512 Pixels

And that voice sounds like a female robot.

Joking aside, Siri looks incredible. It seems way more futuristic than FaceTime did a year ago.

The iPod touch got a splash of white paint a new price point, but not much else.

Nowhere on Apple’s tech specs page for the iPod touch does it mention what CPU the device has inside. My guess — based on Apple not touting an A5 — that the “new” iPod touch isn’t all that new after all, and still has an A4 under the hood.

This is surprising to me. Maybe Apple couldn’t source enough parts or get the price right.¹ Maybe the iPod touch is too thin to stuff a big enough battery in its chassis.

Whatever the reason, the A5 seems to smoke the A4 when it comes to gaming performance.

The very thing Apple pimps as the iPod touch’s reason for being.

Furthermore, the iPod touch didn’t get 1080P video recording. Or an IPS display. Or better battery life.

The iPod touch feels less like an “iPhone without the phone” and more like “an old iPhone without the phone.”

Holy moly, that’s a lot of data to move.

CNET’s David Carnoy needs to buy some big-boy pants.

Well, it’s here. And it’s got a familiar face.

With all new insides, the iPhone 4S keep the same glass/steel ice cream sandwich design we’ve all become very familiar with since last summer.

In fact, the 4S is exactly the same, except for two minor changes:

• It weighs 3 grams more than the iPhone 4.
• It now has four symmetric notches in the steel band, like the CDMA iPhone 4 and a micro-SIM slot on the side, like the GSM version.

Side by side, no normal, non-nerd human would notice.

So why would Apple do this?

The “Apple Screwed Up” Theory

Some people have been tweeting something along these lines:

Apple couldn’t get the iPhone 5 right, so they had to ship the new phone in the old case.

I’ve got a few responses to this.

1. Even if Apple did have issues with an “all-new” iPhone design, it isn’t late or delayed until Apple makes a deadline public and misses the ship date.
2. Even if Apple did have issues with an “all-new” iPhone design, do you think any of us would ever know about it?
3. Let’s say that Apple did have issues with a new design. It’s not as easy to just slap new guts in an old case and ship a device. Apple’s hardware group spent serious time and energy on this device. Before you think that’s why this announcement didn’t happen in the summer, visit points 1 and 2 in this list.

If it Ain’t Broke…

The iPhone 4 is an amazing looking device. Its clean lines, neat edges and solid feel are a very hard combination to beat. Consumers seem to love it.

I think it isn’t unreasonable at this point to assume that moving forward, Apple will be on a two-year cycle with the iPhone. Most US customers are stuck on two-year contracts, so why release a brand-new iPhone every year?

Apple iterates its products. Revolution, then evolution. The iPhone 4S, like the iPhone 3GS before it, is an evolution of an already good design. Nothing more.

Apple has unveiled AppleCare+ for iPhone. It’s $99, must be purchased with a new iPhone and includes a new feature:

AppleCare+ for iPhone extends repair coverage and technical support to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone and adds coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage due to handling, each subject to a $49 service fee.

(Emphasis mine.)

Apple’s new iPhone looks like the iPhone 4, but packs a A5, a better camera and battery and Siri-powered voice control. Oh, and gone are the CDMA and GSM variants — Apple is shipping one world phone. Here in the US, it means AT&T, Verizon and Sprint owners can all join the fun.

Starting at $199 on October 14.

I woke up to a text message from Myke, sharing this news with me about our new podcast:

Chris Davies has an issue with expectations.

The only thing I hate more than skeuomorphic design? Location-based social apps.

In a few hours, Apple is expected to unveil its new iPhone.

But the company hasn’t said that’s what’s planned, let alone what features and specs will be present on the new handset.

In a world full of sites like Mac Rumors, AppleInsider and Boy Genius Reports, it is hard to keep clear what’s been announced, and what’s been rumored so heavily that it begins to feel true.

This time around, it seems like the noise leading up to tomorrow’s event is even louder than normal. Stories about the iPhone 4S (and/or the iPhone 5) have been clogging up my feedreader for weeks. Even non-nerds have been asking me what I think about Apple’s new “teardrop” design.

It’s madness, plain and simple.

I understand why people are excited. Apple creates products people connect with, and people are ready for something new.

They expect something new.

Apple has released an iPhone every summer since 2007, except for this year. WWDC came and went with no new hardware.

Since then, many people have claimed — including myself — that Apple can’t release a spec-only update to the iPhone 4, since the device has been on the market for 16 months. It would be a let-down, a disaster, a failure.

This, of course, is just based on our own expectations. We expect that — given the extra time — Apple’s hardware team has whipped up something shiny and new, far removed from the iPhone 4s we’ve all been carrying around for so long.

Whatever Apple announces tomorrow, some people are bound to be disappointed. That’s what expectations do when they grow out of control. Apple doesn’t owe us anything — including an iPhone 5. Remember that as you pre-order your new phone tomorrow.

The best iOS photo app just got better.