Let’s talk smartphones

Apple Conference 2012

By Yardi Blog Staff on Sep 13, 2012 in Technology | 5 Comments

Ever since Apple’s rebirth as a tech leader, the company’s release conference is one of the most talked about industry events of the year.  The tight-lipped culture of Apple usually means that Mac rumors were largely speculative –  no one on the outside really knew what to expect until the day finally arrived.

While there were a number of upgrades and improvements announced during Wednesday’s iPhone 5 release announcement, I was disappointed to see that there weren’t many surprises.  One of the pillar traits of the conference, a true reveal of the new product features, was toppled thanks to a number of leaks during the last few weeks, the majority of which turned out to be true.

Here’s what Apple confirmed today:

• Taller screen: It’s still the same width but Apple has increased the height from 3.5” to 4”.  It’s still one of the smallest in the market so why does this matter?  According to Apple, it improves user experience by providing more visible space above the virtual keyboard but by keeping the width the same you can still comfortably use the iPhone with one hand.
• Touch screen: Touch sensors were built into the display glass which enabled Apple to bring the phone down to a slim 7.6mm thick.
• 4G LTE: A consistent point of argument for competitors and a pain point for Apple fans during the 4S release last year, the iPhone 5 does have LTE now and Apple claims to have done it right by engineering around the standard battery suck that is traditional LTE service.
• Aluminum backing: Opposed to the glass backing that we saw on previous versions, the iPhone 5 housing is glass on the front and aluminum on the back, a reflection of their notebook design.
• A6 CPU Chip: The competitors are all running the Dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 and while we don’t have a comparison chart for Snapdragon vs. A6 we can see that Apple has given users a significant boost in performance (image, above, from CNET.com) from their previous A5 chip.
• Camera:  Few improvements were made here from the 4S regarding resolution but it does claim faster photo capture, a low light mode, a built in stabilizer, an improvement to the panoramic photo setting, as well as the ability to snap pictures while shooting video.
• Microphones: Apple added another microphone from the 4S for a total of 3; they can be found on the front bottom, top, and the backside top near the camera.
• New connector:  If you’ve had an iPod at all since 2003 you are familiar with this 30 pin connector, nicknamed Lightning.

A few additional upgrades will be coming from the new operating system, iOS 6, update that will be released on Tuesday, September 19.

When can they be ordered and how much does it cost?  Devices can be pre-ordered Friday, September 14 and phones will arrive in stores exactly one week later.  The price point hasn’t changed for the newest phone; with a new two year contract a 16GB will cost $199, 32GB $299, and 64GB $399.  If you’re willing to sacrifice a few upgrades you’ll be able to pick up the 4S 16GB for $99, or an 8GB iPhone 4 for free.

One big big disappointment is the lack of NFC (near-field communication) which has been available on Android phones for over a year. The technology is still in adoption infancy but is making significant progress with programs like Google Wallet.  However, looking at the way Apple handled LTE, perhaps they’re simply not happy with the current technology and are looking for a way to do it better.

If you’ve looked at the numbers you know that despite all the hype, Apple doesn’t come close to a majority market share for consumer smartphones –  Android has that title with over 68%. That being said, Apple does have devoted (and vocal) user-enthusiasts.  There has always been an outstanding feature that made Apple shine above the rest:  the screen quality, the ease of use, the syncing between multiple gadgets, a significant feature that competitors chased.

Looking at the comparison chart (shown below), things have now largely evened out. The only feature truly differentiating iPhone from the competition is the extremely light weight.

Die hard fans would argue that what doesn’t show up on the chart is Apple’s commitment to quality.  As it says on their website, “iPhone 5 is made with a level of precision you’d expect from a finely crafted watch, not a smartphone.”  But is that enough to keep customers from defecting to larger screens and longer battery life?

 

It all begs the question:  Will you be in line on September 21 or rushing out to place a pre-order on Friday?