SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc looks set to unveil a new iPhone after a 15-month hiatus, hoping to fend off hard-charging rivals running Google Inc's Android and safeguard its lead with the fifth incarnation of the iconic device.
Newly appointed CEO Tim Cook will do the honors this time from Apple's headquarters, running the first major product launch in years without impresario Steve Jobs as he tries to take Apple to still-loftier heights.
iPhone 5 -- expected to be faster, thinner and larger-screened -- would arrive just in time for the crucial holiday shopping season. It should sustain Apple's smartphone momentum and help ward off a challenge from close runner-up Samsung Electronics.
Apple launches are some of the hottest events on the tech calendar, scrutinized by fans, investors, the media and industry insiders alike. Tuesday's "Let's talk iPhone" show, starting at 1 pm Eastern time, will mark Cook's unofficial debut since taking over from co-founder Jobs in August.
Some shareholders and analysts expect a cameo appearance by Jobs, now chairman, though a no-show would not be a major disappointment.
With the launch of the new phone, Apple faces the challenge of surpassing the popularity of its current iPhone 4, a 15-month-old model and bona fide hit with more than 20 million sold in the third quarter ended June 25.
Some on Wall Street also expect the company to unveil a cheaper model tailor-made for the fast-growing Asian market, one of the few arenas where Apple can accelerate its growth.
"We expect improved processing power and camera capabilities, with a potential bump in RAM, though that may not be needed with iCloud," said William Power, analyst with Baird Equity Research.
"Various sources have suggested that Apple will debut more robust voice control functionality," he added.
The new iPhone is also expected to come loaded with the updated iOS5 software that Apple unveiled in June. Some of the new features include improved notification functions and better Twitter integration.
The iPhone -- still the gold standard in the smartphone market -- has been a huge success since it debuted in 2007, transforming it into one of the world's leading consumer electronics powerhouses.
On the iPhone, the smaller-scale screen and more tightly packed pixels might not fully show what these updated graphics can truly accomplish, but the move to more advanced graphics should benefit the iPad 2. Game development, which centered on the iPhone 4's graphic capabilities, will likely shift and gear up a little. This could result in developers aiming higher on the iPad 2 as well, since the two devices should have very similar hardware.
Game Center has been upgraded, allowing friend suggestions and more social connectivity. Anything would help at this point: compared with Xbox Live, Game Center feels sterile as a social gaming hub. Hopefully Apple's Game Center will evolve into a better Xbox Live/PSN counterpart, but for now it's not a very compelling part of the iPhone gaming experience.
An improved 8-megapixel camera with facial recognition could mean a new generation of augmented-reality games, a subgenre that's been gaining a little traction. Camera-based AR games are often more novelty than substance, but perhaps the new iPhone 4S can inspire a few new ideas.
It wasn't advertised at today's Apple event, but the iPhone 4S has Bluetooth 4.0. The lower-energy spec could perhaps make wireless controllers or peripherals for gaming a more realistic and non-battery-killing possibility.
Battery life should be the same as for last year's iPhone 4, if the iPad 2 is any indicator. With a promised 10 hours of video playback and 9 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, gaming should net a battery life somewhere in that ballpark, most likely less. The Nintendo 3DS lasts 3 to 5 hours on a charge, and the PlayStation Vita might not fare much better, so the iPhone 4S remains very competitive if it can deliver the same kind of time--although, of course, depleting your phone's battery playing games can be far more annoying than draining the charge from a 3DS.
NEW YORK: iPhone 4S -- Apple has an astonishing ability to casually unleash creative destruction. Its latest iPhone, the 4S, offers faster data-processing and downloads, as well as voice-powered software. This may not have lived up to the most feverish expectations of investors: Apple shares fell while the market rallied. But it will do more than enough to create headaches for companies ranging from Research In Motion to American Greetings.
Smartphones started by devouring the personal digital assistant, as any former Palm Pilot aficionado can testify. They terrorized the market for fixed-line phones, which are now in sharp decline. Apple's newest gadget shows just how hungry smartphone makers, and Apple in particular, are to eat rivals' lunches.
The new iPhone's camera offers sharply better video. That will further hurt sales of digital still and video cameras. Its software allows easy and free texting to other Apple devices. That's bad news for telephone operators, who make fat margins on such services. Instant messaging has also been the killer app for BlackBerry users.
Apple also unveiled a function that lets users digitally create their own greeting cards and send them in physical form. That may not excite Apple's most ardent fans, but it was enough to send shares of card-makers American Greetings and International Greetings reeling. Oh, and the new iPod Nano allows runners to track their performance, which will take a chunk out of the market for personal fitness monitors and shoes with sensors.
In a sense, though, these are the easily quantifiable effects of the new iPhone. The device also comes with voice-powered software allowing users to search the Internet, answer queries, take dictation or set up phone commands. It's hard to judge how effective this software is until it actually hits the shelves. But investors on the lookout for Apple's creative-destructive impact are surely drawing up a new list of victims.
In this iPhone 4S shot, you can see how sharp the new iPhone’s camera is. Hair can become a muddled mess in low-quality photos. Notice how you can see individual hairs hanging off the squirrel’s front legs. His whiskers are also visible and in focus. Notice how the background is blurred, which makes the squirrel in the foreground stand out. This is a result of the larger aperture used in the iPhone 4S camera.
The above photo isn’t perfect however. If you look at the squirrel’s neck and shoulder you’ll see that the highlights are blown out (overexposed).
The iPhone 4S can take macro photos, which means you can get really close to subjects and keep everything in focus. There’s a lot of detail in this show and again you can see how sharp the new iPhone’s camera is. Take a look at tiny spider web strand that spans the two petals at the top of the flower to the right.
This landscape isn’t terribly impressive and appears flat. The sky appears to be over-saturated, which is a little trick some camera manufacturers play to liven up outdoor photos. The greens aren’t as vibrant, which makes the blue look out of whack. You can also see that the upper left and right of the image is soft.
This is the closest thing to an action shot that Apple provided. I wouldn’t recommend wading into the surf to take a picture with your iPhone 4S, but it is a nice shot. Imagine how good this photo would look with a loved one standing near the rocks.
This is my favorite photo fo the bunch. It’s a carefully crafted still life scene that gives you a great idea of how much information a single iPhone 4S photo can capture. The iPhone 4S camera has an optional grid that can be displayed when you’re shooting photos like this so you can make sure everything is straight.
The camera’s f2.4 aperture and selective focus makes it possible to take photos like this one. Typically, this sort of photo is what you see from photographers that know how to use their advanced compact cameras or DSLRs.
Apple hasn’t bothered to provide sample iPhone 4S photos taken indoors or in low light, such as a party. A lot of the horrible pictures that end up on Facebook are taken with iPhones at family events and venues with sub-par lighting. We’re very interested in seeing how the iPhone 4S camera handles these tough shots.
The iPhone 4S camera appears to be a marked upgrade from the iPhone 4, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should get rid of your dedicated camera. Apple has to make sacrifices to keep the iPhone 4S slim. There’s simply no way to pack in a large sensor or high-quality lens like you’ll find on a lot of dedicated cameras. The iPhone 4S can clearly take great pictures if you’re patient and are willing to do more than just hit the shutter button.
All about Steve Jobs:
iPhone 4S is a touchscreen smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fifth generation of the iPhone and succeeds the iPhone 4 as the latest model of the iPhone. The design is identical to the iPhone 4 but with improved hardware specifications. It will be released on October 14, 2011, in the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan after being announced on October 4, 2011 at Apple's "Let's Talk iPhone" event at the Town Hall, 4 Infinite Loop. For the first time, the iPhone 4S will also be available for Sprint customers.
]History
Early studies and rumors
According to a Wall Street Journal report, American telecommunications company Sprint Nextel committed $20 billion to gain rights to the iPhone. Rumors have surrounded the next-generation iPhone for about a year and a half, now, and most rumors point to the new device having a bigger touch screen, better antenna and an 8 megapixel camera. According to the website for the Apple Store in Ginza, Japan, the iPhone 4S will be released on October 14.
Features
Hardware changes
Processor, memory, and storage
The iPhone 4S has the dual core A5 processor, that is also used in the iPad 2, and sports a dual-core PowerVR SGX543 graphics chip. The RAM has also been upgraded from 512MB from the iPhone 4 to 1GB. Storage size remains the same at 16GB and 32GB, however a larger capacity has also been added (64GB). The screen is the same as the previous generation's iPhones; 3.5 in, 640 x 940 resolution.
Antenna
The iPhone 4S' antenna has been slightly changed from the iPhone 4, and can now automatically switch antennas to attempt to provide the best signal as possible. Download speeds can now go up to 14.4Mbps, however it is not 4G LTE; it is HSDPA.
Camera and photos
The camera on the iPhone 4S is significantly improved--30% sharper, with an aperture of f/2.4, a third quicker to capture images, with an 8 megapixel sensor that takes 3264 by 2448 pixel pictures. It's also capable of HD 1080p video with video stabilization. Video and photo editing is now available on the iPhone 4S and in iOS 5 with features such as crop, auto enhance, and red eye reduction. Taking a photo can now also be accessed via the lock screen by double clicking the "Home" button, within 1.1 seconds. The volume up button can now also be used to take a photo on any device using iOS 5.
Voice control (Siri)
The iPhone 4S introduced a new automated voice control system called "Siri" that allows the user to give the iPhone commands, which it can execute and respond to. For example, iPhone commands such as "What is the weather going to be like?" will generate a response such as "The weather is to be cloudy and rainy and drop to 60 degrees today". These commands can vary greatly, and control almost every section of the phone. The commands given do not have to be specific; and can be used with natural language.
Power and battery specs
200 hours standby time (iPhone 4: 300 hours), 8 hours talk time on 3G (iPhone 4: 7 hours), 6 hours 3G browsing and 9 hours Wi-Fi browsing (iPhone 4: 10 hours).
All about Steve Jobs:
