Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon Communications Inc, said the new iPhones would work on the carrier’s “ultra-wideband” 5G network, designed to alleviate bottlenecks in major cities such as New York and Los Angeles, as well as areas crowded like NFL stadiums.
Apple said that all iPhone 12 models in the United States will support 5G millimeter wave, the fastest variant of the technology, as well as low-frequency bands. Some rival Android devices only support the lower frequency versions of 5G.
The iPhone 12, with a 6.1-inch screen, has flat sides with a flush screen, similar to the company’s iPhone 5 and a departure from the rounded edges of recent years.
The new phone will have a glass cover with “ceramic protection” to resist cracks when dropped.
Apple also announced a HomePod Mini smart speaker that will come in white and gray, cost $ 99, and will ship beginning 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 get directions to a store after asking HomePod what time it closes. Many of the features serve to catch up with similar offerings from Amazon.com Inc and Google from Alphabet Inc.
The annual launch event is almost a month later than normal and comes as the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted Apple’s well-oiled machine to design and produce its best-selling product.
The iPhones announced on Tuesday will test whether Apple can sustain that streak and ride a wave of consumer enthusiasm around 5G wireless data networks, whose faster variants exceed the data speeds of their predecessors by several times. Android devices from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and others have introduced the new network capabilities for months, and analysts say 5G phones are driving the updates.
But Apple is in a delicate position to have to excite consumers about 5G without causing disappointment: For many of its fans, it will be their first experience with 5G networks, which in the United States are years away from offering dramatic speed. drives for most consumers. Some analysts worry that Apple will sell a high-powered sports car while its customers remain confined to the quiet roads of the villages.
Shares of Apple fell 2.7% on Tuesday, after rising 6% the day before, adding $ 128 billion to its market value.
In January, Apple stopped providing financial guidance, citing the uncertainty of the pandemic. But despite waves of retail store closures and travel bans that delayed iPhone development because Apple engineers were unable to cross the Pacific to Chinese factories so frequently, Apple’s financial results have largely weathered the decline. pandemic.
In July, with its most recent earnings, the company posted year-over-year revenue gains across all categories and across all geographies as consumers working and learning from home during the COVID-19 pandemic turned to its products and services.
Last month, Apple launched new watch models with blood oxygen sensors and updated its iPad models while launching a new bundle of its paid subscription services called Apple One.
The company has also pledged to introduce new Mac computers before the end of the year based on processors of its own design rather than those from Intel Corp.
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