It’s official! The iPhone 5 is here. Apple CEO Tim Cook started the Apple Event in San Francisco Sept. 12 taunting the press that this year will be better than ever. After a few market figures and ‘where we’ve been’ facts, Cook was ready and the unveiling began. The first picture came across the screen at 1:13p.m. EST. and was introduced by Phil Schiller. Its features include a lighter body, a 20 percent reduction from its predecessor, the iPhone 4S. It is also 18 percent thinner than the 4S. It will be available on the same three American networks that have offered iPhone previously: AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. For the first time since iPhone started, they’ve added a half an inch to the display bumping up to 4 inches.
Aside from appearance there are some internal hardware changes. An A6 chip drives the phone, and it runs on a battery that last longer than the 4S. The new battery offers 8 hours continuous talk time and up to 225 stand by hours. The camera got an upgrade as well. The iPhone 5 features a rear facing 8-megapixel camera that shoots HD video in 1080p resolution. The biggest camera change is the addition of ground breaking panoramic software. The dock connector is one of the biggest changes. The new connector is called Lighting and is an 8 pin, reversible cord. An adapter for current Apple cords will, of course, be available.
One of the biggest anticipations was pricing. Many consumers that were watching the Keynote were happy to see that the pricing will remain the same as the past with the 16GB, starting at $199. Some consumers were tweeting with the trending Apple hashtag about their anticipation. “This is my superbowl” and “5 minutes until the second coming… I mean the iPhone 5!” were among tweets seen before the keynote started. iPhone 5 was available for pre order on Sept. 14 and could be purchased in the Apple Stores on Sep 20.
The iPhone will also be coming with another surprise from Apple — ear pods. Apple reinvented their headphones. “Making headphones to fit everyone’s ears is like making a shoe to fit everyone’s feet, but that’s what we’ve done with ear pods,” said Jony Ive, in the introduction video. The ear pods are available today and the iPhone 5 will come with them.