The new iPhone

[alexalex]

It’s time to show our cards.

If you crack open the casing of the new iPhone, you will find significant upgrades from the iPhone 4. The new iPhone features Apple’s dual-core A5 processor like the iPad 2 for even faster performance, better gaming, and drastically improved graphics. Apple didn’t stop there though. Unlike the iPad 2, the new iPhone packs 1GB of RAM, according to a source familiar with the SOC’s manufacturing. That not only means better web browsing, but more importantly, new background tasks that Apple will introduce in the new iPhone’s software will perform much better.

The new iPhone will also feature an upgraded camera system. In terms of hardware, the new camera is an 8 megapixel sensor that takes incredibly high-resolution and clear shots, even in low light conditions because it has a backlit sensor. Also, panorama photography references have been found in the iOS SDK on multiple occasions which means we’ll likely see that feature. Other than that, the camera front-end system is reportedly mostly the same.

The new iPhone also contains Qualcomm Gobi Baseband chips that allow it to operate on both GSM and CDMA networks. We can’t yet confirm or deny the rumors that Apple was building a virtual SIM card system or if it has an NFC chip yet, however.......the new device’s biggest selling point is actually a software feature called Assistant. As we first revealed, Assistant is Apple’s Siri-inspired, system-wide voice navigation system. It so far appears that iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS users will be left out in the fun, unfortunately, because the feature requires the A5 CPU and additional RAM.

...For example, a user could say “remind me to buy milk when I arrive at the market.” Another example would be integration with the iOS Maps application. A user could ask: “how do I get to Staples Center?” and Assistant will use the user’s current location via GPS and provide directions.

Another interesting Assistant feature is the ability to create and send an SMS or iMessage with just your voice. For example, you can say “send a text to Mark saying I’ll be running late to lunch!” – and it will send. This is a super compelling feature for people who cannot physically or safely take the time to type out a text message. Users can also choose to have Assistant read back unsent text messages to ensure the system interpreted the speech correctly. If the text is written correctly, the user simply says “yes;” if not the user says “no” and Assistant will ask the user to speak again. Apple is also working to allow users to ask for a specific song to be played. Voice Control only allows albums, artists, and playlists to be chosen with your voice....

.....The user essentially can hold a conversation with their iPhone like it is another human being. For example, if a user is making a meeting with me, they will say “setup meeting with Mark” and the first “bubble” of the conversation thread will say that. After that, the system will speak back: “which e-mail address should Mark be notified at, work or personal?” This question will both be spoken out loud by the iPhone Assistant and shown as a new “bubble” in the conversation thread......

...Another compelling feature relating to Assistant is “Find my Friends.” Yes, Find my Friends is realand Apple may have been waiting on Assistant integration to release it into the wild. Basically, if a friend of mine wants to instantly know where I am, they could say “where’s Mark?” and Assistant will locate me and share my location information. Of course, there will be privacy settings for this as we previously revealed.

Perhaps the coolest aspect of Assistant is its integration with Wolfram Alpha. For those unfamiliar with Wolfram Alpha, it is an online computational knowledge system. With its integration into the new iPhone and Assistant, one could essentially ask their iPhone facts or questions of all types and get an instant response. For example, you can ask your iPhone a math problem or ask how many feet are there in 12.75 meters, and get an instant answer. The whole idea of having an infinite amount of information at the sound of your voice is unbelievably convenient and powerful....

http://9to5mac.com/2011/09/26/the-new-iphone/

[ozgeek]

The voice feature is extremely useless for me :(. Please have some more features aimed at hearing-impaired or blind people.

[SMELTN]

My question on Siri is, I wonder if it will work with the current model Bluetooth headsets, as in if I press the button on my bluetooth, which would normally be the voice activation, will it turn siri on and I can do that?

[Roger H. Veteran]

My question on Siri is, I wonder if it will work with the current model Bluetooth headsets, as in if I press the button on my bluetooth, which would normally be the voice activation, will it turn siri on and I can do that?

Good question - I've never seen anyone demonstrate that. I use voice dial on my phone sometimes from BT and i'm sure the iPhone can do that but for the more advanced stuff, that would be cool!

[SMELTN]

right.. I do the same.. but to be able to completely carry on a conversation with Siri or have it read your texts etc all with just using the bluetooth headset would be amazing

[badb0y]

Hey Siri : Can we have sex tonight?

[Vice]

Did you guys watch the Apple Keynote? Scott Forstall spent more than a few seconds explaining that the feature could be fully activated from a Bluetooth headset or in-line remote by holding the button down and waiting for the Siri activation sound.

[Elliott]

right.. I do the same.. but to be able to completely carry on a conversation with Siri or have it read your texts etc all with just using the bluetooth headset would be amazing

I'm sure it'll work via BT headset activation. The current voice control system does, so it makes sense to extend that functionality to Siri.

Also, what Vice said. :p