Apple's 2012 September event recap

Today, Apple hosted its annual September event where new product and software updates are announced. This year was pretty big, with the revealing of the iPhone 5, fifth generation iPod Touch, seventh generation iPod Nano, and the GM (Gold Master) version of iOS 6 beta. Over the next few days, we'll be covering those key announcements. In this blog, I'll be going over the latest and greatest flagship Apple mobile device: The iPhone 5.

Each new iPhone brings something to the table. The iPhone 3G had introduced the 3G network to Apple products. The iPhone 4 brought a new body design. The 4S had Siri and the A5. Now the iPhone 5 has a whole slew of features for the iPhone legacy. For the first time since the creation of the first iPhone, the 5 has a larger screen, adding 176 pixels to the top to create a 4 inch 1136x960 16:9 display, which is supposed to be 44% more saturated than the iPhones before it. The body, while looking similar to the 4 and 4S, is now tow-toned and much more put-together: no more plastic gaps on the side. It's all finished metal, and it's supposed to feel wonderful to hold. Also a first since the original iPhone, the 30-pin dock connector has been replaced with a Lightning connector, which is significantly smaller. The iPhone 5 is also the first 4G iPhone, with an LTE antenna. A new A6 processor, better iSight camera on the back, 720p FaceTime camera on the front, and full iOS 6 integration round off the little improvements from the iPhone 4S's specs.

All of that looks good and dandy. A big jump from the iPhone 4S in terms of specs, and that's good. The one thing I think myself along with a lot of other Apple fans and iPhone owners & developers will have a problem with is the new different screen size. Since the first iPhone, the screen of every iPhone and iPod Touch has been 4:3. Now, all of a sudden, the new iPhone and very likely every other iPhone to come is going to be 16:9. It literally changes everything. Every little iPhone wallpaper site is going to have to start stocking 1136x640 images and shelving all the "old" 960x640 ones. Developers are going to start focusing on the new resolution and leave the old as a "second thought," and existing apps are going to have to be updated. But not updated  with double the resolution, like when the Retina Display became the standard. By just 176 pixels. I know that the screen can't stay the same forever, but why raise it by .5 inches? It just looks weird when compared to all the other iPhones and iPod Touches too. It's just a bit too tall. Hopefully it'll still fit in my pocket without poking out oddly. And I bet this is just the initial shock of change. After it becomes the norm, there won't be any fuss about it.

Other than that, the new iPhone is a promising new addition to Apple's lineup of revolutionary mobile devices. It'll be interesting to see how it compares in sales to the last few iPhones. All that with time.