Apple Unveils IPhone 5S, Low-cost 5C

(RTTNews) - After months of speculation, Apple has finally launched two devices to replace its iPhone 5 model - iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C. The event hosted by Apple CEO Tim Cook also marked the launch of the much-anticipated iOS 7 operating system.

Apple shares dropped slightly, ahead of the afternoon announcement on Tuesday.

The iPhone 5S takes a major leap over the iPhone 5 with its interesting specs. Packed with a new A7 chip, iPhone 5S is the world's first 64-bit smartphone, and is said to be twice as fast as the previous-gen system.

Apple has also included an additional M7 chip, a motion co-processor that aggregates and monitors a variety of tools including an accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass data, and offloads it from the A7.

As expected, the iPhone 5S comes with the latest finger-print sensor technology, TouchID. The sensor is built into a metal ring inside the new home key, and reads user fingerprints in vast detail. At 500 pi, the sensor can scan the sub-epidermal skin layers in 360 degrees.

The other impressive feature of the 5S is the iSight camera which comes with loads of improvements over its predecessor. With a newly designed f/2.2 aperture, the camera lens is wider and has a 15 percent larger sensor. With a 1.5u pixel size, the lens has the ability to capture more light.

With all those hardware running, the battery promises 10 hours of 3G talk time, 10 hours of LTE browsing, and 10 hours of video.

The design and architecture of the new phone is pretty much similar to the earlier iPhone, except for the new home button. With an attractive shiny-look, the device comes in a color variants of silver, gold, and black.

Interestingly, the iPhone 5S costs the same as iPhone. On a contract basis, the 16GB model costs $199, while the 32GB and 64GB models will cost $299 and $399, respectively. Apple has also unveiled a set of new leather case which will cost $39 each.

The iPhone 5C, on the other hand comes at a lower cost, but pretty much borrowing everything from its predecessor, except for some minor tweaks and the new OS.

The A6 chip and 8 megapixel camera is more or less the same. Nonetheless, the battery has been made larger and the new FaceTime HD camera has also been improved for better low-light performance.

With a hard-coated polycarbonate wrapped-around the back, the 5C comes in vibrant color variants of green, grey, light blue, peach, and yellow.

The iPhone 5C is smartly priced at $99 for the 16GB version, and $199 for the 32GB model, of course on a contract basis. The color cases will cost an additional $29.

The event also saw Apple CEO unveiling the all-new iOS 7 operating system, which includes a lot of features and improvements. With an updated search and notifications screen, the new OS looks significantly brighter compared to iOS 6.

With a new look and AirDrop feature, the camera app has got most of the improvements. Updated creativity apps like iPhoto takes photo editing to a next level. Apple will also provide five new mobile productivity apps free with any new iOS device.

The iOS 7 will be available for download from September 18, and will be rolled-out for the iPad 4, iPad 2, iPad mini, and 5th generation iPod touch.

The iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C will hit the stores on September 20 across US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the UK, with pre-orders starting September 13.

Looking ahead, the smartphone giant promised to include the technologies in all their future products. It is also very likely that the M7 chip which has an effective health monitoring potential will re-emerge in the iWatch which is expected to be launched next year.

In terms of global smartphone market share, Apple is currently behind Samsung. The most recent quarter saw Samsung picking up 31.7 percent of the global market to Apple's 14.2 percent. Nevertheless, both Apple and Samsung lost some of its share to other smartphone makers like LG, Lenovo and ZTE.

As for Apple, it is difficult to compete against the low and mid-segment smartphones in the market, with only one Apple smartphone being launched per year. As a result, companies like Samsung, ZTE, Lenovo and Xiaomi have all established strong customer bases in high-growth markets such as China.

Apple stock closed Tuesday's regular trade at $494.64, down $11.53 or 2.28 percent, on an average volume of about 12 million shares. In after-hours, the share further lost $0.15 or 0.03 percent to trade at $494.49.