Iphone2012
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Apple's new iPhone 5 dock connector: It's called Lightning and it's 80 percent smaller, but the adapter is $29
The new iPhone deserves a new dock connector. Say hello to the reversible, 80 percent smaller, Lightning. The likes of Bose, BLW and B&O are already working on new compatible docks while the new connector itself is now easier to connect, more durable, all digital, with an adaptive interface which warrants some closer inspection. Naturally, an adapter will also be made available for your existing iPhone peripherals, but if you have a number of devices to connect, it's likely to put a hurt on your wallet -- the adapter is now for sale in the Apple Store for a whopping $29. At least it'll pair well with that Thunderbolt connection, right? %Gallery-165083% Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 2012 event hub!
Apple details iPhone 5's new camera: 8MP, 'same as iPhone 4S but thinner'
Apple's got a new camera in its brand new iPhone 5: 8-megapixels with a 3,264 x 2,448 backside-illuminated sensor, five-element lens, and f/2.4 aperture sits on the rear of the new device. "Same as the iPhone 4S, but thinner." 25 percent thinner in fact, to match the now slimmer iPhone. The branding remains the same -- it's still the iSight -- but a few new bells and whistles have been added alongside the thinning. A new dynamic low light mode, for one, and a fancy sapphire crystal cover. The phone's new A6 processor also helps out, offering a "smart filter" for better color matching, as well as speedier capture and still capture during video. In terms of functionality, there's a new panorama mode, that allows picture stitching for multiple images into one larger shot (a whopping 28 megapixels in total) -- it looks like the 4S is getting this function as well, though it's unclear if it'll be via iOS 6 or what. Photo sharing is also getting expanded, adding more social functionality -- images can be shared with multiple friends or family members, and then those folks can comment. But you only care about video, don't you? You'll be glad to hear that it's getting expanded as well. The rear camera still offers 30fps 1080p HD capture, albeit with better image stabilization. The front facing camera now features 720p video for all your extreme close-ups. Speaking of FaceTime, it will be available via LTE on the iPhone 5. But on all mobile networks? We're not so sure just yet. Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 2012 event hub!
Apple: A6 chip in iPhone 5 has 2x CPU power, 2x graphics performance, yet consumes less energy
Every new iPhone needs a new engine, and Tim Cook has just made some bold claims about Apple's latest silicon creation: the A6 processor. He hinted at a significant shrinkage in transistor size, allowing the chip to be 22 percent smaller than the A5 and hence more energy-efficient, while at the same time -- he says -- doubling all-round CPU and graphics capabilities. By way of practical benefits, the Apple CEO promises the Pages app will load up 2.1x faster than before, while Keynote attachments will hit the screen 1.7x faster. At this point we're lacking any further detail about cores or clock speeds or indeed who actually fabricated the A6 (still Samsung, after all that bitterness?), but Apple does tend to be close-lipped on such things. In the meantime, bring on the benchmarks! Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 2012 event hub!
Apple announces worldwide carriers for iPhone 5: Sprint, AT&T and Verizon will support LTE in the US (update: No AWS HSPA+ for T-Mobile)
If you've got Apple's new LTE-capable iPhone 5, you're going to need some LTE markets. Fortunately, Apple had a huge, global list of carriers that are going to work with Apple's latest. In the US, AT&T, Sprint and Verizon will all support true 4G connectivity, while Canada's Rogers, Telus and Bell will also get the hook-up. In Europe, the newly established EE and Deutsch Telekom will gain LTE, while in Asia, KDDI, Softbank, KT, SK Telecom and SmartTone will all be provided for. Update: Apple's detailed all the technical specs of its new radio in the US, but we're looking at what's arguably the first LTE world phone -- unless there's a second model to do the rounds in Asia and Europe. It's the first device to run on the LTE networks of all the major carriers, although unfortunately there no AWS (1700MHz) HSPA+ for T-Mobile customers. Take a look at the more coverage link to get knee-deep in frequencies -- there's plenty of HSPA to go around. %Gallery-165074% Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 2012 event hub!
Apple counts 400 million iOS devices sold as of June
Wondering just how well Apple's iOS device sales have been faring versus their Android counterparts? CEO Tim Cook has just revealed that Apple has sold (not just shipped) 400 million iOS devices from the 2007 launch through to June 2012, a hike from the 365 million it reported at WWDC. For context, Google's Andy Rubin mentioned just Tuesday that a total of 500 million Android devices had been activated, although the gap may be closer than implied at first: there's been a few months between then and now, after all. Still, the new tallies show that Google wasn't waiting for the iPhone 5 to quicken its pace, even if Apple's sales are still very brisk. Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 2012 event hub!
iPhone 5 officially announced with 4-inch display, A6 CPU and LTE for $199 on September 21st
Apple may be notoriously secretive and tight lipped, but the company appears to be getting worse and worse at actually keeping things under wraps. The iPhone 5 appears to be the most leaked handset in existence. Thankfully, the suspense is over, the next-gen iPhone is finally here and it does, in fact, go by the numerical title of 5. Just like the parts that have been circulating on the web, this is a glass and aluminum two-tone affair and, at 7.6mm it's a full 18 percent thinner than the 4S (though, contrary to what Tim Cook said on stage, one slide has the iPhone 5 at 8mm even). It's even 20 percent lighter at 112 grams, which is even less than the mostly plastic Galaxy S III. It's all those "magical" things and it packs a larger 4-inch in-cell display. The new version of Apple's Retina panel is 1136 x 640, which clocks in at a more than respectable 326ppi. It also sports better color saturation with full sRGB rendering. That new longer screen allows for an extra set of icons to be displayed on the home screen, and first party apps have already been tweaked to take advantage of the additional real estate. The iWork suite, Garage Band and iMovie have all been updated. Older apps will still work too, though they'll be displayed in a letterbox format until an update is issued. The tweaked ratio puts the iPhone 5 display closer to 16:9, but it's not quite there. Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 2012 event hub!
Apple: 700k apps available in App Store, 250k for iPad, 100 apps per user
Does it come as any surprise that Apple would take a portion of its iPhone keynote to crank out a few obligatory numbers touting its overall success? CEO Tim Cook announced today that his company just surpassed the 700,000 mark for apps in the iOS App Store, with 250,000 specifically written for the iPad. Amazingly, 90 percent of those are downloaded every month, and each customer uses more than 100 apps on average. That extra row on the iPhone 5 should come in rather handy, we'd say. Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 2012 event hub!
7 million upgrades to Mountain Lion sold so far, the fastest-selling version of OS X yet
Kicking off its huge San Francisco event Apple CEO Tim Cook told the packed auditorium that Mountain Lion OS X is the fast-selling operating system it's ever had. He added that the company's family of notebooks have now ranked number 1 in the US for the last three months, grabbing a 27 percent market share. This equates to an additional 15 percent of growth since last year, compared to a slightly more modest two percent growth in the PC sector -- Apple has outpaced the PC industry over the last six years. Check out all the coverage at our iPhone 2012 event hub!
Apple's next-generation iPhone liveblog!
We still don't know exactly what they're going to call it ("new," 4G, 5, 6...?) but the banner above may be a big clue that we're about to see the iPhone 5 unveiled. This is the phone you've been waiting to see, and we're finally about to see it. If you don't know what to expect, our iPhone 5 rumor roundup will give you a good idea, but we're also hopeful that the venerable iPod lineup will be getting a refresh too, and there'll be plenty of time for other surprises. Can't wait? We can't either. Join us at the time below and come ready to party. September 12, 2012 1:00 PM EDT
Just one hour to go until Apple's launch event, here's the scene in San Francisco
What does the media queue for a major launch event look like? Picture the line in front of an Apple Store before any new product hits the shelves, add in a few hundred cameras and sat trucks, and there you go. Weather-wise, the scene is a bit dreary outside the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in downtown San Francisco, but things are undoubtedly heating up inside the relatively petite venue, beyond those black velvet ropes and the white polo shirt-clad security team. The scene outside will be long forgotten less than an hour from now, so click through the gallery below before it fades to irrelevancy, then hit up our liveblog to catch all the action inside.%Gallery-165048%
Engadget's iPhone 5 pre-event broadcast: live from San Francisco!
Ready or not, it's just about iPhone time. Darren and Tim are ready to get their liveblog on, but not before giving some insight into precisely what to expect. We'll be starting the show at 10:30AM ET. Hit play on the video below to get in on the Apple pregame tailgating party. Psst... after we go offline, you'll be able to watch repeats right here. Also, our liveblog (sans video, of course) will commence at 10:00AM PT, and you can follow along right here.
Apple search results turn up iPhone 5 name and LTE connectivity, indications of new iPod touch, iPod nano and iTunes 11
Apple offered a hint of the name in its invitation to today's event, but it looks like a slip-up on its own website may have now let the cat of the bag. Searching for "iphone-5" brings up a number of results for (as yet nonexistent) pages related to a device that seems to clearly be called the "iPhone 5." What's more, as 9 to 5 Mac notes, there are also references to a "new iPod touch with Retina Display" and a new iPod nano, as well as a similar indication that iTunes 11 is set to be released today. Update: 9 to 5 Mac has also turned up another search result that would seem to confirm the presence of LTE in the new iPhone.
Apple Store goes down ahead of iPhone announcement
With the big event only a few hours away Apple has already taken its shop offline. It's become standard practice for the Cupertino crew, so it's hardly a surprise. Still, it's a good sign that some new products will be available, at least for pre-order, starting today. Interestingly, the store isn't the only Apple property out of commission currently -- reports have been trickling in since yesterday that iCloud is out for some customers as well. The down time could just be a bug that needs fixing, but perhaps iCloud will also get some significant updates this morning to accompany the launch of the iPhone 5 and iOS 6. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Engadget will be broadcasting live outside of Apple's iPhone event tomorrow!
You hear that? It's the sound of tech journalists eagerly queueing up in San Francisco for tomorrow's Apple event. This week is all about the latest iPhone, and while we're still not quite sure what to call the thing, we can certainly attest to the fact that we'll be saying it a lot for a while to come. As they did with last year's iPhone event -- and March's iPad announcement -- Tim and Darren will be bringing you a livestream from the streets of San Francisco both before and after the event. Keep locked on Engadget at around 10:30AM ET to get their full predictions. And while, as per usual, Apple's not into letting third-parties broadcast from inside, you can still follow along with our liveblog at home.
Apple's iPhone 5 unveiling happens tomorrow, get your liveblog here!
Yes, we're just a day away from the unveiling of the long-rumored, next-generation iPhone. Will it be the iPhone 5? Will it be The New iPhone? What's in a name, really? We invite you to weigh on on that subject in the comments below, but if you were left wanting by the incremental step forward taken by the iPhone 4S we have a feeling you'll be feeling pretty good after this show is over. Tim Cook takes the stage at 10am PT on September 12th, but if you look in the time bubble floating below you'll see exactly when the event will happen in your neck of the woods. Oh, and if you're wondering where to go, you need only set your browser to this URL: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/apple-iphone-5-liveblog/ September 12, 2012 1:00 PM EDT %Gallery-164981%
iPhone 5: the rumor roundup
We're on the cusp of Apple's sixth iPhone launch, and there's very different expectations than there were last year. The 2011 rumor cycle left more than a few people burned: the later-than-usual October launch and repeated claims of a heavily-remade design led some to a disappointment when the iPhone 4S arrived, even though the final product had a slew of camera, speed and voice command upgrades. This year, the rumors have been grounded well before there was an event date in our hands. There have been fewer instances of wild rumors. Instead, it's been based more around pragmatism, using either tangible leaks or sources that have a solid track record. Think of the perennial leaks from the Wall Street Journal or the increasingly well-established sourcing from iMore and The Loop. Whether you're conspiracy-minded or not, it's been hard to ignore the sheer number of claims that have tamped down expectations rather than inflated them. It's as though there's a collective fear we'll see a repeat of the 2011 hysteria and deal with fans (or detractors) complaining about missing features that were never promised in the first place. Where last summer was full of uncertainty, this year there's a mounting consensus as to what we'll see, how we'll get it, and when. Tracking everything that's been mentioned may be a handful, however. With that in mind, we'll dive in and gauge what's likely to emerge from behind Apple's curtain on September 12th -- as well as what we can rule out from the get-go.
WSJ: 2012 iPhone to support global 4G LTE
Now we're intrigued. It's a common (if unconfirmed) belief that the next iPhone will support LTE-based 4G, but the Wall Street Journal now understands through the ever-present "people familiar with the matter" that Apple is taking 4G worldwide. Where the current iPad only supports two LTE frequencies and drops to HSPA+ outside of the US and Canada, the new iPhone will supposedly cover parts of Asia and Europe as well. The exact countries haven't been outlined, although it's easy to imagine Apple going for those countries where 4G speeds matter the most: there's been rumblings of talks with KT and SK Telecom in South Korea, but we could also see France, Germany, Japan and Scandinavian countries in the mix. The rumor hasn't been confirmed, of course. That said, the iPhone was already purported to be using a new cellular chipset -- and a number of carriers, most often in the US, have long said they won't carry new smartphones unless LTE is part of the package. We'll know the full scoop on Wednesday.
Sprint training docs cast doubt on 2012 iPhone launch timing, but don't panic yet
The next iPhone's unveiling date is safely locked down. Whether or not it arrives at every US carrier simultaneously is up in the air, however, and there's signs that Sprint's model might not ship as quickly as we'd like. Carrier training documents obtained by iSource, which we've since verified are real, would require that sales staff and technicians all be ready to offer "in-store Apple support" on October 15th, wrapping up their earliest training by the 30th -- that's up to a month after the introductory event, which would reduce the chances of a simultaneous launch if the first wave of iPhone availability is as close as the rumors would have you believe. Before you start plotting a carrier switch out of impatience, we'll add that there's a few disclaimers at play. First is simply that October 15th is a Monday, which is very out of step with Apple's habit of launching iPhones on Fridays. We'd see that day as the target for training alone, and that's assuming that Sprint needs everyone on the same page before the iPhone is in stores. More importantly, we know from our own tips that Sprint's internal calendar is in flux: the provider may not have concrete plans until after Apple's executives leave the event stage next week. As such, we'd treat the document leak more as a heads-up than a guarantee of trouble in Sprint's schedule.
Goophone I5 manages to KIRF the 2012 iPhone weeks in advance
Here's something you still don't see every day: a KIRF that's unveiled before the device it's supposed to copy. Although the 2012 iPhone may not show for weeks, the Android-based Goophone I5 is already doing a remarkable job of aping Apple's rumored style, including that two-tone look that we've all seen before. Just don't get notions that it's the bargain of the century. Where most rumors point to a bigger screen for the real thing, the I5 is making do with a 3.5-inch screen similar to that for Goophone's iPhone 4S imitator, the Y5. Performance isn't likely to jolt the engineers in Cupertino out of their seats, either. Mum's the word on whether or not the I5 will beat its inspiration to the store shelf, but we'd wager that it will cost a lot less.
T-Mobile memo asks staff to sell 'against the iPhone' on September 21st
T-Mobile has been virtually screaming for an iPhone deal, but a memo leaked to TmoNews suggests Apple isn't prepared to listen just yet. The note tells carrier staff they'll get training material to learn "selling against the iPhone" from September 21st onwards. Why does that date sound familiar? Although we don't know if T-Mobile has an inside track on Apple's plans or is just making assumptions based on rumors, that's not the language we would associate with a carrier that has a new agreement to sell the iPhone -- not unless it's using a loose definition of the word "against," at least. As a consolation, T-Mobile is reportedly supplying updated micro-SIM kits on August 29th to emphasize its improving support for unlocked iPhones on refarmed 3G spectrum. Nothing's official until Apple struts on stage, of course; you may nonetheless want to research alternatives if getting a cheaper contract phone on Magenta trumps having Cupertino's latest and greatest.
