Today, Apple
Fifth time’s a charm
First up is the new phone. The iPhone 5 is 18% thinner and 20% lighter than the iPhone 4S. It also comes with a 4-inch screen, compared with the old 3.5-inch screen, giving users more icons to play with at once. The phone runs on Apple’s iOS 6 and its new A6 chip, both of which combine to make the phone faster and more powerful. And don’t forget the higher-quality audio, clearer camera, improvements to the Siri system, and the addition of LTE connectivity.
The LTE feature will mean that the phone will be able to connect with AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint in the U.S., as well as a variety of carriers throughout the world.
iLove my iPod
But it wasn’t all about the iPhone today. As rumored, Apple unveiled several new iPods. The iPod Nano now comes with a touchscreen that basically makes it a miniature version of the iPod Touch. Speaking of which, the new iPod Touch is thinner and lighter and will come with a 4-inch display just like the new iPhone 5. The Touch now also has an A5 chip, which make the graphics seven times faster than the previous model.
As great as all the new iPod stuff may be, the biggest news for investors is the iPhone 5. According to Apple’s recent earnings report, iPhone and related product sales accounted for a whopping 54% of Apple’s total net sales last quarter. It doesn’t seem like this trend is going to change any time soon, which means that for a good holiday season, Apple needs the new phone to sell well.
That may be why it’s making the iPhone 5 available for preorder this Friday, Sept. 14, with shipping beginning one week later on Sept. 21. This is the fastest phone rollout ever for Apple, and investors should be hopeful that this’ll help the company steal back some market share from Google’s Droid products.
So how much will buyers have to dish out for these new products? If you get the iPhone 5 with 64GB and a two-year contract it’ll cost $399, with 32GB available for $299, and 16GB costing $199. Meanwhile the iPhone 4S with 16GB is now $99, and the iPhone 4 with 8GB is free with a contract.
If you want to learn more about Apple, including how our analysts think the new phone is going to go over with ravenous iFans, check out our premium report! It comes with a year of updates, so you can rely on us to let you know what effect the new iPhone has on the company’s bottom line. But don’t wait until the next iPhone comes out to sign up -- get it right here today!
