The next generation of the iPhone 5 has arrived following its debut at Apple's live press conference in San Francisco.
"Today, we're taking it to the next level, making a huge leap. We have some very exciting news to tell you about iPhone," said Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook.
"It is an absolute jewel. It is the most beautiful product we have ever made, bar none," said Apple Inc.'s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller.
The device will go for $199 for 16GB. $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB when under contract.
The device is made "entirely" of glass and aluminum with a black metal case. It is 7.6 mm, 20 percent lighter, 18 percent thinner, and at 112 grams.
Schiller added, "The challenge is to make it better and smaller."
The phone has, as expected, a four-inch screen with Retina Display, 1136x640 resolution with 326 ppi. The screen size is 0.5-inches larger than the iPhone 4S. The device has 44 percent more color saturation.
Schiller said, "As you carry your phone it should fit beautifully in your hand."
iMovie, Garage Band, Keynote, Pages, Numbers were featured on the phone.
The iPhone 5 will have "ultrafast wireless." It'll feature GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA and LTE, HSPA+ is 21Mbps, DC-HSDPA is 42Mbps, and the LTE is at max of 100.
As expected it is available for only AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon and with 4G LTE.
Speed performances will be better with the A6 processor, which will make Launch Pages run 2.1x faster, load music apps with songs 1.9 times faster, and save images from iPhoto app 1.7 times faster.
The A6 is the "next generation ISP," and will help reduce noise, have a smart filter, and faster photo capture.
"It's really powerful to deliver amazing low-light photo capture," said Schiller.
But with fast performances, comes the battery life. Talk time will be 8 hours, 3G browsing is 8 hours as is with LTE. Wi-Fi browsing is good for 10 hours. Music will be able to withstand 40 hours while on standby with 225 hours.
For the camera, as expected, it will be eight-megapixels for the rear-facing camera with 3,264 x 2,448 backside-illuminated sensor, five-element lens and f/2.4 aperture.
The camera will be able to take panoramic views and a new feature to share photos. The panoramic view will be 28-megapixels.
Video will be 1080p HD while FaceTime will have a HD camera at 720p. Both will have face detection. The front-facing camera will also be at 720p.
Three microphones will be included, on the front, back, and bottom of the device.
Another rumored feature was the dock connector changing its pins. Schiller is calling the new connector "Lightening" which is "reversible," 80 percent smaller, "improved durability," "and easier to use."
The device will be able to charge wirelessly, courtesy of Lightening.
A presentation for the iOS 6 was shown. The new map app was presented which is able to zoom in and out and see buildings in 3D.
Schiller is reffering to the iPhone 5's iOS 6 as "The most advanced operating system in any mobile device."
Sharing has been made easy as you can share tabs from your desktop to your phone with iCloud Tabs.
The highly anticipated Passbook features coupons, movie tickets, even airplane tickets . Passbook has been expected to be Apple's answer to the Google Wallet.
Siri is back and Schiller communited it the voice assistant from NFL scores and recommending a "good movie" in theaters.
The iPhone 5 will come in two colors: black and white.The white smartphone will have a raw aluminum back while the black smartphone will have an adonized version, according to Engadget.
Apple finally confirmed about the Near Field Communication rumor (NFC). It will not be on the iPhone 5.
The iPhone 5 will be available Sept. 21 in the US, Canada, and the UK. By December 2012, it will reach over 100 countries with 240 carriers.
Credit in assisting the live coverage goes to Engadget.com.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
