Apple Unveils iPhone 5, New iPod Models

It’s finally here. After months of Internet leaks and rumors, Apple held a press conference today unveiling the iPod 5, as well as new models for the iPod Touch and iPod Nano.

The new phone is 20% lighter than the iPhone 4S, crafted out of glass and aluminum. It also includes a boosted 4-inch Retina Display, “the most accurate display in the industry” according to Phil Schiller. The new display has 44% more color saturation than the 4S display and touch sensors have now been integrated into the display itself. Impressive, but hardly surprising.

Perhaps the greatest improvement on the iPhone 5 is its battery life: 8 hours of 3G talk time, and 8 hours of 3G and LTE web browsing. Improvements have also been made to the iPhone’s audio system, with a smaller but more powerful speaker, and microphones on the front, back and bottom of the device. The Dock Connector that has had rumors flying around the net is here — it’s all digital and called “Lightning.” Maybe the only surprise is that the device does not include an integrated NFC chip, as was rumored. As expected, the iPhone 5 will support Sprint, Verizon and AT&T’s LTE networks. The new chipset — the A6 — is purportedly two times faster than the iPhone 4S’s A5 chip.

Small advances were made to the iPhone’s camera — it is still an 8-megapixel camera, but it reportedly has improved low-light performance and features 1080p video capture. Users can also now take snapshots while shooting video.

As expected, the iPhone 5 will support Sprint, Verizon and AT&T’s LTE networks. The new chipset — the A6 — is purportedly two times faster than the iPhone 4S’s A5 chip.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 5 will begin this Friday, and the device will ship to customers starting on September 21st.

But the new iPhone wasn’t the only product Apple unveiled today, they also revealed several new iPods.

As Chris Taylor of Mashable put it, “Basically, the new iPod Touch is the iPhone 5 — without the phone, a slightly slower chip, and a slightly smaller megapixel camera.” You can also attach a camera strap to the back of the touch, and it shoots 1080p video. The battery on the iPod touch has 40 hours of music playback, 8 hours of video. It’s 6.1mm thin, approaching Nano territory.

Speaking of the Nano, Apple also unveiled the latest in their diminutive iPod model, which is 40% thinner than its predecessor. The new Nano has 30 hours of playback in its battery, widescreen video, and what Chris Taylor calls “TiVo-like functionality” — meaning you can pause live radio. Its 2.5 inch display is the biggest ever for the Nano.

Apple also announced their changes to iTunes, which includes built-in cloud features and Facebook integration. Concerts will also now appear on artist pages in the iTunes store.

Another Apple event is rumored for October, so surprises could yet be in store. It’s likely the much-rumored iPad Mini could be announced then.

Image: TechCrunch

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