iPhone 11 Pro: Release date, price and details released about new premium Apple handset
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Your support makes all the difference.Apple has unveiled the iPhone 11 Pro, its first ever "pro" iPhone.
The new handset is the premium version of the iPhone 11, which Apple revealed just before. Just as with the cheaper model, the company focused primarily on the camera in its announcement.
The company said that its improved screen as well as new colours justify the "pro" moniker, which has only ever been used on bigger devices.
"This is the first phone that we've called pro," said Apple's Phil Schiller, as he unveiled the phone.
"For us that means it's the first device that pros can count on to get work done. But it's also a device for all of us who want the best product made, even if we're not a pro."
The iPhone 11 Pro costs $999 or $1,099 for the bigger "Max" version, the same price as the XS and XS Max they replace. Pre-orders will begin on Friday – at the slightly later hour of 5am pacific daylight time – and will all start shipping on 20 September.
The new phone comes in a number of colours, including a brand new green. And those finish are also matte, rather than the shiny gloss in previous versions.
It also includes three different lenses in the camera. As well as the normal one, and the zoom that arrived in recent iPhones, it also has an "ultra-wide camera" that can allow for images that take in twice as much as the previous phone.
The iPhone can take photos with all of those different cameras at once, Apple said, letting people choose either to zoom in or to use the new wider lens to take in the full detail. The three cameras are able to talk to each other, so that they are aligned ready for switching between the different lenses.
It also includes a feature called "Deep Fusion" which can use machine learning to take a variety of different photos at once and combine them into the best version of any photo. "It is computational photography mad science," said Mr Schiller, "it is way cool".
It also includes new video recording features, as well as updated editing tools to allow them to be adjusted after the fact. The phone has the ability to record through two of the cameras at once, and switch between the two even as video is being recorded.
Inside the phone is Apple's brand new A13 Bionic chip. The company said that will be vastly quicker than all of the chips it has made before, but that it can also work less hard to preserve battery life.
The iPhone 11 Pro can last four hours longer than the iPhone XS that it replaces; the bigger Max version can last five hours longer than the XS Max, Apple said. It will also come with a new more powerful charger to allow it power up more quickly.
Apple said there was also a variety of new features it did not have time to discuss, including upgraded material that gives it the strongest glass in a smartphone.
Follow the latest from the iPhone event below:
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With the soaring costs of flagship smartphones, some people have been thinking about what they could buy instead of a $1,099 iPhone 11 Pro Max.
Suggestions include 8 years of Netflix, 200 Big Macs or 200 Whopper burgers.
A quick online search shows you could also get a round-trip from London to Sydney, with enough spare change to pick up a new Nokia 3310 feature phone.
The cleaning crews are out in full force at the Steve Jobs Theater.
Another suggestion for the rear camera arrangement, this one from Vipul Mittal (@vipulmittal09)
Having pioneered the smartphone industry more than a decade ago, Apple has opted for a more cautious approach in recent years when it comes to new innovations.
As rivals like Samsung and Huawei have tried (and failed, and tried again) to launch folding phones, Apple has been happy to sit back and let others take all the risks.
A new camera lens will probably be an exciting development, but it's hardly breaking the pattern of incremental updates.
But beyond folding phones, what major innovations are left to make in a saturated market? 5G is the obvious one, but there's another trends quietly happening among some of the world's biggest phone makers.
Last week, Samsung unveiled a cryptocurrency version of its Note 10 smartphone, integrating decentralised apps and allowing customers to store and spend bitcoin on their phones.
It follows on from the HTC Exodus 1, described by its maker as the "world's first blockchain smartphone".
Speaking ahead of the iPhone 11 launch, the phone's lead developer, Phil Chen, explains to The Independent why such phones may be the future.
Smartphones as a business segment has peaked and now plateaued. We’ve already seen the best camera, the best screen and the best audio – which is why we’re seeing smartphone sales slow down. Top brands are struggling to find the next gimmick that would push an upgrade. However, what we need are not gimmicks, but real productivity gains to jump to the next curve of innovation. For example, the inclusion of the rest of the world that currently don’t have access to basic financial tools. Initially considered a gimmick by some, crypto technology is the next frontier of smartphone innovation.
Just 30 minutes to go now until things get going at the Steve Jobs Theater in California.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has already been there for hours.
David Phelan, The Independent's roving tech correspondent, has snuck into the Steve Jobs Theater to give us our fist look inside.
We have another entry for what that rear camera setup looks like on the iPhone 11.
Some Apple royalty in attendance today, with co-founder Steve Wozniak posing for selfies with YouTube star Marques Brownlee and other attendees.
I wonder what the red Apple logo means on Wozniak's lanyard? Come to think of it, why does The Woz even need to wear a lanyard?
(Photo courtesy of Safwan AhmedMia, @SuperSaf)
Speaking of The Woz, a friend of mine who interviewed him a few years ago showed me his business card. It's made of metal and photochemically etched with his details.
Unique - but not as unique as his Nixie tube watch.
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