THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. **** Wednesday, September 11, 2019 |B5

have some new features,

such as two cameras on the

back (a wide and an ultra-

wide).

Like its more expensive

siblings, the 11 will have the

improved “Night Mode” low-

light shooting, and will get

that funky Deep Fusion mode

later this fall.

Under the hood, the

iPhone 11’s battery lasts an

hour longer a day than its

predecessor. That is admira-

ble, considering how much

Personal Technology colum-

nist Joanna Stern raved

about the XR’s battery.

And like last year’s sur-

prise winner, this model is

looking like Joanna’s all-

around pick—pending re-

view, of course.

iPhone XR and iPhone 8

In the U.S., Apple is keep-

ing the iPhone XR, 8 and 8

Plus in circulation. That

means total confusion

around what model you

should buy but also more

higher-tech options at the

lower end.

Do you want wireless

charging? No? Too bad, be-

cause there is no current

iPhone without it. Water re-

sistant? Ditto.

For people who are facing

an upgrade, it also almost

certainly means getting with

Apple’s latest program: big-

ger screens and Face ID.

Like Samsung before it,

Apple is making its iPhone

screens larger.

There is now only one op-

tion with a screen that mea-

sures less than 5 inches di-

agonally. (It is the $449

iPhone 8.) And that is only

one of two remaining phones

with the Touch ID finger-

print scanner. (The other is

the iPhone 8 Plus which, at

$549, is very much in No

Man’s Land.)

We will have more to tell

you once we’re testing these

phones. Many other new fea-

tures will come with the free

iOS13upgrade,expectedto

also roll out next week,

which might solve any or all

of your current needs. But if

you’re stuck with a tough de-

cision after today’s news,

shoot us a note at personal-

[email protected], and maybe

we can help.

this fall, the company plans
to roll out a Deep Fusion
mode, which combines multi-
ple shots into an optimized
master shot.
Did you fall asleep just
now? Wake up! Cameras
might be lower on the peren-
nial list of smartphone-shop-
per priorities, but battery
life is always at the top. Ap-
ple said the Pro will deliver
up to four more hours of
battery life a day than the
XS—and that boost is five
hours when you compare the
11 Pro Max with last year’s
iPhone XS Max.
Apple also said these
phones would have fast char-
gers in the box. No more
rinky-dink 5-watt charger.
But how fast?
We’ll have to test that
during our reviews, natu-
rally, along with other key
bullet points from Apple:
These phones have “the
toughest glass ever in a
smartphone,” and are even
more water resistant than
the previous generation.
Still, they sure do look
like last year’s flagships. And
Apple didn’t mention some
advanced smartphone fea-
tures found in competing
products from Samsung
Electronics Co., for instance,
such as in-screen fingerprint
scanning (as an alternative
to Face ID), reverse wireless
charging (to give juice to
your AirPods, for instance)
and 5G wireless connectivity
(an admittedly not-ready-for-
primetime feature).

iPhone 11
Mercifully not called the
XI or, even worse, the XIR,
the standard iPhone 11 is the
upgrade to last year’s iPhone
XR. The XR sticks around for
$599, but Apple gave the 11 a
seemingly reasonable price
tag of its own: $699.
Price might be the biggest
news, but the iPhone 11 does

Continued from page B1

Making

Sense of

iPhone 11

Apple Inc. is launching its

new Arcade videogame sub-

scription service next week

with a $4.99 monthly price that

grants access to about 100 ti-

tles, an offering that analysts

expect to be a tough sell since

consumers are used to down-

loading mobile games free.

The technology company

said Tuesday the new service

will be available Sept. 19 in

more than 150 countries

through its App Store. Apple

Arcade will feature new and ex-

clusive games, and subscrip-

tions can be shared with up to

six family members across its

devices such as the iPhone, ac-

cording to Apple. Unlike most

of the hundreds of thousands of

free games currently available

on Apple devices, those in Ap-

ple Arcade won’t have ads or

offer in-app purchases.

Launching a subscription

game service represents a ma-

jor shift for Apple. Since open-

ing the App Store in 2008, the

company has offered users the

option of buying games out-

right or downloading them

free, with the latter often

meaning players would see ads

or offers to make in-game pur-

chases.

A handful of other game-

subscription services are al-

ready on the market, though

these focus mainly on console

and computer games. Micro-

soft Corp.’s Xbox Game Pass

and Electronic Arts Inc.’s Ori-

gin and EA Access cost be-

tween $5 and $15 a month. Al-

phabet Inc.’s Google is planning

to launch a cloud-gaming plat-

form in November with a $10-

a-month subscription option.

Apple revealed Arcade’s

price and launch date at the

start of an event showcasing its

latest hardware and service of-

ferings at its Cupertino, Calif.,

headquarters. The company,

which initially unveiled Apple

Arcade in March, demonstrated

live gameplay from three

games, including a remake of

the classic hit “Frogger.”

“It will be a challenge to

monetize this,” Wedbush ana-

lyst Dan Ives said. “But if Apple

didn’t think it was possible,

they never would’ve gone down

this path.”

Digital subscription services

have exploded in popularity in

recent years, spanning every-

thing from movies and music to

books and news. In the video-

game industry, subscription-by-

mail service GameFly has been

around since the early 2000s,

but other companies have been

cautious about moving deeper

into subscription gaming.

“We’re transitioning from a

world of ownership to what we

call a world of access,” said

Mike Blank, general manager of

EA’s subscription services,

which had roughly 3.5 million

subscribers as of July. EA Ac-

cess, for console games,

launched in 2014, followed by

EA Origin, for PC games, in

2016.

Subscriptions are ideal be-

cause they provide an opportu-

nity to try a large number of

That compares with $47.9 bil-

lion for console games and

$35.7 billion for computer

games, the research firm said.

Still, Apple’s move comes

when the most downloaded and

highest-grossing mobile games

are free and have been for

many years. Console and PC

games, by contrast, cost around

$60.

“I have a hard time seeing

this work,” Cowen analyst Doug

Creutz said of Apple Arcade.

“There are a tremendous num-

ber of free games on the [App

Store], many of which are quite

good.”

Other analysts argue that if

any company can change mobile

gamers’ spending habits, it is

Apple. “For the most part, the

services they’ve rolled out have

exceeded expectations,” said

Angelo Zino, an analyst at

CFRA, pointing to Apple Music

as an example. “People underes-

timate how big Apple’s install

base is and who it caters to.”

Though CFRA doesn’t expect

Apple Arcade to have a major

impact on Apple’s profit, “we

do think it could move the nee-

dle in terms of services busi-

ness overall,” Mr. Zino added.

BYSARAHE.NEEDLEMAN

games for less than what it

would cost to buy them, said

Matt Percy, senior director of

business planning for Xbox

Game Pass, which launched in

2017. The company hasn’t dis-
      closed subscriber numbers but
      says subscribers play 40% more
      games than nonsubscribers on
      average.

“The great thing about a

subscription is that it is like a

breakfast buffet,” Mr. Percy

said. “You’re going to try stuff

you’ve never tried.”

With Apple Arcade, Apple is

going after a market that

makes up the largest slice of

the overall $150 billion game-

software industry: mobile. This

year, mobile games are ex-

pected to generate $68.5 billion

in global revenue, up 10% from

2018, according to Newzoo BV.

$4.99

Monthly fee subscribers would

pay for the service

Treasury Bill Indexed

Money Market Account

 Enjoy high money market rates.

 Fully liquid account.

 FDIC insured money market account.

Visit one of our conveniently

located branches today!

http://www.applebank.com

Established 1863 · Member FDIC

(^1) ^94
For balances of $100,000 and up
Indexed at 100% of the 30-day US Treasury Bill**

%

APY*

For balances of $50,000-$99,999

Indexed at 90% of the 30-day US Treasury Bill**

(^1)  75

%

APY*

*These rates are effective through September 30, 2019. $100,000 minimum deposit to earn the adver-

tised 1.94% Annual Percentage Yield (APY). $50,000 minimum deposit to earn the advertised 1.75% APY.

**Treasury Bill Indexed Money Market rate is based on an index calculated by taking the rate of the clos-

ing“asked”discount basis of the 30-day Treasury Bill as quoted and published in The Wall Street Journal

on the last business day of the prior month as set forth below. If there are no exact Treasury Bills with a

30-day maturity, then the“asked”rate used shall be for Treasury Bills with a maturity date closest to, but

not to exceed 30 days. These new APYs will then take effect on the first calendar day of each subsequent

month and will remain in effect through each subsequent month-end. Balances of $25,000 to $49,999

earn an APY of 1.26%, which is 65% of the indexed rate, balances of $50,000 to $99,999 earn an APY of

1.75%, which is 90% of the indexed rate, and balances of $100,000 or more earn an APY of 1.94%, which

is 100% of the indexed rate. There is no interest paid on deposits under $25,000. $10,000 minimum

deposit is required to open this account. A monthly service fee of $10.00 will be charged each month

at the end of the statement cycle if the account balance falls below $10,000 on any day of the month.

Fees may reduce earnings and principal if the account balance falls below $10,000 on any day during

the statement cycle. Please see disclosure for other terms and conditions. This offer may be withdrawn

without prior notice.

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TECHNOLOGY

Apple Arcade Set to Launch

Starting next week,

gamers can pay a fee

to subscribe for

access to 100 titles

Ann Thai, director of product management for the App Store, at the company’s event.

DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS

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