If you missed it today, Apple announced their latest iPhone models that will be hitting the streets in the next few weeks, and while there were not many surprises from the announcement, it’s still worth noting what all was actually announced today, so here is a quick overview:
iOS 7
Yes they already announced iOS 7 in their keynote a few months back, and people have had access to the developer versions and most of you have seen the new sweetness like: new notifications screen, control panel, search from home screen, improved Siri, improved camera app and Photos app, iTunes Radio, and more. The actual news worthy aspect is that iOS 7 will be released on September 18th for iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini, and 5th generation iPod Touch for free.
iWorks
Speaking of free, the iWorks apps; Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, and iPhoto are now free for any new iOS device.
iPhone 5C
I said there were no real surprises, and as expecting, Apple announced two new iPhone models, the first being the 5C. While I’m not big on the name as it’ll likely been seen as C = Cheaper rather than C = color, it is what it is. The 5C, which is the cheaper model compared to the 5SAs coms in a number of colors: Green, white, blue, red, and yellow, with a polycarbonate back reinforced with steel, a glass front, power and volume buttons match the back colors. They also showed off cases available that are meant to show off colors through seven rows of circular cutouts and let you mix colors. The phone also has 3x video zoom, an improved front-facing FaceTime HD camera. LTE, 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4 and 5 GHz, Bluetooth, and comes with iOS 7 that will match the phone’s color with a matching color scheme (as the default I’m assuming).
Price: The iPhone 5C is priced at $99 for 16GB, $199 for 32GB with a contract. The cases that were mentioned are $29.
Pre-orders start on Friday the 13th, with the release on September 20th.
iPhone 5S
The expected iPhone 5S was also announced, and also as was expecting, it comes in 3 colors of it’s own: champagne, silver, and “space grey,” (its the new black!), with aluminum back. It has a new home button, that has no square on it, but a silver ring around it, which is used for Touch ID fingerprint reader. The phone is the first 64-bit mobile phone, but it will still run 32-bit apps. They say it’s up to two times faster than the current iPhone 5 and improved graphic capabilities. The also announced a new chip in the phone: the M7, a motion co-processor, for the accelerometer, gyro, and compass, continuously measures motion data without waking up the phone for health and fitness apps, taking away those processes from the A7 chip.
Battery life: 10 hours 3G talk, 8 hours 3G browsing, 10 hours LTE or Wi-Fi browsing, 1o hours video, 40 hours music, 250 hours standby, which is about what they claim for the iPhone 5 and which I will believe when I see it.
Camera: 15% larger sensor, new lens with bigger pixels plus a new “true tone flash” that automatically adjusts the flash’s color based on the surrounding lighting. The camera app has automatic white balance and exposure adjustment when you open the app, plus auto image stabilization. The camera app also takes multiple shots all at once and picks the best to show you. Burst mode at 10 fps while your finger’s on the shutter. Slow-mo video at 120 fps. If it all pans out, a pretty nice upgrade for the camera.
Touch ID: Remember I mentioned Touch ID in reference to the new home button? Touch ID is the new fingerprint reader and security. It has 550 ppi resolution, scans sub-epidermal skin layers. And you can use the fingerprint rather than typing your password when purchasing from iTunes or the App Store from the phone.
Price: The iPhone 5S is priced at 16GB $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, and $399 for 64GB with a two-year contract. New leather cases in several colors are also available for $39.
The iPhone 5S will be available starting on September 20th (No pre-ordering the 5S?!)
You can check out the introduction video to the new iPhone 5S below.