Cupertino: For the first time ever, Apple unveiled two new iPhones at a single event on Tuesday. The first is a a cheaper one made of plastic and another that aims to be "the gold standard of smartphones" and reads your fingerprint.
The move comes as rival phones from Samsung and other manufacturers are challenging Apple's hold on the smartphone market.
The lower-cost iPhone 5C will be available in five colors — green, blue, yellow, pink and white. CEO Tim Cook calls it “more fun and colorful” than any other iPhone. The 5C has a 4-inch Retina display and is powered by Apple's A6 chip. It also has an 8 megapixel camera, live photo filters and a rear cover that lights up.
The iPhone 5C will cost $99 for a 16 gigabyte model and $199 for a 32 gigabyte model with a two-year wireless contract. The phone is expected to help Apple boost sales in China and other areas where people don't have as much money to spend on new gadgets as they do in the U.S. and Europe.
The second phone, the 5S, is “the most forward-looking phone we have ever created,” said Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple. It will come in silver, gold and “space gray” and run a new chip, the A7 that is up to twice as fast as the A6.
Schiller said the new phone can run more health and fitness applications. These apps have become increasingly popular as more people use them to track exercise routines, calorie intake and even sleep patterns.
The camera in the 5S received some major upgrades, including several automatic features designed to produce better photos. It has larger pixels, which helps capture more light. The phone also has a two-tone flash feature that is designed not to clash with the colors in the room or a person's skin color — something Schiller said has not been done on a phone before.
The camera, called iSight, has “auto image stabilization,” which helps avoid blurry pictures, and a slow-motion camera for video.
The 5S also includes “Touch ID,” which reads fingerprints at a “detailed level,” Schiller said. He said it is “fun and easy” to teach the 5S about your fingerprint and once you do, you can just touch the home button to unlock the phone. The company said fingerprints will not be stored on its servers.
Tying the fingerprint scanner to payments could also open new revenue channels for Apple.
Both models will be on sale on Sept. 20 in the U.S., Australia, China, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and U.K. Apple said this is the first time that a new phone has been available right away in China — a sign of the growing importance of that market to the company. People will be able to order the 5C in advance on Sept. 13.
For buyers entering a two-year contract with a wireless carrier, the phone will cost $199 for 16 gigabytes of memory, $299 for 32 and $399 for 64.
Apple also said its next mobile operating system, iOS 7, will be available as a free download on Sept. 18.
Craig Federighi, head of software at Apple Inc., said at an event at the company's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters that “downloading iOS 7 is like getting an all new device.”
The new system can be downloaded on the iPhone 4 and later models, as well as on the tablets beginning with the iPad 2.
Apple also says it expects to ship its 700 millionth iOS device next month. Apple CEO Tim Cook predicts that iOS 7 will become the most popular mobile operating system in the world.
Investors seemed unimpressed. Apple's stock price fell $3.17 to $503.10 during the event, which also featured Elvis Costello. The singer performed a new song from a record coming out next week.
New mobile software
The new phones will come with iOS 7, the next version of Apple's operating system for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches.
The biggest change comes in the new system's design: Instead of app icons that try to mimic real-world counterparts, Apple is favoring simplicity and consistency from app to app. The new 5C phones were designed to complement the color scheme found in the new operating system.
As previously announced, you'll be able to swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access a control center, for such functions as turning on airplane mode and adjusting brightness. It's similar to a feature available on rival devices running Android.
The calendar has been cleaned up and looks more streamlined. You can also get to your contacts list quickly while reading messages by swiping from the left of the screen. A featured called AirDrop will let people share content with other Apple devices.
There's also better organization of photos you take on iPhones. Instead of the endless streams of the past, pictures will be organized into moments — such as "home" or "trip to San Francisco."
The Siri virtual assistant is getting refreshed, too. You'll be able to choose a male voice, not just a female one as is currently the case.
In addition, the iOS 7 system includes Apple's new streaming music service, iTunes Radio. The service will personalize listeners' music based on what they've listened to and what they've purchased on iTunes. If you like a song, you can buy it through iTunes with one click.
Owners of older iPhones can get the iOS update for free starting next Wednesday. Just respond to the prompt when it comes or go to "Software Update" in the settings under "General." Apple said iOS 7 will be available to download and install on the iPhone 4 and later, the iPad 2 and later, the iPad Mini and the fifth-generation iPod Touch, the one released last year.
Freebies
Apple will make its iWork package of apps — Pages for word processing, Numbers for spreadsheets and Keynote for presentations — available on iPhones and iPads for free. The apps were $10 each. Apple is also making the iPhoto and iMovie apps available. Those were $5 each. The company says the creativity software complements the iWork package for productivity.
The offer is available to buyers of new iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches, retroactive to Sept. 1. The device must be compatible with iOS 7 to qualify. Once a new device is purchased, the app can be downloaded for free to other devices on the same account, as long as the device is upgraded to iOS 7.
Apple did not announce an update to a Web-based version of iWork. It's currently available in a beta test mode. Apple announced the Web-based version during a presentation in June, saying that iWork for iCloud will be available this fall. Apple hasn't provided details on pricing.
