The iPhone 5S and 5C

Apple held a special event yesterday, the 10th of September, to unveil their new iPhones - the 5C and 5S. A lot of leaked images and rumours showered the web before the launch, most of which happened to be true. Most surprisingly, the iPhone 5 has now been dropped from Apple's iPhone line-up.

The low-cost iPhone 5C was unveiled first, in which the 'C' presumably stands for 'colour'. It comes in a dazzling range of colours: yellow, red, blue, white and green. Silicone covers of the same colours are available for £25, they have holes on the back to create the "two-tone effect". Phil Schiller stated "There's colour throughout the product. Volume buttons, switches. The entire back and sides is made from a single part, and the front is a one glass multitouch surface."

The 5C has a steel-reinforced structure and a hard-coated polycarbonate back, making it more durable. Just like the iPhone 5, it has an A6 chip and a stunning 4-inch Retina display. The iPhone 5C's battery is a bit bigger than the iPhone 5's, therefore increasing battery life. It stands at 124.4 mm, it's 59.2 mm wide, 8.97 mm thin and weighs just 132 grams. The iPhone 5C has an 8 megapixel back facing iSight camera, which shoots 1080p HD video at 30fps. The rear camera features an LED flash, a backside illumination sensor, a five-element lense and a hybrid IR filter. The FaceTime camera shoots 720p HD video and has a backside illumination sensor too.


The iPhone 5C is available to pre-order from the 13th of September. Here are the prices:
- 16GB for £469
- 32GB for £549


Moving on to the iPhone 5S - as Schiller said: "The 5S is the most forward-thinking phone Apple has ever created. Perhaps the most forward-thinking phone anyone has ever made." 

It comes in three cool colours: silver, gold and space grey. As speculated, the iPhone 5S has the same 4-inch Retina display. It's 123.8 mm tall, 58.6 mm wide, 7.6 mm thin and weighs only 112 grams. The iPhone 5S features a super fast 64-bit A7 chip and an M7 motion coprocessor. The A7 chip is claimed to be up to twice as fast as the previous chip; and the CPU performance has apparently risen by 40x since the first iPhone - half of that increase coming from the A7.  The graphics have risen by an astonishing 56x since the first iPhone, and once again half of that increase comes with the A7.  The new M7 motion coprocessor "takes advantage of all the sensors and continuously measures the data coming from the gyroscope, accelerometer and compass without having to wake up the A7." This presumably saves battery life. Speaking of which, it is equal or greater than the iPhone 5's.

The biggest change comes with the home button, which now features a fingerprint sensor. You can easily unlock your iPhone with a touch of the home button; and best of all, it doesn't matter which way you place your finger. The user can also login top their Apple ID using their fingerprint. All of this means that your iPhone is safer than ever before, not to mention quicker to unlock.

The iPhone 5S has a top-end 8 megapixel iSight camera, which is kitted out to the max. It has a five-element lens with a Sapphire crystal lens cover. As well as that, it has a true tone flash, a backside illumination sensor and a hybrid IR filter. Burst mode has also been added - the camera takes 10 pictures per second - and all you have to do is hold down the camera button for as long as you like. The rear facing iSight camera shoots 1080p HD video at the standard 30fps. Surprisingly, Apple has added a slo-mo video option, which I believe shoots at about 120fps. The front facing FaceTime camera records 720p HD video and has a backside illumination sensor.

The iPhone 5S is available to order from the 20th of September. Here are the prices:
- 16GB for £549
- 32GB for £629
- 64GB for £709
The iPhone 5S also has a new range of leather cases to come with it.

Both, the 5C and 5S, will come with iOS 7 already installed. iOS 7 is compatible with: iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPod Touch 5th gen, iPad 2, iPad with Retina display and the iPad Mini. You will be able to download it on the 18th of September. 


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Plastic Pound notes - Bank of England seeks views on changing the paper notes to plastic

The central bank said on Tuesday it would ask the public its opinion before taking a decision in December on whether to adopt polymer pounds that also would be smaller than current notes.

Governor Mark Carney introduced polymer banknotes while head of the Bank of Canada in 2011 and credited the material for a sharp drop in the rate of counterfeiting.

The Bank of England has issued paper banknotes ever since the central bank was created in 1694 as a way of raising money for King William III's war against France. The first fully printed notes appeared in 1853. Before, notes were handwritten and signed by one of the bank's cashiers.

Polymer banknotes, as well as being hard to fake, are durable and stay cleaner for longer because the material is more resistant to dirt and moisture, the Bank of England said, adding feedback so far on the new-look notes had been positive.  However, would it be easier to make plastic notes at home and use them in shops as forgery? This could damage the economy, as we are slowly climbing out of the crisis.