Yesterday was Apple's big keynote at the WWDC conference. Apple has posted a streaming video here, and the highlights and my thoughts are as follows.
A few numbers
Starting with some of the general iPhone statistics that were announced yesterday, there are now 50,000 iPhone apps in the App Store and over 40 million iPhone and iPod Touch units have been sold. Over 1 billion apps were downloaded as of April 23, 2009; Apple hasn't updated the number since then.
iPhone Software 3.0
Many of the details we already knew, but there were a few new tidbits, including the release date -- Wednesday, June 17. You will be able to purchase and download movies, TV shows and audiobooks directly on the iPhone, making it possible to grab a copy of a movie while you are waiting for your plane to board. You can use tethering to share your iPhone's 3G data connection with your computer, but AT&T support for tethering isn't coming until later. And Safari on the iPhone is faster and better with new features such as autofill.
One nice new feature is Find My iPhone. If you have Apple's $100 a year MobileMe (only $68.99 from Amazon
Apple also showed off various new third party apps for the iPhone, including a TomTom GPS app with turn-by-turn directions that looks very slick -- but no price was announced.
iPhone 3GS
But the big new news was the introduction of the iPhone 3GS, which will be available Friday, June 19. The new iPhone 3GS looks the same as the prior iPhone, so rather than post a picture of the iPhone 3GS, let's take a look at the Apple IIgs introduced back in 1986:
The big news about the iPhone 3GS is not the look, but instead the speed. The "S" stands for speed. It is way faster than the Apple IIgs, and several times faster than the iPhone 3G when lauching messages, viewing attachments, loading apps, viewing web pages, etc., overall an average of twice as fast. The new iPhone 3GS will also work on AT&T's upcoming 7.2 Mbps 3G network. There is also a much better, 3 megapixel camera with autofocus, manual focus, better low light sensitivity, and macro photo capabilities. The camera can also be used to capture video, 30 frames per second VGA with auto focus.
The iPhone 3GS also includes slick voice control features. Just hold down the home button for a second and a voice control interface launches which can be used to not only control the phone (hands free dialing) but also control the iPod.
The iPhone 3GS's compass can be used to orient a map to the direction that you are facing. I've often used the iPhone map to figure out where I was only to then be confused as to which way I was facing when trying to orient myself on the map. The compass is a minor, but still useful, addition.
Another new iPhone 3GS feature is hardware encryption of data on the iPhone. I look forward to learning more about this one, but with more and more sensitive information on your iPhone, better security is always welcome.
And finally, even with all of these new features, the iPhone also features better battery life. Click here for a video from Apple on the new iPhone 3GS features.
Pricing is a little complicated. If you are new to AT&T or if your AT&T contract is over, then the price is $199 for a 16 GB version and $299 for a 32 GB version, plus you can get the 2008-09 generation iPhone 8GB for $99 and, while supplies last, the 2008-09 generation iPhone 16 GB for $149.
But if you currently have an iPhone 3G and want a 3GS -- which means that, pretty much by definition, you are under a year into your 2 year contract -- then the price is more expensive. If AT&T deems you to be eligible, then you can take advantage of the $199/$299 prices, but I have heard mixed reports about how far you need to be in your contract. Some are saying 1 year from when you purchased your iPhone 3G (which for earlier adopters is late July), some are saying 18 months. If you don't want to wait that long, iPTIB and AppleInsider report that current iPhone 3G customers can still get a 3GS but then have to tack $200 on those prices -- $399 for the 16 GB and $499 for the 32 GB version. Or you can get contract-free versions for $599/$699.
UPDATE: The pricing is still confusing to me. An AT&T telephone representative just told me that he had just gotten an update from the company and that there is no $399/$499 price, that the $199/$299 price will not be available to me until I am 23 months into my 24 month contract, and that my only option to upgrade before then is the $599/$699 price. Other websites have different reports on the upgrade prices, such as these: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. I suspect it will be June 19, if not later, before we really know the cost for upgrades. (Apple has a webpage to help you decide your eligibility to upgrade on AT&T, but for some reason it isn't working for me.) [UPDATE 6/23/09: My local AT&T store told me today that if you bought an iPhone 3G in July, August or September of 2008 and you spend over $99 a month on your bill, then you can upgrade to a new model for $199/$299. My bill is over $99, but I have a basic plan and no text messages; it is only more than $99 because both my wife and I are on the same plan. But that was enough, so I just bought the 32 GB model for $299.]
Thoughts
I am excited about the iPhone 3GS. The increased speed will be very nice, and after hearing the news today my current iPhone 3G already seems slower. The better camera will be incredibly useful for those in-the-moment pictures.
I am very interested in the video capabilities. I have always thought that it might be nice to have one of those tiny video cameras like the Flip just in case my son does something funny that I want to quickly capture on video, but even the Flip is one more thing I have to carry. Having decent quality video built in to my iPhone is something that I suspect that I will use frequently because my iPhone is almost always in my pocket. Indeed, as Chris Breen points out in this thoughtful piece on Macworld, the iPhone is slowly starting to replace other devices such as a Flip video camera, a GPS with turn-by-turn, etc.: "How many iPhone owners would buy a pocket calculator, portable CD player, PIM, pocket recorder, VOIP handset, handheld gaming device, and, soon, universal remote, handheld GPS, or pocket camcorder?" In a few years, I suspect that there will be many categories of gadgets that are made unnecessary as the iPhone becomes a jack of many more trades.
The iPhone 3G was already the best smartphone, and between the reduced price for the 3G model and the new features in the 3GS -- combined with the new features of the iPhone Software 3.0 -- Apple has really blown away the competition. There should be no mystery why Palm wanted to hurry to introduce the Pre and have at least a few days in the limelight before WWDC.
To me, the big question is whether current iPhone owners should upgrade. If you have a first generation iPhone, you will likely be able to take advantage of the $199/$299 prices, and the upgrade seems like an easy decision. For iPhone 3G owners, is it worth paying $200 more? That's a tougher question. For one thing, until AT&T figures out the upgrade prices, it may not even be a $200 premium. If that is the price, my current thinking for heavy iPhone users is that the upgrade may be worth it -- the speed will make the iPhone more enjoyable to use, the video will be very useful, and the improved battery life is always welcome -- but we have two weeks to let the new features sink in and think about this.
With the $99 price for the low end iPhone, the already popular iPhone will gain even more new customers. With the new features in the iPhone 3GS and iPhone Software 3.0, Apple is making the iPhone more powerful and magical. And I love knowing that thousands of developers are at WWDC this week, learning even more about creating amazing apps and accessories for the iPhone. It is a great time for the iPhone.
