Cassandra: Friday Review - The Weekend Arrives - And So Does the iPhone 5
AMITIAE - Friday 14 September 2012
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Cassandra: Friday Review - The Weekend Arrives - And So Does the iPhone 5 |
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By Graham K. Rogers
Opening Gambit:With the Apple Event this week in San Francisco I am focussing most of this column on the release of the iPhone 5 and the other products announced there. iPhone 5 in Singapore 21 September; Thailand, who knows? Overnight update to iCloud. Jony Ives' new English mansion in San Francisco. Tablets in Thailand: an early lesson in software piracy?
The Apple EventThe Apple event took place as expected while I was in bed Wednesday night and the iPhone 5 appeared with a number of new features although these are not exciting enough for some. One of my former students wrote on FB that it there were not tremendous changes, so I suggested he look at the specs first. His reply, "Personally, It has to shake the world after releasing a new model. By contrast, there is nothing, which surprises subcribers. The specification was recently suspected" irked me as there is a lot that is interesting: valuable; if you look closely, innovative. Perhaps not sexy, but Apple is not some cheap bar girl.I went through the video: this is evolution, not revolution. This is on the Apple site and now available via iTunes. There were occasional shots of the invited audience which was mainly press invitees, but Al Gore was there too (an Apple board member). Remember: when the iPhone came out in 2007, many said it would fail; they said the same for the iPad; when the iPhone 3GS was named, everyone said it would fail; and they said the same for the iPhone 4S which some called incremental without looking under the surface. Now many critics are using the same words and excuses to criticise the iPhone 5.
Tim CookThe first 12 minutes of the video of the Apple event was introduced by Tim Cook looking and sounding more relaxed and cracking one or two funnies on the way. His presentation was in his usual slow delivery -- that's just him -- but the inflexion (up and down sounds) was increased suggesting he was more comfortable with the content. Well-rehearsed and with lots of useful (sometimes stunning) statistics, he set the scene for Phil Schiller to bring on the iPhone 5.Some of the numbers Cook introduced were:
In the presentation he outlined some specific custom apps from GE Capital, Mayo Clinic, and (interesting) Ducati.
Phil SchillerSchiller gave some background and went straight into the iPhone 5 showing a device on stage (small) and then a video of that on screen. My first sight was of the side which shows how they have kept the basic design reasonably static (outside antenna, volume buttons, controls), but the front immediately looks different with an extra row of apps icons. When you get up close, however, the edges are much neater and it is clear this is a complete makeover.Thin and light: 7.6mm (previously 9.3mm); 112 grams. Retina display: 326 ppi. 3" display 1136 x 640 which is a 6:9 aspect ratio. Schiller says it was designed for the hand. 5th row of icons: all software updated for the display. Keynote, Pages, Numbers also updated. iLife (iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband). Third party apps not yet updated will display the same size as on the earlier iPhones but, until they are updated will have a black border which was hardly noticeable on the demo display. The display itself now has sensors inside the screen rather than in a layer on the top, so the screen is thinner and sharper.
The iPhone 5 has a new Apple A6 processor 2 x faster CPU and 2 x faster graphics but 22% smaller. To show this there was a demo from EA Studios. Great Scott, you should see that game graphics display: reflections in the sides of the cars and the rear view mirrors, each with a different display of course. Battery life is better, including 8hrs 3G talk time, 8 hrs 3G browsing, 10 hours of video playback, 40 hours of music ands 225 hours of standby. The smaller camera -- now called iSight -- has 8 Mpx sensor, resolution of 3264 x 2448, backside illumination, Hybrid IR filter, 5-element lens and aperture of f/2.4. Among extras there are a precision lens alignment and a sapphire crystal lens cover. There is also better low light performance which was a complain in the past; and faster capture. A demo of pictures was, of course impressive. The photos may now be shared with others and there is a new feature called Panorama which looks as if it uses a similar technique I have seen in a couple of apps. The demo picture here of the Golden gate Bridge was reported to be 28 megapixels: wants it. . . . The video is also much improved and there is a feature that allows photos to be taken while the video camera is in use. The FaceTime camera (the front facing one) is now 720P and also improved in other ways and this can be used over cellular networks. Audio now has 3 microphones: back, front and bottom. The speaker now has 5 magnets, while the earpiece is noise-cancelling. There is a new "wideband audio" feature that makes the voice sound more natural by filling out more of the audio spectrum. The use of this will depend on the carrier. As expected the connector was changed from the longtime 30-pin device to an 8-pin one called Lightning (Thunderbolt and Lightning -- Schiller said it). As expected it is reversible. The 80% size reduction makes a difference to the construction of the iPhone. Adapters will be available to work with older devices. This is not so much a radical change which some feel must happen, but a continuing evolution: just getting better every time. I later saw a comment by Rene Ritchie that takes up this point: Good design is inevitable
Scott ForestallForestall had a lot to get through in a short time, so picked a few features out of the more than 200 enhancements and fairly flew through these.Some of the new features of iOS 6 running on the iPhone 5 were shown, starting with maps which have 3D turn by turn directions. Satellite views include "flyover": 3D imagery. According to information from Apple, Thailand will have Maps, Satellite views, not directions, not turn-by-turn navigation, not 3D buildings (US only), not Traffic, it will have Local search, not Business reviews and photographs. Notification Center now has the tap to Tweet feature that I have in Mountain Lion. Safari has full screen mode like on the Mac and iCloud tabs work with pages open on other devices, like the Mac at home. Passbook collects all passes (movie tickets, airline boarding pass. tickets for events). Integrates with the lock screen and a pass that is needed work without unlocking. Photostream sharing can be effected really easy by just adding a name to a photo or photos. Siri has been enhanced, although I would still like it to answer my basic questions for example like the time. Siri will also launch apps and post to Facebook. According to information from Apple, Thailand will have none of the new super features in Siri. That information page also shows that Dictation is not available, but it has worked OK for me so far.
Phil Schiller (2)Colors of the iPhone are black (called Slate) and white. Schiller ran a new video with Jony Ive in front of his white wall; Bob Mansfield with some of the technical and performance improvements; Scott Forestall, oozing over iOS 6 and the software; Jony Ive (2) had a nice look at some of the manufacturing processes. Simplicity is the key here which my former student who wants a cataclysmic event might note.Closeups of the phone in the video show how the edges are not metallic like the iPhone 4 and 4S, but have a greyish finish. Prices remain the same, but there is still no 128 GB phone. The iPhone 4 8GB and the 4S 16GB are available as special carrier deals. Availability (see below). By the end of the year it is hoped to be in 100 countries. iOS 6 will be out on 19 September.
Eddy CueTime Cook came on and opened the idea that Music was important so introduced Eddy Cue.Eddy Cue looked at iTunes (20 billion songs purchased). 435 million accounts but 66% come from iOS devices. New iTunes store on the iPad and the iPhone from 19 September. For iTunes on the Mac, Cue brought on Jeff Robin who showed iTunes, but although I downloaded today's update (10.7), it looks nothing like the demo. Available in October.
Greg Joswiak
All of these will be available next month and there will also be Product Red versions.
Tim Cook (2)Summarising the music features with a new ad video. Brief: made me smile.Reviewed the event: iPods, iTunes, iPhone 5, iOS 6; integration highlighted. Thanked the Apple staff throughout the world. Closing the proceedings with Foo Fighters. Hmmm, that was interesting. After the music, Tim Cook closed it all down but mentioned a hands-on area which would allow the invitees to play.
Far less happy was Dan Lyons (Fake Steve Jobs) who wrote a guest column on the BBC -- now there's a marriage made in hell. He takes the party line that Apple is finished, there is no innovation and Tim Cook is coasting. He must have missed the parts of the video I saw. I will concede that the interface is about the same as the first iPhone; but if it ain't broke, why fix it? That is the problem that so many other manufacturers never understand and they rush around trying to outsmart each other and end up with short-term products that need changing totally a few months later (again, I cite that ridiculous bandwagon product, the Padphone). Steve Jobs is not turning in his grave: he built a company to last. The Lyons view is contradicted by Chris Umiatowski on iMore who suggests that the iPhone 5 is exactly what it needs to be for Apple and investors. I might also add customers. I think the Phone 4S was the best version I ever had, so as a customer I want that, plus more. One problem for me will be the accessories I have, like the olloclip lenses and the Glif tripod mount. Thinner means they will still slip over, so (especially for the Glif) I might be able to create a thin insert (it is a couple of mm) and make it snug again that way. Maybe the companies will come up with a solution (I am not holding my breath). The changes to the iPhone and to iOS 6 mean that developers will need to incorporate new code into their products to keep up to date, although previews suggest this may be quite easy with the way Apple provides the tools. Erica Sadun on TUAW has five useful items of information for developers looking to provide apps for the iPhone 5.
Other NotesOn Wednesday morning there as information from AppleInsider that iCloud had been updated with Calendar, Notes, Reminders and Find my iPhone all losing the "beta" tag and there are changes in the way these display.
It should be available in 22 more countries on September 28, including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. That list stops at S. Before coming here (Thailand), it needs local approval for telephone, wifi and other technologies and that process will not be finished as yet. When that is done, we may have a better idea of when it will be available here, but based on other figures, pricing should not change. I expect now that the arrival will be mid-October. To help oil the wheels, I saw a report by John Paczkowski on All Things Digital about the problems at Sharp that now seem to have been resolved, allowing the company to produce lots of iPhone 5 displays.
One student asked me about the device and stared at the iMac. He eventually admitted that he had been unaware Apple made computers. I was lost for words and although he did know about the notebooks, he had no knowledge of Apple's desktop ranges.
He knew about the notebooks as so many students where I am now have these: a major difference from 5 years ago. There are also the iPhones and the iPads. A colleague who was discussing this with me at lunch is quite proud of his second generation (pre-3G) iPhone that he bought while studying in the US and still uses. The iPads are getting even more popular and I was asked today about suitable software as some students are keen to use the new devices and they asked me about examples of apps: we examined iMovie and Keynote briefly.
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