Apple on Tuesday officially unveiled two new iPhone models – the long-expected iPhone 5C, a lower-costing model, and the iPhone 5S.
In Costa Rica, carriers Claro, Movistar and the state-owned Costa Rica Electricity Institute (ICE) announced that new models of the popular smartphone would take up to 60 days to be made available outside the United States, meaning the new iPhones likely would be available in Costa Rica by November.
In the U.S. the iPhone 5C will go on sale on Sept. 20, with pre-orders starting on Sept. 13. It will cost $99 for a 16GB model or $199 for a 32 GB model, with contracts.
As expected, the phone has a polycarbonate back and it comes in five colors: yellow, green, blue, red and white. Cases in the same colors will cost $29.
Jonathan Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of design, described the iPhone 5C as “beautifully, unapologetically plastic.”
It includes an A6 processor, an 8MP camera with a 3X video zoom camera app, an improved front-facing HD camera, dual-band WiFi, as well as “more LTE bands for world coverage,” Apple stated on its website.
The high-end model iPhone 5S comes in silver, gold and slate gray.
The 5S’ processor performs 40 times faster than the original iPhone thanks to a brand new chip called the M7, which is said to continuously measure motion data. This feature will allow the chip to support the accelerometer, gyroscope and compass.
The iPhone’s battery life was improved on the 5S, and it will offer 10 hours of LTE and WiFi browsing, 40 hours of music and 250 hours of standby time.
The iPhone’s camera also got a major upgrade as Apple increased the pixels to capture more light. Its camera can automatically detect white balance as soon as the app is launched, and it includes burst mode and true-tone flash.
One of the most anticipated features also was confirmed Tuesday: the new iPhone will include Touch ID, a fingerprint sensor built into the home button. The sensor scans sub-epidermal skin layers and will have 360-degree readability. The fingerprint sensor can be used to unlock the iPhone or make purchases.
“Your fingerprint is one of the best passes in the world. It’s always with you, and no two are exactly alike,” Ive said in a promotional video.
Prices for the 5S in the U.S. (with a contract) are $199 for the 16 GB model, $299 for 32GB and $399 for the 64GB. The 5S also will go on sale in the U.S. on Sept. 20.
