Apple Unveils iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S 773
Nerval's Lobster writes "Apple unveiled the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S today, which will replace the company's current iPhone 5. Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives took to a stage in California to introduce both devices. The cheaper iPhone 5C features a plastic casing available in a variety of colors (green, blue, reddish-pink, yellow, white); Apple seems to have done its best to make the device look high quality, with the backing and sides molded of a single piece of plastic; on the hardware side of things, the iPhone 5C comes with a 4-inch Retina display, A6 processor, and 8-megapixel camera. The other new Apple design, the iPhone 5S, is the company's next-generation 'hero' device. While the iPhone 5 was a radical new design, the 5S is an iterative upgrade; on the outside, it looks pretty much the same as its predecessor (the new iPhone features a new color, gold, in addition to the 'traditional' black or white aluminum body). The iPhone 5S has an A7 chip built on 64-bit architecture (capable of running 32-bit and 64-bit apps), which is pretty speedy, to put it mildly. There's also the M7 'motion co-processor' which boosts the actions of the accelerometer, compass, and gyroscope—in theory, opening the door to more refined motion-related apps, such as ones devoted to exercise."
The iPhone 5S also has a sensor built into the home button that will allow you to unlock the device with your fingerprint. Both new phone will be available for purchase on Friday, Sept. 20th. Apple announced that iOS 7 will be rolling out on Wednesday, Sept. 18th.
Where's the led notification? (Score:5, Funny)
Seriously, when I had an iPhone, the one thing that annoyed me more than anything was the lack of a notification led.
That's what the S stands for:
"Still no notification led"
Re:Fingerprint database, anyone? (Score:5, Funny)
ah... so in other words, it's only available to the NSA.
Please select a comment: (Score:4, Funny)
1) Same old shit, nothing new.
2) Apple is dead, dead, dead.
3) Android is better because of blah, blah, blah.
4) I'm already in line.
rrrrrradical! (Score:5, Funny)
> iPhone 5 was a radical new design
http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/2012/09/iphone5Comparison.jpeg [wired.com]
Yeah that's FREAKING RADICAL, MAN!
Re:Where's the led notification? (Score:5, Funny)
Have you ever tried it? I damn near fried my retinas when it went off.
Re:So long, Apple (Score:4, Funny)
Yes, Apple would never make a plastic iPhone...except the very first one...and the one after that...and the one after that.
Re:Hand over your fingerprint! (Score:5, Funny)
Just cut off your fingertip...it's about the same thing.
Can't wait for new corporate security policies mandating that you change your fingerprints every 3 months.
Re:Hand over your fingerprint! (Score:5, Funny)
We found out his password was "teacher". Needless to say, I quickly found out that this was the default password to EVERY teacher's account in the school. I got a stern talking to and was then invited to help the lab admin out during my study halls when I didn't have homework after pointing this out to them. It probably helped that I didn't change grades or anything like that before telling them I figured it out.
I bet nowadays kids get expelled for that, at a minimum.
Re:Hand over your fingerprint! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Ghey (Score:5, Funny)
You are using it wrong.
5C stand for cheap (Score:5, Funny)
The beginning of the end... (Score:5, Funny)
So the iPhone 5S is the incremental upgrade any objective observer would have predicted. The problem is that too many in the press kept trumpeting it like it would be some kind of revolution, and the ignorant masses, led by Apple fanatics, bought into the hype.
The mistake people have been making for well over a decade is to brand Apple as an innovator. They're not, far from it, in fact. What they are is amazing integrators, who are able to produce a great product because they're involved in every step of the process. They're also skilled at exploiting a technology when it's reached maturity. But other companies are the true innovators. They're the ones who've taken the risk on a technology in it's infancy and suffer the knocks that inevitably come. Unfortunately, they're rarely the ones who profit from those efforts and they certainly don't get the recognition from consumers.
The challenge for Apple is to remain relevant. The mobile market has matured with competitors catching up and even surpassing the iPhone in a variety of ways. The problem is that it seems Apple is afraid to tamper with their formula and so is playing it far too safe. This is the inevitably consequence of being at the top for too long. Fortunately for them, they've been able to retain their position as the prestige brand. This is partially due to the fact that the entire industry, all the way down to the retail level, keeps reinforcing that belief. Sticking to aluminum certainly helps maintain that perception amongst ignorant consumers.
I'd say Apple's days are numbered, although they're going to remain a dominant presence in the market for a very long time. I don't really see what they could do to reverse the slide. I'm not seeing anything of significance from Apple; nothing like the compelling experiments Google or Microsoft keep putting forward. They're mired in the success of the iPad and iPhone. They struck at the right time with great products but they don't have much of substance to fall back on.
By contrast, Microsoft just needs some proper management to shift things a bit so that they can get on track. They've still got a viable core of potential. From what I've seen Apple, on the other hand, has deeper problems. Maybe they'll prove me wrong in the next couple of years, but so far I'm not seeing it.