For the first time ever, Apple launched a second device alongside its next-generation iPhone (the 5S). Dubbed the iPhone 5C, the low-cost smartphone will cost $99 in the U.S. for a 16 GB model and $199 for 32 GB.
The iPhone 5C comes in five flavors: blue, green, yellow, pink and white.
The iPhone 5C has the same measurements as the iPhone 5 and 5S, but it's constructed from soft silicon rubber, rather than anodized aluminum.
The iPhone 5C will ship with iOS 7, Apple's completely re-engineered mobile operating system. The device also includes an A6 chip and a slightly larger battery than the iPhone 5.
The iPhone 5C's iSight camera touts a 3x video zoom and a new FaceTime HD camera. The rear camera is 8 megapixels, and comes with back-side illumination and a hybrid IR filter. It also supports more LTE bands than any other smartphone in the world.
For $29, iPhone 5C users can dress up their devices with brightly colored cases. The cases come with holes to add color-contrasting to the device. Some say it looks like the game Connect Four or other quirky items.
Pre-orders start on Sept. 13, and the iPhone 5C will go on sale on Sept. 20 in the United States, China, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom. By December, the iPhone 5C will be available in over 100 countries and on 270 carriers.
Colors are in. Nokia’s been selling Day-Glo smartphones for ages, Motorola lets you design your own colorful case cover and now, Apple is selling the candy-colored iPhone 5C.
While the 5C's specs are largely familiar to anyone who owns an iPhone 5 (retina display, LTE, iSight camera, A6 chip), everything else about the new phone is surprising — at least for Apple. It’s the company's first budget smartphone (costing $99 with a two-year contract), its body is polycarbonate (or as Jony Ive put it, “unapologetically plastic") and it shared the stage in Cupertino on Tuesday with Apple's second new handset: the iPhone 5s. Before this week, no iPhone has ever had to share the spotlight.
But make no mistake: The innovation is almost entirely on the iPhone 5S' side. Let’s call the iPhone 5C an innovation in product marketing. If you think Apple's flagship phone is too expensive, then perhaps you’d like a $99 phone that has all the power of the now-retired iPhone 5. Worried that the iPhone 5S' glass and metal body is too fragile for your kids to handle? Check out the polycarbonate body on the iPhone 5C. With its rounder edges, the budget phone is definitely ready to handle its share of drops and rough living.
Apple’s new iOS 7 looks right at home on the iPhone 5C (possibly even more so than the iPhone 5s), as its colorful exterior appears to almost exactly match the operating system's primary-color palette.
Slightly larger than the iPhone 5s (and 5), the iPhone 5C felt cool, comfortable and sturdy in my hand. The one-piece plastic body is shiny and smooth to the touch. On the front is the familiar home button (with its trademark box) and an edge-to-edge glass face, which houses the 4-inch retina display. Inside the phone is a steel frame, which doubles as an antenna, and adds to the rigid feel.
While the 5C shares most of the iPhone 5’s specs, Apple did upgrade the FaceTime camera. I had a chance to run my iPhone 5’s front facing-camera alongside the one on the iPhone 5C; the difference was startling, and is sure to change the video-calling experience.
Although the iPhone 5C bears little resemblance to recent iPhones, and echoes the original iPhone (which had a plastic back), it’s still probably best described as a reskinned iPhone 5.
In the demo room at Apple's Tuesday event, tech journalists crowded around the available iPhone 5Ss, as a collection of iPhone 5Cs and their silicon rubber cases were left largely untouched. Undeterred, I kept playing with the budget phone, looking for differences that are more than just skin-deep. I asked Apple reps what sets the iPhone 5C apart. In response, they pointed to the FaceTime camera, but beyond that, they were stumped.
Don’t get me wrong — I think the new bodies and colors will appeal to many people who think Apple's flagship phone is too austere. What's more, the new price puts iPhone 5 technology in reach for a whole budget-conscious set of users.
Many of them live in China.
Image: Mashable