Apple unveils the premium iPhone 5S

Apple Inc. in its event today has unveiled the premium iPhone 5S, one of the two phones unveiled today. To make this post as short as possible, I’ll only brief you on the most important details of one of the most anticipated smartphones of this year.

“Previously, we have lowered the price – but now we are going to replace the iPhone 5 with not one but two new designs.” Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the event. IPhone 5S will run on the new iOS 7.

Apple has also included a gold coloured option of the high end smartphone as earlier rumoured by some sources online. iPhone 5S comes with an A7 processor which is 64-bit. Apps on the iOS 7 has been engineered to support 64-bit and also to run existing 32-bit apps. The CPU is also very fast with Apple claiming it is 40 times faster than the first iPhone which was released in 2007.

Image: The Verge

The iPhone 5S has come with some unique features that may differentiate it from previous smartphones we’ve seen, both from Apple and other manufacturers. The biggest is the fingerprint sensor, Touch ID which is embedded in the home button with a silver ring around it as rumoured earlier.

The finger print sensor has a resolution of 550ppi (pixels per inch) to capture the fingerprint of the particular user. The identity of a particular user will have much information attached to it like credit card details which will allow you to pay for any transaction with your credit card once you access your phone with your fingerprint. It will allow users to buy music on iTunes and apps using their phones.

The battery life of the new smartphone has also been greatly improved as Apple claims it will be able to power the phone for 250 hours standby (more than 10 days), 10 hours talking time for 3G, 8 hours 3G browsing, 10 hours LTE browsing.

Included in the iPhone 5S is the M7 processor which monitors the motions of the user of the iPhone. The processor is able to detect when you’re stationary, running, or even driving. The data is being transferred to apps which are made for these functions. This is expected to be very useful for monitoring the health of users of the iPhone.

The iPhone 5S is also very unique in its camera and imaging abilities. Some of the unique features of the camera are that it can do autofocus, auto-white balance and others. When you snap an image, the camera takes many pictures and analyzes it, then shows you the best pic. It has a flash which contains two LEDS: one cooler white and one a warmer amber.

Marketing chief, Phil Schiller claims “this is the first time that’s ever been done on a camera of any kind.” The camera auto-image stabilization delivers sharper images when subject is moving. The burst mode, when you hold down the shutter, can take 10 frames per second. You also have the option of going through the pictures or the A7 processor can analyze and pick the best pic for you.

Image: The Verge

iOS 7 will be released for download for older Apple devices, iPhone 4 and newer, iPad 2 and newer on the 18th of September. Of course it will be free for download for the said devices according to Apple.

The iPhone 5S is expected to go for $199 for the 16GB version, $299 for the 32GB version and $399 for the 64GB version. These prices are in the U.S. and prices for other countries are not yet known.

The iPhone 5S will be available in the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the U.K. from September 20. It will be available in three colours: silver, gold, and space grey.

Undoubtedly, all things being equal, Apple should increase its smartphone market share in the coming months. Analysts have claimed this was a make-or-break event for Apple and very soon, we will know if Apple is still very well in the battle of smartphones

Posted in Apple, Smartphones