UPDATED with NZ connector adapter pricing; NZ release date, NZ pricing; a win for Vodafone NZ; NZ iPhone developer comment; Apple posts full event video; hotel owner realises 600 clock/radios with iPhone docks will become obsolete.
UPDATE: Apple has now posted a full event video to its website: watch it here.
Apple says adapters that will allow older devices to connect to the iPhone 5's "Lightning" jack will cost:
The taller, thinner iPhone 5 at a glance
TECH SPECS
Display: 4-inch (iPhone 4S: 3.5-inch)
Screen resolution: 1136-by-640-pixel, 326 pixels per inch (iPhone 4S: 640×960 resolution at 326 ppi)
Height: 123.8 (iPhone 4S: 115.2mm)
Width: 58.6mm (same as iPhone 4S)
Weight: 112g (iPhone 4S: 140g)
Memory: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB options (same as iPhone 4S)
Processor: A6 (Apple claims up to twice the speed of iPhone 4S' A5 processor; no detailed specs have been released)
Camera: 8 megpixel (same as iPhone 4S but 25% smaller, adds new panorama feature to stitch together up to 28 megapixel pictures). 40% less time between shots, plus ability to recognise up to 10 faces.
See Apple's official tech spec list here.
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As predicted, Apple's new iPhone 5 bumps screen size from 4 inches - larger than its predecessors' 3.5-inches, but still behind monster screen smartphones in the Google camp such as Samsung's Galaxy S3 (4.7-inches) as Apple seeks to find a balance between thumbability and keeping up with the Joneses, or at least the Androids.
The new model was unveiled in San Francisco this morning NZ time.
The display has also been changed to the 16:9 widescreen ratio used by high-end Android smartphones, and all HD TV and movies. The move from previous iPhones' boxier screen may temporarily throw some app makers - although Christchurch developer Layton Duncan told NBR it was "No major." Older apps would work with the new iPhone, albeit with some of them now appearing letter-boxed (in the manner of a 4:3 TV show on a widescreen TV).
The new model also introduces a new, smaller dock connector, dubbed "Lightning" which makes today's chargers, speaker docks and other accessories incompatible without an adapter (yet to be prices). Lightning drew immediate flak. One hotel owner told The Wall Street Journal he had outfitted 600 rooms with clock/radios with the (now) old iPhone connector, at $US115 a piece in his most recent order. Apple will sell adapters to make old accessories work with the new plug, but for $NZ49 each.
Some iPhone fans have also been irked by Apple's decision to move the earbud/earphone jack from the top of the iPhone to the bottom with the new model.
The iPhone 5 is taller, to accommodate the larger display but is also the thinnest model ever produced by Apple - and the companny says it is the thinnest in the world.
The new handsets 7.6 mm anodized aluminum body is 18% thinner and 20% ighter than iPhone 4S, Apple says.
The rear camera stays at 8 megapixels, but is 25% smaller and has a new panorama option that allows 28 megapixel photos to be stitched together from inidividual images.
The front-facing camera has been upgraded to support HD video.
iPHONE UNTUCKED: A New York Times reporter noted there where the late Steve Jobs favoured form-fitting black polo neck sweaters, un-tucked business shirts dominated the stage at Apple's event today.
Win for Vodafone NZ
Another signature feature is LTE (or "4G"), a mobile data boost for US and Australian users, but irrelevant to NZ, where there are no 4G networks and likely won't be within the new iPhone's lifetime.
But like the new iPad, the iPhone 5 features Dual Carrier HSPA+, which is supported by Vodafone in NZ (though not Telecom or 2degrees).
DC HSPA+ offers mobile data downloads of up to 42Mbit/s (in practice, half that, but still none too shabby). Vodafone currently offers DC HSPA+ in parts of Auckland and Wellington; read more about its rollout plans here).
Vodafone's spin is that DC HSPA+ is just as fast as 4G - and NBR has certainly found the iPad the fastest device in NZ (equalled only be Vodafone's DC HSPA+ data stick) when used on Vodafone's network; at least within a narrow central Auckland area.
A dig at Nokia
At Apple's launch event, marketing boss Phil Schiller said photos were from the iPhone 5’s actual camera, “untouched” - a dig a Nokia, embroiled in scandal over faking photo and video images at its recent Lumia 920 Windows Phone launch.
iOS does cloud, maps
As expected, the new version of iOS (the software that runs iPhone 5, and will also be available as a free upgrade for iPhone 4S and 4) gets Apple Maps, weening users off Google Maps.
Most Apple Maps features, bar 3D buildings and business reviews, will be available for NZ. They include directions, and turn-by-turn navigation.
Siri also gets a spruce up with iOS 6, including Twitter integration and business search.
The new Siri features - like the original Siri - will are not officially available for NZ. But if Apple follows the same form as iPhone 4S and iOS5, they willl be able to be enabled manually. Asked to comment on this point, an Apple Australia rep would only say "Twitter Integration is not available in New Zealand."
Neutral investor response
The market was still open during the iPhone 5 launch. Apple shares [NAS:AAPL] were up 1.39% to $US669.
The neutral response is perhaps a reflection of the fact there were few if any surprises. Uncharacteristically, Apple failed to keep features under wraps, leading to unusually accurate prediction stories.
ABOVE: How iPhone ownership breaks down by model in the US today.
ABOVE: Like most market trackers, ComScore says handsets based on Google's Android software now handily outsell iPhone. In February, Android hit 50% market share for the first time, helped by a proliferation of sub-$150 models. BlackBerry maker RIM continues to fall; Nokia is transitioning from its Symbian software to Microsoft Windows Phone.
Samsung says it hopes sales of its flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S3, will hit 30 million by year's end, buoyed by the pending Jellybean (Android 4.1) software upgrade. Last quarter, Apple said it sold 27 million iPhones, but offered no breakdown by model.
