Apple introduced its new state of the art iPhone X and the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus that now allow Augmented Reality. So when you are at a baseball game you can hold up your iPhone and see real time gaming stats. Or you can superimpose a map of the constellations over the night sky.
This will surely have implications for the car. And another new feature in the iPhone X, 8 and 8 Plus to impact the car is built in wireless Qi charging. Apple’s Phil Schiller said the new charging capability will be most convenient in the car where you can simply place your phone on a charger without plugging it in. Wireless CarPlay now becomes super convenient as you can wirelessly charge the phone while running CarPlay.
Apple hopes its support for Qi will increase adoption for Qi wireless charging spurring the development of many new charging solutions.
The aftermarket’s Brandmotion believes the iPhone’s new Qi ability will bring sales of aftermarket Qi car audio products from a current $2-$3 million to $50 million and beyond.
The new iPhone X has a new super Retina Display that runs edge to edge, measuring 5.8 inches with 2436 by 1125 resolution. To unlock the phone, you look at it and it recognizes you with new “Face ID.” To access the home screen you now swipe from the bottom of the screen with one hand, and you do the same to change apps and multi-task.
To create Face ID, a team took over a billion images to build a neural engine on a new A11 bionic chip. The chance that a random person could unlock your phone with their face is 1 in a million (unless you have an identical twin).
You can now create emojis with the expression on your face. With SnapChat you can create masks that fit your face like glove.
Apple is also developing a new Qi charging mat that will allow you to place on it an iPhone X, the new Apple Watch (see below) and AirPods, at the same time. The new mat will be called AirPower and it will launch next year.
The new iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are also now made for Augmented Reality (AR). Along with the iPhone X, they have cameras calibrated for AR with new gyroscopes and accelerometers. The phones use new durable glass in the front and back. They also include new stereo speakers that are 25 percent louder than the iPhone 7’s and they deliver more bass. The phones are microscopically sealed against water and dust. They run on a new A11 bionic chip, with 6 cores, for up to 70 percent improvement in multi-threated work loads. They have new dual 12MP cameras that allow 83 percent more light with better color and low light sensitivity. The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus comes in silver, space gray and a new gold finish.
The iPhone 8 leads with 64GB of memory with a step up 256GB version. Pricing starts at $699 or $799 for the 8 Plus. Preorders start this Friday with availability on September 22. You can upgrade to iOS 11 on September 19. iPhone X starts at $999 for 64GB. Preorders for the iPhone X start October 27, with shipping on November 3.
Regarding Qi charging, all current Qi chargers that are Qi certified should work with the iPhone 8, Apple said. Brandmotion’s Jeff Varick said, “If Apple conforms to the Qi standard, we will have a turn key solution ready for retailers and installers to pounce on, and make themselves look good, and proactive.”
Scosche announced this week a new universal phone mount that provides Qi charging in the car. VOXX said it will be closely watching the market in light of Apple’s announcement.
Apple also announced the next generation of Apple Watch, the Series 3. It’s Apple’s first watch with built-in cellular ability. The display itself is an antenna. “This has been our vision from the very beginning…now you can go for a run with just your watch and still be connected…you can receive an important call with just your watch,” said Apple COO Jeff Williams. It uses your current phone number and apps like WeChat work on it too. You can stream 40 million songs from your wrist to earbuds with Apple Music. It has a dual core processor, delivering 70 percent more performance, but the 4G version is virtually the same size as the non-cellular version. It also now allows Siri to “speak,” so you don’t have to look at the screen when you ask it a question. Orders begin Sept 15 and shipping starts September 22. Pricing starts at $329 without 4G LTE and $399 with LTE. The Series 1 Watch continues at a starting price of about $249.
Also new is Apple TV 4K with 4 times the number of pixels as HD. It supports HDR 10.
I don’t see hi res anywhere in apple’s near future plans…..and if they don’t get on board w/ it the rest of the streaming services will be slow to adapt as well.
Hmm all stuff Android has had for years. Nice of you to join up Apple….and at such a competitive price point….
Not much mention of audio. No hi-res support?
I didn’t hear any mention of Hi-Res in Apple’s press event today.