Apple announces iPhone 4S

Life

5 October 2011

Apple finally ended months of rumour and conjecture with the unveiling of the the iPhone 4S at an event in the company’s campus in Cupertino, California, last night. A 3G smartphone with improved hardware designed to allow the device to run applications faster than its predecessor, the iPhone 4.

As expected, the iPhone 4S will run on the same dual-core A5 processor as the iPad 2, which also will allow the device to run graphics up to seven times faster than prior models, giving a better gaming experience and 1080p video playback.

The iPhone 4S will be priced at $199 for a 16Gb model, $299 for a 32Gb model and $399 for a 64Gb model, with a two-year contract. The iPhone 4S will be available in Ireland on 28 October.

The new smartphone will offer eight hours of 3G talk time, 14 hours of 2G talk time and 10 hours of video on one battery charge. The device will also offer nine hours of Wi-Fi browsing time and six hours of 3G browsing time.

The iPhone 4S is also a world phone, which means it has a baseband chip that will work on both GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) networks. The iPhone 4 previously had two separate models for the GSM and CDMA networks. The iPhone 4S will also have an 8MP camera, as many analysts had predicted.

The iPhone 4S also includes retina display, like the iPhone 4, which started shipping in June last year. The naming convention is much like the iPhone 3GS, which was considered an incremental upgrade from iPhone 3G.

The iPhone 4S will run on iOS 5, which the company introduced earlier this year. The OS includes about 200 more features than earlier versions, including Twitter integration, the new iMessage application for communication between iOS devices, and a unified center for notifications on e-mail, text messages and more. The OS will also include the free iCloud syncing and hosting service for music, photos and other data, which will become available on 12 October. Irish users will have to make do with a scaled back cloud offering without the iTunes Match subscription service that can convert and upload music not bought on the iTunes store.

The company also announced a new version of the iPod Touch, which will come with iOS 5. An 8Gb model will be priced at US$199, a 32Gb model at $299 and a 64Gb model at $399.

Markets were initially skecpitcal of the new Apple line as shares dipped by as low as 3.8% but rallied in after hours trading, ending up 0.06%.

IDG News Service

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