New iPhone/ iPhone 5/ iPhone 4GS Ace LTE Maxx

Critique · Wed 12 Sep, 2012 15.56

So, today is the day where Apple will take to the stage and announce their new iPhone. There have been a lot of rumors circulating about what it will look like and what it will contain, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to predict what it could be like, and then discuss what the new iPhone means after the announcement. So here we go...

In terms of design, I've always been a fan of the 4 and 4S, because they look lovely. It was a nice evolution of the first three iPhones. However, the following design has been taken by most websites as what the iPhone will look like:

I actually really do like this, as it is again an evolution of the 4 and 4S, but it isn't drastically different. There are also rumours that the new iPhone will be 16:9, as opposed to the current 4:3. This gives quite a bit of extra space, and would go with the screen going up to 4 or 4.3 inches, and would at least mean that the iPhone has caught up with the rest of the pack.

There's also supposed to be a new dock connector, with less pins, and new headphones. The actual phone itself is iOS6, which doesn't really have any stand-out new features, unlike iOS 5 with Siri.

Whatever Apple come up with tonight, it'll certainly be very interesting.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on it all.

Philip · Wed 12 Sep, 2012 16.07

The iPhone screen is 14:9 not 4:3 so I don't think it will make that much of a difference going to 16:9.

Critique · Wed 12 Sep, 2012 16.15

Philip wrote:The iPhone screen is 14:9 not 4:3 so I don't think it will make that much of a difference going to 16:9.

Is it just the iPad with a 4:3 screen? Some iThingy is definitely 4:3. I just Googled it, and whilst it's 'widescreen', the iPhone is, according to Wikipedia, of a 3:2 aspect ratio.

Philip · Wed 12 Sep, 2012 16.30

Critique wrote:
Philip wrote:The iPhone screen is 14:9 not 4:3 so I don't think it will make that much of a difference going to 16:9.
Is it just the iPad with a 4:3 screen? Some iThingy is definitely 4:3. I just Googled it, and whilst it's 'widescreen', the iPhone is, according to Wikipedia, of a 3:2 aspect ratio.

Yeah, just the iPad.

The announcement is at 6pm UK time btw. Presumably Apple won't be streaming it which is disappointing as they streamed the original OS X Lion announcement a year or so ago, but haven't streamed any announcement since then.

Liveblog to the rescue...

http://live.gizmodo.com/

James L H · Wed 12 Sep, 2012 17.11

So.... who's gonna be grabbing one for themselves then? I for one will be waiting over the next few days for the website to display a pre-order button, to snap one up for myself!

bilky asko · Wed 12 Sep, 2012 19.35

This phone is the most pathetic iPhone launch by Apple yet. All the comments I've read on the BBC News article up to now are negative (including my own), and I think this could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Nothing they have announced for this phone is innovative. I dare say that Steve Jobs's vision has been adulterated by his replacement(s). I'm no Apple fanboy, but I think that had Jobs still been alive, this phone would have been better.

Critique · Wed 12 Sep, 2012 19.44

They've updated pretty much everything in the iPod/iPhone range. New iPhone has the widescreen, 4 inch display, some fancy camera stuff with panorama, the design is basically, if not the same, as posted at the top of the thread, and iOS 6 updates Siri, and so on.

New iPod Nano, with a 2.5 inch, widescreen display, and about half a centimetre thick. Looks quite nice as an entry level thing. New iPod Touch, with the iPhone screen, but different design, and in 5 colours. No new Shuffle, and nothing about the Classic. In fact, I think they might have quietly dropped the Classic, like they did the White MacBook a few years back. They're selling the old iPod Touch alongside the new one, so that could be the replacement.

And there's a new iTunes, with redesigned App store and iTunes store on devices and on PC. Looks very nice. iTunes for PC takes obvious hints from iOS (When selecting an album, the list of songs opens like an iOS folder).

And new headphones. Called EarPhones or something silly. They look different, and that's about it, as far as I can tell.

And it's ending with a performance from the Foo Fighters.

Personally, the new iPhone looks nice, and whilst iOS isn't a big update, there have been lesser updates before. IMO, it still looks very appealing, and I'm sure many will flock to get it. There was a buzz around this from colleagues and the like unlike any other phone. People knew that the iPhone 5 was getting announced. You still don't get that at Samsung Galaxy launch events, or from any other competitor. I think that this event was going to be a disappointment to most people, regardless of what Apple produced, because Steve Jobs isn't there.

EDIT: Apple website updated, and the Classic is still there.

Dr Lobster* · Wed 12 Sep, 2012 19.46

bilky asko wrote:
Nothing they have announced for this phone is innovative. I dare say that Steve Jobs's vision has been adulterated by his replacement(s). I'm no Apple fanboy, but I think that had Jobs still been alive, this phone would have been better.

I disagree, borders on apps are truly innovative. I hope apple get the idea patented before Samsung steals it.

I think it's fair to say that the iphone is squarely aimed at girls....Drawn in by something shiny that doesn't have many options or menus.

Innovation at Apple died with Steve Jobs.

bilky asko · Wed 12 Sep, 2012 19.51

Critique wrote:New iPod Nano, with a 2.5 inch, widescreen display, and about half a centimetre thick. Looks quite nice as an entry level thing. New iPod Touch, with the iPhone screen, but different design, and in 5 colours. No new Nano, and nothing about the Classic.

OK...

Dr Lobster* wrote:
bilky asko wrote:
Nothing they have announced for this phone is innovative. I dare say that Steve Jobs's vision has been adulterated by his replacement(s). I'm no Apple fanboy, but I think that had Jobs still been alive, this phone would have been better.
I disagree, borders on apps are truly innovative. I hope apple get the idea patented before Samsung steals it.

I think it's fair to say that the iphone is squarely aimed at girls....Drawn in by something shiny that doesn't have many options or menus.

Innovation at Apple died with Steve Jobs.

Apple truly was Steve Jobs. I don't think there's any more to say about it, really.

madmusician · Wed 12 Sep, 2012 22.46

Steady on, folks!

I know that it is 'more evolution than revolution', to quote every BBC rebranding exercise since about 1997, but how much more innovation is there to be had? The multi-touch interface was the key breakthrough, and the one that has been taken on by almost every smartphone manufacturer since the original iPhone in '07, since then it has been about refining. The latest technology (4G/LTE) is in there and it is a refined design. You can't innovate all the time, the device has stabilised and the ecosystem is there to support it - they are now just sorting out small details, along with the cosmetic enhancement.

I know that iOS isn't everybody's cup of tea, and that there are elements in the interface that need to change, but I really value that fact that my iPhone (and my Mac to a lesser extent) don't require lots of work to keep in check. Yes, iOS especially is a walled garden, but I quite like it that way - just let it work within the ecosystem. And I've said this before, but I'll happily say it again - it feels more solid than any other phone I have had. That's partly the interface, it's partly the speed of animation, it's partly the ecosystem behind it, which gives it the feel of a great consumer device, not just a phone. I shan't be purchasing the new iPhone, as I'm a student and thus have very little disposable income, plus my iPhone 4 is still running perfectly fine (and I hope to get several more years out of it), but I certainly think that it is a fine device.

I agree that it's not groundbreaking in several ways - but you can't be groundbreaking all the time. If in a couple more release cycles things haven't changed, then I'll agree with you, but for now - I think all is well in the world of iPhone.

Critique · Wed 19 Sep, 2012 20.13

And it took me a quick (!) and painless two hours to update to iOS 6. I like the style of the new Maps, although the lack of StreetView and Public Transport directions is irritating, to say the least, and the new clock app is lovely.

Quite annoyed there's no more YouTube app, though.