Image via Complex Original
The day has finally arrived: Apple made the iPhone 5S official earlier today during a presentation from CEO Tim Cook, Vice President Philip Schiller, and, of course, Sir Jony Ive. The presentation dished out details about everything from the iPhone's updated technology, color schemes and release dates, along with the not-so-sad news that the iPhone 5 is now being discontinued. So, say "good-bye" to that old iPhone in your pocket, because the iPhone 5S is coming to stores sooner than you can say "Android." Without further adieu, here is everything you need to know about Apple's new iPhone.
It's Coming in Gold, Silver and 'New Space Gray'
Despite how you feel about gold-plating, the gold iPhone is happening. Alongside the "new space gray" and silver models, the iPhone 5S will ride with you in style. We have an almost unnatural attraction to shiny objects anyway, so it makes sense to make the new iPhone as attractive as possible (to make up for not really doing anything different to the design.) In case you were wondering, the last time Apple rolled out a gold device was with the original iPod Mini, so think of this as a type of homecoming for the brand.
It Has Two LEDs
Two lights are better than one. Just ask any traffic stop ever and they'll agree that the new iPhone 5S having dual-color LED lights is a good thing. Combining these two LED's together enables the iPhone 5S to determine the best flash color for its camera based on the setting, which is more good news for people who only casually take pictures (or are terrible at it).
You Can Now Use Your Fingerprint For Security
Like Judge Dredd's gun in the futuristic sci-fi film Dredd, Apple's iPhone 5S is now locked to your fingerprint signature and so it can't be unlocked by anyone without your unique fingerprint. Called TouchID, this standout feature allows you to unlock your smartphone with literally the touch of the finger. We can't help but think while this an exciting new development, it's frightening, though, what it may mean to privacy in an increasingly digital world.
Camera Can Capture Slow-Motion at 120 FPS
Unsuprisingly, the video functions have been upgraded in the iPhone 5S, with a newly designed lens with an f/2.2 aperture and a sensor that's 15-percent larger to let in more light. Besides shooting video in 10 fps when holding the shutter, the camera has a new 120 fps in 720p slow-motion video mode. If that doesn't sound like it's straight out of science fiction, then we don't know what does.
New A7 Chip Means Better Looking Games
An upgrade from the A6 chip, the A7 chip featured in the iPhone 5S is the first 64-bit chip to be featured in an iPhone, and will allow the phone to feature 'console-like' graphics. The A7 chip has twice the processing power and twice the speed, making it one serious contender for best phone chip ever. Can anyone say better, faster, stronger?
When You Take a Picture, the Camera Takes Multiple Shots and Chooses the Best One
The iPhone's camera got a hell of a lot smarter with the 5S. Instead of packing in more pixels, Apple tweaked the camera's software to take multiple photos at the same time, and choose the sharpest one for the final product. The camera also has image stabilization technology to keep your photos solid, and the 5S will have an app that sets white balance, exposure, and automatically creates a "dynamic local tone map."
Battery Allows Up 10 Hours of Talk Time on 3G and 10 Hours of LTE Browsing
With all these new features, the 5S will be using a lot of juice. Luckily, the 5S is coming prepped with a beefed up battery that improves on the battery inside the now discontinued iPhone 5. The 5S battery will support up to 10 hours of 3G talk time, 10 hours of LTE browsing, 40 hours of music, and 250 hours on standby.
New M7 Sensor Will Pave the Way for Better Fitness and Health Apps
Apple unveiled its new M7 "motion coprocessor" chip that was built to continuously measure the accelerometer, compass, and gyroscope within the device. The chip can tell if you're sitting, driving, or walking. One of the biggest things this new addition will help improve is fitness apps. Apple showed a demo of a Nike app called "Nike+ Move," which counts your stride and movements throughout your day. This means you may get a better idea of how many calories you burned throughout the day, and how many you'll need to burn to keep that weight off.
The Price and Release
All right, let's get down to the numbers that will affect you the most: the price.
If you want a brand new iPhone 5S, you'll have to drop either $199 for a 16GB, $299 for a 32GB, or $399 for a 64GB. Standard iPhone prices, for the most part. (Don't forget, Apple now has their iPhone trade-in program to help you get rid of your old phone.) If you want to lock your 5S in, you can buy it starting on Sept. 20th. Start collecting that change from under your couches.
The Final Say
For the most part, there were no surprises today thanks to the continuous leaks of the past few months. As we expected, the iPhone 5S has the same body type as the iPhone 5 before it, except for the minor aesthetic tweaks to the home button and the different color schemes. But, as Apple has stood by for the past few editions of their phone, it's the gears inside that matter the most. The updates to the camera are some of the most exciting features that were made official today, and at this point, is where most of the fun with the phone will come from (at least until more games begin flooding into the App store.) The fingerprint technology is useful and cool, but it doesn't add to the entertainment factor of the device.
We've warmed up to iOS 7 by now, but you'll still be able to play with it with or without the 5S. Regardless, Apple didn't push the bar to new levels with their improvements, but they did push it far enough, again, to keep the iPhone as the standard to which other smartphones are measured.
