Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

In September, Apple pulled back the curtain on the latest iteration of its popular smartwatch, the Apple Watch Series 4. The Series 3 is already a superb device — as of 2018, it topped our list of the best smartwatches — so what could Apple possibly do to best it? A few things, as it turns out. The Series 4 has a number of new features (some subtle, some astounding), but it’s not a cheap gadget, and if you already own a Series 3, you may wonder whether the upgrade is worth it. Let’s break down the differences between the two models.

SPECS

DESIGN AND DISPLAY

The Series 3 was a familiar face for anyone who had one of the previous models, with the most notable difference being a colored dot on the crown. It was also just a tiny bit thicker than its predecessors.

The Series 4 sports a seamless edge-to-edge display, and Apple boasts that it is more than 30 percent larger than the Series 3’s. This is in keeping with the trend in mobile devices of purging bezels once and for all, and it makes for a sleek device.

The Series 3 expanded the functionality of the Apple Watch by adding cellular support, and the Series 4 builds on this with an improvement in form: The new watch has a back made of black ceramic and sapphire, which Apple claims will allow radio waves to flow with less resistance, improving reception. The Series 4 also rocks a speaker that is 50 percent louder than the previous generation’s. These factors combine to make a smartwatch that should be much better for making calls on the go — although whether this makes the Apple Watch a legitimate smartphone replacement is still up in the air.

A small but welcome touch is the addition of haptic feedback to the Series 4’s crown. As users scroll through screens, the watch will reward them with a comforting click.

FITNESS AND HEALTH-TRACKING FEATURES

The Series 3 was already a great fitness tracker. In our review, we described it as “clear, concise, informative, and encouraging, and with many different modes to suit the majority of people.” We also noted that “heart-rate monitoring is easy, and there are varied tracking options for walking, running, cycling, swimming, and more.”

The Series 4 pushes the design to new heights with the addition of an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor. When a user places their finger on the crown, the watch creates a “closed circuit” and can measure the rhythm of the user’s heart. It’s a major addition for customers worried about their heart health, and according to Apple it is the first ECG sensor available over the counter. Apple has already secured approval from the Food and Drug Administration for the Series 4 to be considered a legitimate medical device.

Another boon to the Series 4’s health tracking is the ability to detect when the user has fallen over. If the user remains on the ground for a minute, the watch can even place a call to emergency services, a miraculous feature for people who live alone and need assistance.

BATTERY LIFE

With all these new features, one may wonder if the battery life has taken a hit. Apple hasn’t extended the battery life, but it has at least maintained it. Like its predecessor, the Series 4 will get 18-hour “all-day” battery life, although Apple did bump the outdoor workout battery life to six hours.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The circle of wearable life continues, and with the arrival of the Series 4, Apple is dropping the starting price of the Series 3 to $279. The Series 4 will start at $399, or $499 for the cellular version. Customers will be able to place their orders for the Series 4 starting September 14, and the device will be available (in most markets) starting September 21.

CONCLUSION

If you’re strapped for cash, the Series 3 remains a lovely device, and you’d certainly be fine sticking with it (or picking it up at the new, lower price). For those who don’t balk at the Series 4’s price tag, however, it is undoubtedly the smartwatch to get, a bold evolution of what was already the premier device on the market. Its new health-tracking features are unparalleled, and a great addition for anyone concerned about their vitals.

HIGHS

• Impressive array of heart-tracking features, ECG
• Larger screen that looks great
• Strong performance
• Haptic feedback on crown is a nice touch
• Excellent app support

LOWS

• Longer battery life would have been nice
• Expensive
• No third party watch faces

Last year’s Apple Watch Series 3 cemented its place as the best smartwatch you can buy. This year, Apple has gone a step further to make the Apple Watch Series 4 the only wearable you need. The improvements range from a larger screen to two times better performance over the Series 3, but the spotlight falls on the electrocardiogram (ECG) app, which has been certified by the Food & Drug Administration, making the Apple Watch Series 4 the first over-the-counter ECG alternative for consumers. It’s an impressive feat, and it shows just how much of a lead Apple has over the competition.

We managed to spend some time with the new watch at Apple’s event in Cupertino. The ECG app won’t be available until later this year, but that still left us plenty to explore.

BIGGER SCREEN, SLEEK DESIGN

Like before, the Apple Watch Series 4 comes in 40mm and a 44mm size options. What’s new here is the screen real estate — you get more screen, without having to deal with a significantly bigger watch body.

Slimmer bezels allow a 30 percent larger screen, which means you can see more content than ever before. Will this affect battery life? Apple claims new low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) display technology should improve power efficiency, so we’ll just have to wait and see. The screen looks excellent, as usual, though we’ll need to use it outdoors to see if it’s easy to see in bright sunlight.

We liked the Vapor watch face, which showed off neat, dynamic animations on the watch as it lit up.

The Series 4 watch looks a little curvier than previous Apple Watch devices, but it’s just as elegant and sleek. We tried on the stainless steel 44mm watch, which felt lightweight and supremely comfortable. The leather magnetic strap wrapped around our wrist without much fuss, and the lug design meant there were no gaps between the watch and our wrist.

All this being said, we would have been thrilled to see what Apple would do with a circular watch, but it looks like that may never happen.

Accompanying the larger screen are several new watch faces, and some look better than others. The Infograph watch face, for example, looks a bit too cluttered for our tastes, but it does provide a ton of information at a glance if that’s what you want. It has an air-quality index, ultraviolet index, weather, and access to breathing exercises, heart rate, activity, music, and workout. The complications can be customized to your liking.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Other new watch faces have pretty animations that shift to the rhythm of breathing exercises — handy if you constantly find yourself stressed out.

We much preferred the Vapor watch face, which showed off neat, dynamic animations on the watch as it lit up. We do think Apple missed an opportunity here to launch a store for third-party watch faces, but baby steps were made. The Infograph Modular watch face lets you add in a slice of data from any other Apple apps or third-party apps — if developers add support. Baby steps.

MAJOR BREAKTHROUGHS

One of our favorite features on the Series 4 is the haptic feedback implemented in the Digital Crown. As you rotate the button, you can feel vibrations for every selection you move past. It’s a small but wonderful touch that makes interacting with the watch a little more fun.

The Series 4 Apple Watch can also alert you when it detects a low heart rate or an irregular heartbeat.

The crown is also what you will use for the electrocardiogram app when it’s available later this year — just tap your finger on it, and the electrical heart sensor will do the rest. You’ll be able to download a PDF to share with your doctor.

While we can’t comment on how well it works, the ECG has the potential to make a significant impact in the health community.

Many people wear the Apple Watch all day, but may not do the same with traditional ECG monitors. While the results likely won’t be as accurate as what you may find in the doctor’s office, the ability to take measurements quickly at any moment will be a major boon.

The Series 4 Apple Watch can also alert you when it detects a low heart rate, and recognize an irregular heart rate. If you have any heart-related issues, these features make the Apple Watch the watch you want to have on your wrist at all times.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Going a step further, the watch can also detect when you fall, and send out an alert to your emergency contacts if it doesn’t detect movement after a minute. Sure, Life Alert exists, but a stylish watch is a lot more enticing than a clunky pendant.

BETTER PERFORMANCE, LOUDER SPEAKER

The Apple Watch Series 4 is powered by Apple’s new S4 chip, which the company claims delivers two times faster performance. We never ran into a problem with performance on the Series 3, but we’ll happily take any improvements. Moving around the watchOS operating system is fluid and smooth, and we didn’t see any issues here.

Apple has also shifted the placement of the microphone to reduce echo during calls, and the speaker is purportedly 50 percent louder. We weren’t able to tell in the loud environment we were in, but if true that should make using the new Walkie-Talkie feature in watchOS 5 easier. Speaking of watchOS 5, you can check out all the new features available in our handy guide.

APPLE WATCH SERIES 4 COMPARED TO

Garmin Fenix 5X Plus

Casio Pro Trek WSD-F30

Alpina AlpinerX

Fossil Q Venture

Garmin Vivoactive 3

Emporio Armani Connected touchscreen…

Fitbit Ionic

Apple Watch Series 3

Diesel On Full Guard Smartwatch

Huawei Fit

Garmin Vivoactive HR

Apple Watch Series 2

Asus ZenWatch 2

Asus ZenWatch

Garmin fenix 2

We’re not expecting much of a difference with battery life of the Series 4, so expect more than a day, perhaps two, based on our experience with the Series 3.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

The Apple Watch Series 4 starts at $400 for the Wi-Fi and GPS model, and $500 for the GPS and cellular model. Prices also vary depending on whether you want the aluminum case or the stainless steel. There are a ton of options to choose from, so it’s easy to find something you’ll like. The two size options are also great for people who want a smaller or larger watch. Pre-orders start September 14, with sales starting September 21.

There’s a lot of technology fitted into the relatively small case of the Series 4 Apple Watch. It’s impressive, but we haven’t really been able to test many of these features, so we’re not ready to recommend it quite yet. Still, considering the FDA certification and the host of new heart-tracking features, this is certainly a smartwatch worth considering for everyone.

At its September hardware event, Apple unveiled it’s highly anticipated next-generation smartwatch — the Apple Watch Series 4. From a larger display to a built-in electrical heart sensor that can measure a variety of health metrics, the latest device brings along some notable new features.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Apple Watch Series 4.

DESIGN AND DISPLAY

The Apple Watch Series 4 comes in two sizes — 40mm and 44mm – and also brings along a 30 percent larger display. There’s also a redesigned modular watch face with more detailed and graphic information. Users can see stocks and heart rate, track scores from sports teams, view boarding information, and more. In terms of colors, the Series 4 comes in three aluminum finishes — silver, gold, and space gray. The Series 4 also comes in gold stainless steel with a Milanese band, in addition to the silver and space black stainless steel options. The new bands will also work with any of the Apple Watch predecessors.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The Breathe app, which many use for meditation or to lower their heart rate, will now be available as a watch face. That way, you’ll be able to use it by simply raising your wrist to allow the Breathe app to guide you through deep breaths.

For the most part, the Series 4 looks similar to its predecessors, although there’s a new digital crown with haptic feedback. This will allow for a more responsive feel when you flip through items on your watch. The speaker has also been completely redesigned, making it 50 percent louder, and the microphone can now be found on the opposite side — far away from the speaker. This will hopefully help to reduce echo and make phone calls much clearer.

The back of the Series 4 is made of black ceramic and sapphire crystal, allowing radio waves to pass through the front and back. Apple says this is meant to improve cell reception.

SPECS AND BATTERY

Under the hood is Apple’s next-generation S4, 64-bit dual-core processor that’s been designed to perform two times faster. The accelerometer and gyroscope have twice the dynamic range and can sample motion data eight times faster.

Nothing has changed when it comes to battery life, though — the Apple Watch Series 4 has the same 18-hour, all-day battery life. Apple has increased outdoor workout time to six hours, with full GPS tracking for long bike rides.

SOFTWARE AND SPECIAL HEALTH FEATURES

The Apple Watch Series 4 runs Apple’s new WatchOS 5 operating system. It comes along with a variety of improvements, like enhanced fitness and health tracking, walkie-talkie mode, and more.

The Series 4 also has a ton of additional health features. For starters, it can now detect when you fall by analyzing wrist trajectory and impact acceleration. It will then initiate an emergency call. If it senses you’re immobile for 1 minute, it’ll automatically call and send a message to your emergency contacts using the SOS feature.

While older models of the Apple Watch include an optical heart rate sensor to track calories burned, resting heart rate, and more, the Series 4 offers a few new features. You’ll now receive a notification if your heart rate appears to be too low — which could mean that your heart isn’t pumping enough blood to the body.

In addition, the Apple Watch will now be able to screen your heart rhythm in the background. It’ll send a notification to the watch if it detects irregular rhythm, which could point to atrial fibrillation. While the device isn’t able to diagnose the issue, it can detect it for you so you can then consult a doctor.

Perhaps one of the most impressive features on the Series 4 is the built-in electrical heart sensor. Built into the back of the sapphire crystal and digital crown, users can now take an electrocardiogram (ECG) — the first of its kind in a smartwatch. This will measure electrical activity of the heartbeat in order to help diagnose heart disease and other conditions. You’re able to take an ECG anytime, anywhere, straight from your wrist by opening the app and placing your finger on the digital crown. Since all of the information is stored in the health app, you’ll be able to share the ECG with a doctor, who will be able to see a more detailed picture of what’s going on. Apple has also received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration.

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

The Apple Watch Series 4 starts at $399, while the cellular model starts at $499. The Apple Watch Series 4 is now available for pre-order in the U.S., with availability beginning September 21.

Updated September 14: The Apple Watch Series 4 is now available for pre-order

The greatest Apple product comeback story of the past few years has, without a doubt, been the Apple Watch. Launched with great fanfare four years ago, the initial version tried to do way too much with way too little, and it had confusing software to boot. Worst of all, it was unclear what the original Apple Watch was even for. No single thing stood out.

Then Apple did what Apple often does: iterated, refined, and fixed. But as much as there were software and hardware improvements to the Series 2 and Series 3, the most important refinements were to the Apple Watch’s purpose. It gained clarity. It was for fitness and notifications. Eventually, when it was ready, Apple added better connectivity.

Now, with the Series 4, Apple is iterating again. And, importantly, it’s learned how to iterate the product’s hardware and its purpose at the same time. The Series 4 has finally achieved something like the original goal of the Apple Watch. It’s not quite a do-anything computer on your wrist, but it can be different things to different people now.

With apologies to the new iPhones, the Apple Watch Series 4 was the most impressive thing Apple announced last week. After using it for the past week or so, I think it lives up to the hype.

8.5VERGE SCORE

APPLE WATCH SERIES 4

GOOD STUFF

• Great battery life
• Huge, beautiful screen
• Health-tracking features, not just fitness

BAD STUFF

• Siri is still unreliable
• No always-on screen option
• Complication options can be confusing

Buy for $399.00 from Apple

For the first time since the original Apple Watch, the hardware has been fully redesigned, with a new body and new sizes. But it’s not a major overhaul. These still look like the Apple Watches you’re used to: they have the same rounded-corner lozenge shape, the same glass that curves around to match the body, and the same digital crown and single-button layout.

Before we get too far, we should talk pricing. This Watch is not especially cheap. The smallest, least expensive model comes with GPS and Wi-Fi and costs $399. But if you start piling on the upgrades, you can quickly jack up the price to something that feels exorbitant, especially if you’re upgrading from a Series 2 or Series 3. It’s $29 more for the larger size, $100 for LTE compatibility (plus $10 per month or so from your carrier), and the stainless steel models are $200 more (and only come with LTE). Add in Apple Care, and you can end up spending a lot — though it’s nothing like the wild “Edition” prices of yore. (Don’t even get me started on the Hermès model.)

THE LARGER SIZES DON’T FEEL THAT MUCH BIGGER THAN THE OLDER MODELS

The two new sizes are 40mm and 44mm, but they really don’t feel that much bigger on your wrist than the old sizes. I was using the 42mm Series 3 and the 44mm size is only subtly bigger, but it’s also subtly thinner. To me, it feels about the same, but I think the trade-off of size for thinness is worth it. I suspect the same will be true for people who prefer the smaller size, but my recommendation is to go to a store and try one on before buying.

I’m really happy — and impressed — that Apple managed to make existing Watch bands fully compatible with the new sizes. Even my old third-party bands fit seamlessly into the new Watch body.

Things look different when the screen turns on. The screen on the Series 4 is just incredibly good. Apple says it’s 30 percent bigger, which is one of those specs that’s easy to just sort of pass over when you read it. But 30 percent is a lot, and you absolutely notice it right away.

It’s still OLED so the blacks are truly black and blend into the watchface glass. But if you pick a full-screen watchface, you’ll see that the screen also goes closer to the edges of the Watch than before, including the rounded corners.

The overall effect makes the square display on my Series 3 look dumpy and cramped by comparison — even though, until last week, it was arguably the best smartwatch screen on the market. As John Gruber writes, “The Series 4 displays take up so much more of the face of the watches that the new 40mm watch’s display is larger than the display on the old 42mm models — the new small watch has a larger display than the old large watch.”

Beyond the size and the screen, there are a few other subtle exterior differences to note about the hardware. The rear of the Watch is now ceramic instead of metal to allow for a better wireless signal. If you spring for the LTE model, the garish red dot on the digital crown has been replaced with a much more subtle red ring.

The microphone has been moved between the two buttons so that it’s further away from the speaker to help reduce echo in calls. The speaker has been boosted to provide more volume. It really is way louder, and I haven’t heard any distortion during phone calls.

Last year’s Apple Watch had some issues with LTE at launch, though Apple fixed it up fairly quickly. This year, I haven’t had any major problems with LTE. In fact, several people I called with the Watch simply didn’t believe I wasn’t on a phone. It sounds good, and the louder speaker means you can hear it without holding the thing next to your ear.

But it does take the Watch a minute (sometimes two) to switch on LTE and get connected. That’s not radically worse than what happens when you pull your phone out of airplane mode, but on the Watch, it’s always a little less clear what’s happening and why when data is not coming in.

On the inside, there’s a faster S4 processor, a W3 chip (which is just Apple’s W2 chip with Bluetooth 5.0 support), and an accelerometer and gyroscope that are able to take samples of your movements more often (which is how Apple was able to add the new fall detection feature). Apple’s also tied haptics to the digital crown, so when you spin it, you feel little ticks that precisely correlate to what’s happening on the screen. It’s completely unnecessary but pretty neat.

BATTERY LIFE HAS BEEN STUPENDOUS

Last but certainly not least: the battery size is about the same. Battery life on the Series 4 is as good or better than on the Series 3 Watch. Apple claims 18 hours of regular use or six hours of outdoor workouts. I haven’t done a six-hour outdoor workout (and I don’t plan to), but my testing shows the battery life far exceeds Apple’s own claims.

I took the Watch off the charger on Saturday morning and wandered around Oakland for four hours while disconnected from my phone. I used LTE for maps, a couple calls, and GPS for tracking my outdoor walk “workout.” I was still at 50 percent at the end of that day, and I didn’t get below 20 percent by the end of my lazy Sunday (which also involved an hour or so of GPS tracking and some LTE data).

The battery life is so good that I wish Apple gave me an option for an always-on ambient screen, maybe by turning off some radios. Alas, you still have to turn your wrist to see the time.

watchOS 5 is kind of a grab bag of new features, which sounds dismissive, but I don’t mean it to be. It’s a good sign that watchOS is ready to be laden with features instead of rethought from the ground up, as it was in years past. There’s support for podcasts, Walkie Talkie mode, slightly improved (and grouped!) notifications, and a bunch of fitness and health options.

But the thing people will probably pay the most attention to are the new watchfaces that are available on the Series 4 Watches. They’re designed to show off the new rounded-corner screen. Some are just sort of flashy animations, while others are chock-full of new complications in phantasmagoric colors.

Of the new watchfaces, I am most fond of the animated ones. Apple says that the fire, water, and vapor animations were all created with practical effects. As in: literal fire, vapor, and water were filmed with high-speed cameras as they flowed on custom-welded rigs. They look great; the animations naturally flow right up to the rounded corners.

The watchface that you’ll probably see the most in ads is called “infograph.” It takes the bigger screen of the Series 4 and fills it up with as many as eight complications. There’s a “modular” version as well that shows the digital time and six complications. Like many parts of watchOS 5, they use new, more rounded fonts, too.

The infograph watchface is polarizing. I don’t like it at all, though I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a “design crime.” There are just too many colors doing too many different kinds of work splashed all over the screen in a garish and show-offy way. Too many of Apple’s watchface options are like that. Call me boring, but I prefer a Watch look that’s a little more staid. It makes me a little sad that Apple still doesn’t allow third-party watchfaces.

Even if you like the new watchfaces, you probably won’t like what happens when you try to select a new complication. There are now “old”- and “new”-style complications, which are completely different and incompatible. The newer watchfaces need the new complications, so third-party developers will have to update their apps (and so will Apple). You can’t add the Home app to the new watchfaces, only the old ones. The most annoying part is that there’s no way to know what complications are available on any given watchface without scrolling through and looking for the one you want.

On the fitness front, the best new feature is automatic workout detection, which can tell if you’ve started or stopped a workout and ask you if that’s the case and if you want to log it. There are now options for yoga, hiking, setting a target pace, and tracking your pace. You can also see your cadence as you run and challenge somebody to a week-long exercise competition. (I didn’t extensively test these features; I’m still at the “fill your damn rings” stage of my exercise goals.)

Maybe the most interesting change, though, is how Apple is more clearly separating out health features from the fitness stuff. There are a few new features in watchOS 5 and the Series 4 that are designed to help you detect health problems, not just encourage you to close those activity rings or run a marathon.

That’s interesting because it more explicitly positions the Apple Watch as a device that can help detect health problems, making it something that people who can’t exercise that much might be more interested in. Apple, as always, is very careful to not cross the line into making actual health claims about its new features. It’s careful to say that the Watch can detect things like irregular heartbeats, not that it will.

THERE’S A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “TRACKING YOUR FITNESS” AND “MONITORING YOUR HEALTH”

watchOS 5 is able to detect low heart rate now, in addition to high heart rate. Later this year, Apple will add detection for irregular rhythms and provide notifications for them. The big new feature on the Series 4 is that it can take an electrocardiogram (EKG) using electrodes built into the back of the Watch and the digital crown. It can then send a PDF of your results to your doctor. I wasn’t able to test that as it is coming later this year. Both irregular heartbeat detection and the EKG features have been granted “de novo” classification by the FDA, and that distinction is important, as Angela Chen explains:

It’s important to understand that the FDA has “cleared” both apps, but that’s not the same as “approving” them. There are usually three ways to get the FDA involved in a new project, according to Jon Speer, co-founder of Greenlight Guru, a company that makes quality management software for medical device companies. The most advanced is FDA approval, which is done only for Class III products, or technologies that might have higher risk but also a higher benefit. (Think: implantable pacemakers.) Approval is the gold standard, and companies need to do a lot of testing to receive this designation.

The Apple Watch is in Class II. For Class II and Class I, the FDA doesn’t give “approval,” it just gives clearance.

Another new feature exclusive to the Series 4 is hard fall detection, thanks to a new 800Hz accelerometer and gyroscope that can that can measure up to 32 G-forces. The Watch should be able to tell if you’ve had a spill and ask if you’d like to call emergency services. If you don’t move for a full minute after falling, it can do that automatically and also send a message to your emergency contact. Apple is turning it on automatically for users who tell the Watch they’re over age 65, and it’s making it an option for younger users as well.

I’ve tried to trigger it without hurting myself and I haven’t been able to, which I suppose is a point in the Watch’s favor. (My tests were far from scientific; I was just hurling myself at the couch.) Apple says that to build its fall detection algorithms, it used data from a study involving 2,500 participants over several years, and it also worked with assisted living facilities and movement disorder clinics.

So throwing yourself into bed after a long day shouldn’t trigger it, but a fall from a ladder or tripping over a curb and flailing your arms as you hit the ground might. Again, Apple’s health claims are not that the Watch will detect these falls, but simply that it could.

A lot of people were really excited about Walkie Talkie mode, but after testing it, I don’t think it’s especially compelling. Unlike those classic Nextel Push-to-Talk phones, Walkie Talkie mode on the Apple Watch is essentially just a FaceTime Audio call with a button you press to talk and little beeps and visual indicators to tell you if it’s your turn.

When you send the first message, you have to wait for a connection to be made, and then it’s just tapping the screen and talking. The connection stays active until a few minutes after the last person finishes speaking. It’s neat, but it doesn’t feel as instant as a true PTT system. I also had connectivity problems with it, but that may have just been OS launch-day overloading.

That said, it’s silly fun to push the big yellow button with your nose when it’s your turn to talk. I strongly recommended it. (If it becomes a thing, I want to make sure I get full credit for coining the term “nose calls.”)

Siri on watchOS 5 is still Siri. There’s a new feature that lets you simply lift your wrist and start taking instead of pushing a button or saying “Hey Siri,” and it works really well. The Siri shortcuts you set up on your iPhone should also work from your Watch, too. Siri still feels super unreliable, though.

Siri gets especially fussy when you have a spotty connection. Too often, when I wanted to ask a question, I’d be met with a “hang on…” message, followed by a “I’ll tap you when I’m ready” message, followed by an interminable wait during which I’d forget whatever it was I needed Siri for.

One last little watchOS 5 thing I must mention: you can open links to webpages now, too, which is kind of fun. Articles you click on get put into readability mode, so you don’t have to worry too much about ads or bad layouts on your Watch. Hooray for the web!

This year’s Apple Watch is incredibly good. If you use it just for notifications and step counting, it’s probably overkill, but it’s able to handle more advanced features better than any other smartwatch I’ve tested. Mapping, music, workouts, calls, texting, podcasts… most of the stuff I could imagine wanting from a smartwatch works better than ever before. The only real bummer is that I still don’t feel like I can trust Siri to do everything I’d like reliably, and that’s more of an intermittent hassle than a real killer.

If you’re looking at this Watch with an eye toward the health features, I have to admit that they’re difficult to test: the new features could be very compelling to a lot of people. Passive monitoring for heart problems and falls could literally be lifesavers, but they aren’t all available yet, and we’d need to see third-party lab testing to really make a call there.

THE APPLE WATCH HAS EARNED ITS PLACE AS THE BEST-SELLING WATCH

For people who are looking to upgrade an existing Apple Watch, that’s a harder question to answer than usual. Spending four to six hundred bucks for a bigger screen is a luxury I wouldn’t casually recommend to anybody, even though the screen is wonderful. Many of watchOS 5’s best features will work fine on more recent Apple Watches, too. Yes, there are exclusive watchfaces on the Series 4, but that’s also a silly thing to drop so much money for.

What I can tell you is this: the Apple Watch has earned its place as the best-selling watch. It’s at least an order of magnitude better than other smartwatches and fitness trackers. Nearly everything it is designed to do, it does very well. It’s not yet a general purpose computer for your wrist, but, thankfully, Apple isn’t aiming for that anymore. The Watch is for doing little bite-sized versions of phone things like texting and listening to music, it’s for fitness, and it’s for health monitoring.

Now that Apple has figured out what the Apple Watch is for, the Series 4 just makes it better.

Solid updates to a winning formula

Last year, Apple did something out of character: it introduced the usual update to the iPhone, the iPhone 8, while simultaneously introducing the iPhone X with a flurry of hype. The iPhone X was a total rethinking of the iPhone, with a new gesture system, Face ID unlocking, and an edge-to-edge screen that prompted a wave of app redesigns.

The iPhone X was meant to usher in the future of phones, and it succeeded; its influence (and its notch) are all over the industry now. Apple has gone from being an iPhone company to being an iPhone X company. This year, the iPhone X comes in one of two flavors: the updated, high-end iPhone XS and the midrange iPhone XR, which won’t arrive until next month.

APPLE HAS GONE FROM BEING AN IPHONE COMPANY TO BEING AN IPHONE X COMPANY

There are two iPhone XS models: the 5.8-inch XS and the new iPhone XS Max, which has a much larger 6.5-inch display and a frankly ridiculous name.

Really, both iPhone XS models are fundamentally just spec-bumped updates to the iPhone X. They have a new main camera sensor, a new processor, and a bunch of small updates that add up to a much nicer device than the X. One year after the notch, the arrival of the iPhone XS means we can look back at all the changes introduced by the iPhone X and see how they’ve gone, while looking at where Apple’s pushing the high end of phones next.

8.5VERGE SCORE

APPLE IPHONE XS

GOOD STUFF

• Terrific display
• Great speakers
• Long battery life

BAD STUFF

• Very good but not great camera
• Portrait Mode is extremely hit or miss
• Expensive

Buy for $999.00 from Apple

8.5VERGE SCORE

APPLE IPHONE XS MAX

GOOD STUFF

• Terrific display
• Great speakers
• Long battery life

BAD STUFF

• Very good but not great camera
• Portrait Mode is extremely hit or miss
• Expensive
• If you buy a XS Max, you might have to say “iPhone XS Max” out loud

Buy for $1,099.00 from Apple

XS MAXIMUM

Let’s start with the XS Max. Apart from the size, the XS and the XS Max are identical. They have the same A12 Bionic processor, same cameras, and the same OLED display tech with 458 pixels per inch. The XS Max also has a larger battery, which is nice. After a week of using it as my primary phone, the XS Max feels both bigger and smaller than I expected. Physically, it’s the same size as the iPhone 8 Plus and the Pixel 2 XL, and it definitely shares the same surfboard quality as Apple’s previous Plus-sized phones — at least when you look at it from the back.

But the edge-to-edge screen makes it seem much more reasonable from the front. The XS has the same OLED display as last year’s X, and the XS Max looks exactly like that display, just bigger. Because the screen fills the entire front of the phone, the XS Max doesn’t seem as huge as the Plus phones. It’s absolutely killer for watching videos or playing games on its huge, gorgeous display. I love it.

At the same time, the XS Max’s size gets away from it. The large bezels on the older Plus phones mean the top of the display is actually lower on the phone, making it easier to reach. To pull down notifications or Control Center on the XS Max, you have to reach the very top of the device. I have big hands, and I basically can’t do it without tipping the phone over in my hand; I ended up having to use two hands most of the time. You can use Apple’s reachability feature to pull down the UI and then swipe, but that’s two swipes for one thing, and it just makes me a little sad.

The XS Max also doesn’t really do a ton in software to take advantage of that big display: there’s no extra row of home screen icons or picture-in-picture for video. Some apps that haven’t been updated look a little broken right now, particularly Instagram. Everything else is mostly just bigger; apps like Slack, Gmail, and Twitter show you the exact same amount of information as the smaller XS. If you think big things are funny (they are) check out the size of the status bar when you pull Control Center down. AT&T WIFI, it bellows at you. THE TIME IS 4:12PM, AND YOU HAVE 68 PERCENT BATTERY. I giggle every time, just as I did with the original Plus phones.

EVERYTHING IS MOSTLY JUST BIGGER ON THE XS MAX

There are some software changes for the bigger display that are familiar from the Plus: in landscape mode, certain apps can switch to a sidebar view, and you’ll see tabs (with favicons if you turn them on) in Safari. But that’s really it. Apple told me that it doesn’t want to overstuff the display because it doesn’t want the interface elements to be too small to tap on, and most people really do just want a bigger interface on a large phone, which makes sense. I just wish I had the option to up the information density on the XS Max just a little.

So yes, if you want a huge screen, get a XS Max. It’s a gigantic, beautiful screen, and I have enjoyed looking at it a lot. But nothing about it is easier to handle than the old Plus phones, and in some cases, it’s harder.

DISPLAY AND FACE ID

The iPhone XS has the same OLED display as the X, with curved corners and the notch. After a year of looking at this display, I’m confident in saying that it’s one of the best displays available, with excellent color reproduction and brightness. And Apple’s TrueTone and Night Shift features are terrific; it’s easy to look at this screen all the time. (I also think Apple’s claim that this display supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision is a little silly. Sure, it gets brighter, but it’s nothing like HDR on a real TV.)

ONE OF THE BEST DISPLAYS AVAILABLE

Last year, we were wondering how Apple would handle burn-in on this new OLED display, and this year we know:there are basically no problems with burn-in on the iPhone X display. I would expect the XS to keep that up.

We’ve also learned that the iPhone X scratches way more easily than you’d expect. The glass on the front and back of the XS is supposed to be more durable, so we’ll see. My review units look pretty good so far, but that’s only after a week of use.

It’s also been a full year since Apple introduced Face ID, and we know that it works pretty well most of the time. Face ID on the XS is ever-so-slightly faster than the X. It’s noticeable side by side, but it’s not so much faster that you won’t find yourself pointedly staring at the phone to unlock it from time to time. iOS 12 lets you add a “secondary appearance,” which allows you to set up a second person if you want, which is nice.

A YEAR LATER, AND FACE ID SEEMS EASIER TO SET AND FORGET THAN TOUCH ID

Other than the minor speed increase and secondary appearance support, Face ID is still Face ID: it doesn’t work in landscape or upside down or anything like that. If you wear glasses like me, you’ll still have to enter your passcode every morning when you wake up because you’re holding the phone too close to your face for it to work. And sunglasses that block IR light will still prevent it from working. Apple says it’s working with sunglass makers to ship new kinds of sunglasses that support Face ID. (Only Apple can get another entirely different industry to adapt to its phone, instead of the other way around.)

A year later, and it’s pretty clear that Face ID is easier for people to set up and forget about than Touch ID, which means more people are securing their phones. That’s a good thing.

CAMERAS

The camera upgrades on the XS over the X are significant. The XS makes the X camera look terrible most of the time. But we’ve been saying the best smartphone camera on the market is Google’s Pixel 2 for a year now, so that’s the standard to beat. And… I think the Pixel 2 still has a better camera than the iPhone XS. Don’t get me wrong: most people are going to like the photos they get from the iPhone XS. It has a solid camera, and I prefer it to the Galaxy S9. But compared to the Pixel 2, the XS doesn’t really do it for me.

I THINK THE PIXEL 2 STILL HAS A BETTER CAMERA THAN THE IPHONE XS

The front camera on the iPhone XS is the same as the iPhone X: a 7-megapixel sensor with a f/2.2 lens that takes depth information from the TrueDepth system to support Portrait Mode. The rear telephoto camera is also the same as the iPhone X: an optically stabilized f/2.4 lens with the same 12-megapixel sensor.

But the rear wide angle camera (that you’ll use most often) has been updated: it’s still an optically stabilized f/1.8 lens with a 12-megapixel sensor, but each of those 12 megapixels is physically bigger now, which means they can collect more light. They are bigger, at 1.4µm pixels instead of 1.22µm, and deeper, at 3.5µm instead of 3.1µm. There’s also twice as many “focus pixels,” which is what Apple calls its phase-detect autofocus system.

Apple’s also revamped its image processing in a new system it’s calling Smart HDR, which runs photos through the A12 Bionic’s new integrated image signal processing subsystem and the Neural Engine. The basic idea is very similar to what Google’s doing on the Pixel 2: the iPhone XS takes a series of images at different exposures and combines them into a final photo. Like the Pixel 2, the iPhone XS starts a rolling buffer of four images the second you open the camera app, which allows for zero shutter lag. The image has already been captured the instant you push the shutter button.

THE IPHONE XS GENERALLY TAKES FAR BETTER PHOTOS THAN THE IPHONE X, BUT IT LOOKS MORE LIKE SAMSUNG’S CAMERAS THAN EVER

But while the Pixel 2 combines several underexposed frames, the iPhone XS also captures an additional overexposed image for each shot in the buffer, which picks up additional detail in the shadows of your image. Then, it looks at the other frames in the buffer to see if they can add additional detail, before merging several images together to create the final photo. It also detects faces and motion, so it knows what it’s looking at and adjusts the processing accordingly.

This whole concept is called “computational photography,” and it takes a lot of computing power. No DSLR or mirrorless camera to date can pull stuff like this off, especially not in real-time. That A12 Bionic does all of this capture and layering work in the instant it takes you to snap a photo.

The new Smart HDR feature lets the iPhone XS generally take far better photos than the iPhone X. They’re brighter, they’re better in low light, they have more detail, you name it. Over the past year, I’ve become less and less impressed with the iPhone X camera, and the iPhone XS is a solid improvement.

iPhone XS.

iPhone X.

But Smart HDR is extremely aggressive — overly so, to my eye. It flattens out contrast in images and consistently smooths detail out of photos. You can see it clearly when you zoom in to a 100 percent crop of the same photo taken on the Pixel 2 and the iPhone XS: the Pixel captures more detail, while the iPhone tends to smooth it out. This loss of detail is the thing that bothered me the most about the iPhone X camera, and while the iPhone XS is better, the smoothing still disappoints me every time I see it.

iPhone XS.

Pixel 2XL.

iPhone XS at 150% (left) | Pixel 2XL at 150% (right)

Apple used to talk a big game about having a more accurate camera than Samsung, which has done aggressive smoothing and saturation tricks for years, but images from the iPhone XS camera look more like Samsung’s cameras than ever. And that might be fine for most people — most of these photos will only ever be viewed on mobile displays, and XS photos look fine to great on smartphone screens — but I don’t think they hold up to scrutiny the way Pixel 2 photos do.

iPhone XS (left) | Samsung S9+ (right)

Loss of detail is one thing, but there are some subjective things I prefer about the Pixel 2 as well: the XS shoots extremely warm photos, while the Pixel is more true to life, if a little muddier in the reds. Pixel 2 photos are extremely contrasty and somewhat desaturated, which I like but some people find harsh. This is all part of an age-old battle between what’s accurate and what people like to look at, and there’s really no right answer.

I would never try to tell you what photos you should like better, but it seems obvious that Apple and Samsung are chasing a different overall look than Google. And I can definitely tell you that more detail in photos is better than less.

iPhone XS (left) | Pixel 2XL

Apple’s also updated Portrait Mode on the XS, which blurs out the background and adjusts the lighting on your face to make your phone photos look more like photos taken with big cameras and lenses. The iPhone XS has a big new trick: it lets you adjust the blur after you take the shot. Samsung’s phones have allowed you to change the blur like this for a while, but Apple’s portrait photos look a lot better to me because the phone is doing a lot more work. But that doesn’t mean they always look good.

The XS does a lot of things very quickly when you shoot a Portrait Mode photo: it identifies the faces in the scene and splits apart the background and foreground. Then it creates a depth map of the entire scene, particularly the subject in the foreground. Then it applies blur progressively to that depth map to model how a real lens on a real full-frame camera would smoothly transition the blur from foreground to background.

It’s pretty neat to adjust the blur after the fact and watch different parts of the image get blurrier at different rates. It’s definitely doing more than just cutting the background out and making it all blurry. It’s nicer than what phones like the Pixel 2 and S9 can do, although it still struggles around the edges and it has a tendency to cut off glasses.

Apple says it modeled the Portrait Mode blur against prime lenses on full-frame cameras, so we tested it against a 50mm lens on a Canon 5D Mark IV. As you’d expect, the Canon won running away. Apple’s software blur just isn’t there yet. But most people don’t have big cameras and expensive lenses, and Portrait Mode will do a lot for them. But it’s still a little gimmicky: I took close to 5,000 photos with my iPhone X over the past year, and just 207 of them were in Portrait Mode. I don’t think the new Portrait Mode on the XS is going to make me use it much more.

iPhone XS f2.2 (left) | Canon 5D Mark IV f2.2 (right)

On the video front, there are some new software stabilization algorithms on the rear cameras and entirely new stabilization for the front camera as well as the ability to record stereo audio. I didn’t take too many videos with the XS in my testing, but to me, it looks just as good as the X, which has been great over the past year.

Apple’s not wrong when it says the iPhone is the most popular camera in the world, and every improvement the company makes is welcome. It means more people are taking better photos. But I don’t think it’s the best smartphone camera out there anymore, and that’s even before the Pixel 3 comes out in just a few weeks.

PROCESSOR AND BATTERY LIFE

Last year’s iPhone X had an A11 Bionic chip, and this year’s iPhone XS has an A12 Bionic. In terms of CPU performance, the A12 really isn’t that much faster: Apple only quotes a 15 percent performance improvement, and I didn’t really see a noticeable speedup over my iPhone X.

The A12’s GPU is 50 percent faster, but, as usual, that feels like headroom for the future since these devices tend to stick around for so long. Last year’s A11 GPU was 30 percent faster than the A10, and it’s not like developers are maxing that out after a year. Apple has a huge performance lead over the entire smartphone industry, and I think it’s great that it’s using that lead to make its devices last as long as possible, instead of running them at the bleeding edge of power and performance all the time.

I GOT A FULL 12 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE OUT OF THE XS MAX WITHOUT USING LOW POWER MODE

The big change to the A12 is the new Neural Engine, which accelerates machine learning. Apple claims the Neural Engine on the A11 could perform 600 billion operations per second, while the A12 can do 5 trillion. That’s a huge increase — especially since the system also uses much less power — but in real-world use, the apps just aren’t really there yet. You’re basically just looking at a bunch of AR demos and the new camera features.

The A12 is also the industry’s first 7nm chip to ship at scale, which is a big deal for a variety of reasons, particularly battery life. I mostly tested the XS Max, and it did great — better than even Apple’s claim of 90 minutes more than the X. In fact, I got a full 12 hours of battery life out of the XS Max without low power mode, and that’s even under my heavy daily use of constant Slack and email, video watching, photo taking, and browsing. The smaller XS is rated to get 30 minutes more than the X, which has run for about eight hours for me this past year. It’s solid.

EVERYTHING ELSE

Apple made a big deal out of the “wide stereo” speakers on the XS during the keynote, which felt a little silly, but the speakers on the iPhone XS are definitely louder and clearer than the speakers on the X. Like the X, the XS boosts the volume of the earpiece speaker to serve as the other stereo channel. But this year, both the earpiece speaker and the bottom speaker are closely matched, which lets Apple do some processing on the audio for greater stereo separation. I don’t think it’s super noticeable, but any improvement to phone speakers is a good one, and this is a good one.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

IOS 12

I didn’t spend a lot of time on iOS 12 in this review since my colleague Chaim Gartenberg just published a detailed iOS 12 review. But here’s his bullet point version:

• Improved performance, especially on older devices (it’s worth updating for this alone)
• Screen Time is Apple’s attempt at time well spent — it’s a lot of information, but you’re mostly on your own to set it up and use it
• Notifications group by app (finally!) and are easier to mute
• Siri Shortcuts might make Siri way more useful, if developers get on board
• Memoji is a fun thing you’ll use once and forget about forever

The internal wireless charging coil of the iPhone XS has also been improved, so it’s more forgiving of placement, and Apple says it’ll get to a full charge 30 minutes faster using the same charging pads as before. AirPower, the wireless charging system Apple announced last year, seems to be dead for now; Apple wouldn’t say anything about it when I asked.

Yes, the iPhone XS still has 3D Touch; press on that screen while you still can. And not having a headphone jack or USB-C is still very sad, especially because the entirely Apple-controlled Lightning ecosystem is extremely weak: there are very few Lightning headphones, zero third-party headphone dongles, and exactly one certified iPhone X battery case… that isn’t yet certified for the XS. Apple wants you to buy AirPods, so AirPods you will buy.

Dust and water resistance has been improved to IP68 from IP67 on the X and the XR. That means you can keep the XS at a depth of two meters of water for 30 minutes at a time, which seems like a lot. When you’re done splashing around, Apple recommends letting it dry for five hours before plugging it in to charge. (There’s still no warranty against water damage, though.)

The XS also has dual-SIM support, but we weren’t able to test it yet. It arrives with a software update this fall. We’ll report back when it gets here.

So that’s the iPhone XS. Should you get one?

Well, these are still expensive phones: the iPhone XS starts at $999, and the top-of-the-line iPhone XS Max with 512GB of storage will cost you $1,449. That’s a lot of money. I am sure some people will find it ridiculous, while others will have already happily preordered.

IT’S WORTH WAITING TO CHECK OUT THE IPHONE XR BEFORE RUSHING INTO THE IPHONE XS

I would not rush out to spend another $999 on the XS if you have a X, but if you’re already deep into a preorder, don’t worry: you will love the iPhone XS. It is, indeed, more iPhone, and it will probably hold up for years to come. I definitely prefer the Pixel 2’s camera, but the iPhone XS isn’t that far behind, and it’s still a significant improvement over previous iPhones.

For everyone else, I think it’s worth waiting to see how the iPhone XR turns out before rushing in. It has the same processor and the same main camera for $750. The only major question is how good its 6.1-inch LCD will look in comparison to the OLED on the XS. But for that, we’ll just have to wait and see next month.

지난주 아이폰 11 시리즈가 공개됐다. 이번 주말 1차 출시국 판매를 앞두고 유명 해외 매체에는 직접 제품을 사용해 본 리뷰가 나왔다. 앞으로 구매를 할까 말까 고민하고 있다면 참고해 볼 만하다. 아이폰 국내 판매 일정은 아직 미정이다. 다음 달 예약판매를 시작할 것으로 기대된다.

◆ 아이폰 11 리뷰 정리

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아이폰 11에 대한 평가는 전반적으로 좋은 편이다. 미국 가격 기준으로 50달러가 낮아진 점부터 듀얼 카메라 및 성능 등에서 좋은 리뷰를 받았다.

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엔가젯은 아이폰 11에 100점 만점에 91점을 줬다. 매체는 '정말 좋아서 어쩌면 프로 버전이 필요가 없을 정도'라는 문장으로 평가를 정리했다. 엔가젯이 뽑은 장점은 전작인 아이폰 XR 보다 약간 낮아진 가격, 높은 성능, 활용도 좋은 초광각 카메라 그리고 훌륭한 배터리 사용 시간이다.

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단점으로 뽑은 부분도 있다. 아이폰 XR부터 지적됐던 고화질이라 부르기엔 아쉬운 디스플레이, 모든 사람들의 취향에 맞을 것 같진 않은 디자인적 요소 그리고 작년과 달라진 색상이다. 일부 사라지거나 바뀐 색상의 경우 호불호가 있을 것으로 보인다.

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더버지는 아이폰 11에 대해 10점 만점에 9점의 평점을 부여했다. 전반적으로 호평인 리뷰는 '디스플레이에 큰 신경을 쓰지 않는다면 프로 모델을 사지 않아도 될 정도'라고 설명한다.

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엔가젯과 마찬가지로 가격, 카메라 성능, 배터리 수명이 장점으로 뽑혔다. 단점은 조금 달랐다. 매체는 큰 단일 사이즈, 아직 개선이 더 필요한 새 운영 체계 iOS 13, 시대착오적인 느린 5W 충전기 번들 등이다.

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아이폰을 사용했거나 앞으로 사용하고 싶은 소비자 중 디스플레이에 민감하지 않은 사람이라면 아이폰 11을 선택해도 좋을 것 같다. 물론 색상과 무게를 견딜 수 있어야 한다.

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◆ 아이폰 11 프로 및 프로 맥스 리뷰 정리

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더버지는 아이폰 11프로 두 모델에 대해서도 평점 9점을 줬다. 앞서 출시된 삼성 갤럭시 노트 10은 8점을 받은 바 있다.

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매체는 아이폰 11 프로 모델의 늘어난 배터리 수명을 가장 큰 장점으로 꼽았다. 애플은 제품을 발표하며 아이폰 11 프로 두 모델이 전작인 아이폰 XS와 XS 맥스에 비해 약 3~4시간 사용 시간이 늘어났다고 설명했다. 이 밖에도 디스플레이와 카메라 성능 역시 주요 장점으로 설명했다.

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단점은 아이폰 11과 마찬가지로 아직도 버그가 많은 iOS 13, 비싼 가격 그리고 비싼데 과거 전작 패키지에 들어있던 번들 헤드폰 잭 동글까지 없는 점이 선정됐다.

엔가젯은 아이폰 11프로 모델에 아이폰 11보다는 낮은 리뷰 점수 90점을 부여했다. 한마디로 '더 낫지만 획기적이지는 않다'라고 설명했다. 매체는 경쟁 모델인 갤럭시 노트 10과 10 플러스에 각각 89점과 90점을 준 바 있다.

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장점으로는 역시 배터리 수명이 꼽혔다. 또한 트리플 카메라 등 전반적인 성능을 언급했다. 더버지와 달랐던 점은 새 iOS 13을 단점으로 언급하기보다는 새로운 툴에 집중해 장점에 얘기했다는 점이다.

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아이폰 11 맥스 두 모델의 단점에는 비싼 가격이 있었다. 또한 논란이 계속 이어지는 '인덕션'으로 불리는 아이폰 트리플 카메라 디자인과 종종 디테일을 놓치는 광각 카메라가 뽑혔다.

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아이폰 11 프로와 아이폰 11을 함께 두고 고민하는 소비자가 많을 거다. 가격과 상관없이 애플이 항상 말하는 '지금까지 나온 아이폰 중 가장 뛰어난 성능을 가진 아이폰'을 갖고 싶다면 아이폰 11 프로 중 디스플레이 크기만 고민해도 될 것 같다. 혹시 지금 쓰고 있는 스마트폰을 1년 더 쓸 수 있다면 더 많이 바뀔 다음 아이폰을 기다리는 것도 방법이다.

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테크플러스 에디터 김창욱

tech-plus@naver.com

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*네이버 테크 구독하기*

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*테크플러스 텔레그램 구독하기*

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지난주 아이폰 11 시리즈가 공개됐다. 이번 주말 1차 출시국 판매를 앞두고 유명 해외 매체에는 직접 제품을 사용해 본 리뷰가 나왔다. 앞으로 구매를 할까 말까 고민하고 있다면 참고해 볼 만하다. 아이폰 국내 판매 일정은 아직 미정이다. 다음 달 예약판매를 시작할 것으로 기대된다.