Apple Inc. announced its next generation models of the massively successful iPhone last week. “Thank you very much for joining us,”Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc., addressed the crowd assembled at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, Ca. The leader of the tech giant made a few announcements including iWork, the updated iOS 7 and the new line of iPhones, the 5S and the 5C.
The 5S is as expected in an update to the iPhone 5, including new color options in silver, gold and “space gray.” A new camera, a fingerprint reader, a motion-processing system and an updated A7 processor are all additions to the 5S. According to Apple, the 5S will be twice as fast as the iPhone 5 and almost 40 times as fast as the original iPhone.
As always, superlatives were applied to the new iPhone, describing the phone as “the gold standard” and “a huge leap forward.” Consumers will all be able to judge for themselves when they get their hands on it on Sept.20. The phone will cost $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB model and $399 for 64GB – all with a two year contract.
If the prices of the 5S are a bit too much, fear not. Apple also introduced its lower-cost, more colorful iPhone dubbed the iPhone 5C. This model is geared toward markets such as East Asia where phones are not always subsidized by carriers with the signature of a contract.
The 5C will be available in five shades: green, white, pink, blue and yellow. The phone, made of plastic instead of the usual aluminum case, has a 4-inch “retina” display.
The 5C will boast most of the features of the regular iPhone lines including the same 8MP camera, the A6 processor, Facetime and widescreen video.
The 5C, designed to be cheaper, will cost $99 for the 16GB version and $199 for 32GB. The 5C became available for pre-order this past Friday, Sept. 13, and will be released on Sept. 20.
Both new iPhones will run the new iOS 7, which comes with more than 200 new features. The new operating system will be available for all iPhones fourth generation or newer starting Sept. 18. The iOS 7 features a new interface, new color palettes, an update to 64 bits and an updated version of iTunes.
Included in the new operating system is the new iWork app, Apple’s gift to content creators. iWork is composed of 3 apps: Numbers, a spreadsheet design software; Keynote, a presentation design app; and Pages, a document editor software.
On the list of updates also include new versions of all Apple apps including iPhoto and iMovie, which will be free when iOS7 releases compatible devices including iPads from the second generation and later, iPad Minis and the fifth generation iPod Touch.
The keynote had no new information about a new iPad, new iPods or the new Mac, which supposedly will be announced later this year. Apple fanatics will have to wait for more information until they hear something new from Cupertino.
