Apple launches iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S
Video: Check out the newest features for Apple's iPhone 5C and how the model will be different from earlier versions.
The new iPhones were introduced as part of a media event at Apple's Cupertino headquarters. Shortly after opening the show, Apple CEO Tim Cook brought SVP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller on stage to talk about the new iPhones.
The 5S resembles the iPhone 5, but comes in new color finishes: silver, gold and "space gray." (There's no more "black" iPhone, though the gray one has a black face.) They will start at $199 (and sell up to $399) with a two-year contract, and will be available on Sept. 20.
This phone has had a massive overhaul inside the case, despite its cosmetic similarity to its predecessor: A new camera, core chipset, motion processing system, even a fingerprint scanner for security and ease of use.
It runs the powerful A7 chipset, and runs 64-bit software, for all you nerds out there. It's not only twice as fast as the existing iPhone 5, but it's 40 times faster than the original iPhone, released in 2007.
Before going into additional specs, Apple gave a stunning demo of "Infinity Blade III," which will be available when the iPhone 5S ships.
Wilson Rothman / NBC News
Apple's Phil Schiller introduces the iPhone 5S in Cupertino, Calif. on Tuesday.
Wilson Rothman / NBC News
iPhone 5S finishes silver, gold and "space gray"
The 8-megapixel camera has been redesigned with larger optics and a larger sensor. As Schiller said, "bigger pixels make a better picture," so the megapixel race takes a back seat. (Says Apple, but it rings true.) The "True Tone" flash adapts to lighting conditions better, and provides more natural light.
The camera's burst mode gives you 10 frames per second, if you want to get GIF crazy. It selects the best of the 10 in realtime. In video mode, there's a 120-frame-per-second slow-mo mode, and you can even toggle back and forth between slow mo and regular 30-fps shooting within a video.
The 5S has an integrated fingerprint scanner called the Touch ID, which can log you into your phone without a password, and also lets you make purchases in iTunes and provide your password in supported applications with the touch of your finger.
Wilson Rothman / NBC News
Apple's Phil Schiller shows off the innards of the Touch ID system on the iPhone 5S.
And Apple assures us that the fingerprint ID data will not be stored on any servers or even on your iCloud account, so I suppose that means it's not reachable by NSA.
The cheaper iPhone 5C comes in five colors, and will sell at a starting price of $99 in the U.S. (with a two-year cellular plan). It's "unapologetically plastic," says designer Jony Ive. And the bold colors can be paired with equally bold rubber grip cases to create funkier looks.
Wilson Rothman / NBC News
iPhone 5C will be available in five colors.
Cook announced that by next month, 700 million iOS devices will have shipped, and invited software SVP Craig Federighi to share the iOS 7 news. But first, he discussed the features, which the company first revealed in June.
Highlights Federighi walked through are new, charmingly stereophonic ringtones, device-to-device file sharing, iTunes Radio (new Daft Punk song!), the revamped photo manager (with "year view.")
Wilson Rothman / NBC News
iPhone 5C with contrasting rubber case
Cook announced that Apple would make Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iPhoto and iMovie free to anyone purchasing a new iPad, iPhone or 5th-gen iPod Touch.
From earlier:
Packed into a smallish auditorium at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., reporters are here to witness the unveiling of the newest iPhones. The forecast calls for an iPhone 5S, a high-end upgrade to the current model, and an iPhone 5C, a newly designed, plastic-bodied iPhone that could sell cheaply enough to open new markets in Asia, Eastern Europe and around the globe. Those may be exciting enough — accompanied as they are by the pre-announced iOS 7, a stylish, functional revamp of the mobile OS — but we're hoping Apple might have some additional surprises up its sleeve.
Wilson Rothman / NBC News
Media and VIP guests gather outside of Building 4 on Apple's One Infinite Loop campus, awaiting the iPhone news to come.
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