The iPhone 4S features a dual-core A5 chip, new camera, full 1080p HD video recording, and introduces Siri speech recognition assistant.
Apple today announced iPhone 4S, what the company called "the most amazing iPhone yet," packed with "incredible new features" including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for "blazing fast" performance and "stunning" graphics; a new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri, an intelligent assistant designed to help users get things done just by asking, the company said.
With the launch of iPhone 4S also comes the launch of iOS 5, what the company is calling the "world’s most advanced mobile operating system," with over 200 new features; and iCloud, a "breakthrough" set of free cloud services that work with the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and push it to all your devices.
“iPhone 4S plus iOS 5 plus iCloud is a breakthrough combination that makes the iPhone 4S the best iPhone ever,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “While our competitors try to imitate iPhone with a checklist of features, only iPhone can deliver these breakthrough innovations that work seamlessly together,” he said.
iPhone 4S comes with iOS 5 that includes more than 200 new features including Notification Center, an innovative way to easily view and manage notifications in one place without interruption, and iMessage, a new messaging service that lets users easily send text messages, photos, and videos between all iOS 5 users. iOS 5 will also be available as a free software update for iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS customers allowing them to experience the new features.*
iPhone 4S also introduces Siri, an intelligent assistant that helps users get things done just by asking. Siri understands context allowing the user to speak naturally when asking it questions. For example, if you ask, “Will I need an umbrella this weekend?” it understands you are looking for a weather forecast, the company said. Siri is also smart about using the personal information you allow it to access. For example, if you tell Siri, “Remind me to call Mom when I get home,” the company says it can find “Mom” in your address book. If you ask Siri, “What’s the traffic like around here?” it can figure out where “here” is based on your current location, according to the company. Siri helps you make calls, send text messages or email, schedule meetings and reminders, make notes, search the Internet, find local businesses, get directions and more. You can also get answers, find facts and even perform complex calculations just by asking, according to Apple.
iCloud is a breakthrough set of free cloud services, including iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream and Documents in the Cloud, that work seamlessly with the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store content in iCloud and push it to all devices. When content changes on one device, all other devices are updated automatically and wirelessly.
iPhone 4S includes an all new camera with the most advanced optics of any phone, according to the company. The eight-megapixel sensor has 60 percent more pixels so users can take high quality photos with more detail than ever before. iPhone 4S includes a new custom lens, a larger f/2.4 aperture, and an advanced hybrid IR filter that produce sharper, brighter and more accurate images. The Apple-designed image signal processor in the A5 dual-core chip is built for performance, the company said, and it is coupled with the features built into iOS 5 so it makes the camera one of the fastest on any phone, according to Apple. With iPhone 4S, the Camera app launches much faster, and the shot to shot capability is twice as fast as previous cameras.
New features in the Camera and Photos apps give users instant access to the camera right from the lock screen, and they can also use the volume-up button to quickly snap a photo. Optional grid lines help line up the shot and a simple tap locks focus and exposure on one subject. The new Photos app lets you crop, rotate, enhance and remove red-eye, and organize photos into albums right on the device to share them on the go. New iOS 5 features include built-in Twitter integration and iMessage, so users can instantly share photos via Twitter directly from the Photos app and send photos via iMessage to individuals or groups. And with iCloud's innovative new Photo Stream service, a photo you take on your iPhone is sent to iCloud and automatically pushed to your iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC. Users can even view the Photo Stream album on Apple TV.
iPhone 4S can also now record video in full 1080p HD resolution and with the new video image stabilization feature, users can take richer, smoother videos, the company says. Other iPhone 4S video camera improvements include increased sensitivity, sharpness, and an increased ability to capture video in low light conditions. With the new iMessage service in iOS 5, users can now instantly share videos with family and friends.
iPhone 4S has the same thin glass and stainless steel design that millions of customers around the world appreciate, while being completely redesigned on the inside. Apple's dual-core A5 chip delivers up to twice the processing power and up to seven times faster graphics than iPhone 4, all while maintaining battery life now allowing up to 8 hours of 3G talk time, the company said.
Improving on the innovative stainless steel external, dual-antenna design of iPhone 4, iPhone 4S is the first phone to intelligently switch between two antennas to send and receive. iPhone 4S now supports twice the download speed with HSDPA of up to 14.4 Mbps and iPhone 4S is a world phone, so both CDMA and GSM customers can now roam internationally on GSM networks.**
Pricing and Availability
iPhone 4S comes in either black or white and will be available in the U.S. for a suggested retail price of $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model and $399 for the new 64GB model.*** iPhone 4S will be available from the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores, and through AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 4S will be available in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK on Friday, October 14, and customers can pre-order their iPhone 4S beginning Friday, October 7. iPhone 4 will also be available for just $99 and iPhone 3GS will be available for free with a two year contract. Siri will be available in beta on iPhone 4S in English (localized for U.S., UK and Australia), French, and German. iOS 5 software will be available on October 12 as a free software update via iTunes 10.5 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch customers.
iPhone 4S will roll out worldwide to 22 more countries by the end of October including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
*Some features may not be available on all products.
**Carrier roaming policies apply. HSDPA availability and network speeds are dependent on carrier networks.
***Qualified customers only. Requires a new two year rate plan, sold separately.
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