Apple Announces New iPhone, HomePod Mini at Annual Reveal

(Apple)

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Apple announced the latest iPhones and HomePod at an online Apple Event on Oct. 13.

In what Apple CEO Tim Cook calls “a new era for iPhones,” the technology company announced it will have four new phones—the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max, all with 5G. Their prices start from $699, $799, $999, and $1,099, respectively.

The smaller two come in blue, green, black, white, and product red. The pro models come in graphite, silver, gold, and pacific blue.

(Apple)

(Apple)

The models will have improved cameras and be able to shoot HDR video with Dolby Vision. The pro models will be able to save photos in RAW format and have LiDAR scanners for better night photography.

According to Apple, 5G will have faster download and upload speeds.

The iPhone 12 models have an A14 Bionic chip for higher efficiency. The chip is expected to increase CPU and GPU speeds by up to 50 percent.

They will have a magnetic MagSafe for high-powered wireless charging.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro will start Oct. 16, and they will be available starting Oct. 23. The iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max will start pre-orders on Nov. 6 and be available Nov. 13.

(Apple)

The HomePod Mini

The latest HomePod mini is designed to have better sound and more functions. With the virtual assistant known as Siri, the HomePod mini can recognize voices from different members of the household and customize each person’s preferences. People can ask Siri to provide daily updates, schedules, meetings, and texts.

It will also work with Apple devices, including calling from an iPhone, playing music from a Mac, or playing audio from Apple TV.

In addition, it will work with Apple Music, podcasts, and a few radio stations like iHeartRadio, radio.com, and TuneIn in the coming months.

The spherical speaker is 3.3 inches tall and costs $99.