Apple had its big event today to reveal the iPhone 5 and new iPods. It appears that the company has finally combined its iPhone and iPod Music events into one, moving the June iPhone announcement to October last year and September this year. It now occupies the same time frame as the original Music events did prior to the iPhone’s announcement. Here’s the summary quickly:
iPhone 5
- Yes, it’s called the iPhone 5, not the “New iPhone”
- Looks exactly the same as all of the leaked renderings – taller with metal on the back instead of glass, new speaker design, new dock connector, headphone jack on the bottom
- Taller 4″ screen, still Retina, but has additional pixels (113x x 640, 16:9 aspect ratio – better for videos)
- Apps can be updated to take advantage of the extra space (for example, the home screen shows five rows of icons instead of four). Apps that have not been updated are centered and display black borders.
- Overall 18% thinner, 20% lighter
- Screen has better color saturation than before
- Includes three microphones (up from two) for better audio quality and additional noise isolation
- Includes a better speaker
- 4G LTE networking for super fast internet browsing
- New A6 chip provides 2x the performance of the 4s
- Improved camera – still 8 MP, but with better lenses, filters, and low-light performance, noise reduction, and less shutter lag
- Improved FaceTime camera on front – 1.2 MP photos, 720p videos, better sensor (vs 640 x 480 pixel VGA photos and videos)
- Camera includes ability to take photos while shooting video and ability to take panoramic photos
- A new, smaller dock connector called “Lightning”. The old 30-pin connector is out, replaced by a smaller 8 pin connector that can be plugged in from either direction.
- New headphones called “Ear Pods”. They have a unique design that is a cross between and earbud and an in-ear headphone.
- Available in either Black/Slate or White/Silver
- Available on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint – 4G is available for all carriers
- Pricing remains the same
- 16 GB – $199
- 32 GB – $299
- 64 GB – $399
- The iPhone 4S is available for $99, the 4 is available for free, and the 3GS is now gone. It was nice of Apple to make iOS 6 compatible with it though 🙂
- Available for pre-order starting Friday morning 9/14
- Available in stores / pre-orders deliver on Friday 9/21
iPod Touch
- New design in five colors – front is white, back is silver, black, turquoise, yellow, or red (salmon)
- Same 4″ display as iPhone 5
- 5 MP camera on the back side – 1080p HD video, flash – essentially the same as the iPhone 4 camera
- A5 chip – same as 4s
- “The Loop” – a pop-out peg for a wrist strap (included)
- Siri
- Ear Pods
- Lightning connector
- Pricing
- 32 GB – $299
- 64 GB – $399
- Existing iPod Touch still available
- 16 GB – $199
- 32 GB – $249
iPod nano
- Brand new design – looks kind of like a Nokia Lumia phone
- Larger, 2.5″ multitouch screen
- Runs iOS-looking UI (possibly stripped down iOS – no web, no apps)
- Seven colors – more of a pastel shade – black, purple, turquoise, silver, green, yellow, red
- Can play videos again
- Includes Bluetooth to use wireless headphones, speakers, and Bluetooth Audio
- Built-in Nike+ and pedometer
- Ear Pods
- Lightning connector
- Photo viewing
- Available in one size and price point – 16 GB for $149
Other
- iTunes 11, a full revamp of iTunes with a focus on simplicity (including a new iTunes store) – available in October
- Lightning to 30-pin dock connector accessory – $29
- Lightning to 30-pin dock cable – $39
- No word on a 7″ iPad mini, new iMacs, or 13″ Retina MacBook Pro
Relatively Ambitious 