The ToyBox

Ricardo Bilton & Gloria Sin
Home / News & Blogs / The ToyBox

Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know

By | June 7, 2010, 1:33pm PDT

Summary: Apple on Monday released its highly anticipated next-generation smartphone, the iPhone 4. Here’s everything you need to know.

Apple on Monday released its highly anticipated next-generation smartphone, the iPhone 4.

Here’s everything you need to know:

Availability

  • Available in-store June 24.
  • Pre-orders start June 15 for the U.S., France, U.K., Germany and Japan.
  • 16GB model $199; 32GB model $299.
  • Available in black and white.
  • The iPhone 3GS now sells for $99.

What’s new: outside

  • Yes, the prototype leaked by Gizmodo was the real deal.
  • What’s out: the curved look with metal back. What’s in: completely flat, with a thicker edge that’s a band of stainless steel alloy (5X stronger than steel) that serves as the phone’s antenna.
  • At 9.3 millimeters, it’s 34 percent thinner than the iPhone 3GS and is currently the thinnest smartphone on the market.
  • “Retina Display”: Four times the depth of 3GS. 3.5-inch multitouch IPS (”in-plane switching”), with 960 by 640 resolution. 320 pixels per inch. 800:1 contrast ratio. Oleophobic coating.
  • Front- and back-facing cameras. Back: 5-megapixel with LED flash, supports HD video. Front: VGA, up to 30fps.
  • It has split circular buttons for volume.
  • Second microphone for noise cancellation.
  • Micro-SIM standard.
  • Dimensions: 4.5 in. tall, 2.31 in. wide, 0.37 in. thick. Weight: 4.8 ounces. (a hair heavier than 3GS)

What’s new: inside

  • Processor: Apple A4, the same chip used by the iPad.
  • Battery: 16 percent bigger than 3GS; rated for 40 percent more talk time. Ratings: 7 hours talk; 6 hours 3G browsing; 10 hours Wi-Fi browsing; 10 hours video; 40 hours music; 300 hours standby.
  • Three-axis gyroscope joins existing accelerometer and compass.
  • Connectivity: UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only); Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

What’s new: software

  • iPhone OS becomes iOS; the new version is iOS 4.
  • Selective multitasking.
  • App folders for home screen.
  • FaceTime: videoconferencing over Wi-Fi only in 2010.
  • iMovie for iPhone, with up to 720p support.
  • iBooks: purchases load to iPhone, iPod, iPad (read: iOS devices) for no extra charge.
  • Photo and video geotagging.
  • Unified e-mail inbox.
  • Home screen wallpaper.

Watch Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveil the device:

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

More from “The ToyBox”

Topics

Apple iPhone, Apple Inc., Smart Phones, Cellular Phones, Handhelds, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Hardware, Andrew Nusca

Andrew J. Nusca is editor of ZDNet and SmartPlanet.

Disclosure

Andrew Nusca

Andrew J. Nusca does not hold any investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Andrew Nusca

Editor

Andrew J. Nusca is an editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet. As a journalist based in New York City, he has written for Popular Mechanics and Men's Vogue and his byline has appeared in New York magazine, The Huffington Post, New York Daily News, Editor & Publisher, New York Press and many others. He also writes The Editorialiste, a media criticism blog.

He is a New York University graduate and former news editor and columnist of the Washington Square News. He is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has been named "Howard Kurtz, Jr." by film critic John Lichman despite having no relation to him. He lives in his native Philadelphia with his wife, cat and Boston Terrier.

Follow him on Twitter.

Related Discussions on TechRepublic

Did you know you can take part in these discussions with your ZDNet membership?
Ask a Question Start a Discussion
85
Comments
Add Your Opinion

Join the conversation!

Just In

RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
atwood@... 25th Jun 2010
With GPS, three-axis gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, and communications the Iphone4 has, in principle, everything needed for flying an airplane in instrument conditions, and it costs less than the 50 to 100k that private pilots pay for a "glass panel" Do I hear a very high price app coming?
View in thread
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
Droid101 7th Jun 2010
They list "home screen wallpaper" as a big feature?

This is pathetic.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
Pete "athynz" Athens 7th Jun 2010
@Droid101 It's something it could not (due to programming not hardware specs BTW) do before so yes it is a new feature... not a particularly noteworthy one but still.

And the fact that you find that minor thing to home in on sounds like pure jealousy and some mad hatin for the iPhone...
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
kd342002 8th Jun 2010
@athynz Its also something the jailbreak community has been able to do since day one O_O
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
shadfurman 8th Jun 2010
@kd14523452345whatever... exactly. Not so much a software limitation.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
blakjak.au 8th Jun 2010
@athynz Or possibly, like the rest of us non-iPhone users, custom wallpapers is just par for the course and he's a bit pissed that apple are all about hyping features that we've expected everywhere else for 5 years.
0 Votes
+ -
Sounds like the religion of Android is scared. (nt)
Bruizer 7th Jun 2010
@Droid101
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
Speednet 8th Jun 2010
@Bruizer - Actually, Android users have animated wallpaper.

My Droid phone has a spinning galaxy that actually changes perspective (but continues to smoothly animate) as you move left and right to other pages. I have no idea how they manage it without battery drain. Smart developers.

Anyway, the new iPhone is one great looking piece of hardware. I love Apple products (I'm an iPad owner). But it's still good to be objective, and to realize that adding the ability to change the wallpaper to a different image should be mentioned in the release notes, not as a major new feature.
0 Votes
+ -
"Available in black and white." Black and white? WOW... double WOW
OS Reload 7th Jun 2010
I wonder if anyone will pick black and white.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
eireannjon 7th Jun 2010
@OS Reload I think they mean the casing colour scheme and not the display
0 Votes
+ -
iPhone in Black & White
sip01 8th Jun 2010
@OS Reload

My son has two phones and is due upgrades on both (UK), so he is getting two new iPhones, one White and one Black (wonder if the backs will swap out, making them truly black&white?).
0 Votes
+ -
It would be REALLY cool if it had an eInk case to custom change
shadfurman 8th Jun 2010
@OS Reload ... but it doesn't have that feature... its lame... I won't buy one.
0 Votes
+ -
Very impressive
People 7th Jun 2010
They keep raising the bar. Hand held videoconferencing is now mainstream. The gyro is unexpected. Will be interesting how this will be used.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
ootf11_z 7th Jun 2010
@People I'm guessing the gyro will allow you to stand on one leg in a gale force wind while texting without falling over!
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
heymikemason 7th Jun 2010
@People:
It sure is mainstream. My Nokia's had it for five years! More "Look we just invented this" from Steve & co.
0 Votes
+ -
And Nokia still could not take it mainstream.
Bruizer 7th Jun 2010
@heymikemason

And your point it? WM did browsing for years too. Poorly.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
heymikemason 8th Jun 2010
@Bruizer
"And your point it?" My point IS that Apple famously pretends they invent things. You know, multi-touch? Whether or not the implementation is superior, claiming you created something which someone else has created is dishonest. You know, in the literary world it's called PLAGIARISM. So if you build a better mousetrap, by all means toot your own horn. But don't walk in the room dressed as George Jetson and say, "I invented the mousetrap."
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
msalzberg 9th Jun 2010
@heymikemason

Can you point out where Apple used the word "invent?"
0 Votes
+ -
Ho Humm
Baer 7th Jun 2010
I guess the Apple fans will dump their older iPhones and run to get this one but my next phone is going to be a Droid.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
rhonin 7th Jun 2010
@Baer
I want a Streak.
but may get a 4G for the games happy
oh wait. higher resolution will mess with a lot of them.
crap!
0 Votes
+ -
Nope.
Bruizer 7th Jun 2010
@zenwalker

The higher res won't mess with any of them. Why would it?
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
bo138150 8th Jun 2010
@Baer
They can do that but the new contract will not have unlimited pricing and a $350 early termination fee...I am with you I am getting the Sprint 4G evo that has video conferencing and doesnt have to be on WIFI. A friend got one this weekend and it rocks...
0 Votes
+ -
I might get a 3gs
shadfurman 8th Jun 2010
@Baer ... not an iPhone fan, but with the flood of last gen iPhones bound to hit ebay, I may buy one. Can't get a droid for as cheap I'm sure they'll be goin for.
0 Votes
+ -
yep - droid for me too!
nickull 7th Jun 2010
Sorry but I don't want any App-holes censoring what I watch or browse. Back AND white and new homescreens? they're really reaching for features. FEH!!!
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
Pete "athynz" Athens 7th Jun 2010
@nickull Sure you'll now go to the mobile OS that tracks every single thing you do - Big Brother Google is watching...
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
davidpietersen@... 7th Jun 2010
I was super-cross when I saw this article as I just got a 3Gs last week from my work (I could have held out a few weeks).

Now, meh... not so cross after all. I would rather have had a few extra weeks of free calls.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
davesully 7th Jun 2010
It's a gorgeous device- I'll grant you that- and even though HTC jumped them in getting video conferencing out over 3G.
What I want to know is what "Expanded Enterprise Support" means. Supporting multiple Exchange accounts doesn't make this platform any closer to the high bar set by RIM in the Enterprise arena.
If this device wasn't on AT&T I'd jump to it right away for my personal use- but no way I'd be looking at it for business with the details out so far.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
Rama.NET Updated - 7th Jun 2010
@davesully
look at the BI applications that are targeted for this platform. There are plenty of tools that would make BI Reporting easier on iPhone. All these days only Windows Mobile enjoyed this feature, now iPhone also supports it. If by any chance, Apple could convince Microsoft to get SharePoint client for iPhone, that would definitely be it. :-)
--Ram--
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
davesully 8th Jun 2010
@Rama.NET
I'm not talking about BI, I'm talking about security and control.
The platform is a pain in the sphincter to configure for any kind of security- and has no ability to filter or log, and configuring apps to be installed enterprise-wide is just this side of impossible, even if you write the app within the enterprise.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
pdivenyi 7th Jun 2010
Yuppie! We can finally dump AT&T!...
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
adelarosa@... 7th Jun 2010
I will we continue using my BlackBerry...
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
RaymondPlus 7th Jun 2010
The styling reminds me of Nokia N96 couple of years back (yawn). It too had a camera for videoconferencing, and a 5-meg one at the back, multitasking, wallpaper...
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
grantgriffiths 7th Jun 2010
iPhone 4 "changes everything again." iPhone still on AT&T and that just means it is the same thing again, again and again.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
LStewart 7th Jun 2010
OMG!!!!! I can't believe that the Apple faithful think that two separate buttons for volume up and down are a new thing.

Ahhhh.....Apple make the obvious for the oblivious 20+ years and counting!!!!
0 Votes
+ -
I can't believe the Apple haters are so dumb...
Bruizer 7th Jun 2010
as to think there have not always been two buttons (on a center pivot rocker, but two buttons) all along.

Apple haters. Stating the stupid for 20+ years and counting.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
egads@... 7th Jun 2010
It will take HTC about, oh, 4 months to match or exceed the features they don't already have....
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
outdplay@... 7th Jun 2010
@egads@... While I do love HTC phones, the industrial design on this new iphone is just astounding... Glass on both sides, Stainless steel band, etc... It is gorgeous. As I always say, you modify a civic to be faster than a porsche, but the porsche will always be the looker, slow or fast.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
rhonin 7th Jun 2010
@outdplay@...
Yep new!
and was seen several years ago in the Nokia camp.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
rmillersbs 7th Jun 2010
"a band of stainless steel alloy (5X stronger than steel)" Um... Bahaha (sorry). Stainless steel is simply a trademarked steel, alloyed with chromium so as not to rust. It is not measurably stronger or weaker than non-chomium steel. Steel 'strength' has more do do with the carbon content (steel is iron + carbon), heat treating, and the percentage of various other metals in the alloy. I hope the article didnt pull the 5X stregth nonsense from Apple, because if in fact Apple had developed an iron based material 5 times stronger than 'regular' steel, iPhones would be a side business. - signed, the Hype Police
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
Rama.NET 7th Jun 2010
@rmillersbs
Good one. grin
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
bo138150 8th Jun 2010
@rmillersbs

Great call....does it also clean with the power of Oxygen like oxyclean. USe words people understand but try to confuse them into thinking it is better. Someone in marketing things they are very smart today...thanks for bringing them back down to earth
0 Votes
+ -
What I am NOT seeing
RobertbEZ 7th Jun 2010
It sounds impressive that the music I buy for my iPod will be on the new i4. But... will there be a vehicle to get what I already own from iTunes onto the i4?

I had hoped that the new i4 would do something to attract the business users from Blackberry. As a business email device, the i4 may be very fast BUT it does not seem as good on business email as my Blackberry Tour and it sounds like I should stay with my Blackberry!
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
msalzberg 9th Jun 2010
@RobertbEZ

"will there be a vehicle to get what I already own from iTunes onto the i4?"

Yes, you plug your new iPhone4 into your computer and use iTunes.
0 Votes
+ -
Average overall
Peter Perry Updated - 7th Jun 2010
iPhone meets wii motion plus with a new screen and still less overall features than Android 2.1 or 2.2...

Honestly, when the accelerometer was first introduced in the wii It was cool and really the idea of having it in the phone was cool but impractical considering that you couldn't see the screen while bowling or golfing... Basically, adding wii motion plus to the phone just because you can doesn't make it practical.

As for the screen, this is nice and all but a few android phones come close to the resolution and honestly the HTC EVO real estate is much better to me.

Anyway, I really hope some Apple fans see the light here and at least look at the EVO, Droid 2 or other new Android devices as they just might find they (iphone users that is) are the AOL users of this generation.
0 Votes
+ -
*sniff*
oncall 7th Jun 2010
@Peter Perry

"I really hope some Apple fans see the light here"

Now I am feeling totally inadequate because my 3GS is so "feature deprived" sad
0 Votes
+ -
It has nothing to do with that...
Peter Perry 7th Jun 2010
@oncall

It has nothing to do with whether your 3GS is feature deprived or not (it is of course unless it is jailbroken)... This has to do with people who will blindly upgrade the phone to this because it is an Apple product when there are better products on the market.
0 Votes
+ -
Apple understand this normal consumer behavior
oncall 7th Jun 2010
@Peter
People favor brands that have consistently delivered a positive experience. This works for everything: cars to coffee makers, computers to cell phones. Give people a reason to shop elsewhere and they will. Apple doesn't.
0 Votes
+ -
But even iPhone OS 2.0 is more usable than Froyo.
Bruizer 7th Jun 2010
@Peter Perry

What good are "features" wrapped in poorly thought out design?
0 Votes
+ -
What everyone posting fails to realize...
TylerM89 7th Jun 2010
Is that all of these features may not be new, but to have all of them in a polished package is.

The fact they can fit every single one of these features in the thinest phone on the market says a lot. Why isn't anyone else doing it?

Heck, the iPhone can now load multiple Exchange mailboxes - Even Windows Mobile can't do that yet.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
rhonin 7th Jun 2010
@TylerM89
Ummmm - I can do multiple exchane onmy jb 3GS and can on my Samsung Epix.... sooooo what is so new?
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
Kiltedbear 7th Jun 2010
So. What.

There should be a limit on how many times you can use "changes everything" as a marketing slogan. It's been used by them so much, it's starting to sound pathetic.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Apple iPhone 4: Everything you need to know
atwood@... 25th Jun 2010
With GPS, three-axis gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, and communications the Iphone4 has, in principle, everything needed for flying an airplane in instrument conditions, and it costs less than the 50 to 100k that private pilots pay for a "glass panel" Do I hear a very high price app coming?

Join the conversation!

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
ie8 fix

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Facebook Activity

Blog Roll

Blog Archive

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
ie8 fix