Apple unveils iPhone Xs premium phones in 2 sizes

Cupertino : Apple yesterday unveiled updated versions of its priciest iPhones along with a new smartwatch that allows users to take their own electrocardiograms. The California tech giant revealed its iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, updating the top-of-the line handsets released a year earlier. “We are going to take iPhone X to the next level,” chief executive Tim Cook said at a media event at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California. The new phones have displays of 5.8 and 6.5 inches, boosting screen size while keeping a small-format handset, Apple vice president Phil Schiller said.

The September event allows the company to unveil its latest offerings before the key holiday shopping season. While the iPhone has made Apple the world’s most valuable company, worth more than $1 trillion, it has slipped to third place among smartphone makers as Chinese-based Huawei has grabbed the number two spot. Analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy said Apple had done enough “to keep its smartphone growth going until the competition responds.”

New smartwatch features

Apple also introduced a fourth generation of Apple Watch with a major redesign -- and a series of features designed to improve its performance as a medical and health device. The watch, sold in the United States from $399 and up, will be available in stores on September 21. “Apple Watch has become an intelligent guardian for your health,” chief operating officer Jeff Williams said. He highlighted a major innovation -- the watch’s ability to perform an electrocardiogram.

“This is the first ECG product offered over the counter directly to consumers,” he said. “Now you can take an ECG any time, anywhere, right from the wrist.” The device also detects when a person suffers a fall, seen as an important feature for elderly or disabled users. If a person falls, and then is motionless, the watch will call emergency services, he added.