Apple unveils two new iPhones for world market
CUPERTINO (AFP) – Apple on
Tuesday unveiled two new
iPhones, fielding a slick new top-
end model along with one aimed
at budget-conscious smartphone
shoppers around the world.
"The business has become so
large that this year we are going
to replace the iPhone 5 and we
are going to replace it with two
new designs," Apple chief Tim
Cook announced at the
company's Silicon Valley
headquarters.
The new iPhone 5C is displayed
during an Apple product
announcement at the Apple
campus on September 10, 2013
in Cupertino, California. AFP
Apple will begin taking orders on
Friday, and on September 20 the
two devices will go on sale in the
United States, Australia, Britain,
China, France, Germany, Japan
and Singapore.
The iPhone 5C is part of Apple's
bid to counter the flood of low-
cost smartphones from rivals,
most of which use the Google
Android operating system.
Apple designer Jony Ive said that
despite the low cost, the
polycarbonate iPhone 5C with a
steel frame "is beautiful."
"We took the same fanatical care
with how the iPhone 5C feels in
your hand," Ive said.
The iPhone 5C with 16 gigabytes
of memory will sell for as low as
$99 with a US carrier contract —
half the cost of earlier iPhone
base models.
Analysts were keenly focused on
the promise of an iPhone 5C to
win over buyers in China and
other developing markets.
"The 5C a no-compromise
device," Gartner analyst Van
Baker told AFP after trying out
Apple's new phones. "It is just in
a plastic case instead of a metal
case, and they basically reduce
the price by the cost of
materials."
Baker estimated the price cut
allowed by lower-cost materials
at around $100. He noted that
the "open question" was
whether iPhone 5C would be
priced attractively for emerging
markets at what could turn out
to be a $550 price tag without
subsidies from telecom service
providers.
The top-line iPhone 5S, which
starts at $199 with a contract for
US buyers, "is the most forward
thinking phone we have ever
created," said Apple vice
president Phil Schiller.
"It is the gold standard in
smartphones."
Schiller said the 5S model
includes a speedier chip which
brings up the computing power
from 32 to 64 bits.
"It has over a billion transistors
in it," he said, adding that the
device will be "about twice as
fast in graphics and computing
power and about 40 times faster
than the original iPhone."
The 5S will also have improved
battery life, with some 10 hours
of talk time, or 40 hours of music
listening, Schiller added.
Apple introduced a fingerprint
sensor for the iPhone 5S, as a
new security measure in place of
passwords.
"You can just press the home
button to unlock your phone,"
Schiller said. "You can use it to
authenticate iTunes purchases."
Schiller added: "We have so much
of our personal data on these
devices, and they are with us
almost everyplace we go, so we
have to protect them."
Reticle Research principle analyst
Ross Rubin described Touch ID
as a "show stealer" that
addresses "a necessary
annoyance that many consumers
have to deal with many times a
day."
Apple also broadened its color
palette, announcing the low-cost
phone in blue, white, pink, yellow
and green, and the top-line
model in silver, gold and a new
"space gray."
Apple said its iOS 7 software will
debut September 18. It includes a
free iTunes Radio Service
featuring more than 200 stations
"and an incredible catalog of
music from the iTunes Store,"
Apple announced earlier this
year.
The two new handsets keep the
four-inch screen of current
iPhones, despite some
speculation Apple would boost
the size to compete with larger
phones from rivals like Samsung.
The smartphone market is now
dominated by Android devices,
with roughly three-fourths of all
handsets, but a forecast by
research firm IDC suggested
Apple will increase its share this
year to 17.9 percent from 16.9
percent.
IDC analyst Ramon Llamas said
that by introducing a lower-
priced handset, "Apple is staking
out its space in the lower-cost
smartphone category."
Llamas said Apple is seeking to
fend off challenges from lower-
priced devices while "it enjoys
bigger profit margins and still
maintains the aura of being an
aspirational brand."
The event was a disappointment
to some who were looking for a
fresh device from Apple, such as
a smartwatch or TV service.
"I think there was an expectation
for that 'one more thing,'" said
Roger Kay at Endpoint
Technologies. "People were
looking for some pizzazz and
they didn't get it."
Apple announced separately a
deal with Japan's biggest mobile
phone carrier NTT DoCoMo to
bring the two new iPhones to
that country.
"We've enjoyed tremendous
success with iPhone in Japan, in
fact it's the top selling
smartphone in the country, and
we look forward to delivering
iPhone into even more
customers' hands through NTT
DoCoMo," Cook said.
Tuesday unveiled two new
iPhones, fielding a slick new top-
end model along with one aimed
at budget-conscious smartphone
shoppers around the world.
"The business has become so
large that this year we are going
to replace the iPhone 5 and we
are going to replace it with two
new designs," Apple chief Tim
Cook announced at the
company's Silicon Valley
headquarters.
The new iPhone 5C is displayed
during an Apple product
announcement at the Apple
campus on September 10, 2013
in Cupertino, California. AFP
Apple will begin taking orders on
Friday, and on September 20 the
two devices will go on sale in the
United States, Australia, Britain,
China, France, Germany, Japan
and Singapore.
The iPhone 5C is part of Apple's
bid to counter the flood of low-
cost smartphones from rivals,
most of which use the Google
Android operating system.
Apple designer Jony Ive said that
despite the low cost, the
polycarbonate iPhone 5C with a
steel frame "is beautiful."
"We took the same fanatical care
with how the iPhone 5C feels in
your hand," Ive said.
The iPhone 5C with 16 gigabytes
of memory will sell for as low as
$99 with a US carrier contract —
half the cost of earlier iPhone
base models.
Analysts were keenly focused on
the promise of an iPhone 5C to
win over buyers in China and
other developing markets.
"The 5C a no-compromise
device," Gartner analyst Van
Baker told AFP after trying out
Apple's new phones. "It is just in
a plastic case instead of a metal
case, and they basically reduce
the price by the cost of
materials."
Baker estimated the price cut
allowed by lower-cost materials
at around $100. He noted that
the "open question" was
whether iPhone 5C would be
priced attractively for emerging
markets at what could turn out
to be a $550 price tag without
subsidies from telecom service
providers.
The top-line iPhone 5S, which
starts at $199 with a contract for
US buyers, "is the most forward
thinking phone we have ever
created," said Apple vice
president Phil Schiller.
"It is the gold standard in
smartphones."
Schiller said the 5S model
includes a speedier chip which
brings up the computing power
from 32 to 64 bits.
"It has over a billion transistors
in it," he said, adding that the
device will be "about twice as
fast in graphics and computing
power and about 40 times faster
than the original iPhone."
The 5S will also have improved
battery life, with some 10 hours
of talk time, or 40 hours of music
listening, Schiller added.
Apple introduced a fingerprint
sensor for the iPhone 5S, as a
new security measure in place of
passwords.
"You can just press the home
button to unlock your phone,"
Schiller said. "You can use it to
authenticate iTunes purchases."
Schiller added: "We have so much
of our personal data on these
devices, and they are with us
almost everyplace we go, so we
have to protect them."
Reticle Research principle analyst
Ross Rubin described Touch ID
as a "show stealer" that
addresses "a necessary
annoyance that many consumers
have to deal with many times a
day."
Apple also broadened its color
palette, announcing the low-cost
phone in blue, white, pink, yellow
and green, and the top-line
model in silver, gold and a new
"space gray."
Apple said its iOS 7 software will
debut September 18. It includes a
free iTunes Radio Service
featuring more than 200 stations
"and an incredible catalog of
music from the iTunes Store,"
Apple announced earlier this
year.
The two new handsets keep the
four-inch screen of current
iPhones, despite some
speculation Apple would boost
the size to compete with larger
phones from rivals like Samsung.
The smartphone market is now
dominated by Android devices,
with roughly three-fourths of all
handsets, but a forecast by
research firm IDC suggested
Apple will increase its share this
year to 17.9 percent from 16.9
percent.
IDC analyst Ramon Llamas said
that by introducing a lower-
priced handset, "Apple is staking
out its space in the lower-cost
smartphone category."
Llamas said Apple is seeking to
fend off challenges from lower-
priced devices while "it enjoys
bigger profit margins and still
maintains the aura of being an
aspirational brand."
The event was a disappointment
to some who were looking for a
fresh device from Apple, such as
a smartwatch or TV service.
"I think there was an expectation
for that 'one more thing,'" said
Roger Kay at Endpoint
Technologies. "People were
looking for some pizzazz and
they didn't get it."
Apple announced separately a
deal with Japan's biggest mobile
phone carrier NTT DoCoMo to
bring the two new iPhones to
that country.
"We've enjoyed tremendous
success with iPhone in Japan, in
fact it's the top selling
smartphone in the country, and
we look forward to delivering
iPhone into even more
customers' hands through NTT
DoCoMo," Cook said.
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