Now that September 10th has officially been announced as the day Apple will launch the hotly-anticipated iPhone 5S, the tech world is abuzz about what exactly they’re going to see. While concrete details are still thin on the ground, we now know enough to make educated guesses about at least a few of the 5S’s features. Will it be the phone to beat next year, or is Apple playing catch-up with Android devices?
A low-cost version of the iPhone, codenamed the 5C, is also rumoured to be making an appearance on September 10th. The 5C will feature a plastic backing rather than anodised aluminium, but otherwise is expected to have all the same innards and capabilities as the current iPhone 5. No prices have been announced, but if the budget iPhone is to compete with current Android and Windows handsets, it’ll probably be in the region of £200. No promises, though!
But on to the 5S – Apple sent out press invitations to the launch event, which featured the company logo on a background of brightly-coloured dots and the text “This should brighten everyone’s day”. While any comment from Apple’s lips will be analysed to death by the tech press, it seems like an indication that one of the new devices (or both) will be available in a selection of bright colours. However, considering the 5S has already been rumoured to be coming in gold, champagne and graphite colours as well as the usual black and white, it’s more likely that the pastel shades will only apply to the cheaper 5C.
Some have gone even deeper into the Apple invitation, noting that the font used on it looks to be in keeping with the cleaner, streamlined iOS 7 design. This could indicate that September 10th will also be the launch day for the new operating system, and it certainly wouldn’t be surprising if the 5S becomes its flagship device. (Or it could just be a font).
Meanwhile, a recently-surfaced photo on the internet adds more weight to the speculation that the 5S will carry fingerprint scanning technology. Published on a French tech site, the photo shows a home button flex cable with a new sensor attached to the button. According to MacRumors, the serial code shown on the part is consistent with Apple’s internal numbering system, so the security feature may well be a key part of the 5S.
So far, it’s believed that the 5S will feature a Super HD screen display and camera, and reports in May this year suggested that the device could have double the screen resolution of the iPhone 5 – something that would raise the pixel count to an eye-popping 1.5 million. It’s also believed that the camera – almost certainly 13MP, as is the standard for premium phones these days – will feature a dual LED flash, which would allow it to take much better-looking indoor shots.
Until September 10th, though, we’ll just have to wait and see how much Apple delivers.
