It looks as if the leaks were right
all along
With much fanfare and flourish from a
rising, smoke filled platform on stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts,
the iPhone 5 made its debut today in San Francisco, and there were few
surprises in store. Senior Vice President of worldwide marketing at Apple Inc.,
Phil Schiller, following a brief history of the iPhone flanked by the quote
"The phone that changed phones forever", introduced what many believe
will be the highest selling iPhone of all-time by first pointing to its
enhanced design features. The latest iGadget, like many of its predecessors,
boasts vast improvements over the previous iteration. Schiller opened with the
obvious, pointing out the sleek new design that makes this smart phone taller,
thinner and constructed fully of glass and aluminum. As expected, the phone
will be available in black and white with the aluminum backside shaded silver
on the white version and "slate" on the black. At 7.6 mm thick, the
iPhone 5 is the thinnest model iPhone ever released by Apple's design team and
18% thinner than the iPhone 4S. The latest device is also 20% lighter than its
forerunner, weighing in at a scant 112 grams. However, the thinner construction
and lighter weight have not affected the screen. The new gadget has a larger
4-inch screen at 1136x640 pixels with 326 pixels per inch and 16:9 aspect
ratios. All features, Schiller cited, make this iPhone even easier to use with
one hand. Video clarity is also improved and includes 44% more color saturation
over the 4S. Touch sensors are now built right into the device, contributing to
its sleeker blueprint.
iPhone 5
Upgrades were also announced regarding
network and connectivity, with Schiller crowing over the "ultra-fast
wireless technology". Having utilized GPRS (General Packet Radio Service),
EDGE, EV-DO, HPSA; the latest generation will now include HDPA+, DC-HSPDA and
the 4G LTE. The LTE is perhaps the most intriguing feature in connectivity,
employing high-speed data transmission through different radio interface
together with core network improvements and dynamic antennae with the ability
to seamlessly switch between diverse networks. The list of carriers, however,
seems largely unchanged over the previous generation, with LTE support offered
by Sprint, AT&T and Verizon in the United States and Bell, Telus, Fido,
Virgin and Kudo in Canada.
Another key advancement to the iPhone's
functionality came from the introduction of the new A6 chip. A chip, Schiller
assures, that is twice as fast at the A5 yet 22% smaller. In order to
demonstrate the improved performance of Apple's new chip, EA executive producer
Rob Murray took center stage with a demo of the latest version of EA's popular
Real Racing game. Graphic performance was impressive, and Murray pointed to
features in the game like life-like mirrors and "dynamic reflections"
that showed off the chip's bulkier strength.
As Murray exited the spotlight, the
familiar battery-life indicator appeared on the slide show behind Schiller
eliciting a hushed excitement from those in attendance. Expectations were,
based on components that have been shipped to Fox Conn factories and leaked
iOS6 specs, that battery life would remain largely unchanged from previous
versions, and the prognosticators were correct. The iPhone5 battery life allows
for:
·
8 hours of 3G talk/3G browsing
·
8 hours of LTE browsing
·
10 hours of WiFi browsing
·
10 hours of video
·
40 hours of music, and
·
225 hours on standby
None of the preceding specs are that
surprising, but the fact that there is no major degradation in battery life
coupled with higher performance is worthy of some note.
A once "throw-away" feature for
cellular devices that has become increasingly important as mobile media
increases in popularity is the camera phone. Apple has increasingly put more
importance into the manufacturing and implementation of cameras into its
devices and the iPhone 5's camera is no exception. Phil Schiller unveiled a
host of new features that make the 5's camera the most multi-faceted in Apple's
history, not to mention, as Schiller points out, making "the world a more
beautiful place". Undoubtedly, the hallmark enhancement of the latest
camera is its panoramic feature, a mode that, with a vertical swipe of a
finger, will analyze your scene and provide you feedback. At 28 megapixels,
photos come out in full quality. It also boasts the ability, in real-time, of
stitching together photos without redundancy, a hybrid IR filter, five-element
lens, f/2.4 aperture, image stabilization and -welcome news to most iPhone
camera users - a dynamic lowlight mode that promises to deliver better quality
photos in darker settings. Another new component is the "sapphire
crystal" which is reported to protect the lens as well as improve clarity.
Facetime in iPhone 5
Video recording was also enhanced in the
new generation phone. Recording is now done at 1080p with improved
stabilization, face detection and the ability to capture photos while the
device is recording. The front-end FaceTime camera saw an upgrade as well; now
capturing video at 720p with a backside illuminated sensor and the ability to
work over a 3G network in iOS6. Furthermore, Schiller touched on some minor
improvements to sound capabilities on the new phone, like an additional
microphone and superior speakers, as well as a new feature called
"wideband audio". Wideband, according to Schiller, fills up more of
the frequency spectrum and makes voices sound more natural.
Finally, an often overlooked but
nonetheless important aspect of Apple devices was discussed: connectivity. For
over a decade, since 2003, the iPhone (and other Apple devices) have used the
traditional 30-pin connector. Schiller unveiled a new dock connector dubbed
Lightening, an 8-signal all digital design with an adaptive interface. The new
connector is 80% smaller than its precursor. It utilizes the Thunderbolt
technology, first seen in the introduction of the new iMacs earlier this
summer. The Apple exec went on to mention that the company has developed an
adapter that works with the old 30-pin connector.
Strong audience support was evident as the
price points of the iPhone were announced. A new iPhone 5 16GB model will
retail for only $199, with 32GBs at $299 and 64GBs at $399; all prices, of
course, dependent on a two-year contract. As Apple often does with new product
announcements, previous models will see a drop in price. In fact, the iPhone 4
with 8GBs, only two generations removed from the iPhone 5, will now be free
with a two-year contract! The device will officially hit shelves on September
21, with pre-orders accepted as of the 14th. Experts have also noted, following
the closing of the Apple event with a rousing performance from Dave Grohl and
Foo Fighters, that the new features and modest price points make Apple much
more competitive with the proliferation of Android devices on the market today.
Strong audience in iPhone 5
Despite the lack of any earth-shattering
news from the tech team at Apple (as if it were even possible), the iPhone 5
has arguably addressed issues with previous models while offering enhancements
in photo quality, networking and software that will keep the world coming back
for more.
