The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets have been announced over at Apple’s media event.
And you could have one within your paws come the 19th.
Per Mac|Life, Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil W. Schiller introduced the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which will be available for preorder on September 12th, with in-store availability coming September 19th.
In addition to a Retina Display HD and A8 processor, Schiller outlined a new addition to the iPhone 6’s M8 coprocessor lineup with a new barometer sensor, which measures relative elevation from air pressure — perfect for capturing footsteps moving up or down stairs, for example.
Wireless has also been further improved on iPhone 6, with a new, advanced 150Mbps LTE that takes advantage of 20 different LTE bands — more than any other smartphone, according to Apple. Cupertino is now working with 200 LTE carriers around the globe, with support for Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Wi-Fi calling as well.
With regard to the new iPhone 6 camera, the smartphones feature an 8MP iSight camera with True Tone LED flash, with a sensor that promises to take better photos than ever before. Other improvements include up to 43MP support for Panorama mode using a next-generation gyroscope, advanced face detection, and a new “best shot” mode.
Other new features include Focus Pixels for continuous autofocus, a new Time-Lapse photo mode; the front-facing camera also gains FaceTime HD, with a new sensor capable of bringing in 81 percent more light with improved face detection, and a new “burst selfie” mode.
Although both handsets feature nearly identical camera features, Schiller noted that only the iPhone 6 Plus will feature optical image stabilization (OIS).
Together with iOS 8, the iPhone 6 starts at US$199 for 16GB, entirely omitting the 32GB model and jumping straight to 64GB for US$299 and 128GB for US$399, albeit these are standard prices for a two-year agreement with a wireless carrier.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 6 Plus starts at US$299 for 16GB, US$399 for 64GB, and US$499 for 128GB on contract, with the iPhone 5S dropping to US$99 and the iPhone 5C now available absolutely free on contract.
Preorders for both new iPhone 6 models begins on Friday, September 12th, with availability in many countries starting Friday, September 19th; Apple expects to deliver the handset to 115 countries before the end of the year.
As always, let us know what you make of the new handsets in the comments.