Apple finally unveils iPhone 5
BY ROBERT EVATT World Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
9/12/12 at 3:39 PM
Apple finally lifted the veil on the iPhone 5 and revealed phone that looks similar, but has big changes.
During the event, held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the iPhone 5 will be lighter, thinner and taller, with a faster processor, better camera software and 4G LTE.
The phone will be up for pre-order on Friday in anticipation of a Sept. 21 release. The price is the same as the iPhone 4S original cost -- $199 for 16GB. $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB, along with two-year contracts at Sprint, AT&T and Verizon.
The iPhone 4S will go to $99, and the iPhone 4 will be given away for free with cell phone contracts.
Apple’s most obvious change is the added length, which stretches the screen to four inches and adds room for an extra row of icons. Cook said videos will now be able to play in true widescreen.
Despite the longer size, Cook said the phone is 20 percent lighter, thanks in part to making it 18 percent thinner.
The phone is now powered by a chip dubbed A6, which delivers twice the CPU speed and twice the graphical processing speed compared to the iPhone 4S’ A5, Cook said.
While the eight megapixel camera is much the same as the one in the 4S, Cook said it captures images 40 percent faster, works better in low light and has better color matching. It can also capture panoramic photos by waving the phone around, and the software will smooth out any movement or shaking.
Three different microphones are placed in the front, bottom and back for better voice recognition and noise cancellation, Cook said.
Apple’s portable operating system, iOS, will get an update to version six on Sept. 19 for the iPhone 3G and above, as well as the iPads. The upgrade will be pre-installed on the iPhone 5.
As previously announced, iOS 6 will have an in-house maps app replacing Google Maps, and can provide turn-by-turn navigation, three-dimensional images of buildings, location identification via Yelp and satellite views.
A new Passbook app will collect documents such as coupons, loyalty cards, movie tickets and airline tickets and allow them to be scanned in from the phone itself. Cook said Passbook will recognize when you’re in a specific airport and display the correct airline ticket on the lock screen.
Voice-assistant Siri also gained new capabilities with the ability to launch apps, make Facebook updates, check sports scores, look up movie showtimes and make restaurant reservations at businesses that support OpenTable.
The event also announced a new $149 iPod Nano, which is 38 percent thinner than the previous Nano, and shaped like a business card with large buttons for volume and track advancing.
The new, fifth-generation iPod touch, which also has a stretched screen just like the iPhone 5, will sell for $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB.
The new iPods will be available in October.
Associated Images:
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks in front of an image of the iPhone 5 during an Apple event in San Francisco, Wednesday. JEFF CHIU/AP Photo
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