Today Apple did something it rarely does: announce a major upgrade to a product before it is even released. In this press release, Apple stated that the iPhone will have better battery life and a more durable screen than was previously specified.
As I noted in a previous blog post, the iPhone’s battery life has been criticized since it was announced during Steve Jobs’ MacWorld keynote address in January. Saturday Night Live joked that battery life expectancy was only 20 minutes (although the original specifications stated the iPhone’s battery would last about 5 hours). Apple is now saying that when the iPhone is released to the public next Friday, June 29, it “will deliver significantly longer battery life,” with “up to 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of internet use, 7 hours of video playback or 24 hours of audio playback.”
Perhaps an even more significant upgrade is the switch from a plastic touch screen to one made of “optical-quality glass.” Supposedly this will make the iPhone more resistant to scratches, a problem that I have seen with many of the iPods I have owned over the years.
What Apple did not state in the press release is whether these changes will make the iPod any heavier. The switch to glass from plastic could potentially add a bit of heft, but the iPhone’s specification page still lists the weight as 4.8 ounces (135 grams), as originally announced. One would think that the move to glass would at least add a gram or two, but apparently Apple has found a way to keep the iPhone’s weight constant. Amazing, if true.
What is also amazing is the ability of Apple to announce these changes less than two weeks before the product ships. Surely there must be some units already in the manufacturing pipeline. I have to wonder whether any of the iPhones that have already been created, such as the ones on display at MacWorld and those that have been given to elite technology reviewers (like the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg) will be retrofitted with glass screens. Perhaps the few iPhones that have plastic screens will become collector’s items…if they don’t get too many scratches on them.