SAN FRANCISCO • Apple Inc has unveiled the iPhone 13 and a new iPad mini, expanding 5G connectivity and showing off faster chips and sharper cameras without raising the price.
The Cupertino, California-based company did not announce any blockbuster features or products but analysts expect customers hanging onto older models like the iPhone X will be eager to upgrade.
The products were launched with few hints of the exceptional string of troubles Apple is facing, including policy reversals, a spyware attack and legal fights.
Apple CEO Tim Cook strode through a slickly produced video on Tuesday to launch the new iPhone.
"These are the best iPhones we've ever created," he said, noting Apple's work to design the "very best products and services to enrich people's lives".
Yet a head-spinning series of problems have occupied the recent public discussion of one of the world's most valuable companies.
Due to a long and loud fight over its online app marketplace, a judge ordered Apple last week to allow developers to sidestep its hefty commission on purchases.
Apple has also delayed a plan to scan its customers' devices as part of a child abuse prevention move, after privacy advocates howled over the risk of opening a backdoor for government surveillance.
And then on Monday, it was forced to roll out an urgent fix after cybersecurity researchers found a weakness that allowed Pegasus spyware to infect Apple devices without users so much as clicking a malicious message.
That said, Apple still possesses massive reach in the digital world and beyond, and manages to be worth over US$2 trillion (S$2.68 trillion).
Its fans cheered the release of the updated products, including analyst Daniel Ives who noted "the supercycle for Cupertino".
"Apple remains in the midst of its strongest overall product cycle in roughly a decade," he added.
The iPhone 13 will have a new chip called the A15 Bionic that enables features like automatically translating text. The phone also has a better display, longer battery life and a Cinematic mode for automatically changing focus while taking videos.
The phone will start at US$699 in the United States.
The iPhone 13 Pro starts at US$999 and the Pro Max starts at US$1,099, with trade-in offers of up to US$1,000.
All three models will be available from Sept 24. The prices are unchanged from last year.
While the iPhone is its most important product, Apple has rolled out a web of service and other products that are seen as locking customers into a system they enjoy - and would find expensive to leave.
The Series 7 smart watch will feature a larger display and faster charging. It will start at US$399 and be available later this autumn.
The company also updated its iPad Mini with 5G connectivity and a reworked design that makes it look like the higher-end iPad Air and Pro models.
The new iPad Mini's price rose by US$100, but it also added new capabilities like compatibility with the company's Apple Pencil and a faster chip than the larger-screened base model iPad, bucking a trend of smaller screens being cheaper.
Apple also updated its base-model iPad with a new camera. The new iPad will start at US$329 and the Mini at US$499. Both will be available next week.
"It seems like there's nothing really revolutionary announced but of course, as usual, they announced enough improvements to at least generate some enthusiasm among consumers," said Mr Rick Meckler, partner at family investment office Cherry Lane Investments.
Ms Kim Forrest, founder and chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital, said she was not concerned by the lack of splashy, unexpected products since Apple's upgrades would keep customers.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
