The iPhone 5S was finally announced and confirmed at Apple's major press event at its Cupertino headquarters in California. The device confirmed several rumors that had been floating around the Apple rumor mill for the past few months. Now users can get excited about the next generation of iPhone devices and see what the future has in store for the company's flagship smartphone.
First of all, the most noticeable aesthetic features of the iPhone 5S have been changed as the classic black model of the phone has been done away with in exchange for a "space grey" color option. In exchange for losing a color, Apple has introduced the "gold champagne" color. With three color options for the fist time ever, Apple has changed the external look of the iPhone more than ever before. Meanwhile, the home button has received a bit of a change as well with the traditional square removed, showing a small change to the home button but making the phone look cleaner. However, the real reason the square is gone is to make room for a fingerprint sensor called the "Touch ID," which Apple claims makes the iPhone the most secure phone on the market.
The fingerprint scanner was the topic of rumor in the weeks leading up to the press event. It is 170 microns thin, 500 ppi resolution, scans sub-epidermal skin layers and can scan in 360 degrees, meaning you won't have to align your thumb in the same position every time.
"It's built in a design that is absolutely the most beautiful, and stunning design in the entire phone industry," said Phil Schiller while unveiling the device. "This is iPhone 5S. It's made of a high-grade aluminum, with diamond-cut, chamfered edges." These are very similar to the iPhone 5.
The device will end up being 2x faster than the original iPhone 5, which is being retired in favor of the similarly announced iPhone 5C. The chip will allow the device to go from 32-bit to 64-bit.
"The PC world made the transition from 32 bit to 64 bit and it took years. Today you're going to see that Apple is going to do it in one day," the company boasted at the event. iOS 7 was retooled for 64-bit for developers in the background of the beta tests. However, users don't have to worry about their old 32 bit apps because the iPhone 5S will be backwards compatiable.
Finally, the camera to the device has been significantly updated with a slew of new features like a slow-motion camera, an action camera and new ways to save photos by location and moments.
The device will be available on Sept. 20. Unfortunately, users might need to get in line now as the company announced no way to pre-order the device. It will be available in 16GB for $199, 32GB for $299 and 64B for $399 on-contract.
