Today Apple held their annual keynote event announcing their latest model of iPhone. In a seemingly long (and a little drawn out) event, Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the stage to “Talk iPhone”.
The keynote started off with the usual sales and user figures, touting Apple products as the ones to beat in many markets. Then it was on to what I personally was looking forward to the most, iOS5! Apple didn’t really bring anything new to the table that wasn’t already announced about their latest operating system earlier this year. We are still getting a new notifications system (finally!), over=the-air updates, some Twitter integration throughout the phone to make posting to that particular social network a lot easier, and a bunch of little improvements that will probably make a big impact like the ability to now quickly access the camera from the lock screen by double-tapping the Home Button and using the volume control buttons to snap a photo. It all kind of seemed like a rehashing of what we already knew, but we did finally get a release date for it, and that date is October 12!
Following the iOS5 presentation, the next topic was iPods. The iPod Nano is receiving a face-life with bigger icons and more built in sensors that will provide a better experience for all of you out there who use them for exercising, etc. These will be the most affordable iPod Nano’s ever with prices set at $129 (8GB) and $149 (16GB). It’s also important to note that Apple noticed the trend of people using them with watchbands and decided to add a bunch of new watch faces. With regards to the iPod touch, it didn’t sound like there were really any internal improvements to the gadget. You can now get it in black or white and it will also be sporting iOS5 once it’s released. Prices and capacity will remain the same.
Late in the presentation it was on to the main event. The next iPhone. Speculation has run rampant over what Apple would unveil. Two new iPhones with one priced lower? The iPhone 5? A curved screen? A bigger screen? As it turns out none of this speculation would prove to be true. As my friend, and BSR web-developer, Senador Kooch and I have been speculating ourselves we did not get an iPhone 5, but instead an iPhone 4S. While some out there may be upset about this, it matches what Apple has done with the iPhone thus far in its short existence (iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, with most likely an iPhone 5 coming next year). The iPhone 4S is not to be overlooked though as it is touting a dual-core A-5 processor that is said to run twice as fast as the iPhone 4 and offers 7-times the graphics-processing speed, dual band CDMA/GSM, an 8MP camera (with all sorts of additional internals that makes photos even better looking than those taken with the iPhone 4), and the very impressive addition of Siri voice control.
The faster processor and better camera is a nice upgrade to the iPhone, but what impressed me the most was the Siri voice control. This is nothing like the less-than-spectacular voice control we currently have on our iPhones – this is an all out voice-controlled assistant. No need to memorize a bunch of pre-determined commands, just ask your phone to do something for you and it will. A live demo was done on stage and saw the phone being asked “Should I carry an umbrella with me today?” and the phone responds with something along the lines of “The weather looks clear today”. You can ask it for stock reports, to schedule meetings, to read back text in e-mails and text messages, and it will even dictate a response and send it for you. It’s quite incredible what has been achieved with this voice assistant and could possibly change how iPhone users interact with their devices.
The iPhone 4S will be available for pre-order on October 7, and will go on sale on October 14. You will be able to get your hands on the 16GB for $199, the 32GB for $299, and for the first time ever 64GB for $399. Along with launching the latest iPhone, Apple also announced you will be now be able to get the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S on Sprint!
While Apple seems to have gone the route of introducing an improved model of their previous phone and sticking to a completely new device every other year (theoretically), this is certainly a very good update for anyone looking to upgrade. Those out there with an iPhone 4 may be on the fence about now, trying to decide if this is all reason enough to upgrade, or to wait and use their contract discounts for the iPhone 5 – but for 3GS owners out there, this is probably more than enough reason to finally upgrade. I had stated in a previous article that Apple would really have to “wow” me to convince me to not wait until 2012’s model, and frankly I wasn’t that “wowed” until the Siri demonstration. Yes, a faster processor and better camera are all very nice, but expected, and my iPhone 4 runs just fine for me right now that I was willing to wait until next year’s model. After the Siri demonstration however I started thinking about all the applications of this voice assistant system and was hoping against all odds that it would not be an iPhone 4S exclusive, but instead an iOS5 addition. Unfortunately it looks like it will only be available on the 4S and so now as I write this I am sitting on the fence debating whether or not this will all be worth an upgrade. At least I have a few days to decide.
You can check out all the specs and watch videos introducing the iPhone 4S and Siri over at Apple’s website.
Sound off in the comments below with your thoughts from Apple’s keynote presentation! Tell us what impressed you, what disappointed you, and if you’ll be picking up an iPhone 4S!