Apple unveiled the iPhone 5 on September 12th along with the line of new iPods. iPhone started shipping to customers on September 21st. While iPhone 5 was no big surprise to us, thanks to the leaked photos that were circulating on the web. However, Apple managed to yet “Wow” us with the performance improvements they brought to the phone. iPhones are now just more than being a smartphone. Its a fashion statement for some while a luxury item for others. Over the years, iPhone has managed to create of class of its on and people are crazy about it. That’s right, because numbers don’t lie. The iPhone 5 has made huge improvements over the last iteration and they never fail to do that. Its looking a lot more gorgeous now. But, while taking a leap forward, they did compromise on some features. And I’m not happy about it. Well, most customers aren’t. Lets take a quick run down on all iPhone features and see where they lost the magic. Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you read pages and pages of same old boring stuff. Let’s focus on what’s new and changed.
Box Package:
iPhones always come in a simple no nonsense package. Its pretty handy and very helping when you pack it up for a trip. That exactly is what Apple thought too. The small packaging helps Apple ship more units in bulk from the factories to their stores and other distributors. An iPhone box package basically includes the phone, the USB data cable which in this case is the new lightning connector, a power plug and earphones which now is dubbed as Earpods. You’ll also find Apple stickers, a manual in which you can find a sim ejector pin. Oh and the iPhone 5 uses a Nano sim. Get ready to have more fun cutting your existing sim if your existing operator doesn’t issue nano sim card. And before you get started you may want to check out this guide as well. That’s basically the box. Same, simple and compact.
Display: It Just Got Better:
iPhone 5 now has a 4″ screen from the previous 3.5″ screen. The screen is only taller than before but not wider. The same resulted in the resolution shifting from 640×960 to 640×1136. The iPhone 5 display is also much superior to that of 4S’. It now has 44% more colour saturation than 4S. And I’ve got to tell you, its a phenomenal screen now. Everything looks much better now. The icons, the text, videos and everything. I really didn’t expect a big change in the display but it blew me away. Its more like the HD Super AMOLED screens that the Android phones have these days. But not as much as deeper colours on the screen which I think is nice. It really shows a difference when you watch photos and videos or browse the internet. Everything feels more live and vivid. I’m really sold by the display. In short, the screen is now absolutely stunning !!!
Apple has maintained the same amount of pixels per inch on the iPhone 5 as well. i.e. at 326ppi. They’ve previously claimed that anything beyond this would hurt the eye. I’m not sure of that, but the point where we are at is perfect. The advancements in the display really improves your app experience. I love using the Facebook app more and more these days. And luckily it’s one of the few popular apps that were updated for the iPhone 5 screen at the earliest. That’s right, apps now have to be specifically designed for the iPhone 5 to give you the best experience. Or else they would look letter boxed on the screen. Thanks to the increased screen resolution. The advantage is that, in one view you can now see more information which avoids the need of scrolling on and on repeatedly. Plus, now you can watch HD videos(16:9) in full screen without any black bars on top and bottom. If you watch a lot of videos, you’re gonna love it. The sad part is that photos now have the black bars on both the sides as they are 4:3. On some phones, you can take photos in 16:9 ratio, but definitely not on iPhone.
I’ve used the Galaxy SII and the Galaxy Note. And I tell you they are not handy. Its just too big that you can’t easily access all the corners of the phone. Plus, if you have a small palm, it would be very difficult to fit it in the hand. iPhone 5 however is just perfect. Its still the same old handy phone, but with a taller screen. Although, some of you may have a little problem handling it. I have a big hand and it wasn’t a problem for me. Chances are that most of you won’t find a problem with it.
It’s A6, It’s 1Gigs and It’s Faster:
Apple has developed a custom A6 chip which they’ve used in the iPhone 5. It’s definitely faster. And before you ask it, let me tell you, its not quad core. Its a dual core processor clocked at 1.3Ghz. Apple always under clocks their processors on all devices. So this could actually be even more faster. The reason why Apple under clocks processor is for battery life. When processors work at higher clock speeds it produces more heat and uses a good amount of battery. Apple definitely don’t want that. Either way, its very fast. As you know, I was an iPhone 4S user and I’ve always felt it to be really fast. And iPhone 5 is even more faster. But its not something to drool on. It may be milliseconds faster when you run native apps and reasonably higher when you run big games. Apple has finally doubled the RAM on iPhone from 512MB to 1GB. I really expected this upgrade when Apple announced 4S, but Apple didn’t think so. The addition of 1GB RAM module is just perfect. iOS 6 is big in terms of memory consumption. And having a 1GB RAM to offer for the apps is a good thing.
Apps are lightning fast now. Loading is a history among native apps(Not that there was much earlier). Launching apps, switching apps are all lightning fast. It’s like they are always waiting in the background waiting for your tap. Games are better too. Graphics performance are noticeably better. At the time of writing, there are not many graphics intensive apps on the app store that are optimised for the iPhone 5. However, I tried a few of them including Metal Storm, Solar Walk and and Jetpack Joyride. And I tell you, if you love playing games, you’re gonna love the iPhone 5. Everything is pretty smooth. Not to mention, the improved screen does make the experience much better. Playing games via Airplay using Apple TV are all super smooth now. Just make sure you have strong WiFi signal. When it comes to speed there is nothing more you can ask from the iPhone. Its top notch. And its not just about playing games or running graphics intensive apps. There are many other simple little things which benefit from having a faster processor and RAM. For example, having more RAM helps you open a lot of tabs on Safari and then switch to some other apps. These tabs tend to reload the pages again when you switch back to Safari as it may have ran shot of memory while you were using other apps. So this whole procedure consumes more data and most of all your valuable time. But with higher RAM, there will be enough memory for these tabs to use up even while you fiddle with other apps. This is just one example. There are more. But this is most common scenario you may encounter.
One other notable improvement about the processor is its battery management. iPhone 5 has the same or nearly the same battery used in iPhone 4S. However, iPhone 5 can keep you going more than iPhone 4S with A5 processor. The processor intelligently manages it quite well that you get 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 8 hours of LTE and 3G browsing. Impressive, right ? Real life performance is nearly the same provided you don’t play or watch movies in between.
Lightning Port: It’s Reversible, But Not Sensible:
Apple has made some bold moves like introducing the micro sims instead of the normal sim cards. Or the nano sims for that matter. But, switching to lightning port on the iPhone 5 was one of the worst moves. Its not that I hoped to have the 30 pin dock forever, but Apple may have switched to the lightning port a little too early for the following reasons:
1. Lightning dock isn’t anyway a huge improvement over the 30 pin connector.
2. Lightning port is not supported by any 3rd party accessories manufacturers.
3. Apple itself did not release any accessories for the connector including a dock. Seriously ?!! (Minus the lightning to 30 pin and microUSB).
4. A lightning to 30pin dock connector is $29(WTH !!) and if you choose the same with a cable, its $39.
5. Apple has included a chip that prevents 3rd party access unless they are onboard with Apple for the same. Means lesser accessories in future.
Lightning port looks a lot a thinner than the 30 pin dock connector. That’s a welcomed change. But that’s about it. I didn’t find any difference in speed while loading apps, music or videos. And charging time is almost the same as well. So Apple may have took advantage of the extra space they got when they replaced the port, but for end user, there isn’t anything much to talk about. Or there is just one thing which I like. It’s reversible. But definitely not worth the sacrifice we’re doing here though. I remember going in to friends and family’s house. Suddenly my iPhone battery dies and then I can use any of their iPhone charger and have my phone back up again regardless which generation of iPhone/iPod they use. Now its a dilemma. I have to make sure I carry the charger unless there is one user who has upgraded to an iPhone 5. Also, most accessories connect to your phone through the 30 pin dock connector. None of them would now work with your phone unless you have a connector which itself may not solve the problem in some case. These are silly things. But they happen too often in your life that its a matter of serious thought. There were two ways for Apple to go with the change. One, offer a free lightning to 30 pin dock or two, offer them at an incredibly cheap price.
At the bottom of the phone you’ll notice the 3.5mm headphone jack near the lightning port. Apple has had it on top of the phone since the original iPhone. Most people liked this decision. Mostly because when you place the phone in your pocket and when you pull it out, the display is always facing you which previously was upside down. But some of you may find it annoying depending on your use case scenario.
Camera:
Since the introduction of the iPhone 4S, Apple has made huge improvements in the camera segment. We all have to agree that its got one of the best cameras on a smartphone yet. What makes it even better is that in most other phones you may have to fiddle around the plethora of camera settings to take a great shot. Eg: Nokia Pureview 808. And this requires you to have a great background knowledge what each setting means. But on the iPhone, all you have to do is just Touch-To-Focus and snap. Its as simple as that. It helps anyone to be a great photographer.
iPhone 5 uses the same camera lens and technology as in iPhone 4S. However, Apple has updated the camera lens. It now uses a sapphire crystal lens. Hence, its now less susceptible to scratches from daily uses. This ensures that you are able to take great pictures all the time as scratches may deflect the light entering the lenses causing uneven lighting in the image. Image quality is almost the same and slightly noticeable. Images look much better on the new display as it has a better resolution and colour saturation. Apple has also revamped the camera UI on the iPhone 5, but its nothing to get excited about. I would still prefer the look of iPhone 4S camera soft buttons on my iPhone. And finally, we now have a panorama mode on the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 built right into the camera app. Panorama photos were limited 3rd party apps all this time. Its a nice feature. But if you’re one of those with a shaky hands, then don’t count much on the quality. Whenever I’m at an open place say beach or hill top, I start taking pictures in panorama mode. Its fun. iPhone still has the dual LED flash on it. And you will find a small microphone resting between the rear camera and LED flash on the back. It helps in noise reduction during calls and improved audio while taking videos as it can collect audio from the subject you’re shooting. Now that’s a brilliant idea. The front facing camera is new. Its now a 1.3MP camera that can do 720p videos. This means you can do FaceTime calls with much better clarity. And did I mention that FaceTime calls are now possible over 3G/4G ? Now that’s what I would like to call as real video calling facility, although limited to certain Apple devices.
I’m sure you’re definitely craving to see some camera samples from the iPhone 5. I’m no expert in photography, but I did shoot some pictures. You can take a look at them below. I’ve also uploaded a 1080p video sample on to Youtube which is also embedded below.
PS: I don’t take pictures of the sun usually, so I’ve never faced purple tint issue.
iPhone Camera has always impressed me. Especially since the iPhone 4. The pictures are always very good. But if I were to ask some improvement on the camera, then I would love some enhancements to low light photography. Apple may have to work a bit more there. Phones like the Nokia Lumia 920 has made huge advancements in the camera segment, especially in the low light photography. Apple may want to concentrate a bit more there.
Build Quality:
Faster isn’t stronger. Apple iPhone 5 has received a lot of bad press due to its poor build quality. Especially, the black model which has been losing paint and receiving scuffs while being shipped. That’s right, even before user lays his hands on it. I’m not sure how many of you can receive a scuffed phone with a happy face. Anyway, I ordered for a white phone seeing the issues with Black device. A lot of users had issues while many received without any fault. A few friends of mine who are still using the black claimed that its perfectly fine even after a month of using it. White iPhone 5 looks really gorgeous. The back aluminium casing and the white glass casing on the back is an absolute beauty combination. I never get tired of looking at it. I loved it on my iPad and love it on iPhone 5. But, that isn’t all. From my experience, I found the iPhone 5 to be much much weaker. Its not as strong as iPhone 4S or iPhone 4 were. The aluminium metal enclosure on the phone is much weaker now.
If you slightly(accidentally) hit it against the desk, wall or a small gadget thats on the desk, it gets scuffs very quickly. You know, thats not something you would like to see when you pay up to $1000 for a phone. I don’t mean to say that my phone should survive being run over by a bus, but its gotta be same or better than previous generations. Especially for an Apple product who always preaches about how much a product they are announcing is better than the same device from previous generation. I really take care of my phone very well, but I think I’ve spotted a minor scuff on it already. And I’m not happy about it. So if you’re one of those guys with a lose hand, then you may want to rethink your decision about getting the iPhone 5 unless you’re ready to put one of those monster case on it for protection.
Battery:
Battery life is pretty strong on the iPhone 5. I wouldn’t recommend you to upgrade to iPhone 5 from a 4S citing battery life as its strongest selling point, but its got better. I used to get around 7-8 hours of battery life on iPhone 4S when using 3G network. I use twitter all the time and I often check emails. I also play a lot of games on the iPhone. Mostly turn based low graphics intensive games. Yet iPhone 4S gave me 7-8 hours. With same activity going on iPhone 5, I can squeeze up to 9-10 hours or even higher on some days. And if you rely on WiFi for internet, then you may get even better battery life. Its surprising considering that Apple hasn’t improved the battery physically. But all thanks to the A6 processor and new iOS 6 which I hope also has its fair share in the enhanced battery life.
iOS & Apps:
iOS 6 has packed a lot of Siri improvements and other software enhancements including Facebook integration. What I like the most in iOS 6 are the ability to make FaceTime calls over 3G, integration of phone number and Apple IDs in to one account for iMessage, Facebook integration, Ability to insert photos and videos right from mail app, iCloud tabs on Safari, Reading list etc. Some of these features may not sound new or revolutionary to you if you’re on Android and Symbian, but its the first time they’re being introduced on iOS 6. And its good to have them. iOS 6 is smooth just like any previous iterations of iOS. It works flawlessly on the iPhone 5. And of course the A6 processor and the 1GB RAM is doing its job perfectly under the hood.
Apple maps needs no introduction. You’ve pretty much heard everything about it. So I’ll just talk about it in three words. It Still Sucks !!
PS: Download this app to get Google Maps on to your phone.
Third party apps continue to do their best on iOS. They’re still amazing. They never cease to amaze me. Even after having over 5,00,000 apps on AppStore, developers are still introducing innovative and interesting apps daily. And may I say how gorgeous they look on the iPhone 5 display !! Its always pleasure to use these apps. With the updated hardware, apps are way faster on the iPhone 5. And a good amount of apps have been updated to support the new screen resolution on the iPhone 5. Other apps run letter boxed at the moment. Even though the screen size is increased by a small amount, you totally get a different experience with the apps. A few days of using iPhone 5 made me feel like previous iPhones have way smaller screens. Not to forget, the improved resolution does make things feel better. Sometime you do wish if the screen was a little wider.
Final Word:
iPhone continues to be the amazing phone it used to be since the original iPhone. It may not be a compulsory upgrade for existing iPhone 4S users(unless you need the big screen and the new look), but I recommend iPhone 4 and lower users to confidently upgrade to the iPhone 5. Keep in mind it isn’t stronger as you may expect it. So be more careful and have a good case in hand if necessary. It will not discourage you as long as speed and performance are considered. Battery life will also please you well. There many other alternatives in the market. But you can consider iPhone 5 as one of the best ones available in the market right now. After all, an iPhone is an iPhone !!!