Ten years after Apple launched its first iPhone, they have revealed the iPhone X.
It has no home button, scans your face to log you in and costs $999.
The company unveiled the anniversary edition smartphone, alongside an iPhone 8 and its bigger sibling, the iPhone 8 Plus, at a press event at the brand new Apple Park campus in Cupertino on Tuesday.
The company also announced a new Apple Watch with a cellular connection, an Apple TV that streams 4K video, and gave the public its first peek at the circular Steve Jobs Theater.
The new iPhone X kills the home button to make space for a larger screen. It has an edge-to-edge display, glass on the front and back, wireless charging that requires resting the phone on a special surface, and a surgical grade stainless steel band around the edges. It’s water and dust resistant.
The 5.8-inch OLED display isn’t just bigger, it also packs 458 pixels-per-inch. Apple (AAPL, Tech30) calls it a Super Retina Display. It supports HDR, has a million-to-one contrast ratio and improved color accuracy.
The loss of the home button means no more fingerprint sensor. To unlock the phone, you can use your face with a new technology called Face ID. Front-facing cameras and sensors create a map of your face to determine if you are the phone’s proper owner. The technology learns more about your face every time you use it, and stores any face detection information on the device. It uses small flood light to work in the dark.
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Apple said face detection is more secure than fingerprints. It added there was a one in 50,000 chance of a random person being able to open your phone with their fingerprint. But those chances drop to 1 in a million with face detection.
The company also introduced a Face ID-enabled feature called Animoji, which serves up animated emoji that mimic your facial expressions. For example, you’ll be able to give your friends side-eye as a unicorn.
The iPhone X will cost $999 for the 64 GB version, $1,149 for the 256 GB version, and start shipping on Nov. 3 — more than a month later than all the other devices announced on Tuesday.
For those not willing to shell out a grand for a new smartphone, the iPhone 8 options are cheaper and also pack a powerful punch. They’re faster, sturdier and better at snapping photos than the previous iPhone.
On the surface, the devices look similar to the iPhone 7. The iPhone 8 clocks in at 4.7 inches and iPhone 8 Plus is 5.5 inches. But inside is an A11 “bionic chip” and an improved camera sensor.
Wireless charging, available on both the iPhone X and iPhone 8 devices, is a big move forward, too. The charging requires contact between a special surface and the glass back of the iPhone. The technology is based on Qi wireless charging, which Apple believes will be available at coffee shops, stores and airports around the world in the near future, so people can get juice on the go.
iPhone 8 smartphones, which come with an aluminum band around the edges, will be available in three colors: space gray, gold and silver.
The iPhone 8 will start at $699 and the iPhone 8 Plus is $799 for 64 GB models.
