Apple’s Press Conference has just wrapped up with news of the new iPhone, changes to iTunes, and new iPods flooding our dreams. We’ll start from the top and discuss the new iPhone.
Let’s talk specs:
- 4″ retina display
- Apple A6 Processor 2x speed, and 2x GPU
- 8 megapixel camera that through software will allow users to take still shots while filming video.
- LTE compatible for At&t, Verizon, and Sprint.
- Wifi 2.4ghz and 5ghz on 802.11n.
- Integrated touch: that’s right folks, no more separate glass over digitizer design, it’s all one unit. Make images pop more and making screen damage much more terrifying.
- 8 hours talk time on 3g, 8 hours web browsing on LTE
The camera features a multitude of new features including “Dynamic Low Light Mode”, Spatial Noise Reduction, and Smart filter. They have also reduced the time to take the photo by 40%.
User’s will also be able to snap panoramic shots directly from the camera app, and share photo streams through iOS 6. No more sending photos via SMS simply click share, type in the persons Apple ID and the photos will appear in their stream.
3 microphones bottom, front, and back. This will provide better pick up for speaker, better noise cancellation, and a better call experience.
Let’s of course not forget the new connector, Lightning, which is all digital, reversible, and much smaller. Consumers will be able to get an adapter to plug their existing Apple cables in. This connector is a much needed change, and as you can see with the internal picture below gives them more real estate for battery, and other components.
Image via The Verge
PRICING AND LAUNCH
The phone will go live for pre-order on Friday September 14. Which I do believe is exactly 11 months after the 4S pre-orders. The official launch will be September 21, 2012. iOS 6 will launch on the 19th giving users time to update and play with the new OS before they use it on their phones. The pricing structure for the phone will stay the same, and the subsequent models will drop in turn. The iPhone 4 will be free, the 4S will be $99.99 (for the 16 gig), and the 5 will be $199.99 (16 gig), $299.99 (32 gig), and $399.99 (64 gig).
Image via The Verge
The Design
Solid back which looks to be brushed metal, much thinner than the 4S, and that gorgeous retina display integrated into one piece touch screen.. I don’t really have much more to say, the phone looks undauntingly similar to a 4S and yet different enough that it’s enticing. I have my concerns that dropping may still be an issue, and highly doubt that the phone will continue to function with a cracked screen. It is, however, still beautiful.
Image via The Verge
Image via The Verge
The Ear Pods
It’s about time! The redesigned ear buds(pods) look fantastic. Apple’s challenge was stated correctly during the conference, how do you design earbuds universally to fit into one ear. Aside from simply realizing you don’t, these ear pods are the next best thing! I can’t imagine these will prevent audiophiles from simply picking up a pair of Beats or something similar to tag along, but the improvement was much needed. I cannot wait to try a pair of these myself.
Image via The Verge
The Opinion:
It’s definitely an upgrade from the 4s, it’s way more powerful. The question is will it be worth updating from a 4S to the 5, or simply running iOS6. I for one, think the omission of NFC is a slap to the future. The NFC integration on my ONE X has converted the phone from being a phone to being a life style tool. I suppose Apple has a good reason for not including it, but I simply can’t believe that they’d ignore an international standard. Complaining aside the processor, LTE integration, bigger screen, and better design make it worth the update in my opinion. If you’re still carrying Apple this is the way to go. If you’ve been holding out with your 4, or even 3Gs waiting, I’d say the time is upon you.
Who’s upgrading?