By Leo Kelion Technology reporter From BBC

Apple has unveiled two new handsets: the top-end iPhone 5S and a cheaper iPhone 5C at an event in California.

The 5S introduces a fingerprint sensor built into the phone’s main button to identify the user. The 5C comes with a plastic back in a choice of colours.

It marks a change of strategy for Apple which had not launched two distinct types of handset at the same time before.

The iPhone is the firm’s most important product in terms of earnings power.

The new fingerprint system can be used to unlock the 5S and provide authentication for purchases from Apple’s online marketplace.

One analyst suggested the feature would help the handset stand out against its Android rivals.

“Touch ID is actually quite an elegant solution to an ever more significant problem: namely, the theft of mobile devices and, perhaps even more critically, the information stored on those devices,” said Windsor Holden from the tech consultancy Juniper Research.

“Many people haven’t yet bothered to implement any kind of security solution on their handsets and for those who have, securing handsets with Pin authorisations can be quite a time-consuming process.”

However, Apple is not the first phone company to offer such a fingerprint reader.

Motorola added the facility to its Atrix handset in 2011, but many owners had problems using it. The feature is not included in the Google-owned business’ latest models.

The new handsets are compatible with the radio frequencies used by O2 and Vodafone’s new 4G services in the UK. The only 4G network the old iPhone 5 could use was EE’s.

‘Not cheap’

The 5S’ Sim-free price ranges from £549 for a 16 gigabyte version to £709 for a 64GB model.

The basic 5C model, with 16 gigabytes of storage, has been priced Sim-free at £469. That is more than UK retailers had been charging for the 4S with the same amount of memory.

“The 5C is far from being ‘cheap’ as the iPhone 4S [which now costs £349] continues in that role,” remarked Ben Wood from tech advisors CCS Insight.

There had been speculation that the 4S was going to be phased out.

The new iPhones go on sale in the US, UK, China, Australia and Canada among other countries on 20 September. It marks the first time China has been included in the initial wave of sales.

China slowdown

Its most recent financial report said the iPhone product line accounted for $18.2bn (£11.6bn) of sales in the April-to-June quarter. That figure, which did not include downloads from its App Store, represented just over 50% of Apple’s total revenue for the period.

However, while the number of iPhones sold was 20% up on the previous year, the company has been losing market share.

iPhones accounted for 13% of global smartphone shipments in the second quarter, according to research firm IDC, down from 17% for the same period a year earlier

In contrast Android’s share has grown from 69% to 79%.

Investors have been particularly concerned about Apple’s performance in China.

At the start of 2013, chief executive Tim Cook predicted the country would eventually become Apple’s biggest market.

But the company’s latest results showed sales in China and Taiwan were 14% lower in the April-to-June quarter than the previous year. That was despite the fact it saw 12% growth for the same period in the US.

“The cheaper iPhone is critical for expanding the addressable market, because many people in China and elsewhere simply can’t afford to buy a current generation [top-end] iPhone, especially when it’s not subsidised,” said Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at the consultancy Ovum.

“However, the key risk for Apple in launching a cheaper iPhone is that it may cannibalise sales of the high-end phone.

“That would exacerbate a problem Apple’s had for the last few quarters, as average selling prices for iPhones have fallen from $608 to $581 in the past year. That in turn squeezes margins and it’s only likely to get worse with a cheaper iPhone.”

Rory examines how the new iPhones might help Apple prosper in China

The 5S features Apple’s new faster A7 processor and adds a chip that continuously monitors motion, providing data for fitness apps.

Apple has also made efforts to improve the phone’s photography capabilities over the previous generation.

It said it had included a 15% bigger sensor, which should help the device cope with low-light situations. The handset also has two LED flashes providing different types of light. They can be combined to help improve colour balance.

The firm has also included automatic image stabilisation to prevent shots being ruined by shaky hands, and the ability to shoot video at 120 frames per second so that it can be used to create a smooth slow-motion effect.

However, it has not boosted the resolution above 8 megapixels. Apple said using “bigger pixels makes a better picture”.

But the decision will limit owners’ ability to digitally zoom into the view in front of them or to crop photos after they are taken.

High-end camera features are a way smartphone-makers have sought to distinguish themselves with Sony and Nokia among recent firms to have claimed their mobiles create the best images.

Singer Elvis Costello was one of the first to get his hands on the new iPhone 5S

The 5C retains the A6 processor and most of the other specifications of the old iPhone 5 but has a higher capacity battery.

The new devices will include copies of Apple’s word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and video editing apps which had previously cost extra.

Apple also revealed the revamped mobile operating system, iOS 7, would be available to download for use on the earlier iPhone 5 and 4S models as well as some iPads from 18 September.

But there was no mention of an NFC (near field communication) chip being included in either new device. The technology can be used to make payments in high street stores and to easily link phones to speakers and other gadgets. It is a common feature in rivals’ handsets.

Apple’s shares fell following the announcements and closed 2.3% below their opening price.

Analysis By Rory Cellan-Jones BBC

Technology correspondent

For all the usual superlatives about the amazing capabilities of its new phones, today’s Apple event was more about new markets than new technology.

 

True, the iPhone 5S does have one major innovation in the fingerprint sensor, a security feature which may help make consumers more confident in banking and shopping online.

Under the bonnet, it may also prove to be the fastest smartphone on the market – for a few months until the game of leapfrog continues. But in appearance – unless you go for the gold version – you would be hard put to differentiate it from the previous model.

But the big and risky move is the arrival of the cheaper, more plasticky and colourful iPhone 5C. Apple’s has been so successful in burnishing the iPhone’s luxury brand and thereby keeping its margins sky-high that it may well qualify as the most profitable single product ever made.

If the kind of people who have always traded up to the top-of-the-range new iPhone opt instead for the cheaper version, that will eat into Apple’s profits. But Tim Cook and his colleagues are betting that this product will instead widen the appeal of the phone.

In particular, it is China where the prize is huge. Chinese consumers seem to admire the iPhone, but what they buy is Android phones in huge numbers, with Samsung and the home-grown Xiaomi both very popular.

Now Apple, which has seen its market share dwindle over the last year, will hope that it can make a bigger dent in what is the world’s biggest mobile phone market.

What it hasn’t done is anything much to surprise and excite either investors or the wider world. Under Tim Cook, Apple is still waiting for a “wow” moment to give it new momentum.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24034507

Related story:

Hands on: Apple iPhone 5S and 5C review

 

By Mark Prigg From What HiFi

Apple iPhone 5S

At first glance, the iPhone 5S, Apple’s new top of the line handset, is identical to the current iPhone 5, apart from a silver ring around the home button, and a rather lovely new champagne finish (which is, thankfully, a lot less bling in the flesh – and actually incredibly subtle).

The iPhone 5S handset maintains the same feel in the hand as the iPhone 5, which is no bad thing, and sets it apart from the new iPhone 5C.

Design

The first thing you’ll notice is the home button, and its new fingerprint sensor. Training takes a few minutes, as you’ll need to repeatedly tap the sensor from different angles as a ‘map’ of your fingerprint builds up on screen.

Once that’s done, simply putting your finger on the sensor unlocks the phone instantly, and worked flawlessly in our quick test.

Each phone can have up to 5 users, although they all see the same handset once it’s unlocked – so no separate menus for the kids.

Processor

In use, the Apple iPhone 5S is incredibly snappy, and initially feels much quicker than the iPhone 5, thanks to its souped-up processor, the brand new A7 chip.

This is also most people’s first glance at iOS 7, and the new look Apple operating system really flies.

The new video and music playback apps have had a complete overhaul, with the music app looking a lot more minimalist, and easier to navigate around.

The new notifications menu also makes a big difference, allowing you to change song easily without unlocking.

Camera

The new camera system looks impressive, although we were unable to compare in absolute picture quality terms to rivals such as the excellent Sony Xperia Z.

Images appeared, in our limited tests, to be exceptionally sharp, noticeably more so than the iPhone 5, while the burst mode, which can take 10 snaps a second was also impressive.

Early verdict

Overall, while it’s definitely an evolution of the iPhone 5, the 5S seems to do more than enough to warrant an upgrade.

The fingerprint sensor alone, which worked perfectly for us, even in Apple’s busy demo area, is a huge timesaver.

It’s also an added layer of security desperately needed on modern devices, with Apple itself admitting that 50% of iPhone 5 owners don’t even have a passcode.

When combined with the speed boost and dramatically improved camera, the iPhone 5S is set to be formidable new opposition for the best Android phones, such as the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, in terms of features, design and build quality.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.whathifi.com/blog/hands-on-apple-iphone-5s-review

Apple iPhone 5C

Take a look at the long-awaited, much-rumoured “budget” iPhone 5C. A cheap iPhone, it is not, but it is indeed, as the rumours tipped, a plastic iPhone.

The idea of a plastic iPhone is a bold one – for a company renowned for its attention to design and build quality, it seems an odd move to go from a solid, aluminium bodied handset to plastic.

However, as with many of Apple’s design decisions, this one looks like it might just have paid off.

The iPhone 5C doesn’t feel like a plastic phone, and as the firm has gone to great lengths to explain, this is different. Rather like the M&S ads in fact, this isn’t just plastic, this is Apple iPhone plastic.

The handset feels incredibly solid, thanks to a milled metal chassis that holds the plastic body. It feels solid, and easy to pick up – unlike some of the cheap, flimsy Android competition.

The interesting thing is that the colours are also something a bit different – they really, to use a terrible American phrase, pop.

Combined with the plethora of dotted covers, this is a phone designed for customisation, and one that is set to re-ignite the massive market in third party accessories.

Technically, the handset is very similar to the original iPhone 5, and offers no real surprises – though the colour scheme of iOS 7 really does make more sense on the handset (even the wallpapers are colour coded to each hue).

It’s easy to use, and actually feels nicer in the hand than the flagship iPhone 5S in many respects – the rounded corners and solid feel give you a real sense that you could throw it about a bit without any problems (funnily enough Apple didn’t seem keen to let us test the theory).

The initial reports of the iPhone 5C were scathing, claiming the C stood for cheap. As Apple’s pricing has since proved, this isn’t a cheap handset – but it doesn’t need to be to sell by the bucketload, which we think this probably will.

The iPhone 5C is a quality, and slightly different product – and after playing with it, it’s easy to imagine the 5C becoming Apple’s biggest seller, and the most popular iPhone ever released.

Mark Prigg is a science and technology journalist and the Evening Standard technology correspondent.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.whathifi.com/blog/hands-on-apple-iphone-5c-review