This just in from Apple: three new iPhones — and they’re eSIM-enabled
Get ready for not one, not two, but THREE cameras.
Apple’s biggest event of the year kicked off in the usual way, streamed live from the Steve Jobs Theatre in California. Interestingly — and conveniently for those of us at the Truphone offices who crowded round the stream to watch — this is the first time the event stream has been available to the public via YouTube, rather than solely on Apple’s own site. Is this a small nod towards Apple becoming a more interoperable brand? We think it might be.
The most anticipated moment of the event was, of course, the rumoured launch of the new iPhone 11 series so — knowing this — Apple decided to leave that until the very end. Nevertheless, there were some other noteworthy announcements to keep us entertained until the big crescendo.
A new seventh-generation iPad
Apple announced that it would be replacing its most popular sixth-generation iPad with a newer model. The seventh-generation iPad boasts a bigger screen area — 10.2-inch Retina display to be precise —advanced cameras and sensors, unmatched portability and connectivity, support for Apple Pencil, all-day battery life and the fast A10 Fusion chip.
You can get your hands on this iteration for a relatively modest (compared to its counterparts) $329.
Watch Series 5
Harking back to the days of yore, Apple’s latest Watch series tells the time, all the time. The ‘Always-On’ display means the watch face no longer goes to sleep, so you can see all your info without having to tap or refresh the screen.
Other fun additions include a built-in compass, menstrual cycle tracker and, perhaps most impressive, International Emergency Calling which, Apple states, “works with fall detection, if enabled, to automatically place an emergency call if Apple Watch senses the user has taken a hard fall and remains motionless for about a minute.” Very cool.
iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max
Alright, you can stop drumming your fingers now. The pièce de résistance of the night was the introduction of THREE new iPhone devices to Apple’s roster: the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. The bulk of the discussion, and subsequent Twitter talk, was taken up by the iPhone Pro and Pro Max and the triple-camera function which Apple says “provides a pro-level camera experience with an Ultra Wide, Wide and Telephoto camera, delivering huge improvements to low-light photography and offering the highest quality video in a smartphone.”
The promotional video for the iPhone 11 series also featured multiple instances of the device being dropped, insinuating a shatter-proof exterior — but this wasn’t promised officially. Perhaps it was implied but, with the iPhone 11 Pro Max costing $1,099, we won’t be hurling it at the floor to test the theory just yet.
You guessed it…the iPhone 11 series supports eSIM
This simply wouldn’t be a Truphone write-up if we didn’t call out the fact that there are now THREE new devices out there in the world that support eSIM. Okay, so Apple didn’t do away with the SIM slot entirely, but that’s where we’re headed. And no, it’s not just our own blind optimism — here’s why it’s not as crazy as it sounds.
Apple could use the space. The SIM card takes up close to a quarter of the potential space device makers could be using to make batteries more efficient, devices faster and their internal systems more capable. As chipsets get smaller and more intuitive, it’s only a matter of time before device makers claim back the space in their devices that they’ve dedicated to a stubborn piece of plastic that hasn’t changed since the ‘90s.
And the main reason why this transition seems inevitable is so simple that it’s barely worth mentioning — consumer choice.
Apple knows all this.
So, Truphone’s ultimate prediction is that we’ll see even more new eSIM devices announced, demonstrating Apple’s lead in this new technology. But this year, it will remain a dual-SIM — plastic and digital.
Next year, Tim Cook?
