Apple unveils iphone 12 with 5G
CALIFORNIA: Apple Inc launched the iphone 12 with faster 5G connectivity starting at $799, which the Cupertino, California company hopes will spur a wave of upgrades and keep its sales booming through the end of the year.
The iphone 12, with a 6.1-inch display, has flat sides with a flush display, similar to the company’s iphone 5 and a departure from rounded edges in recent years.
Apple also introduced a “Mini” version with a 5.4-inch screen for $699 and a “Pro” version with three cameras starting at $999.
Pre-orders for the iphone 12 and iphone 12 Pro begin on October 16 and go on sale on October 23. The iphone Mini will be available for preorder on November 6 and in stores on November 13.
Verizon Communications Inc CEO Hans Vestberg said the new iphones would work with the carrier’s “ultrawideband” 5G network designed to alleviate bottlenecks in major cities like New York and Los Angeles as well as in crowded areas like NFL stadiums.
Apple said all iphone 12 models in the United States will support millimeter wave 5G, the fastest variant of the technology, as well as lower-frequency bands. Some rival Android devices support only the lower-frequency versions of 5G.
Apple said it had tested 5G on more than 800 carriers in 30 regions globally. Shares of Apple fell over 3 per cent during the event, erasing $77 billion worth of stock market value.
In China, the biggest online video platforms, including Tencent Holdings and Bilibili Inc, canceled
Apple’s livestream event explanation, Bloomberg reported.
Apple also announced a Homepod Mini smart speaker that will come in white and gray, cost $99 and be shipped starting on November 16.
The new Homepod offers features like allowing use by multiple users in a home and sending information to car-based systems. For example, a user can tee up driving directions to a store after asking the Homepod without News what time it closes. Many of the features serve as a catch-up to similar offerings from Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google.
The annual launch event is nearly one month later than normal and comes as the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted Apple’s well-oiled machine for designing and churning out its biggest-selling product.
The iphones announced on Tuesday will test whether Apple can keep up that streak and ride a wave of consumer excitement around 5G wireless data networks, whose speediest variants outstrip their predecessors’ data rates multiple times over.
Android devices from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and others have featured the new networking capabilities for months, and analysts say 5G phones are driving upgrades.