The iPhone 5 has officially debuted today, ready for pre-orders on Sep. 14th and hitting store shelves a week later. But with new connectors, an enlarged screen size and improved resolution, there’s more to the new iPhone 5 than meets the eye. Sure, it’s great to have new capabilities on the year’s most anticipated phone, but what we must consider next is the cost of upgrading the ecosystem that’s built up over Apple’s iPhone devices these past four years.
Starting with the new dock connector called Lightening, it’s smaller, thinner and more functional. It plugs in in either direction, and is 80 percent smaller than its predecesor. Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller says many of the old uses for the iPhone connector are obsolete, calling Lightening the connector for the next decade.
Apple’s already thought about the consequences of switching up the connector, making the necessary adaptor for the new plug to help consumers transition to “the next decade” Schiller speaks of. But is it enough?
Many Apple consumers have invested in the iDevice lifestyle, purchasing speakers and other accessories that let you plug your iPhone in directly. Though Apple is offering an adaptor, it may not suit all tastes and functions.
Global marketing and mobile ad platform Velti estimates an additional $400 consumers are going to have to spend to update their iDevice accessories to maintain compatibility with the new iPhone 5. Consumers were hoping for something drastic with the new iPhone, but I’m not sure a price hike was on their wish list.
And it’s not just consumers that are affected by the new iPhone 5 design. Developers will have to adjust their budgets in order to reconfigure apps, mobile websites and ads to fit the larger screens and increased resolution. Something Android developers have had to consider from the beginning, but this is a notable shift for Apple developers.
Velti estimates a 15 percent increase in time for developers building for the iPhone 5′s enlarged screen size, while higher resolution will add another 12 percent in time spent on developing for the new iPhone 5. It’s definitely worth the extra time and money, but it’s still something to take into consideration.
Here’s an infographic from Velti outlining the increased costs of the new iPhone 5:
