Whats Happening, Brian Tong here and welcome to the Apple Byte for
everything good and bad inside the world of Apple and theres a whole
bunch of both after Apples iPhone event a few days ago in Cupertino.
Last year Tim Cook said Apple was doubling down on secrecy, but nothing
could be further from the truth after every new feature, color, and
model name was leaked by the rumor mills months before the event.
The age of Apple secrecy is over, so lets do a recap of what Apple
announced JUST incase you missed it.
The iPhone 5S is here on September the 20th starting at $199 with
contract. It comes in Gold, White and Space Grey. I actually didnt
know space had its own color of grey until yesterday.
You wont find a bigger screen or new design like we expected but
theres a lot of features I like under the hood with an all-new A7 64
bit processor, an industry first, but we wont really see major
benefits from it in the near future.
A new M7 co-processor that captures motion data for fitness apps,
doesnt use the A7, and requires less battery power. That feature
doesnt affect me, unless it can measure the size of my guns(CUTAWAY)
The all new improved iSight camera remains 8 megapixels, which is a
little letdown and we know megapixels dont completely matter but
keeping it at 8 compared to whats out there? Theres a dual LED flash,
made up of one white and one amber flash, a first on a smartphone,
thats pretty sweet, to give you even better photos with the flash so
Ill report back on how this works out at the clubs.
Theres new Camera app features like 120 frame per second slo-mo video,
and a burst mode feature for action shots that plays catch up to other
phones, but it can ONLY be used on the iPhone 5S. SURE IT CAN, thats a
BAD APPLE.(CUTAWAY)
And the feature they just couldnt keep a secret, kinda ironic since
its for security, its the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, that can be
used to unlock your phone or approve purchases through the iTunes and
App stores.
Its just those two things for now, Im really digging it, and theres
a lot of potential here for your finger to be the password for all your
apps and services, and to get people comfortable with the behavior of
using your finger for transactions (booger shot. But Apple wont give
developers access to the feature initially, which deserves a crappy
apple, but they left it open to change in the future, and really they
better open it up sooner rather than later.
Now My take on the 5S, is that 4S users are going to LOVE it combined
with iOS 7. You guys are in heaven right now. But a lot of iPhone 5
users are let down because they wanted a bigger screen, but we all
really knew what to expect, thats if you watch this show. And Shame on
you if you dont, even though you cant hear me shaming you.
I think the jump from the iPhone 4 to the 4S was weak, and I didnt
upgrade. But Im excited about the finger print scanner, all the other
improvements, theres actually new tech inside here, yeah I wish it had
a bigger screen too and you might not be in the same boat, but Im
going to get a 5S. and can you guess what color its going to be(I
LOVE GOLD clip)
Uh-huh, Oh but no pre-orders for the 5S, Apple is going to make us wait
in line so it looks like their stores have big lines again. THATS A
BAD APPLE. I want this phone, but I dont want it that bad, so Ill
just order it online on the 20th.
= = = = =
Now the biggest letdown from keynote was the iPhone 5C. Im not even
its target market, but it was supposed to be the cheaper iPhone
alternative. Instead, apple showed, they wont play in the low cost
space and its basically an iPhone 5 ,with the same internals and 5
fruity colors. So I guess the rumor mill got that one wrong.
Heres what Jony Ive had to say(ROLL video at :40)
PLASTIC, did he really just say PLASTIC? Come On, Was there a trap door
under Jonys seat if he didnt say PLASTIC? WEre talking about
PLASTIC?
The 5C is selling for the SAME price the iPhone 5 would have been once
a new model swooped in. $99 with a two year contract. $29 more bucks if
you want a case with holes to show of two colors together.
This phone unlocked is $549 which is on par with other flagship phones
internationally, so is this is not a CHEAP phone.
I know people will get the 5C for their kids in school, I had several
girlfriends, let me make that clear, girls who are friends, who were
excited about a colored iPhone until I told them, its not actually a
new iPhone, and yeah, theyll sell a bunch but this is just an iPhone 5
with a color wrapper.
This isnt innovation and this might be Apples most deceptive phone
for the general consumer. And guess whats the first thing that pops up
on Apples website. Not the 5S which actually brings new tech to the
table, Its the iPhone 5C.
Im not even throwing out a bad apple, from now on, Im just gonna call
this the iPhone 5 CRAPPLE.
= = = = =
Alright I got that out, Lets get back to happy thoughts and iOS 7 is
really the bright spot of this event. Itll be available as a free
download on September the 18th and will be compatible as far back as the
iPhone 4, iPad 2 and iPod Touch 5th generation.
Weve talked all about the features like Control Center and iTunes
Radio which Apple still says is coming soon, but you want to know about
the new stuff Ive found?
More new Wallpapers like this one of planet earth or maybe this cool
one of the Northern Lights, or this one where Winter Is coming. But
even better new text tones and ringtones. They even improved the
original tri-tone from this(CUTAWAY red curtain)..to this...(CUTAWAY
red curtain - WOW!)
And my favorite ring tone right now..WAVES(cutaway green screen
background something fun - happy listening)
= = = = =
In other new stuff coming, All Things D is reporting that we can also
expect to see an Apple TV software overhaul on the 18th the same day,
when iOS 7 come out.
One new feature will allow people to play content they have purchased
themselves on the iTunes store and play it back on someone elses Apple
TV using AirPlay. So you could stream content you own to any Apple TV
box that is typically set up with a single user account.
And Space Grey is here to stay, Apple also announced
the iPod Touch, iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle will be
available in that color"
= = = = =
But before we move on, let's take a moment to remember
the Apple products we've lost, but were so good to us,
= = = = =
Alright we said wed get to some of your impressions and emails from
Apples Event.
On Twitter DeadAxS says cant wait to get a 5S, my phone isnt slow
yet but cant wait to be a Ferrari on the Digital highway
Well vroom vroom to you!
= = = = =
Marc Owens writes in with: This was the time Apple needed to wow us
all back in love with the IPhone. I broke up with my IPhone 4 and
havent looked back. Tim Cook is not the leader Apple needs right now.
Marc, think the days of being wowed by any Phone are gone. People want
to be romanced back, because Steve did it so well, but the reality
distortion field is gone, and guess what, reality can suck sometimes.
B-Whiteman asks:
I was wondering with the new iPhone 5s and 5c chips and antennas, will
it allow for simultaneous talk and data with Sprint and Verizon while
in LTE areas
You wont like this but the answer is still a NO. We asked Apple and
they said Verizons network technology prevents voice and data, and
that it isn't a problem specific to the iPhone.
Some phones like The HTC Thunderbolt have added in separate radios that
enable the simultaneous voice and data over the cellular network, but
its not that common on Verizon or Sprint.
So there you go, keep sending us your emails with your impressions and
questions to theapplebyte@cnet.com or tweet me @briantong and well
show them off and well be doing another email episode in a couple
weeks and I want you to really dig deep and ask me ANYTHING any
question you have ever wondered, and well answer them.
Thats going to do it for this weeks show Im Brian Tong, thanks for
watching and well catch you next week for another bite, of the apple.
