Apple today has unveiled three new iPhone models: iPhone X, iPhone 8 & 8 Plus. As the dust goes down, let's see the main differences among these new iPhones and the previous generation.

First of all, notable features of the new devices include:

• A11 Bionic chipset, 2 performance cores, 4 for efficiency. New ISP for faster low light & hardware enabled multiband noise reduction; 3 core custom GPU design.
• Glass industrial design, for better antenna performance & Qi wireless charging.
• True tone display, display unchanged from iPhone 7s / 7s Plus.
• Portrait photo lighting effects
• Price from $699 for iPhone 8, ships September 22.

In addition, iPhone X includes:

• Edge to edge 5.85" Flexible OLED display 458ppi with 2436x1125 pixels, special aspect ratio 19.5:9. Has On-Cell touch sensor. Dolby Vision HDR and HDR10.
• Face ID: uses custom "TrueDepth" camera: flood illuminator, proximity, infrared, dot projector, front camera, ambient light sensor.
• Adds portrait mode selfie photos & animoji
• Dual 12MP f1.8 and f2.4, with dual OIS.
• Price from $999, ships November 3.

As you see in th table above, there are major differences between the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X.

The iPhone X will come in space gray and silver, while the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus will get a third color option in gold.

Aside from their screens, the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X aren't very different under the hood. They all come with Apple's new A11 Bionic Chip, which features a six-core design with two cores dedicated to processing, and four cores to help keep things energy efficient. They also all have wireless charging and the same storage options, starting with a base of 64GB or a larger 256GB upgrade.

In terms of screens, the standard iPhone 8 sports a 4.7-inch 1334 x 750 LCD, while the 8 Plus features a 5.5-inch full HD (1920 x 1080) LCD. Then there's the iPhone X, which will have a entirely different type of display thanks to its so-called Super Retina OLED panel which has an even higher 2436 x 1125 resolution. The iPhone X will also be the only iPhone with HDR video support and a super high contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 (versus 1,400:1 for the iPhone 8).

Despite having a larger screen, the iPhone X (5.65 x 2.79 x 0.3 inches) is actually smaller than the 8 Plus (6.24 x 3.07 x 0.3 inches) thanks to its non-existent bezels, while the standard iPhone 8 remains the smallest of the bunch at 5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29-inches.

The iPhone 8 is still limited to a single rear camera, while the 8 Plus and X sport dual 12-megapixel shooters in back. On the front, all three iPhones features the same 7-MP f/2.2 selfie cam. But there is another important difference between the dual cam setups on the 8 Plus and X.

First, the iPhone X has optical image stabilization on both cameras, while the 8 Plus has OIS only on its main camera, not the zoom. On top of that, the iPhone X's secondary 2x zoom camera has a larger f/2.4 aperture, which will let in more light and capture better low-light photos than the iPhone 8 Plus' f/2.8 2x zoom cam.

The last major differentiator between the new iPhones is the iPhone X's lack of home button and TouchID. Instead, the X sports Apple's new FaceID system which will scan your face anytime you need to unlock your phone or use Apple Pay.

Starting at $699, the iPhone 8 is the cheapest of the three, while the iPhone 8 Plus costs $100 more at $799. Both will be available for pre-order starting September 15, with shipments going out on September 23.

Meanwhile, pre-orders for the iPhone X will start October 27, and shipments slated for November 3. You're going to have the shell out $200 more than the iPhone 8 Plus thanks to the X's starting price of $999. And if you want an iPhone X with 256GB of storage, you're going to have to spend $1,149.

Some thoughts

Apple has the best iPhone sales when a new model has a different design. The iPhone X delivers a design unlike any other existing smartphone because the display is edge to edge on all four sides.

But Apple is hoping the later availability date for iPhone X will not affect iPhone 8 sales this quarter. Apple's lower iPhone 8 pricing should limit the impact, but it remains a risk. iPhone X is the future of smartphone design, but it's also available in the future too.

Customers have a clear choice: buy an iPhone 8 or 8 Plus now and enjoy Touch ID, wireless charging and improved performance or wait and spend more on iPhone X in a month's time.

iPhone X is a premium priced smartphone which for the first time goes over the $1000 for threshold for the top 256Gb model. The starting price of $999 is only $33 more than the previous most expensive iPhone, the 7 Plus 256GB.

The new iPhones will benefit from the numerous improvements in iOS11. The tiny bezels of iPhone X will make AR apps more immersive than on other smartphones. The new cameras draw less power, which will help AR apps run for longer than they will on iPhone 7 models.

And, because of the tight integration of software and hardware, AR developers will know their AR experiences will run smoothly on all supported iOS devices. Apple could gain a time advantage over Google and Android-based OEMs where there are numerous camera designs in use, and AR support will take much longer to roll out across the Android installed base because the sluggishness of Android OEM software update cycles.

Face unlocking and authentication is not a new feature. Google introduced a basic form with Android Ice Cream Sandwich in 2011 but it proved easy to defeat with a static photograph. More recently, Samsung offers face unlock on its S8, S8+ and Note 8 but markets it as a convenient feature with a lower level of security than fingerprint authentication.

Apple is aiming higher to deliver a face authentication system suited to fully replace fingerprints in both speed and accuracy. This is a risk because no one has shipped such a design before.

Regardless, the TrueDepth camera will have wider uses. TrueDepth enables new Animoji which will appeal to iMessage users. As app developers experiment with the new sensors we will likely see uses to create scan real world objects to create virtual models for use in AR apps, and many others. The sensor technology Apple is pioneering in iPhone X have the potential for wider uses In future, perhaps eventually beyond the smartphone in AR smart glasses.