Apple’s iPhone 5 announcement: everything you need to know – The Verge

Apple’s timid new iPod nano sidesteps a smartwatch revolution

2012-09-14T15:56:41-04:00

ipod nano hands

By all accounts, Apple's new iPhone 5 is a fine product, a line drive down the middle. It will easily sell millions and likely even break some records - the massive iPhone ecosystem alone will guarantee that. It's also a little boring, which has led to serious questions about Apple's willingness or ability to innovate.

But the iPhone 5 isn't the place to look for those answers. It's been deliberately engineered to be an iterative update to the iPhone 4S with a larger screen and faster networking, and that's what it is. People will love it, because people already love the iPhone. It might be boring, but Apple isn't going to take any risks wi …

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iPhone 5 now available to pre-order in US, UK, and 7 other countries (updated)

2012-09-14T03:01:05-04:00

iphone 5

Impressed by the iPhone 5's hardware design, and unconcerned by the conservative software? You'll want to head over to Apple's site, then, where the phone should now be available for pre-order. It's available right now from the iOS Apple Store app, Verizon, and AT&T. The time of 12.01AM PST should be effective in all of the iPhone 5's first wave of launch countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, France, and Germany. If you're in the US, check out our comprehensive buying guide which gives plan breakdowns by carrier along with alternative places to buy the phone itself.

Update: While early pre-orders s …

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The iPhone 5 forecast: a predictable 73 degrees and sunny

2012-09-13T11:00:24-04:00

iPhone 5 sunny

The weather icon on the iPhone's homescreen always reads a pleasant 73 degrees and sunny. It has since the original iPhone was released, a comfortable, inoffensive temperature that matches the comfortable, inoffensive homescreen on iOS.

The prevailing opinion after the iPhone 5 announcement is that it's boring, but still pretty great. The hardware is without a doubt impressive from a technical and engineering standpoint, but iterative on previous designs. The software is as competent as we've come to expect from Apple. Together they make for a product that's not surprising - and therefore a little boring.

"Boring" doesn't quite encapsulate …

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The Vergecast: Apple’s iPhone 5 announcement – September 12th, 2012

2012-09-13T09:41:09-04:00

vergecast special edition: samsung vs. apple

Apple held a special event yesterday to announce the long awaited and much rumored iPhone 5 along with a new iPod touch, iPod nano, and a revamp of iTunes. The Verge was there to report the story as it unfolded. Join hosts Ross Miller and David Pierce and a panel of Verge editors as they review the announcements and what they mean to you (and your wallet). Also, Joshua Topolsky and Nilay Patel join in live from San Francisco to share their hands-on experiences and first impressions.

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Official Apple list shows international availability for each iOS 6 feature

2012-09-13T03:50:50-04:00

iOS 6 logo

As iOS 6 features such as turn-by-turn navigation and Siri become increasingly localized, it can be difficult to keep track of exactly what is available where. To help ease confusion in the wake of the iPhone 5 announcement yesterday, Apple has published an official list, navigable by feature, showing availability from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.

The most restricted aspect of the OS is the new Maps app's 3D Buildings functionality, which, according to Apple's list, is only available in the US. Standard mapping functions have extremely broad support, and most of Siri's localization features function across North America, Australia, and Western …

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Apple iPhone 5 introduction event video now available online

2012-09-12T20:27:03-04:00

Tim Cook

You've read all of the coverage, but want to see Tim Cook and company show off the the latest and greatest iPhone for yourself? You're in luck, because Apple has just posted video of the entire event. It's available for streaming on Apple's own website, and covers the iPhone 5, the new iPod touch, as well as the iTunes revamp and the new iPod nano. You'll even get to see the special Foo Fighters concert that closed the event, so check out the source link below to watch it for yourself.

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Phil Schiller on the iPhone 5: Apple ‘started from scratch’

2012-09-12T18:24:03-04:00

Phil Schiller

At Apple's iPhone 5 event today, I had a chance to spend a few moments chatting with Phil Schiller, the company's senior vice president of marketing.

Schiller bounced out of a holding area near the iPhone 5 demo tables with a big smile on his face, surrounded by Apple PR flacks and a variety of handlers - but he was all too happy to talk about the new phone. "What did you think?" he asked before I could get a question out. After telling him I thought the new device was handsome and reaffirmed my desire to "make love to it" (his response: "we'll get you two a room"), I queried about the design language, and if the iPhone 5 was an evolution o …

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Apple’s new iPod nano hands-on photos and video

2012-09-12T15:22:16-04:00

ipod nano hands

We just got a quick look at the new iPod nano, which comes out in October. It's super tiny, and very much like a small phone with its multitouch display and home button. But it's running what appears to be a riff on the iOS interface, not iOS itself. That's not too different from the previous generation of nano, albeit on a longer screen. Though we were hoping the nano would go for a more watch-like form factor, the new design gives you a solid 16GB media player for $149.

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Apple’s new iPod touch hands-on photos and video

2012-09-12T15:10:30-04:00

ipod touch

Today in San Francisco, Apple introduced a new, completely redesigned iPod touch. In addition to its new 4-inch, 16:9 Retina display, the 2012 model measures at just 6.1mm thin and trades the tapered chrome backing of last year's model for a flat aluminum panel. It weighs just 88 grams (3.1 ounces), down from the 101 grams (3.5 ounces) of the previous iteration. The front-facing camera has been improved and now supports 720p video and facial recognition, though the exact megapixel specification has yet to be revealed. On the back, Apple has dropped a new 5-megapixel camera with LED flash that supports 1080p video capture. Under the hood, App …

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Apple iPhone 5 to be available in separate GSM and CDMA versions

2012-09-12T15:08:11-04:00

via cdn3.sbnation.com

Apple's just-announced iPhone 5 will be available in two separate models when it hits shelves on September 21st. According to the official specs page from Apple, there will be separate CDMA and GSM versions of the phone, a break from the iPhone 4S which packed both wireless protocols into the same chassis.

The A1428 GSM model and A1429 CDMA model both support LTE, HSPA+, and DC-HSPA, but they do so on different bands for the various carriers that the iPhone 5 will be available on. Apple also lists a second A1429 model with support for more GSM bands than the A1428 version. Based on the specs provided by Apple, the A1428 will be carried by A …

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