iPhone Deja-Vu? Or Cool New Technology?

Apple has rolled out yet another update to replace their previous iPhones and Apple Watches. You might be thinking, wait, didn’t we just do this? While it’s true, Apple did announce the iPhone X in September of 2017, followed by the December sale release, they’ve introduced a new 2018 product line. Here’s the skinny:

It’s water resistant. It’s got a better speaker. It’s the all amazing new iPhone X series!

In all seriousness, products introduced this last week include iPhone XS, XR, and XS MAX. They’re definitely fancy. Just how fancy? Well, all three contain an A12 Bionic chip, which Apple promises yields better photos, a more colorful screen, and faster application responses. What’s more is that the battery life will last thirty minutes to an hour-and-a-half longer than the 2017 X series. Pretty nifty, right? But what makes this release even more special? The price.

You might be thinking, $749 is not special. It certainly isn’t. But this “lower” price for a new Apple product (specifically the iPhone XR), signals a shift in strategy. While the XS and XS MAX carry the normal Apple sticker price (starting at $999 and $1099, respectively), the XR contains almost the same iPhone guts as its siblings, but costs almost $300 less. Does this mean that Apple plans to compete with rival prices as it tries to stay on top of the phone world? Perhaps. Many consumers hope so. For people looking to buy a new device in 2018/2019, but want to save a little, they may gravitate toward this option.

But what about the Apple Watch? The 4th generation of the smart watch boasts a larger display for multitasking, a better heart monitor, and more features to get you living your healthiest lifestyle. But how is it different from the 3rd series?

They said bigger, and they meant it. The 4th Apple watch series is 2mm larger per model. This difference means that the watch can display more items per activity or app. For the fitness nerds, this new watch also contains an improved heart monitor that alerts you when you heart rate both rises and falls, in addition to the older features of the 3rd series. Similar to the new iPhones, Apple stepped up its audio game, making the watch’s speaker 50% louder than the 3rd series. However, unlike with the new iPhone XR, the new watches didn’t merit a price cut. Where the 3rd series price started at $279, the 4th series begins at $399. Depending on if your preference of shell case material, GPS, or cellular data, the price can go up to $749.

All in all, Apple and Apple product enthusiasts have a lot of new features to get excited about. Are these advancements enough to keep Apple users happy (or convert a few android users? Gasp!)? Only time will tell. At least until the next Apple product cycle.