut out of it.

What did bother me a little more than expected were the bezels that run around the screen. To be absolutely clear: they’re really not that big, and I expect most people thinking about dropping $1,000 on a phone could care less. Still, given that Apple’s competition has done an incredible job trimming the cruft from around their displays, I can’t help but feel that the iPhone X’s design doesn’t have the same kind of impact as, say, the Essential or Samsung’s recent Galaxys. Of course, your mileage may vary. I definitely can’t complain about build quality, though: the X’s glass front and back melt effortlessly into the stainless steel ring that runs around the phone, and the precision on display here is nothing short of fantastic.

So yeah, Apple built a beautiful phone. What else is new? What’s really important is the way Apple rejiggered iOS to work without a home button — if that sucked, the $1,000 asking price would be even more unreasonable. Thankfully, the team working on iOS cooked up a pretty elegant solution. If you’ve used a new iPad Pro, you sort of know what I’m talking about — now, you swipe up from the bottom of the screen to view all your running apps in card form, and getting back to the homescreen involves dragging the app window down and flicking it away. After years of mashing the home button, using the iPhone X was… very strange for the first few minutes. Once everything clicked, I was shocked that Apple hadn’t tried to do this sooner. It feels incredibly natural, to the point where after a few minutes of playtime, I really don’t want to go back to the 7 Plus.

Goodbye, home button. I’m not going to miss you.

Meanwhile, Apple’s weirdo Animoji worked a hell of a lot better than I thought, and so did using a face to unlock the phone. Apple’s reps wouldn’t let me register my face as a key, but the unit I played with was tied to a nearby spokesperson who unlocked the phone in just a moment with a glance. Unfortunately, I couldn’t test how just how secure the feature is, but I’m cautiously optimistic that Apple’s elaborate approach to face authentication is as secure as they claim.

Developing…

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!

Apple iPhone 8 event by the numbers

It was a momentous day at Apple’s new campus, where the company revealed its fall product lineup on the tenth anniversary of the first iPhone’s release. Apple showed off its cellular-enabled Watch Series 3, a 4K Apple TV, a pair of flashy new iPhone 8s, and the ridiculously decadent iPhone X. Numbers — because what’s an extra $300?

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!

The iPhone X vs. the competition: Beautiful screens and more

It’s been a decade since the first iPhone was introduced, so today’s big announcement from Apple marks the occasion with an ‘X.’ However, the mobile scene has changed a lot since 2007, with rival companies like Samsung, LG and HTC releasing devices that can compete with the iPhone on power, features and design. We’ve sized up the new iPhone X against some of the more outstanding handsets out there, including a few with edge-to-edge screens like the LG V30. See how the X’s specs compare now, and check back later this month to see how it holds up in our full review.

Apple iPhone X
Galaxy S8
LG V30
HTC U11
Pricing
$999, $1149 (off contract)
$725 (off contract)
Not available
$649, $729 (off contract)
Known dimensions
143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm (5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30 inches)
148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0mm (5.86 x 2.68 x 0.31 inches)
151.7 x 75.4 x 7.39 mm (5.97 x 2.97 x 0.29 inches)
153.9 x 75.9 x 7.9mm (6.06 x 2.89 x 0.31 inches)
Weight
174g (6.14 ounces)
155g (5.47 ounces)
158g (5.57 ounces)
169g (5.96 ounces)
Screen size
5.8 inches (147.32mm)
5.8 inches (147.32mm)
6.0 inches
5.5 inches (139.7mm)
Screen resolution
2,436 x 1,125 (458ppi)
2,960 x 1,440 (570ppi)
2,880 x 1,440 (537ppi)
2,560 x 1,440 (534ppi)
Screen type
Super Retina OLED
Quad HD+ AMOLED
Quad HD+ FullVision P-OLED
Quad HD Super LCD 5
Battery
Up to 21 hours talk time, 12 hours internet
3,000mAh
3,300mAh
3,000mAh
Internal storage
64 / 256 GB
64GB
64GB
64 / 128GB
External storage
None
microSD
microSD
microSD
Rear camera
Dual cameras:
Wide-angle, 12MP, f/1.8
Telephoto, 12MP, f/2.4
12MP, f/1.7
16MP, f/1.6
12MP, f/1.7, 1.4μm pixel size
Front-facing camera
7MP TrueDepth, f/2.2
8MP
5MP
16MP, f/2.0
Video capture
4K at 60fps
4K
4K
4K
NFC
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth
v5.0
v5.0
v5.0
v4.2
SoC
Apple A11 Bionic
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
CPU
Not available
2.3GHz octa-core
2.45GHz octa-core
2.45GHz octa-core
GPU
Not available
Adreno 540
Adreno 540
Adreno 540
RAM
Not available
4GB
4GB
4/6GB
WiFi
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Operating system
iOS 11
Android 7.0
Android 7.1
Android 7.1
Notable features
Face ID, new gyroscope and accelerometer, IP67 certified, wireless charging
Iris scanning, fingerprint sensor, IP68 certified, wireless charging
Fingerprint sensor, IP68 certified, wireless charging
Fingerprint sensor, IP67 certified

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!

Mini shows off its pure-electric concept car

We’ve seen the fancy 3D renders, now here it is in real life, the Mini Electric Concept. Shown off on the first day of the Frankfurt Auto Show, the small EV is expected to hit production in 2019.

With this and the recently-launched Mini Countryman hybrid, the BMW subsidiary is pitching to drivers who want to be a bit more green but, well, also really like driving cars with go-kart characteristics.

In classic Frankfurt Auto Show style, there’s no word on the car’s range, specs or how much it’ll cost. What we do know is that it’ll be available in 2019. When it is available, it’ll be the second electrified car from Mini. The automaker (like nearly every other company building cars) is betting big on electrons.

“Our top priority is electric mobility.” said BMW CEO Harald Krueger. At the Frankfurt show, he said that BMW is planning to have 25 electrified cars (12 of them fully electric) by the year 2025. One of the ways the automaker plans to do that is using a platform for each vehicle type that accepts a gas engine, hybrid or pure EV drivetrain. But while we wait for that to happen in 2020, the company has the iPerformance line, the i series and both hybrid and electric Minis to keep us moving around until then.

NTSB places blame on both driver and tech in fatal Tesla crash

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has made its final determinations on the cause of the fatal Tesla Model S crash that took place in Florida in May of last year. In a report set to be released in the next few days, the NTSB concludes that the accident was the fault of both drivers and has issued a series of recommendations to the Department of Transportation (DOT), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), manufacturers of Level 2 automated driving systems, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Global Automakers.

The report’s findings state that while the driver of the truck failed to yield the right of way to the Tesla driver, the latter was too heavily reliant on the car’s automated system, which is the likely reason he did not try to avoid the oncoming collision. Data from the Autopilot system show that the Tesla driver’s use pattern reflects a lack of understanding regarding the system’s limitations — which the NTSB says need to be configured to restrict themselves in order to prevent misuse. The Tesla Autopilot system monitored the driver’s attention through his interaction with the steering wheel, which previous findings have determined was incredibly limited. The NTSB report notes that the method isn’t adequate for measuring driver engagement. Tesla has already made changes to that part of its system.

To the DOT, the NTSB recommends better parameters for assessing automated system and driver performance prior to and during a crash. To the NHTSA, the report suggests it develop a way to verify that these sorts of automated systems have appropriate safeguards that limit their use with respect to their abilities and recommends a standard format for reporting automated system data that manufacturers can comply with. And finally, to Level 2 automation system manufacturers and automaker organizations, the NTSB reiterates the need for appropriate safeguards that align with their technology’s limitations.

You can read a summary of the NTSB’s report here and the full write up should be available soon.

Source: NTSB (1), (2)

iPhone 8 and 8 Plus hands-on

While the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus aren’t a complete redesign like the iPhone X, there’s still plenty to dig into here. For starters, the new phones take the glass back design that is also in the X — a move that makes them work with wireless charging. But from the front, they’re basically indistinguishable from all of Apple’s phones all the way back to the iPhone 6, which first came out in 2014. The larger bezels are still in place here, as is the home button, something that should make change-averse iPhone users happy. We’re just getting our first look at these phones, but wanted to share these photos immediately. We’ll be updating this post with more photos and impressions soon, so stay tuned!

I realize most people are probably drooling over the iPhone X, but make no mistake: the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus have important jobs to do. They have to keep the lion’s share of the world’s iPhone users happy while Apple gets more experimental with its thousand-dollar phone. After a little bit of playtime, I don’t doubt that people will ultimately enjoy Apple’s conventional new iPhones — they just might be too excited by them.

Developing…

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!

The new iPhones vs. the iPhone 7: What’s changed?

This year’s iPhone anniversary event has given us not one or two, but three new handsets to ponder over. The iPhone X is the star, offering us an edge-to-edge screen and a new front-facing TrueDepth camera. But we’re still getting a new pair of numbered phones, the 8 and 8 Plus, for those who like to go a little more traditional, so to speak. If you’re currently mulling an upgrade from your 7 or 7 Plus, we’ve made it a little easier by having the new phones face off in two tables — one comparing the 4.7-inch devices and another for their bigger siblings, with the iPhone X making an appearance in both. Of course, specs aren’t everything, so we’ll have a review (or two) for you later this year for all the phones we saw today.

iPhone X
iPhone 8
iPhone 7
Pricing
$999, $1149 (off contract)
$699, $849 (off contract)
$649, $749, $849 (offcontract)
Dimensions
143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm (5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30 inches)
138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3mm (5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches)
138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 inches)
Weight
174g (6.14 ounces)
148g (5.22 ounces)
138g (4.87 ounces)
Screen size
5.8 inches (147.32mm)
4.7 inches (119.38mm)
4.7 inches (119.38mm)
Screen resolution
2,436 x 1,125 (458ppi)
1,334 x 750 (326ppi)
1,334 x 750 (326ppi)
Screen type
Super Retina OLED
Retina HD IPS LCD
Retina HD IPS LCD
Battery
Size not available (up to 21 hours talk time, 12 hours internet)
Size not available (up to 14 hours talk time, 12 hours internet)
1,960mAh
Internal storage
64 / 256 GB
64 / 256 GB
32/128/256GB
External storage
None
None
None
Rear camera
Dual cameras:
Wide-angle, 12MP, f/1.8
Telephoto, 12MP, f/2.4
12MP, f/1.8
12MP, f/1.8
Front-facing cam
7MP TrueDepth, f/2.2
10MP, f/2.2
7MP, f/2.2
Video capture
4K at 60fps
4K at 60fps
4K at 30fps
NFC
Yes
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth
v5.0
v5.0
v4.2
SoC
Apple A11 Bionic
Apple A11 Bionic
Apple A10 Fusion
CPU
Not available
Not available
2.34GHz quad-core
GPU
Not available
Not available
PowerVR Series 7XT GT7600 Plus
RAM
Not available
Not available
2GB
WiFi
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Operating system
iOS 11
iOS 11
iOS 10
Notable features
Face ID, new gyroscope and accelerometer, IP67 certified, wireless charging
New gyroscope and accelerometer, IP67 certified, wireless charging
Touch ID, IP67 certified

iPhone X
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone 7 Plus
Pricing
$999, $1149 (off contract)
$799, $949 (off contract)
$769, $869, $969 (off-contract)
Known dimensions
143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7mm (5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30 inches)
158.4 x 78.1 x 7.5mm (6.24 x 3.07 x 0.30 inches)
158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 inches)
Weight
174g (6.14 ounces)
202g (7.13 ounces)
188g (6.63 ounces)
Screen size
5.8 inches (147.32mm)
5.5 inches (139.7mm)
5.5 inches (139.7mm)
Screen resolution
2,436 x 1,125 (458ppi)
1,920 x 1,080 (401 ppi)
1,920 x 1,080 (401 ppi)
Screen type
Super Retina OLED
Retina HD IPS LCD
Retina HD IPS LCD
Battery
Size not available (Up to 21 hours talk time, 12 hours internet)
Size not available (Up to 21 hours talk time, 13 hours internet)
2,900mAh
Internal storage
64 / 256 GB
64 GB / 256 GB
32/128/256GB
External storage
None
None
None
Rear camera
Dual cameras:
Wide-angle, 12MP, f/1.8
Telephoto, 12MP, f/2.4
Dual cameras:
Wide-angle, 12MP, f/1.8
Telephoto, 12MP, f/2.8
Dual cameras:
Wide-angle, 12MP, f/1.8
Telephoto, 12MP, f/2.8
Front-facing cam
7MP TrueDepth, f/2.2
7MP f/2.2
7MP, f/2.2
Video capture
4K at 60fps
4K at 60fps
4K at 30fps
NFC
Yes
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth
v5.0
v5.0
v4.2
SoC
Apple A11 Bionic
Apple A11 Bionic
Apple A10 Fusion
CPU
Not available
Not available
2.34GHz quad-core
GPU
Not available
Not available
PowerVR Series 7XT GT7600 Plus
RAM
Not available
Not available
3GB
WiFi
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Dual band, 802.11ac
Operating system
iOS 11
iOS 11
iOS 10
Notable features
Face ID, new gyroscope and accelerometer, IP67 certified, wireless charging
New gyroscope and accelerometer, IP67 certified, wireless charging
Touch ID, IP67 certified

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!

Apple TV’s 4K movie pricing is exactly what the 4K world needs

The Apple TV 4K’s announcement was pretty much everything we expected — after all, it was only a matter of time before Apple moved on from 1080p video with a more powerful set-top box. But there were a few big surprises in tow: Apple says it will upgrade 1080p films that you’ve purchased with 4K/HDR versions at no extra cost. And, moving forward, it won’t be charging a premium for 4K movies, either. Together, these announcements are a big deal.

With the new Apple TV, iTunes shoppers will instantly have a library of 4K films. For most consumers, that’ll be a huge upgrade from owning no 4K movies at all. You’ll get a sharper picture, thanks to those additional pixels, but an even bigger benefit is HDR support with newer films, which adds more realistic lighting. The lower cost will also push more people towards buying 4K releases than they would otherwise. Up until now, you’d have to pay between $25 and $30 to get a 4K film on Vudu. But they’d end up between $15 and $20 on the Apple TV 4K.

That sensible pricing will make a huge difference. 4K is already a tough sell for consumers — even for those who own newer televisions. The big issue with the new format is that 1080p video already looks pretty good. It’s tough to tell the difference with 4K unless you’re sitting very close to a large TV screen. It’s not anywhere near the night and day difference we saw with the jump from DVD to HD. Another plus: Apple will hopefully nudge competitors like Vudu to reduce their prices and offer free 4K upgrades, as well. So even if you’re not an Apple fan, you’ll likely benefit.

With streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Video offering 4K content at a low monthly cost, only serious moviephiles will seek out 4K digital releases. And even then, many will likely hold out for 4K Blu-rays. But who knows how long that physical format will stick around — it already seems dead in the water. A digital movie library might not feel as substantial as having a wall full of disc cases, but it’s where the industry is headed. It’s nice to see that Apple is treating its existing customers well by offering free 4K upgrades.

Of course, Apple’s grand 4K pricing plan will require Hollywood’s cooperation. It’s reportedly been battling with studios, who would prefer to keep 4K releases at a premium. But this is the same company who fought with record labels over digital music prices in the early days of iTunes and the iPod. And it’s not as if movie studios have much of a choice, with digital sales already outpacing discs. If anyone can push Hollywood to accept more reasonable prices, it’s Apple.

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!