Apple today revealed its long-awaited next-generation smartphone, the iPhone 5S, which for the first time will be available in gold.
Specifically, the iPhone 5S will come in silver, gold, and space gray. It will be available in 16, 32, and 64GB flavors for the standard $199, $299, and $399. It will be in stores on Sept. 20 in the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and U.K.
The 5S will run Apple's new A7, 64-bit chip, the first ever in a phone, according to Apple. All built-in apps have been re-engineered to 64-bit. The A7 is up to two times as fast as the previous generation system, and 40 times faster than the first iPhone. Graphics performance is 56 times better than original iPhone, according to Apple.
The A7 includes a new part called the M7, which is a motion co-processor that measures motion data without having to wake up the A7 chip - from the accelerometer to gyroscope to compass support. That should help with fitness gadgets, like Nike+ and Fitbit.
Apple promised up to 10 hours of 3G talk time, 10 hours of LTE browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music, and 250 hours of standby times.
The camera of the 5S, meanwhile, packs a 15 percent bigger sensor; pixels land at 1.5 microns. Bigger pixels make a better picture, said Apple's Phil Schiller. A new flash known as True Tone addresses clashing color temperatures. It has dual LEDs, one cooler white and another warmer amber. There's also auto image stabilization, a burst mode, a 28-megapixel panorama, and slow motion.
With slow motion, you can select which parts of the video you want slowed down - show someone running around a pool and then switch to slow mo for when they jump in.
The iPhone 5S includes a new, fingerprint-based security option known as Touch ID. It "uses a key you have with you everywhere you go," Schiller said. The touch ID sensor is 170 microns thin with 500ppi resolution, and 360-degree readability. It scans the sub-epidermal skin layers, the firm said.
Touch ID will be built into the home button. You can teach it about more than one finger, or turn your finger in any orientation. It will also allow for multiple fingerprints. Perhaps more importantly, you can use your fingerprint to make iTunes purchases, so no more typing in your password when buying apps.
For those concerned that Apple might be starting a database of its users' fingerprints, the company said that the data is not stored on the iCloud servers or backed up to iCloud. The information is stored within the A7.
The 5S will run iOS 7, which will also be available to existing iOS device owners as a free upgrade, starting Sept. 18.
Apple today also unveiled a low-cost, multi-colored iPhone 5C, which starts at $99.
For more, check out our live blog from today's Apple event and the slideshow above, as well as our first hands-on video with the 5S below.