iPhone 4 Announced!

As speculated, Apple announced the 4th version of its iPhone hardware at the WWDC conference this afternoon. Steve Jobs wowed audience members with several groundbreaking advancements both in terms of hardware and software. The Gold Master version of iPhone OS4, now called iOS4, was showcased alongside an all new version of the iPhone. While the overall design of the phone did prove to be identical to the leaked Gizmodo prototype of a few months back, the features Jobs detailed came as an impressive surprise. Here is a breakdown of the new features highlighted in today’s keynote. The keynote can be viewed here

Hardware:

Design:

The design of the iPhone 4 virtually mirrors that of the prototype intercepted by Gizmodo a few months ago. Available in white and black, the phone employs a sleek glass front and back with a sturdy stainless steel bezel. Opting for a flat back, the redesigned phone harkens to the original iPhone’s design. Toted as being 24% thinner than existing 3G and 3Gs models, the phone has a sleek industrial feel to it.

Retina Display:

This new display packs a pixel density unheard of for a mobile device. Featuring 4x more pixels than the previous iPhones, the new “Retina” display has a native resolution of 960 × 640. That’s 78% of the total pixels on the iPad crammed into a 3.5” display. The Retina Display also sports 326ppi and an 800:1 contrast ratio.

A4 Processor:

Apple’s in house designed processor, which also powers the iPad, is also being included in the iPhone 4. While this will undoubtably rocket the phone’s overall speed above that of the iPhone 3Gs, the new processor also allows for other important improvements. The small size of the chip has allowed Apple to implement a larger battery within the phone. Users can expect up to 7 hours talk time, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music, and 300 hours of standby.

Built In Gyroscope:

A new built in gyroscope supplements the existing on-board accelerometer and compass with “six axis” motion. The new gyroscope features pitch, roll, and yaw, and makes motion detection much more accurate.

5MP / 720p HD Camera:

The iPhone 4’s camera has also undergone several important changes. The camera’s sensor has been upgraded to 5 MP and also includes a backside illuminated sensor to aid with low light scenarios. A 5x digital zoom, and an LED flash are also included as well as the tap to focus feature introduced in the 3Gs’ camera. Perhaps the most exciting camera related announcement was that the iPhone 4 records 720p HD video at 30fps. This amazing inclusion coupled with the simultaneously announced iMovie app enables users to record, edit, and share HD video on the phone.

FaceTime Video Chatting:

Presented separately from the other new features of iPhone 4, “FaceTime” video chatting is among the most impressive features revealed during the keynote. Taking advantage of the iPhone 4’s unique front facing camera, FaceTime enables video chatting over Wi-Fi from one iPhone 4 user to another. Jobs clarified that while the technology is Wi-Fi exclusive through 2010, measures are being put into place to implement it over AT&T’s 3G network sometime next year.

Software:

iOS4:

Jobs announced that the Gold Master of the new OS would be released to developers later this afternoon, and to the public in the near future. Jobs revisited many of the features introduced in April’s unveiling including multitasking and a unified mail inbox. In addition, he confirmed that the new OS would support over 1,500 new APIs and bring with it over 100 new features.

iBooks:

Jobs called special attention to the iPhone version of iBooks announcing a few new features and confirming its appearance in iOS4. PDF support was announced as well as the ability to purchase an iBook from one device, and view it on another.

iAds:

Apple’s exclusive mobile advertising platform, iAds, was featured prominently towards the end of the keynote. Steve gave a few brief demos as well as an overview to where the platform stood. Jobs announced that brands such as Nissan, Citi, Unilever, AT&T, GE, Geico, Target, Best Buy, Disney had already committed $60 million towards iAds for 2010.

iPhone 4 is slated to go on sale June 24th. Available in both black and white, the 16GB model will sell for $199, and the 32GB model will sell for $299 with new 2-year contracts. The 3G has effectively been discontinued, and the 3Gs will absorb its $99 price tag and status as entry level iPhone. Pre-orders for both iPhone 4 models will begin next week.