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Style/ Tech & Design

What can we expect to see in this year’s 3 new iPhones?

  • Reports tip three models in September to have triple lenses, OLED screens, better Face ID cameras and bilateral charging
Apple is tipped to launch three new iPhone models in September, as it has in the past two previous years. Photo: Business Insider

Apple typically introduces new iPhones each September and it looks as if 2019 is shaping up to be the same.

Keeping with the pattern the American technology company followed 2017 and last year, Apple is widely predicted to launch three new iPhones this year.

It sounds as if one of the biggest changes will be in the phones’ cameras, which are expected to be upgraded to a triple lens system.

Apple's new iPhone launches always attract huge attention from the press, consumers, and Wall Street, and that's sure to be the case more than ever this year as the company grapples with falling iPhone sales.

In its January earnings report, it revealed that its iPhone revenue for the holiday quarter had fallen by 15 per cent compared with the same quarter a year ago.

Although other product areas are growing, such as its services business – which recently reached an all-time high revenue of US$10.9 billion – the iPhone is still Apple's biggest moneymaker.

Companies such as Samsung and Huawei recently generated excitement with their new foldable phones, and many eyes will be on Apple in September to see if Apple can make a similar impression with its 2019 iPhone line-up.

Check out what we’re expecting to see with this year's iPhones, based on the reports and rumours that have surfaced so far.

3 new iPhone models

Apple is tipped to launch three new iPhones this September Photo: Reuters
Apple is tipped to launch three new iPhones this September Photo: Reuters

Reports suggest that Apple is once again expected to announce three new iPhones this autumn.

That would follow the pattern Apple started in 2017, when it debuted the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X; last year it launched the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.

A triple-lens camera system?

Last year’s iPhone launch saw the XS (left) with a double-lens camera system and the XR with a single lens. Photo: YouTube
Last year’s iPhone launch saw the XS (left) with a double-lens camera system and the XR with a single lens. Photo: YouTube

Apple's next iPhone could have three camera lenses on its back, echoing Samsung's and Huawei's recent moves.

The new high-end iPhone, most likely the successor to the iPhone XS Max, would be the only one in Apple's 2019 line-up to feature this triple-lens camera system, one report said.

However, another report said Apple's less expensive iPhones might eventually get this triple camera.

Last year, a new report said that Apple was working on a new iPhone with three lenses.

A third lens could enable the iPhone to capture a larger field of view and better zoom shots, reports have said.

Same screen sizes ... but OLED displays?

Apple’s new iPhones will be the same size as its latest iPhones, the TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo – considered a reliable source about new Apple products – has predicted in a note, the YouTube channel 9to5Mac reported.

It’s also possible that Apple will use organic light-emitting diode screens for all three of its 2019 iPhones, another news report suggested.

However, Kuo predicted that one model would still have a liquid-crystal display screen.

OLED screens typically offer deeper blacks and bolder colours, resulting in better contrast than LCD screens.

A better Face ID camera

Photo: Business Insider
Photo: Business Insider

Apple’s facial-recognition system may get an update this year. Kuo has said in a note that the company plans to upgrade its Face ID system on its new iPhones to “lower the impact from invisible lights” in the user's environment to improve their experience.

Apple is also expected to bring a more sophisticated 3D camera to its 2020 iPhones, which would provide better augmented-reality performance, but this technology could show up on a new iPad first, Kuo and news reports have suggested.

No fast-charging brick included

Photo: Flickr
Photo: Flickr

Apple's new iPhones will reportedly come with the same 5-watt charging brick Apple has been bundling with its phones for years, even as fast-charging bricks increasingly become a standard for Android phones.

So iPhone owners looking to charge their phones more quickly could still have to buy an 18-watt charger separately.

Ability to charge other devices

Samsung’s new Galaxy S10 allows bilateral charging. Photo: Business Insider
Samsung’s new Galaxy S10 allows bilateral charging. Photo: Business Insider

One prediction suggests that all three new iPhones will include support for bilateral charging, meaning they could charge other devices.

Samsung's new Galaxy S10 supports this feature, making it possible to charge devices that are compatible with the Qi standard, such as its Galaxy Watch Active and Galaxy Buds by resting them on the back of the device.

Possible switch to USB-C

Photo: Flickr/Simon Yeo
Photo: Flickr/Simon Yeo

Apple typically requires its iPhones to be charged with its proprietary Lightning charger, but there is a chance that could change this year.

The company has tested some versions of its 2019 iPhone that would charge via USB-C, one news report said, although Kuo predicted that Apple's new iPhones would once again be compatible only with its Lightning charger.

A similar design with frosted glass

Don't expect this year's iPhones to look very different from the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max.

Apple’s new iPhones will “look similar to the current models”, one news report said, which added that Apple was planning bigger changes in 2020 to allow for 5G support.

However, Kuo said the new models could feature a frosted-glass casing and would retain the “notch” near the top of the display.

New processor and upgraded battery

One news report has tipped this year's iPhones to run on a new processor, as is typically the case with Apple's new iPhones.

Kuo has suggested there will be a few other internal updates, including upgraded batteries and an ultrawide-band component that will allow for better indoor positioning and navigation.

Apple's follow-up to the iPhone XR, which has 3GB of random-access memory (RAM) is expected to include 4GB of RAM.

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This article originally appeared on  Business Insider .