Australia will be in the second wave of countries to get the fourth-gen "Retina, Facetime, Aluminosilicate" iPhone, in July.
The next version of the iPhone will hit Australia in July as part of the second wave of countries to receive the handset, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs revealed this morning after demonstrating the new device.
The phone will be available in the US, France, Germany, the UK and Japan from June 24, but Australia will have to wait a little longer, until July.
Jobs did not reveal Australian pricing for the device, but it will retail in the United States for US$199 for the 16GB model and US$299 for the 32GB model -- though pricing by Australian telcos is always different than the US, with prices starting from $0 upfront depending on the plan taken. The iPhone 4 will be available in black and white colours.
Apple will stop selling the legacy 3G version of the iPhone — WhistleOut has reported that Optus has already stopped selling that model – and the previous 3GS model will slip to an initial price of US$99 on a contract.
Jobs this morning announced a raft of changes to the iPhone compared with previous models, starting with the re-designed exterior, which features a glass front and back (which he says is "aluminosilcate glass, chemically strengthened to be 30 times harder than plastic, more scratch resistant and more durable than ever" -- though harder than plastic doesn't necessarily mean more crack resistant, of course.) It also has a rejuvenated 9.3mm thick, flat design.
The iPhone 4 can film HD video in 720p resolution, and features a new, high-resolution display with a higher pixel count for greater viewing fidelity. Apple has also built in a new feature dubbed ‘FaceTime’ which allows users to make video calls via Wi-Fi using the iPhone 4’s new camera on its front.
Is is not yet clear which carriers in Australia will stock the iPhone 4, but Vodafone Australia stated on its Twitter account this morning that it would shortly publish a pre-registration page on its website. Given all carriers currently sell the iPhone 3G/3GS, it seems likely this will continue in Australia.
Apple's whole announcement of the iPhone features is below (warning; undiluted reality distortion field at play; take with a healthy dose of scepticism and see doctor if pain persists.)
Delimiter with additional reporting by Dan Warne