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Today Apple announced new Apple Watches and a handful of new iPhones that all have edge-to-edge, curved displays just like the iPhone X does. Here's everything you need to know.
Unlike last year, when the entire event was leaked ahead of time, this year we didn't know too much ahead of time, but what we did know ended up being pretty accurate.
The New Apple Watch Series 4 Was the Star of the Show
You'd think that the yearly iPhone update would be the big news, but it really wasn't---the new Apple Watch has a bigger display with curved edges, and the software has been dramatically updated with new watch faces that take advantage of the new display. The new faces pack in a ton of information and allow for new types of complications to display.
The new Watches have a new back that offers a completely new electrical sensor that does an actual ECG to check your heart health. And before you think that it's some type of novelty device... it's actually FDA approved. The Apple Watch can detect irregular heartbeats and detect if you might have a problem with your heart. Combine with all of the other health features and the Apple Watch is becoming a seriously impressive device for helping you stay healthy.
It also has a ton of other new features, including detection for when you might have fallen down and hurt yourself, and can send your location to your emergency contacts or let you call for help. It's got a new walkie-talkie mode in watchOS 5, and a seriously improved operating system. You can read more about the new Apple Watches in our feature over on Review Geek.
Pre-orders will open on September 14th with availability on September 21st.
What Else Did We Get? New iPhones, of Course
We've detailed everything about the new iPhones over at Review Geek, but here are the main things that you need to know:
The XS and XS Max will essentially be new versions of the OLED iPhone X---the screen on the Max is an enormous 6.5" size with an edge-to-edge display, and the regular XS is 5.8" just like the regular X was. It will come in silver, black, and gold, and it'll have a 512 GB storage option, which will cost a lot of money. These start at $999 and go up---really far up---from there.
The iPhone XR is a 6.1" version of the iPhone X, but it uses an LCD screen instead of OLED, and only has a single camera instead of the dual camera found on the Xs. It'll come in black, white, red, yellow, coral and blue colors.
The iPhone XS and XS Max will be available for pre-order starting on September 14th and ship on September 21st. The XR will be available to order on October 19th and ship on the 26th.
iOS 12 Will Come Out on September 17th
You don't need to buy a new iPhone to get your hands on something new---the next iOS update will be out on September 17th, with completely revamped notifications, Screen Time, improved performance, Animoji, Siri Shortcuts, and basically a lot of tweaks to make it all run more smoothly. We've been running the beta for a while, and it's been surprisingly stable.
MacOS Mojave Will Be Out on September 24th
We didn't get new Macs today, but you'll be able to upgrade your current Mac to Mojave, the latest version of macOS. The most visible feature in Mojave is the new Dark Mode, which is really fantastic, but there are a bunch of other new features like desktop stacks, dynamic desktop, screenshot and recording tools, and a ton of other features.
We've been using Mojave since it came out, and it's been rock-solid stable for us, especially in the more recent betas. It's definitely worth taking a look through our guide to everything new in Mojave.
I Missed It, So How Do I Watch the Announcement?
Just open your browser and head to apple.com or click on the link below---in the past it required using an Apple product, but now they've opened it up to any modern browser.
https://www.apple.com/apple-events/september-2018/
Live Streaming via the Apple TV App
If you've got an Apple TV, you can install the Apple Events app, which lets you watch everything easily. Note that you'll need a more recent Apple TV for this app to actually work.
Other Stuff That Did Not Happen
We were hoping for a lot of new stuff... and it just didn't happen. Here's what we're still waiting for, and hopefully we'll get in October:
- New MacBooks or MacBook Airs - these have been rumored for years and we still haven't seen them.
- New Mac Minis or Mac Pros - both devices are so out of date at this point they are laughable.
- AirPower Wireless Charging Mat - this was announced quite a while ago, and should have launched in the spring. Didn't launch today.
- New AirPods with Wireless Charging - not surprisingly, these didn't launch since the AirPower charging mat still isn't done.
One More Thing? Nope.