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Apple event left many underwhelmed but had an unlikely hero

IPHONE fans have vented their disappointment after the tech giant made one big mistake in its new flagship models.

Nick WhighamNick Whigham
@NWWHIGHAM
2 min read
September 13, 2018 - 12:53PM
Apple's shows off the new Apple Watch

A LACK of game-changing innovation has led to the new Apple iPhone models being met with a wave of apathy.

The tech giant unveiled three new iPhones at its Californian headquarters, including its biggest and most expensive model yet.

The company showed off the iPhone Xs as well as a “Max” version, which has a bigger screen than last year’s dramatically redesigned iPhone X.

But nothing announced overnight was as significant as the the 2017 model, which ushered in a host of new features, such as FaceID and an edge-to-edge screen enabled by the disappearance of the Home button.

However, the company did introduce a new, cheaper version called the iPhone Xr, which boasts most of the hi-tech features of its predecessor but saves money by skimping on the materials. Other big news revolved around the new Apple Watch 4 range, which has some really interesting new capabilities.

But for many tech fans, the historically high price tag for the iPhone Xs Max, which will cost Australians as much as $2369 when it arrives in Australia on September 21, was hard to look past.

Others weren’t overly impressed by the new hardware upgrades and the lack of any real notable new software features on the phones.

“Boy, this year’s iPhones sure felt like a letdown, huh?”, New York Magazine’s tech writer Jake Swearingen wrote , calling it “a pretty boring year” for iphones.

“Everything that came just felt a little blah this year — even more so than I was expecting.”

As he pointed out, the smartphone plateau has been talked about for years, and for many today’s event was evidence of the inevitable fact that it’s getting harder and harder to innovate each year in a way that gets people excited.

Others just wish the new phones still had the Home button and a headphone jack.

And some were more keen to take a trip down memory lane and get nostalgic about the time when iPhones had just 8GB of storage capacity and cost as little as $US199.

THE ‘FASCINATING’ NEW DIRECTION FOR APPLE

Surprisingly, the most interesting updates came early in the event when the company introduced its Apple Watch 4 range.

Probably the biggest cheers from the audience this morning came when Apple revealed the watch’s electrocardiogram capability that can record the electrical activity of your heart and check for signs of heart disease and stroke.

“The new Apple Watch’s ability to take an electrocardiogram (ECG) may actually save lives,” wrote Dr Eugene Gu on Twitter.

The company also unveiled a capability that enables the watch to know when its user has fallen down and will alert emergency services and friends.

“This introduction of the Apple Watch was fascinating,” Wall Street Journal tech writer Joanna Stern said. “Clear to me Apple is also going after an older market with the fall detection and the heart health features.”

Of all the Apple announcements, this one generated the most intrigue and excitement.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/apple-event-left-many-underwhelmed-but-had-an-unlikely-hero/news-story/664e57335aac1b17731aeffee01108d9