The
highly anticipated, feverishly leaked addition to the iPhone family has finally
arrived in all it’s glory.
During the period of time before it’s release, consumers had to sift through hundreds of rumors and speculations about the iPhone 5, probably the most of any Apple device ever. Most of them never came to fruition as many of them were forum rumors, but the ones that did helped craft the best iPhone ever.
DESIGN/ DISPLAY
Undoubtedly
the biggest physical change of the iPhone 5 is the new 4 inch screen. While you
may think that’s an insignificant change, it really changes the overall feel of
the phone when compared to 4 or 4S. Apple made a very smart move adding the
extra screen space to the top/ bottom, so the iPhone 5 boasts a full 16:9
aspect ratio, which makes gaming and video watching much more beautiful. With a
640 x 1136 resolution and a 326 ppi pixel density the iPhone 5 has the best
looking phone screen I’ve seen in a while. An incredibly scratch-prone aluminum
backing was also added on the backside of the phone, which I didn’t really feel
was necessary. The complete dimensions of the iPhone 5 come in at a 4.87 x 2.31
x 0.30 inches and weighs a mere 3.95 oz, undeniably the lightest phone I’ve
ever used.
BATTERY
One
feature that Apple has always boasted about was the iPhone’s lengthy battery
life, they outdid themselves this time. The iPhone 5 has an impressive 225
hours (9.4 days) in stand-by time, 8 hours of talk time, 10 hours of video, or
40 hours of audio. Apple also made the decision to switch its old 30 pin
connectors to a sleeker, reversible 8 pin “Lightning” cable that allows for
faster recharge and syncing. Overall the battery is great and truly lasts the
entire day.
Apple
has never backed down on their products when it came to hardware and they
aren’t starting now. The iPhone 5 comes with a custom Apple A6 Chip and a Dual
Core Processor capable of 1000 MHz. The iPhone also comes with around 1024 MBs
of Ram and 16, 32, or 64GB of built-in storage, depending on the model. In
addition, it’s equipped with the new iOS 6 directly out of the box. The only
problems I’ve encountered with iOS 6 is the loss of the YouTube and Google Maps
app, as Apple begins to sever it’s ties with rival Google. Even with the
problems in iOS 6, the iPhone 5 reigns supreme in the hardware department and
runs amazingly smooth.
CAMERA
Another
huge improvement in the iPhone 5 was the camera. The technical jump between the
5 and 4S is astonishing. The 5 has a beautiful 8 megapixel rear-facing camera,
and an alright 1.2 megapixel facing camera, complete with a back-illuminating
sensor, auto-focus, digital image stabilization, panorama mode, and much more.
The camcorder is also equipped to take absolutely stunning 1080p HD video(1920x1080.)
OTHER SPECS
The iPhone 5 also has a wide variety of other great features including Bluetooth 4.0, cloud saving, an accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass. The iPhone also includes support for M4 and T4 hearing aid support.
THE VERDICT
The iPhone has its pros and it’s cons, whether it be the atrocious Apple maps, no slot for Micro SD cards, proprietary Lightning cable, or the beautiful Retina display, HD camera, and huge battery, the iPhone 5 is still a great phone and a welcome addition to the iPhone family.
S&S Rating: 9/10 @DrMrPHD
