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iPhone 5s

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Released in mid-September 2013, the iPhone 5s ($99 to $149 from the Apple Store) is a cosmetically minor but internally significant update to the iPhone 5. Featuring the same aluminum and glass design as the iPhone 5, including the same 4″ screen size, dimensions, and weight, the iPhone 5s introduced gold and space gray options to Apple’s product lines, while remaining available in the same white and silver combination as the iPhone 5.

From the outside, the most obvious change was the addition of Touch ID: a fingerprint sensor inside of the iPhone’s Home button. Ringed with metal color-matched to the iPhone 5s’s body, the sapphire-crystal coded fingerprint reader can unlock the screen by matching its scan to 5 distinct fingers, and similarly substitute a scan for a password when making iTunes purchases.

Internally, the iPhone 5s makes significant improvements over the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c in two main categories: processing and cameras. Replacing the iPhone 5’s A6 processor is a new A7 chip with twice the speed, much improved graphics, and a 64-bit architecture. The A7 enabled the iPhone 5s to be the first 64-bit smartphone, capable of enhanced gaming, video processing, and even more advanced apps in the future. It continues to support LTE cellular networks and 802.11n wireless.

The camera system benefitted from an all-new rear 8-megapixel sensor with improved light sensitivity for low-light photography. Also new is a True-Tone flash, a dual-LED flash that increases skin color accuracy when taking photos in the dark. Apple also added a Burst Mode feature to capture 10 photos per second, and a new Slow-Mo video capture mode to take 120FPS video.

As of 2015, the iPhone 5s is in the middle of the iPhone pack in performance, but still the best option available for users with small hands and/or small pockets. Everyone else should give serious consideration to the thinner, faster, and longer-running iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. The iPhone 5s is sold only in 16GB and 32GB storage capacities, the former very small. If you’re going to buy this model, we’d strongly advise spending the extra $50 for the 32GB model.

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Designing an iPhone 5c/5s case? Here are your official Apple schematics

iPhone 5s schematic, click to enlarge. 5c below

Apple has updated it guidelines (PDF) for case manufacturers to include specific requirements and schematics for the iPhone 5s and 5c. As expected, the 5s schematics are similar to the iPhone 5 since the outer shell is largely unchanged.

The 5c design is more distinct from the 5, because while the internal layout is nearly identical, the exterior plastic casing is very different. See below for the 5c’s schematics.


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Apple Store in Tokyo saves queuing iPhone buyers from approaching typhoon

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Hardcore iPhone fans in Japan already queuing for the 5s and 5c going on sale on Friday weren’t going to be put off by a mere typhoon (hurricane) warning: they continued their vigil outside Tokyo’s Ginza store. Apple Store staff opened the doors at 7.30am, shortly before the typhoon hit, to bring customers inside, reports Kotaku.

They were allowed to bring in their wet possessions, rest in the Apple Store theater until 10am, and were even given bottled water. “I was so moved how Apple treats its customers,” said YouTube user AppTaylor

Video below the fold … 
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Review and Giveaway: PureGear’s Retro Game Cases for iPhone 5/5s

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After 6 generations of iPhones, it’s rare to see unique cases anymore. With 100s of options available, if you’ve seen one, you’ve mostly likely seen them all. That’s why I was surprised to come across the PureGear Retro Game Cases for the iPhone 5 and 5s, an incredibly uniquely designed way to protect your phone. How does it work? Read on for the full review.


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China Apple Stores to start taking iPhone 5s & 5c reservations Sept. 17, pickup Sept. 20

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While the iPhone 5c became available for pre-order today in several countries via Apple’s website, Apple is currently not offering pre-orders for the iPhone 5s or reservations for pickup at Apple Stores for either model. However, this will change on September 17th in China. Apple began noting this on its website on the day the new iPhones were announced, and MacTrast brought it to our attention today.

Starting on September 17th, customers visiting both the general China Apple website and the Hong Kong Apple website will be able to reserve either an iPhone 5s or an iPhone 5c for pickup at an Apple Store. In line with the official launch date of the new devices, the pickups will begin on September 20th. At the Apple Store, employees will help customers who reserve devices choose carrier plans and setup the iPhone…


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Some iPhone retailers seeing double the demand they saw at last year’s launch

Via KnowYourMobile, Phones4U are reporting that demand for the iPhone 5s and 5c has already surpassed that of the iPhone 5. Although this is the first year that Apple is offering two models of iPhone, which would naturally boost interest, the fact that this milestone has happened so soon is surprising. Phones4U say that growth in pre-registrations is already double what it was for the iPhone 5 for the same period. The company predicts that the phones will set their record for most handset pre-registrations ever.

The iPhone 5C became available for pre-order this morning. Certain SKU’s of the phone have already sold out.

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Reminder: Apple confirms iPhone 5S orders start at 12.01am PT on September 20th

While it was known that the iPhone 5s would first go on sale on 20th September, and we assumed this meant midnight for online orders, this has now been confirmed by Apple. Pre-orders for the iPhone 5c are already live, and we did a round-up on the carriers and retailers.

We’re expecting iPhone 5s stocks to be tight, which is why our own Seth Weintraub has decided to opt for the gold (sorry, champagne) one.
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Burberry to capture its London fashion show with new iPhone 5s next week

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Apple and fashion retailer Burberry have announced that Burberry’s London-based fashion show next week will be captured entirely with the new iPhone 5s. Apple’s iPhone 5s, which was announced earlier this week, includes major camera enhancements with an improved aperture, dual-LED flash, and new camera software like slow-motion and burst modes.

“iPhone 5s makes it even easier to take great photos with the world’s most popular camera,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPhone & iOS Product Marketing. “We’re thrilled to see the amazing photos and HD video Burberry has captured with the incredible all-new iSight camera.”

While the iPhone 5s will officially hit stores on Friday, September 20th, Burberry’s show is on September 16th, so they will be getting early access to the device for this special partnership.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iL5ceRxp4A

Update: Burberry has posted a new video (below) on their Instgram feed which spotlights the slo-mo feature of the iPhone 5s.
http://instagram.com/p/eUvd7NxJCC/

The full press release is available below:


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T-Mobile offering $0 down on iPhone 5c, $99 down on iPhone 5s with monthly installment plan

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Following announcements from Walmart, Radioshack and others, T-Mobile is the latest to announce availability of Apple’s recently unveiled iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. We already know the two devices will be landing on all of Apple’s major US carrier partners (as well as in a handful of other countries on Sept. 20, and T-Mobile confirmed today it will be kicking off preorders for the 5c on September 13, the preorder date previously announced by Apple. The real news here is that T-Mobile’s new Uncarrier plans mean that the iPhone 5c will sell for $0 down with the $528 price tag paid through 24 monthly installments of $22. It will also offer the iPhone 5s for $99 down and 24 monthly payments of $22.91 to make up the $649 retail price.

As a reminder, Apple and most of its partner will sell the new iPhone 5s for $199 on contract and the new iPhone 5c for $99 on contract (for the 16GB models). T-Mobile’s full retail price works about to around the same as Apple’s, but it’s 5c price is a little lower than the $549 Apple is listing. That doesn’t mean we won’t see lower prices on the device at launch. Walmart already announced that it will soon begin accepting preorders for the 5c at $79 on contract and the 5s at $189.

Apple’s new iPhones will also become available in Australia, China, Canada, Germany, France, Singapore, the UK, and Japan later this month on September 20.

iPhone 5s/5c launch lots of parodies but who will be laughing last?

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Apple parody videos are nothing new, but they often highlight how normal consumers look at new product launches and in many cases beyond upgraded internals to more superficial features like hardware design. Apple’s new colourful iPhone 5c lineup seems to be getting somewhat overshadowed by the new gold color option for the iPhone 5s, but its new iPhone 5c cases are also receiving a less than great response, mostly due to their appearance to crocs and lack of attention to detail. Head below to check out some of the other parody videos that have hit the web since Apple’s new iPhone announcements. 
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Walmart iPhone pre-orders start tomorrow, 5c at $79, 5s at $189

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Walmart has announced that it will be offering both of the new iPhone models in their 16Gb versions, the 5c at $79 (a $20 saving) and the 5s at $189 (a $10 savings). Walmart offers the phones on Verizon, AT&T and Sprint.

What’s interesting here is that Apple Stores usually do price matching so it might be worth a try after waiting on line on launch day. Best Buy will also price match often, so this could trigger markdowns all over … 
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iPhone expected to become market leader in Japan, thanks to DoCoMo deal

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Photo: mashable.com

Apple is expected to become the market leader in Japan, with the iPhone 5s and 5c forecast to make up 40 percent of all new contracts on Japan’s DoCoMo carrier, reports Nikkei (via CNET).

The 40 percent figure is believed to be the quota that Apple and DoCoMo agreed on, the report said […] This development marks a tectonic shift in DoCoMo’s strategy and the Japanese phone market in general. Domestic phone suppliers like Sharp and Fujitsu are expected to suffer as a result … 
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Samsung responds to new iPhones: will focus on China, says 64-bit chips coming for Galaxy phones

In an interview with the Korea Times, Samsung executives respond to Apple’s recent announcements in typical Samsung fashion. In order to better compete with Apple in China, Samsung confirmed that it would focus more on the huge Mainland market.

For example, the company says it has received clearance from Chinese authorities to sell TDD-LTE devices, to enable Samsung to offer phones that work on the world’s largest carrier, China Mobile.  As a result of “changing market situations” (i.e. Apple), Samsung is accelerating its schedule for releasing these Chinese-friendly devices. Apple is expected to announce a partnership with China Mobile to sell the iPhone before the end of the year.

In addition, Shin, Samsung’s co-CEO announced that Samsung’s next Galaxy phones will feature 64-bit architectures, to rival the A7 in the iPhone 5s.

“Not in the shortest time. But yes, our next smartphones will have 64-bit processing functionality,” Shin said, adding he followed the media coverage of Apple’s new iPhone.

Shin’s noncommittal reply indicates that although 64-bit chips are on the roadmap, they will not arrive this year. Meanwhile, the iPhone 5s ships on September 20th.
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iPhone 5s battery capacity 10 percent up on iPhone 5, 5c up 5 percent

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AnandTech dug into the FCC filings for the new iPhones to reveal that the iPhone 5s battery offers approximately 10 percent more capacity than its predecessor, while the 5c battery offers a more modest 5 percent gain. That’s a different size battery (5.96Wh vs 5.92Wh) than we’d seen in supposed 5s prototypes … 
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The best iPhone 5c (and iPhone 5s) cases already available online

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A small surprise yesterday during Apple’s introduction of the new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s was the launch of new cases for the devices. The iPhone 5s gets a new leather case in six colors, and the 5c gets colourful silicone cases with small circular cutouts meant to show off the iPhone’s color underneath. The silicone 5c cases don’t seem to be getting the best response following yesterday’s unveiling, but the good news is there are already several reputable case manufacturers with cases available for both the iPhone 5c and 5s.

The biggest complaint (apart from comparisons to crocs) seems to be lack of attention to detail, highlighted best in the image of the “iPhone” text to the right.  If Apple’s new cases won’t cut it, below we’ve put together a roundup of the best cases from around the web that are already available to order and coming soon for the launch of the device later this month. 
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Opinion: Why I love the iPhone 5s, and why I’ll be sticking with my 4S

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I like my gadgets, and generally consider myself an early adopter. When my friends are looking at buying a new piece of technology, I’m the one they ask as they know I’ll either own it or have tried it.

So you might be surprised to learn that my phone is an iPhone 4S and that after yesterday’s unveiling of the 5s (no, I don’t know why it suddenly became lower-case either), I’m planning to wait for the iPhone 6 before upgrading.

It’s not that the 5s isn’t impressive from a purely technological viewpoint. It is. A 64-bit phone? That’s a pretty incredible achievement. Delegating sensor functions to a separate chip to enable constant use without the usual battery-drain? Brilliant. A truly state-of-the-art fingerprint sensor? Fantastic. A larger phone sensor with lower pixel-density? Exactly the right approach, and I was delighted to see Apple refusing to join in the stupid megapixel race.

But I’m still not going to buy one, and the reason for that is two-fold. Before I get to that, one piece of context. In the U.S., upgrading can be a no-brainer as you end up on the same tariff either way. In the UK, it’s better value long-term to buy the phone outright at full retail (around $1120 for the 64Gb 5s), so you have to balance incremental benefit over other gadgets you could buy with the same money – like a new iPad. So, back to those two reasons …
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All systems go for iPhone in China as regulator signs off final license

Photo: mshcdn.com

Apple now has all three of the licenses needed to allow the new iPhones to be used on China’s three major carriers: China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. The WSJ reports that the final license was issued today.

According to the website of China’s Telecom Equipment Certification Center Wednesday, Apple was given a “network access license” for a handset resembling the iPhone that runs on the mobile standards used by China Mobile for third and fourth generation cellular services.

Apple announced yesterday that both iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s would go on sale in China on September 20th, in parallel with the US launch.

Analysts have estimated that Chinese and Japanese sales combined could add up to an extra 38M handsets a year.

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Microsoft/Nokia already attacking Apple’s new iPhone 5s & 5c

Following today’s iPhone event where Apple unveiled its new colourful “lower-cost” iPhone 5c and the gold iPhone 5s with built-in fingerprint sensor, the competition is already weighing in on what it thinks about Apple’s upgraded smartphone lineup. Microsoft’s Windows Phone Twitter account sent out the tweet above with the headline “5 things Apple didn’t announce today” while promoting Nokia’s Lumia 1020’s 41MP camera.

So what are the five things Apple didn’t announce according to Microsoft? The company’s link takes us to an image of the Lumia 1020 highlighting some of the device’s features including the 4.5-inch AMOLED display, the ability to personalize the device’s start screen, a 41 megapixel sensor with a “reinvented zoom,” and the Nokia Pro Cam to “control shutter speed, focus, and white balance.” While Apple’s new iPhone 5s includes the same 8 megapixel camera as the iPhone 5, Apple has made some major improvements with the addition of a a dual LED true tone flash, a new five-element lens designed by Apple, a F2.2 aperture, a sensor with a 15 percent larger active area, auto stabilization, and bigger 1.5 micron pixels. It’s also added a burst mode that will continuously take photos a rate of 10fps, and the 120fps slow mo mode. The new flash specifically is meant to improve photos taken in low lightning conditions, something Nokia has focused on in past parody ads attacking the iPhone.

Microsoft isn’t the only one commenting on today’s announcement, as Nokia’s own account also sent out the tweet below noting that it did smartphones in various colors before the new iPhone 5c and joking that “Real gangsters don’t use gold phones.”

https://twitter.com/nokia_uk/status/377483408043036672/

While Apple did pack some big shiny new hardware features into the iPhone 5s with a fingerprint scanner, much faster A7 processor, and the new “M7” motion co-processor chip, it’s yet to be seen if Apple’s upgrade will be viewed as a minor refresh by the average consumer. One thing is for sure, Apple’s competition will definitely be focusing on the fact that today’s iPhone upgrades did not include a higher megapixel camera or larger display.

https://twitter.com/nokia_uk/status/377488875075035136

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Apple gets back in the iPhone dock game with 5c and 5s docks

Apple didn’t announce these at the keynote today, but you can finally buy first-party docks for your iPhone again. The iPhone 5s and 5c docks are now available on the Apple Store. The ship date is currently unknown but they will be available in stores on the 20th for $29 each. The 5s dock will also work with the iPhone 5.

Apple officially unveils the next-gen ‘iPhone 5S’ w/ fingerprint sensor & new gold color option

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As we were expecting, Apple just officially announced its new iPhone 5S live on stage during its event taking place now on the company’s Cupertino campus. The new iPhone 5S largely retains the same glass and aluminum design as Apple’s previous generation iPhone, but it does include upgraded internals, and a new gold color option and fingerprint sensor that we previously reported. The new iPhone 5S comes alongside the announcement of Apple’s much rumored lower-cost, plastic iPhone 5C unveiled during the event earlier today.

The iPhone 5s includes a new A7 chip, which Apple notes is the first 64-bit chip in a smartphone, something we reported previously that the company was testing. Apple says the new chip includes 2x general-purpose registers, 2x floating-point registers, and includes over 1 billion transistors on a 102mm2 die size. A7 makes the iPhone 5s over twice as fast in terms of speed, according to Apple, and also provides a 40x increase in CPU performance and 56X faster graphics. The new iPhone 5s hardware will also support Open GL/ES 3.0 and will still support 32 bit apps.

Apple is also including a fingerprint sensor in the new iPhone 5s for a new security feature dubbed “Touch ID.” Embedded into the home button, the Touch ID capacitive sensor is 170 microns thin and will not only allow users to unlock their device, but also authenticate iTunes purchases.  Apple says that all fingerprints will be encrypted, stored securely and never uploaded to iCloud or its own servers. It also noted the fingerprint sensor will be able to support multiple fingerprints with the same device

The new iPhone 5s also include a new motion co-processor called the “M7” that Apple says works alongside the A7. It’s able to measure motion data continuously, as well as measure gyroscope, compass, and accelerometer data.

M7 knows when you’re walking, running, or even driving. For example, Maps switches from driving to walking turn-by-turn navigation if, say, you park and continue on foot. Since M7 can tell when you’re in a moving vehicle, iPhone 5s won’t ask you to join Wi-Fi networks you pass by. And if your phone hasn’t moved for a while, like when you’re asleep, M7 reduces network pinging to spare your battery.

The new chip will work with new CoreMotion APIs in iOS 7 that will allow developers to identify user movement. The first to take advantage of the technology is Nike with a new app called “Nike+ Move”.

Battery life: Apple says the new iPhone 5S will get 10 hours of 3G talk time, 8 hours of 3G browsing,a nd 10 hours of LTE and WiFi browsing. You’ll also get around 250 hours standby and 10 hours of video, according to Apple.

The iPhone 5s packs in a new camera system with a dual LED true tone flash, a new five-element lens designed by Apple, a F2.2 aperture, a sensor with a 15 percent larger active area, auto stabilization, and bigger 1.5 micron pixels. The camera also includes a new burst mode that will continuously take photos a rate of 10fps, and the 120fps slow mo mode that we reported about back in July. Head below for iPhone 5s pricing and availability:
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Ahead of iPhone event, the Apple Store goes down

Ahead of the iPhone media event taking place at 10AM PST, the Apple Store is down for updates. The expectation is that Apple will announce two new phones at the event, a first for the company, dubbed the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C, with both models being available in new colour variations. As always, the Store will return after the event is over, with new pages featuring the newly announced hardware.

In preparation for the event, you can read our roundup of what we expect to be announced from yesterday, as well as a roundtable of our staff’s opinions — on a much more speculative basis — from August.

Naturally, 9to5Mac will have full coverage of all the announcements from the event.

Supposed iPhone 5S User Guide brands fingerprint sensor as ‘Touch ID’

According to Nowhereelse.fr,  this is a photo of the iPhone 5S user guide. The pamphlet shows an iPhone with a gray ring around the round home button, which matches previous descriptions of the iPhone 5S’ fingerprint sensor. The guide refers to this button as a “Home Button/Touch ID sensor”. This suggests that Apple will brand the 5S’ fingerprint sensor clearly as a means of identification.

This corroborates with 9to5Mac’s reporting. We have said on multiple occasions that the fingerprint sensor will likely only be used as a means of unlock. In our roundup, we describe how the system will work:

To unlock the iPhone with the fingerprint reader, an iPhone 5S user simply clicks and holds their finger/thumb down on the sensor for a few seconds. It is unlikely that the sensor login and passcode could be used in tandem. There will be a preference in the iPhone’s Settings app to disable the sensor.

This description of the process pairs nicely with the branding ‘Touch ID’, as it literally describes what happens; unlocking will be activated by a touch-and-hold of your finger on the Home Button.

It should also be noted that this guide matches the leaked user guides for the iPhone 5C, with the same color-matched wallpaper design.

Apple will formally announce the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C at its September event, scheduled for 10 AM PST. Banners at Apple’s Town Hall, the venue for the announcements, went up yesterday.

iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, and wildcards for tomorrow’s Apple event

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<a href="http://9to5mac.com/2013/09/09/colorful-banners-go-up-at-apple-town-hall-ahead-of-tomorrows-iphone-event/">Image</a> via <a href="http://www.igen.fr"><em>iGen</em></a>

With Apple’s media event scheduled for tomorrow, we have rounded up what Apple is likely due to introduce. We previously published a round-table of 9to5Mac author hopes for the event, but this roundup will focus on our specific expectations for the keynote address. You can find our roundup below:


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Colorful banners go up at Apple Town Hall ahead of tomorrow’s iPhone event

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Ahead of tomorrow’s iPhone-relate media event on Apple’s Campus, banners promoting the proceedings have gone up at Apple’s 4 Infinite Loop Town Hall. The banners are nearly identical in design to the event’s official invitation, and some have interpreted the colors to indicate that the iPhone 5C (in multiple colors) will be announced at the event.

Also expected tomorrow is an iPhone 5S, an upgraded version of the iPhone 5 that includes a faster processor, improved camera system, and fingerprint sensor for login authentication. We’ll be covering the event live on 9to5Mac.com, and the event begins at 10 AM Pacific/1 PM Eastern. Another photo below (Thanks, iGen.fr):

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