Apple Unveils New IPhone -- Technology Roundup

Shares of tech companies firmed as Apple launched the highly anticipated new edition of the iPhone.

The iPhone X, as widely expected, is equipped with facial recognition software and a larger screen. The gadget maker also unveiled a new version of its Apple Watch product, which can now be used independently of an iPhone; previous versions of the watch required Bluetooth or WiFi connectivity with a phone in order to access email and other content. The new iPhones are also designed to support applications in "augmented reality"--the most popular of which so far has been Nintendo's "Pokemon Go."

"We liken the impact of AR to the launch of the Apple App Store in 2008," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a research note. "While the iPhone introduced a user-friendly touch interface that revolutionized mobile phones, it was the app store that allowed users to consume and create information in a way that that was optimized for the smaller form factor, expanding the range of computing functions and therefore demand."

A top cloud-computing executive at Microsoft in China has been hired by JD.com, the e-commerce company that is set to compete with U.S. majors in cloud computing.

-By Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 12, 2017 17:28 ET (21:28 GMT)