Overview: Apple’s Unveiling of the iPhone 5S and 5C
Well, it’s another sunny Tuesday in Cupertino, California and once again Apple, the mammoth tech giant, has the smart phone world in a lather. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, started his highly anticipated announcements with the really boring good stuff including info about the iTunes Festival series headlined by Lady Gaga, the new updated Apple Stores, an update to iWorks and a rehash of iOS7, which will be released on September 18.
But, we all know the real reason everyone tuned in was the unveiling of new iPhone(s). And this time around, it’s not just one new iPhone introduction, but two: the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C.
iPhone 5S
The iPhone 5S, which Apple is calling “most forward-thinking phone anyone’s ever made,” features some incredible new upgrades including:
New Processor
The new iPhone 5S’s foundation has been totally overhauled. The most eye-catching change comes from the new A7 processor. Without making your mind explode due to all the incredible tech specs of this new processor, we can just let you know that it’ll be faster and will have incredible capability when it comes to graphics. In fact, according to Apple, the new A7 processor will be more than twice as fast as the A6 (processor in the iPhone 5) with a 40X CPU performance bump and graphics that’ll be 56x faster. And, it’ll be backward compatible so all those current apps and games that you love will still be able to work on this new phone.
(Photo courtesy of c|net)
Apple has also integrated a new motion sensor in the phone called the M7. In conjunction with the A7 chip, the M7 monitors motion from the gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass. This could be a prelude to the rumors of Apple’s suspected iWatch and will be key to taking health and fitness apps to the next level. It was mentioned at the announcement that Nike will be building a new app leveraging this new architecture in the iPhone 5s.
Phone Colors
The new iPhone 5S will be available in Silver, Gold, and a new Space Gray. Black will no longer be available as it scratched too easily in earlier phones.
(Photo courtesy of c|net)
Battery Life
Apple claims that you’ll be able to see 10 hours of battery life from LTE browsing, Wi-Fi browsing, watching video or 3G talk time. They also claim your battery will last for 40 hours of music listening and can stay in standby for 250 hours. Even though this isn’t much of an increase from the iPhone 5, it’s impressive considering the new processor, which will usually draw more battery power.
(Photo courtesy of c|net)
Camera
Even though the camera on the iPhone 5S is still only 8 megapixel, there were some rather cool updates. Included in the new phone is a 5-element, Apple-designed lens with f/2.2 aperture, a “TrueTone” flash, which gives you truer colors and even a 120fps slow-motion camera.
(Photo courtesy of c|net)
TouchID
One of the really cool and high tech features of the new iPhone 5S is the TouchID. This technology allows you to use your fingerprint to unlock your phone. It reads your fingerprint at a very detailed level. Apple stated it scans at a 500 ppi resolution and it scans the sub-epidermal skin layers with 360 degree readability. We are talking cool future-esque stuff here. The TouchID intriguing part is that it can be used for iTunes purchases too.
(Photo courtesy of c|net)
Price & Availability
The price of the iPhone 5S is exactly the same as the iPhone 5, when it first launched. It’ll be $199 for the 16GB version, $299 for the 32GB version and $399 for the 64GB version. All of these prices are with a 2-year phone contract. The phone will be released on September 20, 2013 in several countries including the United States, United Kingdom, China, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and Singapore.
iPhone 5C
The iPhone 5C, which hit the rumor mill recently, is Apple’s attempt at the more entry-level market. It’s also a direct attempt to compete with the lower end Android phone market which is growing by leaps and bounds. It’s made of hard-coated polycarbonate as stated by Apple because they don’t want people to think it’s made out of plastic. You decide for yourself. In essences, it’s an iPhone 5 that comes with iOS7. They also come in some cool colors.
Cool Colors and Cases
The 80s have returned and they are taking over the iPhone.
(Photo courtesy of c|net)
And the mix and match cases are cool too. It reminds me of the good old Swatch Watch days.
(Photo courtesy of c|net)
Pricing & Availability
The price of the iPhone 5C is a little lower for a new iPhone but most talk around the blogosphere was the hope that Apple would have a free phone with a 2 year contract. Not the case. The cost is $99 for the 16GB version and $199 for the 32GB version. All of these prices are with a 2 year phone contract. Apple did announce there will be off-contract pricing for the 5C of $549 for the 16GB version and $649 for the 32GB version. Ouch! That’s not very inexpensive when you look at it that way. The phone will be available for pre-order on September 20, 2013.
Watch the full keynote here.
Do you plan on getting an iPhone 5S or 5C? What’re your thoughts on the new phones? Share away in the comments.
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