Steve Jobs outlined the features of the new iPhone 4 at Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference on 7 June … still no radio.
New features of the next generation iPhone, the thinnest iPhone yet, include video chat, improved camera, 720p 30 fps video and a new 960×640 pixel display, but radio listening will remain limited to apps.
However, iOS 4 (“phone” has been removed from the name of the iPhone OS) will support some degree of multitasking. Jobs demonstrated the Pandora app running in the background while browsing the Web and reading e-mail.
The FaceTime video chat function will allow iPhone 4 users to see each other while talking. It works only from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 and only over wi-fi connections at this point. While chatting, users can switch between the small front-facing camera and the primary camera on the back of the iPhone to allow chatters to see what the other person is seeing.
The new camera on the back of the unit is a 5 MP camera with a LED flash. A backside illumination sensor purports to provide better images in low-light situations, which could be handy for taking pictures at a club or concert for posting to a station website.
The same camera and LED light are used for video recording, and Apple is launching an iMovie for iPhone app, which allows users to shoot, edit and distribute video all from their iPhone. The app will be offered through the Apple App Store for $4.99.
The improved display technology, called Retina, is LED-TFT IPS based. It is the same technology as used in Apple LED Cinema Displays and the iPad, and Apple claims it is superior to OLED technology.
The battery in the iPhone 4 is also bigger and the A4 chip, another technology adopted from the iPad, is billed as helping the phone run more efficiently, which means more usable time on each charging cycle.
While much of the initial reaction to the Apple iPhone 4 remains positive, it remains available only on the AT&T network at this point … and it still doesn’t have a radio.
This article was updated on June 8 with additional details about the iPhone 4.
