iPhone XS and iPhone XR Smart Battery Cases

Apple's long rumored/leaked Smart Battery Cases for iPhone XS and iPhone XR have finally been made available for purchase. These cases are special because they integrate into iOS really well. Their battery is displayed in the widgets section. In addition, Smart Battery Cases are designed with wireless charging in mind. They are available from Apple's site for $129. By the way, they are not fully compatible with the iPhone X due to some minor differences between the iPhone X and iPhone XS.

Verizon Now Supports eSIM

Verizon now supports eSIM, which means you can have a Verizon plan without the need for a physical SIM card. This can be useful for those traveling to the United States frequently or those who have a second phone number with Verizon. Verizon's adoption of eSIM is important for eSIM as a whole. Hopefully, more carriers begin adopting it. Currently, this is only limited to non-Verizon customers who want an eSIM from Verizon. The only iPhones that can support eSIM are iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.

iPhone XR Outsells iPhone XS

According to Apple via CNET, the iPhone XR has been outselling the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max everyday since the device's launch. This is a clear indication that the cheaper price point is good for Apple. Now, a lot of people are interpreting this as iPhones are doing fine. Which is weird because this came from an Apple's VP of Marketing. Apple would never admit the iPhone is doing terrible. To say the iPhone XR is outselling the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max is like saying a turtle is faster than a snail. This doesn't mean that the rumors of cutting iPhone XR production is false. 

Apple Could Lower iPhone XR Price in Japan

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple could lower the price of the iPhone XR in Japan due to low sales. We've heard a lot of talk about how poorly the latest iPhones have been selling, especially in the U.S. So, the fact that Apple would reduce the iPhone XR price so quickly is concerning. This is something rare for any major smartphone company. Apple has a serious issue with their flagship lineup of products and needs to take action quickly.

Smartphones Outpacing Lithium-Ion Technology

Lithium-ion batteries are the life-force of most portable devices today. They made alkaline batteries (AA, AAA, etc.) nearly obsolete. Why find a C battery for your flashlight when you can just use your iPhone? According to the The Washington Post, smartphone technology may be advancing too fast for lithium-ion batteries, which brings into question whether an alternative should be used soon. The iPhone XS was ranked a worse battery than the iPhone X. The full chart is below. Take note of the color of the bars. Gray bars represent 2017 phones while blue bars represent 2018 phones.

iFixit Teardown of iPhone XR

Our first look into the iPhone XR comes from none other than iFixit as usual. There's not too much new, but it is interesting when taking in the context of other iPhones. iFixit goes into how the internals compare to models like the iPhone 8 and the iPhone XS. They note that the internals are like a cross between the iPhone X and the iPhone 8, with a rectangular battery and logic board. To see their full, in-depth analysis, check out iFixit's full report.

iPhone XR Released

Apple today released the iPhone XR, the more affordable and more colorful version of the iPhone XS. The phone has made the headlines in the past few weeks. Initial impressions from around the internet give the iPhone XR a strong first impression. The increased adoption of the iPhone X-style screens will hopefully encourage more developers to take full advantage of the larger screen size.

iPhone XR Clear Case

The iPhone X design is stunning, but it's hard to truly admire it with a case on. The glass backing is a thing of beauty, but it's also something most users would want to protect with a case. The same goes for the iPhone XR. Thanks to ivanincanada on Twitter, we know that a Canadian press release from Apple leaked a clear iPhone XR case. It would be about $40 and only compatible with the iPhone XR. As you can see below, it's a simple case with no logos that keeps the design of the iPhone XR visible. This is especially useful given the color options available for the iPhone XR.

Image Credit: 9to5Mac

Gather Round Event: Quick Thoughts

Today, Apple had their annual iPhone announcement event. Pretty much everything was leaked this morning or in the weeks prior to today, but let's go over it anyway. One major difference to this year's rumors than previous rumors was the lack of iPhone rumors. We pretty much knew there would be three models, one an 6.1-inch LCD in multiple colors and the other two being different sized OLED models. We also knew their names, the iPhone XS, the iPhone XS Max, and the iPhone XR (Marketing team really burned the midnight oil on these ones). Other than that, we didn't know much. And that's because there was nothing else to say. There is next to nothing new with the iPhones other than "this is faster" and "this is 50% better" or "this lasts 30 minutes longer than the iPhone X." The only purpose of this generation of iPhone is to make a bigger iPhone X and a cheaper iPhone X, the two biggest requests since the iPhone X came out. You can hear the nervousness in the speakers' voices, because they were stretching an event that should have been 45 minutes tops into 2 hours. "Look at this photo! Doesn't it look great?" Like, yeah, but you said that last year. There's nothing groundbreaking. "We have three developers to lengthen the show!" "I'd like to invite up John Appleseed to reiterate exactly what I just said." It was painfully slow at times. And I know this is an "S" update, but even the iPhone 6s had Live Photos and 3D Touch. The iPhone 5s had Touch ID. All models still start at 64 GB, which seemed weird for me. I feel like the higher end models should have started at 128 GB, especially with the decline in SSD prices in the past few months. By far, the most surprising part of the entire keynote was Todd Howard coming on stage, even if what he was showing off wasn't groundbreaking either.

Let's talk about the Apple Watch. This was definitely the highlight of the show, even if we knew about it due to leaks. That one leak was probably the best we've seen it and the rest of the images we saw didn't really do it justice, so I'll have to see it in person when it comes out. I am long overdue for an upgrade from my Apple Watch Series 0 and this is an Apple Watch worthy to upgrade to. That ECG/EKG (they're the same thing) looks really cool. The focus on health is a huge selling point. You could tell the speakers were catering this model towards Series 0 and Series 1 owners, because they listed every feature to come out since Series 1 at the end of the Apple Watch section. It would've been nice if cellular came standard on the Series 4, but I can't really complain about that. The option of cellular just confuses me, because that was what defined Series 3, even though it was optional there too. The Series 4 is definitely on the pricier side, so when you throw in all of these optional features, it feels like you're at a car dealer.

We got nothing on AirPower, which we now have reason to believe has been delayed further. We literally only got updates to the iPhone and Apple Watch. Some minor news includes the iPhone X, the iPhone SE, the iPhone 6s, and the Apple Watch Series 1 being discontinued.