Skift Take
Apple is taking further steps in carving the future of technology with the launch of three new iPhones. From facial recognition to AR, here are some of the key features and what they could mean for event professionals.
On Tuesday, Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook took to the stage for the first time in the Steve Jobs Theater at the new Apple Park campus in California, for the company’s latest Apple event. But what do event planners need to know about Apple’s new releases?
Apple enthusiasts heard that the company launched three new smartphones this week; the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, and the premium iPhone X (pronounced iPhone ten) handset, as well as the Apple Watch 3 and the Apple Watch 4K TV.
“Our intention with iPhone has always been to create something so powerful, so immersive and so magical, that the hardware virtually disappears,” said CEO Tim Cook at the launch.
“Over the past decade, we’ve pushed forward with innovation after innovation, bringing us to this moment, when we can create devices that are far more intelligent, far more capable, and far more creative than ever before.”
He added that it was a “new step forward for iPhone” that will “set the path for technology for the next decade”.
Many eventprofs are Apple converts and believe that syncing apps and features across all Apple devices, helps unify file systems, moving from one device to the next, from meeting to meeting, wherever you are.
Let’s find out more about the new products and potential eventtech offering, to see what all the fuss is about.
##abovethefold##
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus
In similar appearance to its predecessor, the iPhone 7, the iPhone 8 comes in two versions: a standard 4.7-inch model and a larger 5.5-inch ‘Plus’ model, but as well as multiple useful updates to the main features, the new products feature wireless charging and improved cameras.
Apple said the new phones have an all-new design, with a full glass rear, an aerospace-grade aluminum frame, and boasts the most durable glass ever on an iPhone. Oh, and it’s also water and dust resistant.
Key Features
- 64GB and 256GB
- Apple claims it’s the most durable glass ever in a smartphone
- Water and dust resistant
- 4.7″ display in the iPhone 8 and 5.5″ display in the Plus
- Stereo speakers – 25% louder than the speakers in the iPhone 7
- A11 bionic chip
- HD retina display and 12MP camera
- 4K 60fps video
- Cameras calibrated for augmented reality
- New portrait lighting feature: machine learning creates facial landmarks and enhances light effects on the face (8 Plus)
- Wireless charging
Release Date
- Pre-orders from 15 September
- On sale from 22 September
Price
- iPhone 8: starts at $699
- iPhone 8 Plus starts at $799
What Does This Mean for Eventprofs?
The wireless charging capability is an exciting thing to behold as it means the phone can be charged simply by placing it on a Qi-capable charging pad – and it’s the first time the technology has come to the iPhone range. Although you’ll have to buy the charging pad separately, the iPhone 8 and Plus comes with fast-charging capabilities, meaning that it’ll give you 50% of charge for just 30 minutes of plugged-in time.
Event planners will find Apple’s newest mobile operating system iOS 11 pre-loaded on these phones with a multitude of new features, including a redesigned control center, improvements to Live Photos, peer-to-peer Apple Pay and new safety features.
Apple also claims the new camera delivers the highest quality video capture ever in a smartphone with better video stabilization and 4K video up to 60fps, which is music to an eventprof’s ears when combining the use of video with their event. The camera has also been specially built for motion tracking and the augmented reality experience.
These features in turn can potentially offer better and easier lives for an event professional.
When multi-tasking, organizing and the need to keep up-to-date is key to your role in events, technology needs to be your friend and not hinder your day-to-day work. Now, drum roll please for the next new iPhone…
iPhone X
On the 10th anniversary of the iPhone’s birth – the product that catapulted Apple into the market-cap ionosphere – many are making big bets on the smartphones’ future and questioning whether this new iPhone X could potentially cast a halo over the rest of the line.
Now although the iPhone 8 and Plus won’t attract anywhere near as much attention as the premium X, the lower price and sooner release date compared to the X, will likely prove much more popular.
But what is it about Apple’s latest generation of its flagship device that made it the main attraction at the launch event?
Release date
- Pre-orders from 27 October
- On sale from 3 November
Price
- $999
What Does This Mean for Eventprofs?
With such a hefty new price point, one could argue that Apple’s iconic handset is investing in an upgraded mobile world.
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Apple’s smartphone, the new iPhone X features a radical redesign and new technology. It is Apple’s first smartphone to feature a full-screen display, an all-new ‘Super Retina’ resolution, a reinforced glass design and support for wireless charging.
Claimed to be one of the most attractive devices Apple has created, due to its sophisticated edge-to-edge OLED display – it has even got rid of the iPhone’s usual physical home button.
Facial Recognition
The all-glass device unlocks using facial recognition software and also features special face-scanning technologies that let you create your own animoji. It’s thought that the new design and those features are behind the wait for the phone as the X model uses an entirely new design than those on the 7 and 8, and so production will be slower to start up.
Apple describes the phone as the ‘handset of the future’, and claims that it will decide the direction of smartphones for the next 10 years.
Speaking of the future, will facial recognition become more commonly used? Instead of scanning barcodes at events, will we be scanning faces? What once used to be aspired to in movies such as Back to the Future is becoming reality. Even the likes of Disney is using facial recognition to predict how you’ll react to movies.
AR
The iPhone could take things a step further than GPS and mapping apps if Apple’s augmented reality as well as virtual reality features combine well with their mapping software. Your iPhone could potentially now show you arrows in your live view as you’re walking or driving down a road, instead of looking at a map with arrows on it. Think how this could benefit the event industry.
In Conclusion
We can all agree that Apple knows its audience and always manages to leave people coming back for more by introducing the latest products, software and releases, and also keeping consistent in their ability to adapt for each audience. These new products prove that. Will they change the face of events? Time will tell.
