Apple announced their popular iPhone 5 will be replaced with a newer, more competitive model, the iPhone 5S and a more inexpensive model, the iPhone 5C which will go on sale September 20.
"We are going to replace it not with one but with two new designs," said CEO Tim Cook at Tuesday's big Apple reveal. Those hoping for an iPhone 5 price drop may have to resort to seedy cell phone shops and eBay auctions, but Apple's new products may satisfy their need for a cheap and capable phone.
The first device revealed by Apple, the iPhone 5C is certainly more colorful than any other Apple phone, perhaps even more colorful than any iPod. Instead of the metallic finishes that usually adorn Apple products, the iPhone 5C's color scheme looks like it was designed by either a candy manufacturer or an elementary school art class.
However, Apple emphasizes that although it looks playful, it is still a phone equal in power and performance to the iPhone 5. Phil Schiller, Apple's vice president of marketing, said the company hasn't skimped on its structure, noting the iPhone 5C is reinforced with steel. "You are going to be blown away by how rigid and great it feels in your hand," said Schiller.
Schiller also talked about what makes the iPhone 5S special. The iPhone 5S now houses the 64-bit A7 processor, which the company promises will be a big leap in both CPU performance and graphical processing compared to the iPhone 5.
Aside from the improved processing power, Apple unveiled a new security measure: the fingerprint sensor that had been speculated about for nearly a month: a fingerprint sensor embedded into the home button.
The fingerprint sensor and software package, called Touch ID, was Apple's response to over half its iPhone users forgoing any type of security password or PIN. "We can set up a passcode, but some people find that too cumbersome," said Schiller.
