Apple announced three new iPhones at its September ‘Gather Round’ event (the iPhone XS, XS Max and iPhone XR) as well as the newly designed Apple Watch series 4.
A lot of iPhone lovers are already reaching for credit cards. According to
1. These are the most expensive iPhones ever launched
Apple’s lineup of three new phones is the most expensive it’s ever announced. Even the ‘entry-level’ iPhone XR is an eye-watering prospect at $/£749. That’s an awful lot of money for a phone that is the baby of the range. The iPhone XS Max weighs in at a mighty $/£1449 for the top-spec model.
2. You’ll miss the Home button
The iPhone’s Home button might feel anachronistic, but there are millions of iPhone fans who still love its simplicity and function. Sure, you get more screen without it, but you’re also losing one of the reasons the iPhone became such a success in the first place.
3. Touch ID is better than Face ID
The loss of the Home button also means there’s no Touch ID – the slickest fingerprint sensor around. Apple could have added a fingerprint sensor to the back of the iPhone, as Samsung has on the Note 9, but instead we’re left with facial recognition. It’s slower, doesn’t work in landscape orientation, and you’ll need to use your PIN if you’re wearing polarised sunglasses.
4. The new iPhones look like any other phone
If you’re going to spend a ton of money on a phone then you should get a decent case on it. Put a case on the new iPhones and it’s hard to recognise it as a premium Apple product at all. It’s just a big slab of screen, like most other phones these days.
5. They should have a headphone jack
Apple started one of the most annoying trends in smartphone history when it removed the headphone jack from the iPhone 7. Worse still is that having a 3.5mm jack doesn’t add a lot of cost, doesn’t impact design significantly (see Samsung S9), and it means you can actually listen to music even if your wireless headphones are out of charge.