For a certain crowd, Apple’s annual hardware showcase is a little like Christmas in September. Apple employees toil away in the Cupertino workshop all year to prepare for this day, when CEO Tim Cook takes the stage and gives the world a brand new iPhone.
Actually, make that three new iPhones. Apple followed last year’s iPhone X with the iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max[1], and iPhone Xr[2]. It also spent some time showing off the Apple Watch Series 4[3], its most powerful wearable yet.
Missed the event? Catch our commentary on WIRED’s liveblog[4], or read on for everything you need to know about today’s big Apple event.
iPhone Xs and Xs Max
Apple's new high-end iPhones go on sale this week starting at $999.
Apple
The brand new iPhone Xs[5] (pronounced “tennis”) looks a lot like last year’s iPhone X[6], with some smart refinements. At 5.8 inches, the Xs is a smallish phone, but it’s all screen—the bezel is barely there. If you want even more screen, there’s also the bigger iPhone Xs Max. This one is about the same size as the old iPhone 8 Plus, measuring 6.5 inches, but with the biggest display ever in an Apple phone. Apple says both phones are encased in its most durable glass, with greater water resistance than previous models. Apple stress-tested these things in swimming pools and pints of beer, and swears they’ll survive as deep as two meters for up to 30 minutes.
Both the Xs and the Xs Max use Face ID[7], like the iPhone X. They come with...