Today Apple officially unveiled the new iPhone 4 to the masses and its pretty much everything we’ve already seen in all the leaks over the past month. The hardware is exactly what has already been seen on the internet and various sites but now we get confirmation of the exact technical specs of all the components as well as what new software updates are included.
Starting off on the hardware side of things, the new iPhone 4 does run on the new A4 chip that we already see in Apple’s iPad. That means that the phone will run fast and be more energy efficient then current iPhones. This is good for the battery life as that is one main problem that most users find with the current iPhones.
The new display is also of interest as Apple is touting it as the “Retina Display;” a 960×640 display that has a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch. That is more than anything that is currently on the market. The pixels are so small in fact that Apple claims that individual pixels can not be seen with the naked eye. I’ll have to see it to believe it but it does sound wonderful if true.
Apple has also upped the ante on its camera and increased the sensor to a 5MP unit and added a new LED flash next to it. The new camera not only takes better pictures now, but it also now able to record HD video at 720P. Apple has also included a new digital zoom in its photo software as well. On the iPhone 4, you will also find a second camera. That’s right, a front facing camera that will be used for the iPhones new Facetime video calling feature that will allow you to have video chats with your contacts. one downside is that it will only connect via Wifi connection and not over standard 3G.
Rounding out the rest of the hardware, we see that the iPhone 4 also now features 2 mics. One is for talking while the other is for noise cancellation. The rear panel, many had speculated what the material of it is but now Apple has confirmed that it is indeed made out of an aluminosilicate glass – the same glass used in the windshields of helicopters and high speed trains. not only is the back panel made of aluminosilicate glass but the front display is also. That means that you no longer should have to worry about dropping your phone and having the display shatter into a million pieces like current and past iPhones do.
On the software side, iPhone OS is now renamed iOS4 since it is used on other devices now besides the iPhone. Nothing new we saw today that hasn’t already been announced from their previous iOS4 reveal. What we did see new was the introduction of Facetime which is their new video conferencing app. Another new addition is iMovie. Apple’s iMovie app will allow you to edit HD video directly in the iPhone which will go hand in hand with the new HD video recording features. iMovie however isn’t free though and will cost $4.99.
All-in-all though, the new iPhone does look terrific and the new industrial design is much better then the old design in my opinion. The materials too seem to be much better and with the combination of iOS4 and some of the new hardware changes, Apple’s iPhone 4 is now on par with many of the features we’ve come to expect from other smartphones.
