iPhone Xs and Xs Max are finally here

At the Gather Round event in Cupertino, after months of leaks and rumours, Apple has finally unveiled the iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max. The two new iPhones come with Super Retina displays, faster and improved dual cameras, and the first phones to feature a 7nm chip — the A12 Bionic processor with an 8-core Neural Engine. The new handsets also boast faster Face ID, wider stereo sound and this is the first time Apple introduces dual SIM capabilities in the iPhone. In India, the iPhone Xs and Xs Max will go on pre-order in India on September 21 and go on sale on September 28.

The new iPhones feature the sharpest displays with the highest pixel density of any Apple device. Now offered in 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch sizes, these Super Retina displays with a custom OLED design support Dolby Vision and HDR10 and have iOS system-wide colour management for the best colour accuracy in the industry. Apple claims that these handsets offer a million-to-one contrast ratio with remarkable brightness and true blacks while showing 60 percent greater dynamic range in HDR photos. As for the iPhone Xs Max, it offers an immersive experience with over 3 million pixels for movies, videos and games. And it offers the largest display ever in an iPhone in a similar footprint to the iPhone 8 Plus.

Apple has introduced a brand new Gold colour here and it compliments the existing Space Grey and Silver models that were introduced with the iPhone X. They have used surgical grade stainless steel finishes for the sides and the front and back glass design features the most durable glass ever in a smartphone with improved scratch resistance, while the glass back enables faster wireless charging. 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.

Moving on, the A12 Bionic processor features the first 7-nanometer chip ever in a smartphone that delivers industry-leading performance in a more power-efficient design. 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. A fast storage controller can deliver iPhone storage up to 512GB.

Elaborating on the processor, the next-generation Neural Engine is built for advanced machine learning in everything from photography to augmented reality. A new eight-core design allows it to complete up to 5 trillion operations per second compared to 600 billion in A11 Bionic. This enables new capabilities like faster plane detection for ARKit and new features that use real-time machine learning.

Apple has improved on the cameras as well and capabilities like advanced depth segmentation using the Neural Engine, Smart HDR creating photos with high dynamic range and great image detail, advanced bokeh quality in Portrait mode photos and dynamic depth of field that is user adjustable in the Photos app.

The 12-megapixel dual camera system features dual optical image stabilization with 2x optical zoom, while a new sensor is twice as fast. Smart HDR creates photos with more highlights and shadow detail. Larger and deeper pixels improve image fidelity and low-light performance.

Depth segmentation in Portrait mode enables more sophisticated portraits with professional-level bokeh. Depth Control allows users to dynamically adjust the depth of field in the Photos app both in real-time preview and post-capture to create portraits with a background blur. Portrait mode with Depth Control is also available on the TrueDepth camera for selfies, which includes Memoji and faster face tracking support for third-party ARKit apps.

iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max deliver the highest quality video capture in a smartphone. The larger pixels and larger, faster sensor enable improved low-light performance and video stabilization, as well as extended dynamic range for more highlight and shadow detail in video modes up to 30 frames per second. Using the four built-in mics, users can also record stereo sound to get the most out of video recordings.

Face ID, the most secure facial authentication system ever in a smartphone, is now even faster. The TrueDepth camera system uses precision depth-sensing technology that goes far beyond the capabilities and security of two-dimensional facial scanners and enables users to unlock iPhone, and gain access to secure apps and many more features with a simple glance.

iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max introduce Gigabit-class LTE for even faster download speeds and Dual SIM through the use of a nano-SIM and digital eSIM.

iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max come with iOS 12, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. iOS 12 introduces new AR experiences, helps people rediscover and share photos, and makes communications more expressive and fun with new Animoji and Memoji. Screen Time helps customers understand and take control of the time they spend interacting with their iOS devices, Siri Shortcuts give any app the ability to work with Siri and new privacy features help protect users from being tracked on the web.

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