Highlights from Apple's iPhone event

Apple is a technology company that seems to have a direct line to the pleasure centers of geek minds across the globe. So, when they make room for an announcement, like they did today, everyone pays attention. With baited breath, the tech world sat in hopes to see an event that would highlight the latest, greatest pieces of technology from one of the most exciting tech companies in existence.

Let's take a look at some of the highlights from this event.

Retail

Apple is expanding their retail footprint outside of the United States. It's moving many smaller, popular stores into large, modern-designed (very Apple-esque) locations. Some of these stores are serving over 20,000 customers per day.

iOS 7

Apple is working hard to complete iOS 7 before the end of September, 2013. The iPhone 4 (and later) and iPad 2 (and later) will be able to use iOS 7. 

There are many updated features, including:

• Home screen
• Lock screen
• Notification screen
• Siri (which can now search Twitter and Wikipedia)
• New, funky ringtones and notification sounds
• Photos are grouped by Collections, Moments, and Years
• Swipe right to left to choose still or video modes in camera
• New camera filters
• iTunes Radio now built into iOS 7

The iOS 7 update will seem like having a brand new device, one that is much more useful and elegant. Be sure to check out TechRepublic's iOS 7 fact sheet.

iPhone 5C

Here's some information about the iPhone 5C:

• The new design will be offered in five colors: Green, grey, light blue, peach-ish, and yellow. You can choose colors for the phone and the accent case color. Design and color of the hardware will be complimented by the color design of the software.
• Steel reinforced frame for more rigidity (that same frame forms the antenna)
• A6 processor chip, which is the same as iPhone 5, but with a slightly larger battery
• 8 MP iSight camera, with five-element lens, hybrid IR filter, 3x video zoom in camera app, and improved front-facing FaceTime HD for better low-light performance (and better audio, too)
• 16 GB priced at $99, 32 GB for $199 (with a two-year contract)
• The release date is September 20, 2013

iPhone 5S

Here's some information about the iPhone 5S:

• Case is high-grade aluminum
• A7 64-bit processor chip (the world's only 64-bit mobile phone)
• Native 64-bit kernel and libraries
• Backward compatible with 32-bit
• 2X faster than the iPhone 5, 56X increased performance of the original iPhone
• OpenGP ES 3.0
• Motion co-processor chip, called M7, to work with CoreMotion API in iOS 7 (this is a huge boost for fitness apps)
• Battery: Claims 10 hours of LTE browsing and Wi-Fi; 40 hours of music; 250 hours standby
• Camera: New five-element, Apple-designed lens with f/2.2 aperture; a 15% larger sensor; pixels are 1.5 microns in size to capture more light; True Tone flash Burst Mode photo taking
• Security: Touch ID, which uses your fingerprint for security and making purchases
• 16 GB priced at $199, 32 GB for $299, and 64 GB for $399 (with a two-year contract)
• The release date is September 20, 2013