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.
Fingerprint database, anyone? (Score:2, Insightful)
iPhone fan, but feeling dissappointed (Score:5, Insightful)
The 5C isn't even cheap (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm sorry, but the 5C is $99 on contract, which is similar to many Android phones that are better. In addition, the off-contract price is $599 (CAD) for 5C 16GB... how is that a "cheap" phone? The nexus is, what, $350? Give me a break.
Re:Fingerprint database, anyone? (Score:5, Insightful)
The fingerprint is saved locally and encrypted on the individual phone's A7 chip. Never goes to iCloud. Never touches Apple servers.
Ah, so we've looked through the source code and hardware design to verify that's the case? I mean, the source code and hardware are open, so we can verify them, and the phone is open so we can verify that the binary on the phone matches the source code we have, right?
What's that, no on all counts?
Yeah, no, I think I'll pass on trusting Apple with anything, especially considering that their privacy policy (still) says that they track your every move - but it's OK, because they don't attach it to your name, just an unique ID that's attached to your phone that's attached to your name.
Re:The 5C isn't even cheap (Score:4, Insightful)
This is why Apple likes the US cellular model. They get heavy subsidization via the carriers who lock users in for 2 years and don't see the actual price.
Fingerprint scanner? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Jobs must be rolling in his grave... (Score:4, Insightful)
> Er, yeah, right next to the HUGE display of other Apple iProducts in Wal-Mart. Your point?
Walmart is famous for trying to make premium brands their b*tch. There have been companies that have been faced with lowering their quality or being shut out of Walmart and chose to be shut out of Walmart.
It used to be that Apple was held up as that kind of company.
Surprising they're sticking with 64GB (Score:5, Insightful)
I would've thought they'd bump to 128GB this time, especially given how large some apps are getting nowadays...
Re:Stop with the conferences (Score:5, Insightful)
Has Apple ever been about 'mind blowing new technology'? As long as I can remember, they've been about well polished, high-production-value implementations of technology that already existed.
Re: Hand over your fingerprint! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I bought a 4.... that's enough (Score:5, Insightful)
That's why it's good to have competition in the market. I probably won't ever purchase another android phone because they are all far too large for my taste. This is coming from someone who used Android happily for a number of years. The last time I went in for an upgrade the iPhone 5 was the only device that felt comfortable in my hand. It's nice that we both have the chance to be happy with our devices.
Re:Fingerprint database, anyone? (Score:4, Insightful)
WHY are you worried about a fingerprint? NSA has lots more useful information about you, they don't need the wetware. If anyone actually DOES want your fingerprint, following you surreptitiously for a day will give them lots of chances to pull one (or all ten). It would be just as useful as your unlock code, ie, not. They've got the real data without getting near your phone.
Need some more tinfoil for that hat? (Score:5, Insightful)
I mean, fine with me if you distrust Apple so much, you suspect they'd stoop to uploading the locally stored fingerprint data to a central server and hang onto all of that data. (Never-mind the fact you'd think if they had an interest in doing so, they would have designed the iPhone 5s so the data synced with their servers in the first place.)
But how far does this distrust go? Your cellphone carrier can track your movements as long as your cellphone is powered on, you know.... What if they're selling that info to someone? Seems to me you better pass on a cellular phone, period!
Re:Where's the led notification? (Score:5, Insightful)
Or, you know, the blinding flash isn't a suitable alternative to the notification LED.
Re:Where's the led notification? (Score:3, Insightful)
Very much so, and with many good reasons. They are tryng to make it acceptable to lock users to proprietary formats, protocols, and connectors and not be able to decide for themselves what to install on their devices. They are also the biggest abuser (of the admittedly broken) partent system on the planet.
Re:Where's the led notification? (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't take this wrong, but do you go to many meetings?
I've had the person running the meeting constantly checking their phone during the meeting.
I had one manager a several years ago that got so bad I basically said "I'm not having a meeting with you if you bring your damned phone" -- because he'd miss what you said, ask you a question, and then while you were giving the answer he'd check his phone again and miss what you said a second time.
One day I got up and walked out of the meeting and left him sitting there.
In my experience, an awful lot of people are checking their phones pretty much constantly, and to the detriment of everyone around them and what they're trying to do.
You might be amazed to see just how many phones are being checked during meetings, and often people are trying to respond to emails concurrent with trying to listen to you.
Re:Samsung Group (Score:2, Insightful)
Did apple find someone else to supply their parts?
Hmmmm (Score:2, Insightful)
Do we really expect to read pro-iPhone comments on a site pretty much dedicated to anything non-Apple? Yeah...that's what I thought....Unbiased news...just like FOX (or, CNN).
Re:iPhone fan, but feeling dissappointed (Score:2, Insightful)
The fingerprint scanner won't be very useful. It will be slower to recognize your print than you could swipe in a lock pattern or PIN, and obviously the phone itself contains numerous copies of your print on its body so security wise it's basic at best.
Re:Fingerprint database, anyone? (Score:3, Insightful)
Besides, I was talking about a worldwide fingerprint db. I, for example, am not a US citizen.
Anyway, my concern is not NSA. My main concern is organized crime. In the future we're likely to have lots of gadgets unlocked by a fingerprint. Cars, house door locks, whatever. When phones have built-in capabilities for transmitting fingerprints to centralized databases, it's only a matter of time until someone is able to tap into that data. Someone breaks into your house and your insurance company won't pay for damages because the fingerprint sensor says you let them in...
Re: Hand over your fingerprint! (Score:5, Insightful)
You're silly if you think the government doesn't already have your fingerprint. Apple says that the fingerprint data is encrypted and never leaves the phone, as well, so objections about Facebook and other third-parties having the data also seem to be out.
Personally, it's a feature I've been wanting for a long time.
Fingerprints are not passwords! (Score:3, Insightful)
Fingerprints are not a valid replacement for passwords. They are not private. You leave them everywhere. Anything you touch can potentially be used against you.
It's only a matter of time until we see YouTube videos of people lifting a thumbprint off a soda can with Scotch tape and pressing it up to an iPhone to unlock it.
Re:Jobs must be rolling in his grave... (Score:2, Insightful)
Jobs could only maintain that model because he could keep Apple innovating. The iPhone 5 was behind the curve when it came out and now... Their flagship phone doesn't even have a 720p screen. The fingerprint sensor is the only really new thing, everything else is just an incremental upgrade.
The classic mistake that premium is the same thing as the biggest numbers on tech specs.
There is no evidence whatsoever that Apple is losing the top end of the market. Android's market share comes from cheap phones. See for example the browsing share for evidence that people who are actually using their smartphone for smartphone tasks are mostly buying iPhones.
Apple's 5C is an aggressive move into Android's market, not a defensive move.