Another month brings another Apple event, and this time we expect to see a whole plethora of new and updated devices, spearheaded by the iPad Mini. Rumoured to have a 7.85″ 1024 x 768 display and a design similar to that of the new iPod Touch, this device looks set to sport a low price tag to take on the Nexus 7 and company. Rumour also has it that the existing iPad will receive a minor update with a Lightning connector and 4G in more territories (such as with EE in the UK) and the Mac family will get minor updates across the board, with the highlight being a 13″ Retina MacBook Pro. We also expect to hear a bit more about iTunes 11 tonight, but whatever happens we will be around to liveblog proceedings on this very page. Enjoy!
While some of us were frantically liveblogging proceedings from Apple’s San Francisco event, the guy behind the hilariously accurate Twitter account @NextTechBlog did things a bit differently. In the space of 12 tweets, they said more about the world’s reaction to the iPhone 5 and new iPods than a thousand word blog post ever could. If you are a tweeter and not following them, you’re seriously missing out.
It’s iPhone time again! We’ve been through what we expect from the event, but there’s always the chance that Tim Cook will spring a few surprises on us, so check back here from 1PM EDT/5PM GMT/6PM BST for all the latest news!
All times given are BST. This liveblog has now ended.
16:50 Hello all. I am ready.
16:55 Things should kick off in just over an hour.
17:00 Liveblogging today we have Xavier Voigt-Hill and maybe Henry Hunt.
OH GOD WHAT IF THEY CALL IT THE iPHONE FIVE ALL SPELLED OUT AND STUFF LIKE NOT WITH A NUMERAL?
18:44 You can tap to tweet or share on Facebook in Notification Center. Fullscreen mode in Safari too.
18:47 Now Forstall is showing off Passbook and Siri stuff. No sign of NFC though.
18:51 My internet just died, but I’m alive. Siri can tell you sports scores, good movies and Facebook for you.
18:53 And now we are wrapping up with a Jony Ive video. It comes in white too.
18:54 Bob Mansfield is doing the Bob Mansfield and talking about internals.
18:59 American contract pricing is the same. 16GB = $199, 32GB = $299, 64GB = $399. iPhone 4 is now free on contract. 16GB 4S is $99. Pre-order Friday for the September 21st launch.
19:02 iOS 6 coming to iPhone 4 and later on September 19th for free. iPod Touch 4th generation is included in this.
19:03 Let’s talk about iTunes. New look store with Facebook EVERYWHERE.
19:06 iTunes 11 is coming too. It looks fantastic.
19:11 New mini player looks great too.
19:14 iCloud is now built into iTunes for syncing film positions and stuff.
19:15 New iTunes coming October for Mac and PC.
19:16 New iPod Nano is 38% thinner at 5.4mm and has a widescreen multitouch display, physical buttons and a Lightning connector. And a home button.
19:26 The 5th generation iPod Touch is 6.1mm, 88g and has the same display as the iPhone 5. It also has the A5 chip. YOu get 40 hours of music from the battery.
19:28 5MP rear iSight camera actually takes good photos. I might need one of these things.
19:29 iPod Touch Loop now…
19:30 Push something on the bottom and a lanyard strap holder thing appears, like on cameras and some phones.
19:31 720p FaceTime HD camera and Bluetooth 4.0, just like the iPhone 5. AirPlay mirroring is also coming to iPod.
19:32 Siri is also coming to the new iPod Touch!
19:33 Five colour choices too, each with its own loop thing.
19:34 Shut up and take my money and give me an orange one!
19:34 These are white, black, cyan, yellow and red. I want the cyan.
19:34 New EarPods. They’re futuristic earbuds that have taken 3 years to design.
19:38 iPod pricing. New ones are coming in October.
19:41 High resolution iPhone 5 for you via TNW. Click for a bigger view.
19:42 And that’s that. Playing us out are the Foo Fighters.
19:45 To follow Apple’s lead, here are the Foo Fighters.
19:47 That wraps things up. It’s been a massive night, and I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Goodnight!
Every year since 2007 Apple has announced a new iPhone. Tonight is their sixth release event. Love it or hate it, the iPhone is continually the highest selling smartphone in the world, with record launches coming each generation. Since the launch of the iPhone 4S last October, which was seen by many as an incremental upgrade over the iPhone 4, rumours have suggested that Apple may have a little more up its sleeve tonight as they launch the 6th generation of iPhone to the waiting world.
Name
While we can be certain that the name will include the word ‘iPhone’ somewhere, violent arguments have broken out across the internet about what the actual name will be. Many are referring to this new device as the iPhone 5 as it seems like a natural progression of name from 4 and 4S, but to call the phone this would be a large error of judgment on Apple’s part. Whatever we see tonight will be the 6th generation of iPhone, and calling it the iPhone 5 may confuse (and annoy) some consumers (i.e. me).
iPhone
iPhone 3G
iPhone 3GS
iPhone 4
iPhone 4S
Whatever is announced tonight
What has been speculated is that Apple will follow the naming scheme that they use for every hardware product bar the iPhone to this point, and choose to drop the suffix, referring to the product as iPhone. As with the iPad announced earlier this year, initial advertising may refer to it as the new iPhone and, should it be necessary to pinpoint a specific model, the phone would be referred to as iPhone (6th generation).
Screen
Screen size of the iPhone 4 and 4S
In recent times, Apple has begun to expand its Retina Display branding beyond the confines of the iPhone and iPod Touch, with both the new iPad and MacBook Pro sporting the branding. The two previous generations have sported 960 x 640 panels at 3.5″, but one Verge reader suggested that the latest model may have an elongated 3.99″ panel with a 1152 x 640 resolution. Further investigation into the code of iOS 6 has revealed that if pushed to 1136 x 640, the software will display an extra row of apps on the home screen, thus making it incredibly likely that we will see a taller iPhone today.
How a taller iPhone screen could look
Hardware
Numerous component leaks and the rumours of a taller screen have made the rounds, and one Gizmodo reader had a go at a mockup of the new iPhone, and he can’t be too far off.
Internally things are a bit murkier, but a quad core A6 chip, more RAM and a new mini dock connector seem certain to be included for the first time. A camera upgrade could also be on the way, and 4G LTE support for Verizon, Sprint and AT&T in the US seems certain, especially after the LTE chips found in the new iPad. After EE’s LTE announcement yesterday, CEO Olaf Swantee teased that more devices supporting the network would be announced soon, and an LTE iPhone could prove to be the catalyst to the LTE growth that EE desires.
Whatever happens, we’ll be there with all the news from 6PM BST in our liveblog, so make sure to follow along to get all the news as it happens!
Announced just over 1 week ago, Apple’s new iPad is now available. The ‘resolutionary’ tablet sports a 2048 x 1536 display that covers 9.7″, doubling the pixel density to Retina levels. The processor has received a 200MHz bump to become a 1GHz dual-core chip, while the GPU from the PlayStation Vita completes the A5X chip. 1GB RAM, a 5MP rear camera that borrows optics from the iPhone 4S and support for ‘4G’ LTE and HSPA+ networks round out the change list.
At a press conference in San Francisco today, Tim Cook unveiled Apple’s latest tablet, the new iPad. It has a 2048 x 1536 Retina display at 264ppi and an Apple A5X chip with quad-core graphics, probably using the same GPU as the PS Vita. The device comes with a toned-down Siri and support for LTE networks, along with a 5MP iSight camera on the rear that shoots 1080p video. There is most definitely a home button on the device, slightly thicker and heavier than its predecessor, the iPad 2. Pricing remains the same and it will launch worldwide, including in the United Kingdom, on March 16th.
Digixav 
