Apple unveiled two new versions of its flagship iPhone on Tuesday, including a lower-cost smartphone aimed at price-conscious customers in fast-growing overseas markets.
Six years after it entered the smartphone market, Apple is shifting strategies to appeal to a more fragmented audience and threats from low-cost competitors. With the introduction of the cheaper phone, the iPhone 5C, Apple is targeting a younger, less-affluent audience. It is also offering a traditional upgrade, the high-end iPhone 5S, for its core audience of gadget lovers, the Washington Post informs.
In case of new iPhone 5S, Apple is offering several upgrades from its previous model, including a new gold color. That phone comes with a chip that measures motion and environmental information, which Apple is using for health and fitness apps.
It also includes a new fingerprint sensor known as “Touch ID.” Users will be able to teach the iPhone to recognize fingerprints and even use that information to authenticate App Store purchases. Apple is marketing the fingerprint technology as a step forward in security — an attribute that could help it appeal to business consumers.
The new technology could also raise privacy concerns. Apple has said that it won’t store fingerprint data on its servers — only on the devices themselves. But consumers may still want to think carefully before allowing their phone, and Apple’s App Store, to gain access to such unique identifying information, said Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy, the Washingotn Post informs.
The new phones were announced Tuesday afternoon at an Apple event in California. They will be available for sale Sept. 20 in more than 100 countries and on 270 carriers — including in the all-important China.

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