Apple's 10th anniversary iPhone, the iPhone X, was announced on 12 September at the Steve Jobs Theatre at Apple Park, the tech giant's new San Francisco headquarters.
It brings a whole range of new features to Apple's flagship device a decade after Jobs launched the original, multi-touch iPhone.
iPhone X latest news29/09/2017: How will iPhone X's Face ID work?
Apple has released a video explaining how its FaceID identification platform will work, revealing it uses neural networks to resist spoofing attempts. However, it would seem even Apple can't explain exactly how the technology works, according to the BBC.
Because it's been designed to prevent people that are not the owner from breaking into the phone, its behaviour "can be observed but the underlying process remains opaque," the BBC explained.
Although it will be able to tell the difference between its rightful owner trying to unlock the device and someone wearing a mask that closely resembles them, it will never be able to reveal how it came to the conclusion the disguised individual wasn't the person who set up Face ID.
"The developers of these kinds of systems have some level of insight into what is happening but can't really create a narrative answer for why, in a specific case, a specific action is selected," Rob Wortham, an artificial intelligence researcher at the University of Bath told the broadcaster.
"With neural networks there's nothing in there to hang on to - even if you can inspect what's going on inside the black box, you are none the wiser after doing so. There's no machinery to enable you to trace what decisions led to the outputs."
However, Apple does explain very roughly how it identifies the facial features of the face trying to unlock the device, shining 30,000 invisible infrared dots on it in a randomised way (which will vary from device to device). The information is then turned into an encrypted mathematical formulation and then compared to the data gleaned from the owner's face, which is stored in a secure compartment of the iPhone.
It's this final part that uses Apple-developed neural networks that cannot be hacked or changed, or in fact, explained by Apple.
Facial recognition has come under quite a lot of scrutiny in the past, with people claiming it's not as secure as fingerprint recognition, for example. However, Apple launching the video so far ahead of the iPhone X's launch date will hopefully go some way to allay those worries.
25/09/2017: iPhone X launch could cause iPhone 8 sales to nosedive
The iPhone 8 launched on Friday and it seems sales may be a bit lacklustre compared to previous iPhone sales on launch weekend as people wait for the iPhone X to become available later in the year.
Instead of massive queues for the latest iPhone to land, Apple Store staff were instead left a little disappointed by demand for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which were both available to pre-order from September 15th. The Metro explained the queues outside Apple stores around the country were shorter than they had been for any other device launch in recent years.
This is because the new flagship, the higher-specced iPhone X, won't come out until November, although some analysts have anticipated that may need to be pushed back because some of the parts to make the edge-to-edge display are in short supply.
Apple is yet to comment on sales of the iPhone 8 on its launch weekend and as is the case in the past, it's unlikely to reveal how many devices have shipped until much later down the line. Even then, we don't expect them to be particularly accurate.
20/09/2017: 40% of Apple fans won't use Face ID for Apple Pay
Almost half of iPhone users won't make payments using Face ID, a report by Juniper Research has revealed. The research firm explained 74% of iPhone owners would prefer to use their fingerprint to authenticate transactions, while 64% are more likely to opt for voice recognition methods.
The reason for this could be that iPhone users are more accustomed to using their fingerprint to verify their identity rather than having to look at their phone's screen. Although voice recognition isn't available natively on the iPhone for use with Apple Pay, it is supported by some third party apps.
Juniper Research questioned 500 smartphone users in the UK and the same number in the US about their attitude towards making contactless payments. Although the number of people using contactless technologies to buy things rose by 12% in the UK, 32% of non-contactless payment users are concerned about the security of technology, perhaps slowing down adoption in the future.
Only 26% of those not currently using contactless payments think they might start using Apple Pay and other contactless services such as Samsung Pay and Apple Pay in future.
"Transaction security is a key barrier for mobile financial services adoption," remarked research author James Moar. "Addressing these concerns will bring many consumers to the point where they will consider using such services."
15/09/2017: Apple's iPhone X Face ID will only recognise one face
If you were hoping to share an iPhone X between family members or colleagues, it seems only one person will be able to unlock it using FaceID, which could certainly cause a family/employment rift.
A number of sources asked Apple about the technology at the launch on Wednesday and whether it will support multiple faces. However, the company explained it will only support one face when the device launches toward the end of the year.
Although this makes sense if you're using your phone for business and you need to keep information secured against unauthorised use, it could cause problems if someone else needs to access your device, obviously with your permission.
Apple's previous security feature, TouchID, supported a number of fingerprints, allowing the user to scan up to five digits to unlock the device (because you may use the phone in different positions according to what you're doing on the device), but as you only have one face, it does make sense for only one face to be recognised.
For those who wish to share access to their iPhone X with others, they can add a backup passcode and shared users can just use that instead.
14/09/2017: Apple explains away Craig Federighi's Face ID misfortune
When Apple launched the iPhone X's Face ID feature on stage earlier this week, the facial recognition feature appeared to malfunction - but Apple says it's not so.
Executive Craig Federighi ran into some trouble when attempting to demonstrate how easily and efficiently the new Face ID works on Tuesday. While trying to unlock the phone on stage, the device refused to recognise his face, prompting him to enter the passcode.
Apple has since claimed that this glitch came from a large number of its own employees trying to use the phone backstage, which led to the phone trying to authenticate each person handling the device.
Since none of these people were Craig Federighi, the phone locked up and required a passcode for entry.
"People were handling the device for stage demo ahead of time," an Apple spokesperson told Yahoo (via the Guardian - the quote isn't currently on Yahoo's story), "and didn't realise Face ID was trying to authenticate their face.
"After failing a number of times, because they weren't Craig, the iPhone did what it was designed to do, which was to require his passcode. Face ID worked as it was designed to."
However, while Federighi successfully demoed Face ID with a backup phone, the failure might still create concern for those planning on purchasing the iPhone X, due to the likelihood of accidental lockouts this suggests.
12/09/2017: Apple launches iPhone 10 as well as iPhone 8 and 8 Plus
Apple has finally taken the wraps off the new iPhone X, confirming details that have been widely rumoured for months.
The biggest change is the new edge-to-edge OLED Super Retina Display. Measuring 5.8in, with a resolution of 2436 x 1125 and a pixel density of 458ppi, the display is the first OLED panel the company has ever used. As with the iPhone 8, the display features TrueTone and HDR technology.
Like the iPhone 8, it has a glass back, which allows it to also take advantage of wireless charging. The two front and rear glass panels are banded with stainless steel, and the iPhone X will be available in space grey and silver.
As the screen now takes up the entire surface area of the phone, the home button has been completely eliminated and with it, the Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Instead, the iPhone X is unlocked with facial recognition, which Apple is dubbing 'Face ID'. The iPhone X uses machine learning to recognise your face, and Apple claims that it will work even in the dark.
Any apps that currently work with Touch ID will work with Face ID, including Apple Pay and third-party software.
The iPhone X will also support 'animoji' - animated emojis that uses AR technology to map your face and transpose your movements to certain Emoji, creating stickers and animated voice messages Naturally, the company has also partnered with Snapchat to optimise masks and filters for the iPhone X's new AR capabilities.
The iPhone X uses the same camera technology as the iPhone 8 Plus - a dual-camera setup with a telephoto and wide-angle lens. The main improvements are the addition of dual OIS for both cameras and quad-LED True Tone flash, but the software features of the iPhone 8 are also supported, including the new portrait lighting mode, which is also available on the front-facing camera.
Hardware-wise, the iPhone X also uses the A11 Bionic chip, and promises 2 hours longer battery life than the iPhone 7.
As predicted, the iPhone X is the most expensive iPhone ever, retailing for $999. It will be available for pre-order starting October 27, available in stores on November 3.
UK release dateThe iPhone 10 comes out on 3 November. There were plenty of rumours of supply chain delays in the months preceding the device's unveiling, and it looks like they were true. While the iPhone 8 comes out on 22 September, roughly the usual time an iPhone comes out, the iPhone 10 won't follow for another six weeks. However, it is available for pre-order on 27 October.
PriceEven for Apple the iPhone X costs a pretty penny. At £999 for the 64GB model, the iPhone X is the most expensive smartphone Apple - or probably most major smartphone vendors - has ever produced.
Specs and hardwareA new six-core A11 Bionic chip with 64-bit architecture (up from last year's four-core A10) powers most of the iPhone X's capabilities. It has 30% faster graphics than the A10, and runs 70% faster, according to Apple.
When it comes to storage, the iPhone X comes in only two sizes - 64GB and 256GB.
DisplayThe iPhone 10's 5.8in screen is Apple's first to cover the entire front of the phone, which has a glass front OLED multi-touch display on the front, and a glass back as well - pretty sleek, but also pretty breakable, though it is toughened glass.
Its Super Retina HD display helps the Face ID feature (more on which below), while it boasts a 2436x1125-pixel resolution at 458 ppi. The screen includes 3D Touch, which allows you to execute different commands by pressing the screen with varying degrees of pressure.
Crucially, this edge-toedge display leaves no room for the home button, meaning Touch ID is no more.
BatteryApple reckons the iPhone X lasts up to two hours longer than the iPhone 7, which itself lasted an impressive 13 hours in our review.
CameraThe iPhone X's 12MP camera is the same - on the surface - as the iPhone 7's, but boasts a lot more in terms of its software capabilities. Both larger and faster, this camera can measure depth with the TrueDepth sensor - key to the X's Face ID feature. There's also two of them, one front-facing and one rear-facing, both of course using optical image stabilisation.
Digital zoom on the lenses offers 10x zoom on photos and 6x for videos. The front-facing camera also offers a Portait Lighting feature using the 3D TrueDepth sensor.
It's faster than ever before, too, recording 4K video at 60fps and slo-mo videos in 1080p at 240fps.
FeaturesFace ID
The A11 chip's integrated neural engine powers the iPhone X's Face ID feature, which replaces Apple's Touch ID fingerprint sensor of yore.
This facial recognition capability has been trained on one billion photos (and on rubber masks to distinguish between real and fake faces) to be able to recognise a user quickly and easily. Apple claims this means Face ID is so secure the chances of it being fooled are one in one million, compared to Touch ID's one in 50,000.
Animoji/AR
In a lighthearted move, Apple has made use of the camera's augmented reality technology to map your facial movements to various animals emoji,
The iPhone X will also support 'animoji' - animated emojis that uses AR technology to map your face and transpose your movements to certain Emoji, creating stickers and animated voice messages Naturally, the company has also partnered with Snapchat to optimise masks and filters for the iPhone X's new AR capabilities.
Wireless charging
This feature isn't exclusive to the iPhone X, but Apple's AirPower pad allows you to charge your iPhone 8, X or Apple Watch 3 without the tangly mess of attaching a cable.
ColoursThe iPhone X is available in Silver and Space Gray on launch.
Source: Apple iPhone X price, features, specs and release date: How will iPhone X's Face ID work?
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