Apple calls new iPhone 5 “a huge leap” from previous model

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc., unveiled the new iPhone 5 in his keynote presentation on Wednesday. The new model will be available for purchase starting at 8 a.m. on September 21, 2012.

The presentation highlighted the advances in technology made in developing this new iPhone model.  It will be the thinnest and lightest smartphone yet, with a larger screen display.

“Today,” announced Cook, “we’re taking it to the next level, making a huge leap.” He then introduced Phil Shiller, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Apple, to talk about the new design.

Shiller began with the new shape of the iPhone, saying, “What is the design center for a phone? It’s this, it’s your hand. A phone should feel great in your hand.” This idea is what served as the inspiration for the new model.

The new iPhone is 18% thinner, and 20% wider than the previous model. The new “retina display” is 4 inches long, making it half an inch longer than the iPhone 4, and has a 16:9 screen ratio. This allows the user to see more content, with the phone still being easy to handle and use.

“You’ll see more of the web when you’re surfing Safari,” noted Shiller. “You’ll see more of your email; your calendar shows more events… there’s much more room to work and play.”

The new screen ratio is also the “most accurate display in the industry,” according to Shiller. It has “44% more color saturation,” and “full sRGB color specification,” meaning the colors are more true-to-life than ever before.

The iPhone 5 also gives its users access to LTE technology, which yields faster downloads. LTE will also allow the “FaceTime” feature to operate on the network, rather than exclusively over wireless connections.

These new features give Apple fans something to be excited about. Brandon McCarthy, 19, will be getting in line for his new phone the day it is released, an hour and a half before the store opens. “Just like last year,” he reports excitedly.

Concerning the new model’s $650 price tag, McCarthy said, “To me, it’s worth it. In reality, it might not be because I have a perfectly good phone. I know in the back of my head it’s not worth it, but I’m an impulse person.”

McCarthy’s current iPhone is the 4S model, and only 11 months old. “I just like having the newest technology,” he added.

To others, however, the steep price is a turn off. Danielle Baker, 21, will not be purchasing the new iPhone, her simple reason being, “I’m broke.”

For Benjamin Kidder, 21, the new model release came at just the right time. “It’ll only be $200 for me,” he said, “because it’s the next upgrade from my phone now.” Kidder will be getting in line at 6:30 a.m. to buy the iPhone 5.

“I’m excited because it’ll be my first smartphone. I’ll have the newest thing, so in two years, I’ll still have a relatively new phone. I’m just going to be pulling it out at my parties and showing people.” Kidder noted that the new iPhone is a large step above his previous phone, an NV Touch. He commented that his current phone has a small memory, can’t play music, and “doesn’t attract the ladies,” all of which he says the iPhone 5 will remedy.

Jonathan “Jony” Ive, Senior Vice President of Design, commented on the new model, saying he believes that the changes are not taken lightly. “When you think about your iPhone, it’s probably the object that you use most in your life… We don’t want to make a new phone; we want to make a better phone.”