Well the big moment has finally arrived. After months of rumors, reports and speculation, Apple has just taken the wraps off of its new flagship smartphone: the iPhone 5s.
It's a familiar-looking handset with a bevy of upgrades—including a new 64-bit A7 processor, and a handful of new features. And yes, it looks like there's a new gold colorway...
While there weren't too many surprises during today's iPhone event, we did get a couple of small ones afterwards. Apple quietly introduced a handful of new accessories for its just-revealed iPhone 5c and 5s handsets.
These accessories include a new 2 meter (or 6.5ft) Lightning to USB Cable, which is twice as long as the previous version, as well as—surprisingly—two new Lightning charging docks for its two new smartphones...
In addition to the new 2 meter Lightning cable and its two new charging docks, Apple also unveiled today new custom cases for its new handsets. There's a fun plastic one for the iPhone 5c, and a sharp-looking leather one for the 5s, and both are available in various colors...
Although it wasn't mentioned at the iPhone event, Apple announced today that it has partnered up with Japan's NTT DoCoMo to offer the iPhone this fall. The company just issued a press release confirming the deal with the carrier.
DoCoMo was the last major provider in the country to not offer Apple's popular handset, after years of failed negotiations. But it appears someone gave in, because the carrier will be selling both new iPhones on September 20th...
Surprisingly, Apple didn't make any mention of a China Mobile deal at its event today. The Cupertino company had reportedly inked a deal with world's largest carrier earlier this month to carry its popular handset.
But that doesn't mean it can't still happen. In fact, some new evidence surfaced today that suggests a partnership is still in the cards. It's been discovered that both new iPhones support China Mobile's TD-LTE tech...
As we continue to uncover interesting tidbits following Apple's introduction of the flagship iPhone 5s and the plastic iPhone 5c this morning, a little-appreciated fact has now come to light. Both new iPhones are offered in four different hardware varieties each versus three different cellular versions of the iPhone 5.
The consolidated 5s/5c models offer more LTE bands than before, but the coolest thing is that in the United States a single version now supports AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. Additionally, a different version of the handsets will provide compatibility with Sprint and Japan's KDDI and Softbank carriers.
Previously, there used to be two different US flavors of the iPhone 5, one for the AT&T and T-Mobile and the other for Verizon and Sprint networks...
As we count the remaining minutes until Apple's iPhone 5S/5C keynote (85 minutes left and counting), the blogosphere has spent the last 48 hours putting together some downright amusing parody videos (not mentioning a few in really bad taste).
While hardly meant to downplay Apple's inevitable domination in headlines today, we're not complaining - such parodies have long become part of the Apple keynote folklore. Now, some watchers may be expecting a revolution.
Realistically - this morning is about two phones, both based on the existing iPhone 5 design: a mid-range model redesigned around a much cheaper and sturdier plastic enclosure and an S-upgrade with a faster chip, better camera and Touch ID sensor.
Check out the videos after the break and hit us in comments...
You have to love last-minute leaks. Shortly after The Wall Street Journal published a report confirming that the iPhone 5S would indeed sport a built-in fingerprint sensor, another bit of evidence surfaced in favor of the feature.
What you see above is an illustration of what is believed to be an iPhone 5S, running iOS 7 and sporting a silver ring around its Home button. The photo is believed to have been taken from within the handset's user guide...
According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, the rumors are true, Apple is going to introduce a new iPhone tomorrow morning with a fingerprint sensor built into the Home button.
In a last minute scoop, the news outlet says it has confirmed with "people familiar with the matter" that the much talked about feature will indeed be present in at least one of Apple's new handsets...
In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, tomorrow is a huge day for Apple. The company is expected to unveil not one, but two new smartphones: an iPhone 5S, which will replace the current flagship iPhone 5 handset, and an all-new low-cost 'iPhone 5C' model.
We're assuming there won’t be a live stream of tomorrow’s presser (although you never know), and a clip of the event won’t likely be available until hours after it’s over. But never fear, iDB will be here all day providing you with coverage and commentary…
Ahead of tomorrow's iPhone keynote, which starts at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern, colorful banners have now gone up the facade of Apple's Town Hall auditorium building in Cupertino, California. Watchful folks could point out that Apple typically holds its high-profile product unveilings at major venues like San Francisco's Moscone West or Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.
This time around, they've opted for a more intimate (and more controllable) setting at its own campus. The last time Town Hall was used was for the iPhone 4S introduction in October 2011. As yo can see yourself, the media event livery pictures the same colorful dots we first saw on Apple's event invitation.
I've included more shots right after the break...
America is now a smartphone nation and the iPhone is increasingly becoming the favored device. Smartphones now account for 56 percent of cell phones in the United States. That's up nearly ten points from a year ago, according to a new Pew Research poll. Additionally, the iPhone is used by 25 percent of US smartphone owners - or one out of each four smartphone owners in the country.
That's a notable six-point increase from nineteen percent a year ago. The rise in US smartphones mirrors a drop in feature phones, which fell to 35 percent. Just nine percent of US adults do not own a cellphone...