Today, during its WWDC keynote address, Apple has unveiled the new iPhone 3G S, the successor to the iPhone 3G that was unveiled one year ago. Available in the U.S. on June 19, the new iPhone is giving people a lot of what they’ve been asking for in the past — and some stuff that Apple undoubtedly hopes will make buyers forget all about the Palm Pre.
First of all, the new iPhone is significantly faster than the current model. That’s what the “S” really stands for, “Speed.” Most applications will run at least 2 times faster, according to Apple. Specifics weren’t given about the processor in the device and the RAM included, but you can bet it’s about double the RAM and a processor that has been bumped significantly something which we talked about at length recently. Also not noted is if the device will have a chip to use the faster 3G network that AT&T is supposedly rolling out, but you can bet that’s in the cards as well.
The other improvements in this new iPhone are what were expected. It will have a nicer 3 megapixel camera, that can finally do auto-focus. I’ve been testing out a similar camera on the Google Ion phone for a few weeks now, and it’s not even funny how much better it is than the current iPhone’s. And yes, as rumored, this iPhone will offer the ability to shoot video — something which Apple prevented on the iPhone 3G, although it was possible with unapproved apps.
Another new feature is voice control. Not only can now make calls simply by talking to the phone but you can also control the playback on the iPhone with your voice. If you say “play a song by the Killers,” it will work. You can also ask the phone, “what is playing now?” And it will say it. And you can also say “play more songs like this,” and iTunes Genius will activate. This looks awesome.
One of the most important improvements to this new iPhone however is that the battery life has improved. Apple claims that the iPhone 3G S will get 9 hours of web surfing now when on WiFi — that’s up from 6 hours on the current iPhone. 3G talk time will be the same 5 hours now though.
The iPhone 3G S will come in two sizes, each with two colors: White or Black. The low-end 16 GB version will run you $199. The high-end 32 GB version will be $299. While the price points are the same as last year, the storage sizes have doubled.
One thing that everyone seemed to agree on following its launch this weekend, is that the Palm Pre had an experience that was overall faster than the iPhone’s. With this new processor, more RAM and faster download speeds, that is likely to shift in favor of the iPhone once again.
I still think the iPhone 3G S name is rather silly, and could be downright confusing for those who think people are talking about the iPhone 3G in plural. But whatever, it’s faster, slightly prettier and with a better battery, so I’m happy.
As I noted above, the iPhone 3G S will be available in the U.S. on June 19, and will be available in much of the rest of the world on July 7.
Update: But is buying one a sucker’s bet right now?
I was hoping a lot more from this WWDC. It didn’t seem to impress, not to mention many app demos failed miserably.
The new IPhone is not what we all expected it to be, and AT&T got boo-ed again.
For non-qualified customers, including existing AT&T customers who want to upgrade from another phone or replace an iPhone 3G, the price with a new two-year agreement is $499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB)
“S” is for SUCKER. $199 is bullshit for those of us who have been using the 3G.
agrred!
Nice idea not to discontinue old iphone.. but eventually they will. Apple smooth transition. This is efficient business, wont burden users too…
I too agree with you. Personally I’m getting tired of buying into Apples business model of paying high prices for their tech only to have it discounted 6 months later to feed their shareholders. LAME!
Praise on, brotha!
Yup
Also the shocking disappointment is that 3G owners don’t get the pricing advertised:
“For non-qualified customers, including existing AT&T customers who want to upgrade from another phone or replace an iPhone 3G, the price with a new two-year agreement is $499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB).”
How about that.
Who paid you to say that? you POS.
my comment above was for Anup, but somehow was attached to the wrong message.
You don’t understand how comments work here, do you?
I wish they had chosen a better name than “S”.
“Every day is not a Sunday!”
When Apple was launched in 2007 it was Revolutionary…. in mid-2009 any upgrade to iPhone has become kind of Mandatory, if Apple needs to survive….
Video recording????….c’mon!! I think Nokia/Symbian had it from the 90’s!
S – for Speed??? I think all phones from Nokia (inspite of lower processor speeds) runs faster!
Nokia N97 rules, Palm Pre rocks!!
Apple please snap out of it!!
http://www.livbit.com
Anup,
It seems that the world owes you an apology. The companies at WWDC where not able to please you desires, which are very important matter for evrybody
IT STILL SUCKS since it still can’t do background processes and that’s why the pre and android will rape the iphone in this round….
Sure, for all 32 people who understand what this means.
The other tens of millions of potential buyers might be more impressed with BlackBerry’s range of designs or iPhone’s zillions of useful apps.
But if you had gone all caps for your whole comment you might have been right.
But if you’d used all caps for your entire comment you might have won the argument.
try to think of a third way to say it
lol + 1
I’ll agree with Paul when it comes to all of the apps. There are so many for the iPhone.
Doesn’t need it. It has push which will do more or less the something without being a drain on processor and battery life.
No mention of Flash support in any of these posts, disappointing, that’s one of the last gaps in my mind. Copy and Paste will be nice with 3.0 though.
The aren’t going to support Flash – they are supporting HTML 5 with Safari 4. You’ll see a lot of of the same functionality with HTML 5 without the proprietary (and CPU heavy) Adobe code.
You clearly don’t know much about Flash if you think HTML5 can replicate all of the functionality that Flash provides. Apple only likes it when THEIR stuff is proprietary. They’re not a company about open standards unless it suits their marketing.
Yeah, I was just in a meeting last week with Adobe. They beat around the bush quite a bit, but made it seem as though it’s there and it’s ready but Steve has to approve it. Word is they are working on their own version of flash for the phone….silverlight’ish I suppose.
Wrong. Flash 10 for mobile isn’t done yet. It’s not on any other ARM processor based phones yet either. Although Jobs won’t approve it anyway, he’s irrelevant at this point.
Flash on a mobile device. Talk about short battery life. You would be lucky to get 30 mins of battery life out of the iPhone (or any mobile device) on a flash intensive web site.
Huh?
You can play sophisticated 3D games on the iPhone, and you can play YouTube videos. What is such a big deal about Flash?
Iphone Fanboy
Funny you choose to focus on the name. Seem straight forward to me. Of course, who cares, I am just excited to get the new 3gs when it comes out!
At first, I thought you were joking with the “S”. Haha. But seems pretty cool. I wish I was at WWDC.
Thanks,
Zachary Collins
http://www.yazzem.com
I am so not impressed with Apple right now.
Agreed. Not worth replacing my current iphone.
Everyone say hello to the Vista of IPhones.
mother fuckers you guys are bastards this is going to be awesome
Ok Jay… say hello to Silent Bob and Banky for us…
Not enough to swing me
Apple’s ][gs was the end of the Apple II line. Of course they had the Mac too. I wonder what resurrecting the GS moniker will mean for the iPhone?
I’ve been rocking the Palm Pre all weekend and it’s definitely cooler than the iphone.
All Palm needs to seal the deal is to fill out the app store and keep up with demand.
Palm Pre the “Zune” of phones. Always late to the game and a year behind
the Pre is the Zune of phones. Always late to the game with last years technology.
Oh silly apple fanboy, at least go try a pre out in the store so you could see what a real cell phone/pda should be, the iphone is great but don’t poo poo on the pre either, its just as good and maybe better in alot of other areas. The pre is 1.0, wait for the future, I see Palm’s webos finally making a significant dent in the market.
Sorry to Pre owners. I agree that the Pre is also a great phone. However at the time I was in “attack mode”.
Its good to see another phone on the market thats not complete crap.
The same old phone. I’m not an Apple hater but they need to bring another phone into the market now with the same OS. The iPhone is getting old now. I would any day choose the Pre over the iPhone 3GS. Something new to toy around with. The iPhone is getting redundant and predictable. Still a great device but nothing innovative about it anymore.
I think it’s June 19th not july.
This new iPhone supports OpenGL ES 2.0, which is huge for all graphical applications.
I was so on the fence and the only breaker was AT&T. After the “same iPhone but faster” introduction, I suppose I’m happy enough with my Verizon BB that I’ll stay for now…
Classic Apple strategy. Double the hard drive capcity, to justify keeping the old price. Laughable.
Its not the same price!!! 16GB model is 199. the Old 3G *GB was 299. Maybe you should check the price before opening your F$$%^g mouth
Same price. You are funny Bruce!!!
Not so the IPhone 3g was 299 for 8g and 399 for 16g.
Now its 99 for 8g 199 for 16g and 299 for 32g.
Not to beat a dead horse, but when I purchased the iPhone 3g 8GB I paid $199.
So when is it comming out in the UK, 19th June? 26th June? or later?
I hope we get this in India soon (and I hope it comes at those prices)….
Fan. freaking. tastic.
It’s no wonder Apple has 40 billion dollars in the bank when they reintroduce the same product over and over again at the same price and people go out an purchase it.
There’s a video camera.
Isn’t that a software improvement? *Certain* iPhones can record video right now too.
Unfortunately those of us who bought the 3G at launch are going to have to pay a premium price for the new phone. Apple’s website quoted me a price of $500 for the 32 gig model unless I wait until July 12th.. Lousy!
That’s why you stay away from Apple products. They are pretty, but for how much everything costs, the value just isn’t there.
what a lame bunch of posts ^^^^^
who cares what your personal opinion is- argue positions with facts and new ideas
So, will Apple be giving TechCrunch a 3GS unit to review before release?
Still no Multitasking – Fail
The is Blackberry still the king!
The Pre was a challenge to Apple to go update their UI and show access to multiple apps running at the same time. Apple did not step up to the challenge today and instead will rely on pricing and marketing to get them through the next year. I never thought I would say it but the iphone looks like it’s getting a little long in the tooth compared to the other options out there.
So “S” stands for “Slightly Upgraded”
i would put it more blatantly “S” “SUCKS”
I am a Mac lover (though not a fanboy), but this is a bit dissapointing for Apple. I’ve been talking with friends recently and we agree that Apple is becoming a bit too complacent with the iPhone (much like MS become complacent with Windows for a decade). It happens. You become the leader in a market with no one challenging your status, the urgency fades.
I bought a Pre this weekend and can say that it contains a fresh look and OS that really adds a layer of customization that iPhones are lacking. iPhones pushed cell makers in the right direction, but it’s Apple that needs to create a more user saavy device now.
I will continue to cheer for Apple from across the stands.
-An Apple lover but a Pre user.
-Jason
those are great news for all iPhone developers! keep it up Apple
this is the exciting market to be in
“Screaming fast.” Oh gawd. MG’s fanboyism seems to have taken a blow judging by the title change of this post. Did all the disappointment expressed in the comments actually make him take a step back from the Reality Distortion Field?
lmao true
A bit disappointed really. Battery life still is not that much improved. No FM radio either. Shame.
I’m surprised about the sentiment on here so far. I’m not sure exactly what people were hoping for.
If the video cam has a good app to support it, that will be huge. I have a videocam but I never bring it out because of the thought of having to transfer the vid to my computer and edit it.
The faster hardware – great.
If you thought that Apple would announce background processing today, or a Verizon deal, you’re either ill-informed or delusional.
I never did get an iPhone for one reason or another, and now I’m beginning to think that might have been the right choice. It no longer seems impressive, especially after reading post after post about their screwed up app store practices. I’ve had a MBP for 2+ years and love it, but… iPhone? Well… maybe not.
iPhone still has the biggest screen at 3.5″ and I’ve been waiting for the video capability. I’ve had the original iPhone since August 2007 and never had a problem and I will upgrade to 3GS.
iPhone IIgs
I want to see an emulator on the iPhone 3GS running Apple IIGS. That would blow my mind.
Well, I have been one of those that got 1.0 and 2.0 iphones in the very same day it came out… For me, it has been nothing but disappointments. ATT&T ruined my perception of Apple and Apple itself ruined it for me, to the point I am afraid to applying any updates without worrying my iPhone will break again (Microsoft anyone???). All and all I will be getting a Blackberry and leave my old iPhone 3G as and iPod and Gaming device.
I bet 10:1 that he has never owned neither.
Quoting @chartier: “The ‘S’ in iPhone 3GS also stands for “Sorry we went with AT&T.”
Am I the only one who remembers the Apple II GS? I think it was the denouement of the series, released after the Mac had already shown the way. If memory serves, the GS was a failure.
so what do I buy? I have a blackberry w/ AT&T, do I get the new iPhone, check out the Pre, or just keep pluggin’ away with my BB (which has never failed me) and spend my money on a new driver (golf club that is)
I have <1 year left on my AT&T contract and currently have a dumb phone. I was hoping that AT&T would let me upgrade to either 3G or 3GS without paying through the nose…
Nope.
Might be what finally pushes me to dump AT&T and go with the next Android.
S stands for “Sadly, not a Pre”
A closed proprietary product cannot beat the Open Source Android. Apps on Android Marketplace are mushrooming and with Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, and basically everybody on board, devices will start mushrooming soon, too. The growing competition will lower prices and boost innovation. You can’t beat that and I really don’t understand why the Web 2.0 crowd seems to back proprietary and not open products/platforms, which is against the spirit of Web 2.0. Pre is doomed and I hope developers to boycott it – the last thing we want in our miserable lives is to developer our apps on a growing number of platforms – iPhone, Android, S60, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, J2ME, Maemo, and now webOS.
Just like Macs and windows cannot beat the open source linux
?
I really hope there is less talks of this open source thing, and more talk about making your software more usable and innovative.
What about the Open Source Firefox and WebKit-based Safari and Chrome?
Thats exactly my point, what matters more than if the software is open source or not, is if it is more usable and has more innovative features.
Do you know that firefox, safari, chrome are all open source ??
Apple are going to have to watch their backs- they just gave the competition another year to catch up and maybe even get ahead.
I like my 3G iPhone. Just not enough here to make me spring for an upgrade. Let’s hope my current 3G lasts another year. Come on guys- even a small change of the form factor would have been welcome. Try harder!
As long as the iPhone stays with AT&T, I will not purchasing one. To be honest I was hoping for a Verizon announcement. I think I’m not the only one who thinks AT&T is a dealbreaker. Everyone knows they are the worst carrier, especially in Los Angeles, to the point where dropped calls and spotty reception make using the iPhone (as a cell phone) an embarrassing and frustrating experience.
A 3MP camera? Oh, wow!! And with autofocus too!
My 2 year old LG Viewty has a 5MP camera, with high-quality video, and can run multiple applications in real time.
Apple has always been overpriced and lacking in features, commanding a premium by selling exclusivity, design and branding.
In other words, as is very eloquently described in this blog post, there is a lot of sheep herding going on in the cult of Apple:
http://amusis.com/?p=479
400 dollars to upgrade a camera is not sufficient for me. (I have a 3G).
The “speed” is a very bad reason to upgrade, as most developers are going to support both 3G and 3GS. I doubt it you are going to see many apps go 3GS only (except for niche apps). So, I don’t think u will see the mainstream App Store apps leverage the speed anytime in the near future.
You mean the LG Viewty that had a whole 2Gigs of memory ? whooo!! The LG Viewty was mostly just a camera first and phone second. Comparing the Iphone’s camera to the LG’s one trick pony isn’t fair unless you point out the thousands of features that the Iphone has that the LG Viewty does not.
Thousands? am I missing something here?
Yea, how about 50,000 apps
yeah, and 49,500 of them are terrible.
I’m also shocked that the phone looks exactly the same. That’s stupid, and a good part of the reason why older users adapt to the new ones.
They always do that. With the Ipod and their computers. They debut a model send out software and hardware updates to it for the next few years. Then release a new design.
Why would the iphone be different?
It’s the 3rd rule of business known as ‘Milk It’. Get users to buy new ones for software updates, then get users to buy new ones for hardware updates. Wash, rinse, and repeat.
It would be chaotic and expensive to have to make a radical new design every year.
Besides going from 16 to 32 gigs is a big change storage wise. Plus its twice the speed in both ram and processor. Plus much improved software with a hundred new updates. What? Did you want a pony too!
Its better to improve upon a proven platform and make it even better.
Why is the compass app only on the 3Gs? Isn’t it a digital compass using the same GPS?
No, GPS locates you using triangulation. It has no way to know what direction your facing.
The phone has a built in compass much like the N97. It doesnt use gps
Why all the negativity? Are the expectations just too high? I’d upgrade to the 3GS in a second. The best just got a whole lot better!
My only beef is with AT&T … WHY do you continue to treat your loyal existing customers like 2nd Class citizens by charging 2-3x the price for upgrades? Ridiculous.
The world has changed AT&T — the iPhone is closer to a Computer than to one of your cheap commodity phones. Your service is an after-thought. If you want to “lock me in” then you need to do it by offer real value with the service and a sweet upgrade path so I can get the latest technology!
Have you seen the market you’ve created on Ebay and Craigslist for unlocked iPhones? That’s lost service revenue. Add it up! Not to mention the impending stampede when, not if, Verizon ever gets the iPhone!
Seriously, get with the program AT&T!!
Yeah, ATT is the only carrier that charges more for their phones if you don’t have an upgrade choice. They are all the same! The major difference is that you can at least buy UNLOCKED phones to use with ATT and I only buy unlocked phones (or unlock them myself). I am using an Iphone with an O2 sim card and am not spending a load of time worrying what ATT is going to do to me next. Jesus….
The “S” stands for “should have.” As in, most of these features “should have” been in the first generation iPhone.
Agreed. Or, as noted above, the S is for Sucker. Like all of us who paid $800 for the 3g nine months ago.