Apple unveils new premium iPhone XS, health features for watch

Apple on Wednesday unveiled updated versions of its priciest iPhones along with a new smartwatch that allows users to take their own electrocardiograms , as the US tech giant looks to boost its momentum in a sputtering market .
The California tech giant revealed its iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max , updating the top -of -the line handsets released a year earlier . The new devices are aimed at maintaining Apple ’ s share in the premium segment .

“We are going to take iPhone X to the next level , ” chief executive Tim Cook said at a media event at the company ’ s headquarters in Cupertino , California .
The new phones have displays of 5 . 8 and 6 . 5 inches , boosting screen size while keeping a small- format handset , Apple vice president Phil Schiller said.

The September event allows the company to unveil its latest offerings before the key holiday shopping season .

While the iPhone has made Apple the world ’ s most valuable company , worth more than $ 1 trillion , it has slipped to third place among smartphone makers as Chinese -based Huawei has grabbed the number two spot .

Analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy said Apple had done enough “to keep its smartphone growth going until the competition responds . ”

– New smartwatch features –

Apple also introduced a fourth generation of Apple Watch with a major redesign — and a series of features designed to improve its performance as a medical and health device .

The watch , sold in the United States from $ 399 and up, will be available in stores on September 21 .

“Apple Watch has become an intelligent guardian for your health , ” chief operating officer Jeff Williams said.

He highlighted a major innovation — the watch ’ s ability to perform an electrocardiogram .

“This is the first ECG product offered over the counter directly to consumers, ” he said.

“Now you can take an ECG any time , anywhere, right from the wrist . ”

The device also detects when a person suffers a fall , seen as an important feature for elderly or disabled users .

“Identifying a fall may sound like a straightforward problem , but it requires a lot of data analysis , ” Williams said.

If a person falls , and then is motionless , the watch will call emergency services , he added .

– ‘ Crossroads ’ –

Research firm CB Insights said Apple is at a “ crossroads ” a decade after introducing the iPhone .

“Looking for the next wave, Apple is clearly expanding into augmented reality and wearables with the Apple Watch and AirPods wireless headphones , ” the firm said.

“But the next ‘ big one’ — a success and growth driver on the scale of the iPhone — has not yet been determined . Will it be augmented reality, auto , wearables ? Or something else entirely ?”

Apple ’ s event comes with the global smartphone market largely saturated , without a major catalyst for sales ahead of a likely rollout of 5 G , or fifth generation, wireless networks, expected in 2019.

Research firm IDC expects worldwide smartphone shipments to decline 0 . 7 percent in 2018 to 1 . 455 billion units, with growth likely to resume as 5 G devices become available.

Cook said Apple was nearing its two billionth device for its mobile operating system known as iOS .

“We are about to hit a major milestone. We are about to ship our two billionth iOS device , ” he said.

“This is astonishing — iOS has changed the way we live . ”

( AFP )

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