Apple unveiled the next-generation iPhone at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif. on Tuesday. The iPhone 5S — revealed alongside a low-cost iPhone model, the iPhone 5C — keeps the same overall physical design as the previous-generation iPhone 5, but it also has a number of upgrades.
Calling it the most "forward-looking" iPhone it's ever launched,
Apple equipped the iPhone 5S to run 64-bit apps (all previous models ran
at 32 bits) thanks to a new processor: the Apple A7. It packs more than
1 billion transistors into a 102mm chip. Apple has re-engineered all
the built-in apps — such as Mail, Calendar and iPod — for 64-bit
architectures.
Apple says the new chip makes the iPhone 5S five times faster than the iPhone 5 and 56 times than the original iPhone. The A7 chip supports OpenGL 3.0/ES Version 3.0 for console-level 64-bit graphics. The upcoming Infinity Blade III will be one of the first games to take advantage of the upgrade to deliver improved graphics.
The iPhone 5S introduces a CoreMotion API for developers,
consolidating sensor data from the accelerometer, gyroscope and compass.
Apple says it's "optimized for contextual awareness," such as when the
user is in a moving vehicle.
Apple says the system will empower a new generation of health and fitness apps.
One of the major additions to the hardware is a fingerprint sensor
in the home button, which enables a feature called TouchID. The iPhone
5S scans the fingertip of the person pressing the button, eliminating
the need for a lock code. TouchID also means the end of the repeated
ritual of entering your Apple ID password every time you download a new
app.
The fingerprint sensor, which has a protective layer of durable
sapphire crystal, can store multiple fingerprints and read them from any
orientation. They all reside, encrypted, on the A7 chip.
Major Camera Improvements
The iPhone's camera is also improved with new sensors that have 15%
more area. The Apple-designed lens has five elements with an f/2.2
aperture. The larger sensor translates into bigger pixels that are
backed by upgraded image-processing software that automatically sets
white balance and exposure level in a dynamic, local tone map of the
image
.
As predicted, the camera is equipped with a dual-LED flash. The two
LEDs have different color temperatures, illuminating a scene with warm
and cold light to draw out more natural color. The iPhone's camera also
now includes a burst mode that snaps 10 still pictures in one second
with automatic image stabilization. (Panorama photos go up to 28
megapixels.)
Finally, the iPhone 5S camera is capable of capturing HD video at 120
frames per second (fps). The video camera also has a slow-motion mode.
Gold!
Battery life is rated as follows: 10 hours 3G talk, 8 hours 3G
browsing, 10 hours LTE or Wi-Fi browsing, 10 hours video playback, 40
hours music playback and 250 hours standby.
Apple is injecting a little more color into its flagship phone as
well. The iPhone 5S will be available in white, black and now champagne
gold, marking a change from previous generations, which were available
only in white and black.
The iPhone 5S will go on sale Sept. 20 in nine countries: the United
States, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the UK.
Like previous generations, it will come with 16, 32 or 64GB of storage
for $199, $299 and $399, respectively — as long as you sign a two-year
contract with your wireless carrier (T-Mobile's installment pricing may
be a little different).
By December, Apple plans to sell the iPhone 5S in 100 countries on
more than 270 carriers. Apple will also offer dyed leather cases for $39
each.
Although the iPhone 5S and 5C replace the iPhone 5, Apple will
continue to sell the iPhone 4S — albeit with just one storage option,
8GB.
Rumors
have swirled around the iPhone 5S for the past year. Although
competition in the smartphone space has heated up considerably in that
time, Apple kept to its annual schedule of releasing the new iPhone in
the fall.
The big question is: Will consumers still buy Apple's
signature product as they used to?
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