Apple unveils $999 phone, new Face ID technology

Apple on Tuesday unveiled a number of new phones, including its most expensive one yet, as well as new versions of its Apple Watch and its streaming TV device. Here's a rundown of the announcements.

The new iPhone 8 Plus is displayed in the showroom after the new product announcement at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

IPHONE X

Apple is releasing a super-premium iPhone with a super-premium price tag, starting at $999. The new iPhone X — pronounced like the number 10 — will have a screen with higher resolution and richer colors.

It will also lose a distinct home button to make more room for the 5.8-inch display. That's slightly more than the Plus model's 5.5 inches, though the phone's size is closer to the regular iPhone model.

The features are similar to what Samsung offers.

The new design will enable new ways to interact with the phone. Instead of pressing the button to get the home page, you swipe up instead.

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, discusses features of the new iPhone X at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, announces features of the new iPhone 8 at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

The new iPhone X is displayed in the showroom after the new product announcement at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Apple is also offering the ability to unlock the phone with facial recognition rather than a fingerprint or passcode. Though some Android phones offer this, Apple is adding sensors to improve performance and says it worked with mask designers during testing to improve security. An executive initially failed to unlock the phone this way in a demo Tuesday, though.

The new phone, which is coming Nov. 3, will also permit animated emojis that mirror your facial movements and promises two more hours of battery life than what's in the current iPhone 7.

Such an iPhone has been widely anticipated for the iPhone's 10th anniversary and comes just weeks after Samsung unveiled its own super-premium phone, the $930-and-up Galaxy Note 8.

IPHONE 8

Apple is refreshing its lineup of iPhones with camera, display and speaker improvements.

The new phones promise to shoot pictures with better colors and less distortion, particularly in low-light settings. The display will adapt to ambient lighting, similar to a feature in some iPad Pro models. Speakers will be louder and offer deeper bass.

The new iPhone 8 will keep its predecessor's size — 4.7 inches — but have a higher starting price of $699, up from $649. The 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus starts at $799, up from $769. The new phones come out Sept. 22

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, shows features of the new iPhone 8 at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Apple CEO Tim Cook, right, and Jonathan Ive, Chief Design Officer shows the new iPhone X in the showroom after the new product announcement at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Apple CEO Tim Cook kicks off the event for a new product announcement at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Apple CEO Tim Cook kicks off the event for a new product announcement at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, announces features of the new iPhone 8 at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Apple is bucking its traditional naming convention by calling the new phones iPhone 8 rather than 7S. The S designation might have given consumers the impression that the new phones are mere incremental updates from the current iPhone 7.

The Plus version will continue to have two camera lenses and now has the ability to optimize lighting as you shoot.

Both versions will allow wireless charging. Many Android phones, including Samsung's, already have this.

APPLE WATCH

Apple is coming out with a new smartwatch designed to be less dependent on the iPhone. A new model will still require a companion iPhone, but comes with cellular access. That makes it possible to do more — like receiving messages — while the phone is at home. The watch will use the same number as the phone. The feature will require a $5 or $10 data add-on to an existing phone plan.

Apple CEO Tim Cook shows new Apple Watch Series 3 products at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Apple CEO Tim Cook talks during a presentation on new products at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

The new cellular model, called Series 3, will start at $399. One without cellular goes for $329, down from $369 for the comparable model now. The original Series 1, without GPS, sells for $249, down from $269. The new watch comes out Sept. 22.

Existing Apple Watches will get a software update next Tuesday that will provide more analysis of your heart rate. The Series 3 also delivers warnings for elevated heart rate when you don't appear to be active.

APPLE TV

A new version of the Apple TV streaming device will be able to show video with sharper "4K" resolution — a step up from standard high definition — and a color-improvement technology called high dynamic range. Many rival devices already offer these features. However, there's not a lot of video in 4K and HDR yet, nor are there many TVs that can display it.

People arrive for a new product announcement at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of internet software, shows the new Apple TV product at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of internet software, shows the new Apple TV product at the Steve Jobs Theater on the new Apple campus on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Apple says it's been working with movie studios to bring titles with 4K and HDR to its iTunes store. They will be sold at the same prices as high-definition video, which tends to be a few dollars more than standard-definition versions. Apple says it's working with Netflix and Amazon Prime to bring their 4K original programs to Apple TV, too.

The 4K version of Apple TV will cost $179 and ships on Sept. 22. A version without 4K will cost $149.

Apple on Thursday disclosed its steepest quarterly decline in iPhone sales since the pandemic’s outset, deepening a slump that’s increasing the pressure on the trendsetting company to spruce up its products with more artificial intelligence.

The 10% drop in year-over-year iPhone sales for the January-March period is latest sign of weakness in a product that generates most of Apple’s revenue. It marked the biggest drop in iPhone sales since July-September period in 2020, when production bottlenecks caused by factory closures during the pandemic resulted in a delayed release of that year's model.

The current iPhone downturn was the main reason Apple’s revenue for the latest quarter decreased 4% from last year to $90.8 billion. It marked the fifth consecutive quarter that Apple’s revenue dipped from the previous year. Apple’s profit in the past quarter totaled $23.64 billion, or $1.53 per share, a 2% dip from last year.

But both Apple's revenue and earnings per share came in slightly above analysts projections, according to FactSet Research. Apple also predicted its revenue for the April-June quarter will rise modestly from a year ago, which would end the recent streak of erosion.

Part of the iPhone deterioration during the first three months of the year stemmed from a big boost in sales during the same period last year when Apple said it was filling pent-up demand caused by pandemic-driven shipment delays.

Even as it stumbles slightly, Apple remains one of the world’s most prosperous companies. The Cupertino, California, company hammered home that point by announcing a 4% increase in its quarterly dividend to 25 cents per share. The company also committed to spending $110 billion buying back its own stock, a move that investors cheered but may fuel criticism that Apple is spending more money catering to Wall Street than creating more innovative products.

Bolstered by the increased dividend and stock repurchase commitment, Apple's shares rose nearly 7% in extended trading after the news came out. The stock price has fallen 10% so far this year, erasing about $300 billion in stockholder wealth.

Although investors have been dismayed by the weakening iPhone sales, they are also concerned Apple may be losing its edge as other tech giants such as Microsoft and Google sprint out to the early lead in artificial intelligence technology that is expected to reshape the industry and technology.

The latest quarterly report “leaves no margin for doubt about Apple’s current state of affairs,” said Investing.com analyst Thomas Monteiro. “More than ever in the past decade, the company needs new products and solutions.”

Apple is widely expected to unveil more AI services in June during an annual conference showcasing the next version of its software for the iPhone and Mac computers.

“We believe in the transformative power and promise of AI and we believe we have advantages that will differentiate us in this new era,” Apple CEO Tim Cook assured analysts during a Thursday conference while promising more details will be announced soon.

Weak sales in China were again a factor in the latest quarter, with revenue in that region falling 8% from last year to $16.37 billion as rival smartphone makers gained ground in one of the company’s largest markets. Even so, analysts had been anticipating an even bigger sales decline in the results, providing investors with a measure of relief.

Apple had a few bright spots in the past quarter too, most notably in its service division, which saw its revenue rise 14% from the year before to $23.87 billion.

The division reaps a significant portion of its revenue from a lucrative deal that locks in Google as the search engine that automatically answers queries on the iPhone — an arrangement that is a focal point of an antitrust trial currently wrapping up with closing arguments in Washington this week.

Commissions collected on digital transactions within iPhone apps are also a major revenue source within Apple’s services division, an area being targeted in a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit alleging the company is running an illegal monopoly that locks out competition to the detriment of consumers.

That case is expected to take several years to resolve, but European regulators already are forcing Apple to allow more alternatives to its proprietary iPhone app store as part of the Digital Markets Act.

FILE - In this June 16, 2020 file photo, the sun is reflected on Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New York. Apple will reports earnings on Thursday May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)