Apple debuts new products, including iPhone X

9/12/2017

The $1,000 iPhone X comes with 250 gigabytes of storage and an upgraded camera.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Apple Inc. unveiled its latest slew of new products on Tuesday including a new $1,000 iPhone that is sure to bring out aficionados of the company’s devices when they arrive in local stores later this month and again in early November.

“As always they delivered great products. The Apple Watch, that was pretty good,” said Michael Oberdick, the owner of iOutlet in Bowling Green, a company that sells previously-owned Apple devices and as well as repairs Apple products.

In a live-streaming event held at Apple’s new spaceship-like headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., the technology firm introduced a new versions of its Apple Watch and Apple TV set-top box, plus two new phones, the iPhone 8 ($700) and a larger iPhone 8 Plus ($800) version.

But the star of the Internet show was the iPhone X (10), a thin, sleek phone that has 3D face-recognition technology, a state-of-the-art camera, and a $999 price tag — double the price of the first iPhone that Apple introduced 10 years ago.

The other products will be available for pre-order starting Friday and should hit stores a week later. The iPhone X will be available for pre-order on Oct. 27 and should arrive in stores on Nov. 3.

Mr. Oberdick, an Apple products user since age 15, was among a roomful of employees at iOutlet watching on their computers as Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced the each new product.

He liked wireless charging technology that the new devices will have, and he was intrigued by the face-recognition software — a new security option on the iPhone X that replaces a previous finger touch security device.

“It’s more secure than the touch ID. We knew it was coming, we just didn’t know what it would look like,” said Mr. Oberdick, who indicated likely will be among the first to buy the new phone despite its $1,000 price tag.

“Most people are not really paying $1,000 up front for a phone. Most of that price get tacked on the carrier’s bill,” he said.

Also, for $1,000 you get a handheld computer with 250 gigabytes of storage and an upgraded camera.

“Phones have replaced laptops for a lot of people. So if you’d pay $1,000 for a laptop, it’s not that crazy to think about that for a phone. And the world runs on phones now,” Mr. Oberdick said.

At Cell Phone Repair Toledo, which is located in Holland, store manager and tech repair specialist Keyvon Brown watched the live streaming event. And while he uses an Android-based phone now, Mr. Brown said he was very enthused about the iPhone X.

“That actually made me lean a little more toward Apple. I’m into photography and that camera is amazing,” he said.

Andy Dempster, owner-manager of the MacCafe store in Toledo said he needs to know more about the new iPhones before deciding whether he’d want one.

“But it sounds like there’s a significant advancement as far as phone technology goes,” he said. “...That’s not surprising. It’s where they have to go because it’s where their profits are, it’s where their energy is.”

Mr. Dempster said the face recognition would be an improvement over the touch security system on the iPhone 7. “This beats the tedium of putting in your fingerprints, but Apple has always been in the forefront on security. They take it very seriously,” he said.

“To me, the price would be high, but I’m not in their target market. I think $1,000 probably isn’t off-putting to their target market,” Mr. Dempster said.

Contact Jon Chavez at jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.