Today’s WWDC announcements were a whirlwind for me, as I was focused on getting the facts up on TUAW as quickly as possible. Here are my initial thoughts on the iPhone 4. More thoughtful posts are forthcoming.
The body
The prototype Gizmodo had was very close to the final product. I still think the band of metal that surrounds the edges, protruding buttons and visible screws are atypical of Apple. But I’m thrilled with Apple’s decision to use glass on the back. I’ve owned two iPhones now, an original model and a 3GS. While the backs got scratched, the unprotected displays remained scratch-free and beautiful.
It’s quite thin at 0.37 inch and I’m curious to see what the flat back panel feels like. That’s the clincher, really. I’ve got to hold one.
Gyroscope
I didn’t expect this. The gyroscope and accelerometer give iPhone 4 six-axis motion sensing. Can you imagine games like Zen Bound with this? I’m eager to see what developers do with it.
Retina Display
I assumed the iPhone’s display would be improved, and boy was it ever. At 960 x 640 — 326 pixels per inch — it’s impressive to say the least. Check this out: Apple actually developed a new pixel for the iPhone 4. One so small — 78 micrometers across — that the human eye can’t distinguish between them. That means that the edges of text will have edges as clearly defined as they do in print. No more anti-aliasing. But it’s not just text; photos, webpages and videos will look just tremendous on this display.
FaceTime
This will be a tremendous hit and iPhone 4′s most talked-about feature. Of course, you need 2 iPhones to make it work. Good job, Apple.
But seriously, the obvious use case is with kids (I’m sure more time will let me come up with more). Mine will be elated to talk to me, their grandparents and their aunties with something small enough that they can carry around. The option to switch between the front and rear camera mid-call, moving from “look at me” to “look at what I’m seeing” was inspired. No one else does this, and it’s going to be absolutely huge.
The new camera
Five megapixels, an LED flash, HD video (720p) and upload-from-where-you-stand convenience make my Flip camera nervous. A real shocker was the announcement of iMovie for iPhone. I simply cannot imagine editing video on something that small, let alone with my fingers in the way, but I’ll reserve judgement until I’ve used it.
With this update, the iPhone maintains its reputation as a lust-worthy gadget. I cannot wait to get my hands on one.
