A bite of the new Apple

The buzz has already started,as has the speculation. A supposed leak from Apple headquarters or possibly one of its suppliers points to a September 10 launch of the new iPhone,dubbed 5S. In fact,the hot news is that Apple will be launching two phones on that day,the 5S as well as a cheaper iPhone which is being named the iPhone 5C. Websites devoted to the Apple cult have been releasing mock-ups which claim to be the two new phones. They show that from glass and aluminum housing,Apple may switch to Liquidmetal,an indestructible alloy that is stronger than titanium. Apple already has an agreement with Liquidmetal. The mock-ups suggest that the new iPhone 5S will be the same size as its predecessor just as in the iPhone 4 and 4S,but will come packed with some unique features.

The market is rife with rumours that the new iPhone will come with fingerprint sensor technology based on the fact that Apple recently bought AuthenTec,a company that specialises in fingerprint recognition technology. The buzz is that the iPhone 5S will have the technology embedded on the home button which will be coated with scratch-resistant glass. There’s also likely to be provisions for recording slow-motion video in the reported 12-megapixel camera. One of the websites,Cult of Mac,released “leaked” images that show an extra large cutout on the rear of the camera,big enough for a dual LED flash,giving higher-quality images in low-light conditions.

Another first could be the addition of a third colour. Since 2008,the iPhone has been offered in black and white but latest reports suggest that there could be a gold-coloured version on offer as well. There is also much speculation about the second cheaper iPhone,the 5C,which would be Apple’s first low-end phone. Historically,Apple has depended on offering the previous years’ models at cut-rate prices,as in the iPhone 4,less than half the price of the new version. Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook had hinted that the number attracted by the iPhone 4 was “very,very impressive”. That suggests that for the first time,Apple would make a phone which would be cheaper than an iPhone 4 without having to compromise on design. Also,losing market share to Samsung and LG could have led to a rethink on strategy and having different models at different price points.