KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -
It's the day many techies wait for every year. When Apple opens up and shows off its latest smartphone.
"There certainly was no shortage of hype leading up to today," said Ramsey Mohsen.
But this year, Mohsen, a Kansas City tech blogger said there were no big surprises.
"The first iPhone was revolutionary. They called it an iconic device. To do that over and over and over again is really difficult," Mohsen said. "All of the leaks throughout the year and especially in the last few weeks, all of them seemed to be correct and true."
The iPhone 5 will hit stores Sept. 21, pre-orders start Friday. It has a bigger 4-inch screen, a faster 4G LTE data connection, and a quicker processor, but many are asking if this is the time to upgrade their phone.
"In general none of those specs are what we would call revolutionary or the next iconic device. They are nice little upgrades," Mohsen said. "It's going to be tough for those people who have a 4S to justify the upgrade unless they really need to have the next Apple product that's out."
iPhone user Richard Child's was at Apple's plaza store when the announcement was made. He said even though his current iPhone does everything he needs it to, he'll probably buy the new one.
"I always like the latest and Apple always does a good job of bringing it," Childs said.
Mohsen said the iPhone 5 will probably break sales records set by the iPhone 4S last year, as more and more users' contracts are up.
"Apple will still sell a ton of devices - not just because of the brand and marketing, they're really great at that - but just because of the life cycle of purchasing a new phone," Mohsen said.
Apple also introduced a new dock connector Wednesday. It's smaller than the old 30-pin connector. Mohsen said that may be the most overlooked aspect of the iPhone 5's launch.
"Anything you've got for the existing iPhone, you're going to need an adapter in order for them to work. Which has huge implications if you think about how many devices have the larger connector," Mohsen said.
The new iPhone will cost $199 for the 16 GB model. The year old 4S gets a price drop to $99, and the 2-year-old iPhone 4 is now free. All of those prices are dependent on subsidies from a two year contract with your carrier.
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