Ok, I don’t want to sound negative here, but unlike what many fans were expecting, very little was groundbreaking for the new iPhone 5. Most of it was simply improved, with less of the “new” surprises that we were so eagerly awaiting. Rumors and leaks have spoiled us and kind of dampened the magic since we already knew most of the stuff they were presenting. None the less, here are a few key changes.
Figure
Let’s start here. Once again, Apple touts the “thinnest smartphone” label. The official measurement is 7.6mm thick. That is 18% thinner than the 9.3 mm iPhone 4S and thinner than the 8.6 mm Galaxy S3. iPhones are getting very thin, but Apple promises unyielding quality. At the very least, they won’t use the plastic material of Samsung. The iPhone 5 is very light at 112 grams. The iPhone 4S was 140 grams.
Camera
It apparently takes better low light photos, which makes us very eager to pit this against the PureView camera from Nokia. It also features a better smart filter for less noisy photos. Panoramic mode is finally a go, with a very stable image capture mechanism. It apparently takes photos 40% faster than the iPhone 4S.
Take note that the iPhone 5 front facing camera will now support 720p, making video calls even clearer visually compared to the 4S.
Audio
They improved voice call quality by introducing a wide band audio system which will make your voice sound more natural over the phone. Apple was quick to offer a disclaimer that the technology is useless until the carrier network supports it. According to Apple, 20 carriers have promised to support the new feature.
Lightning Dock
4G LTE
Yes, the iPhone 5 officially joins the league of 4G LTE enabled phones. They even say that their LTE is so fast, there is no need for Wi-Fi. I have to say, that no matter how good your phone’s data capabilities are, there is no substitute yet to Wi-Fi. Still, it gives us a pretty good idea of how good their connection probably is.
Battery Life
Muscle
According to Apple’s statistics, the new A6 chip in the iPhone 5 will be 2X faster in terms of CPU and 2x graphics compared to the A5. Which means, it is just a bump in CPU if you are coming from the A5X which already doubles the graphic performance of the A5 chip. Still, the Real Racing 3 game they demonstrated up front was very impressive. It was comparable with console game graphics!
The Display
Personal conclusion?
I don’t know if you can feel it, but I am a bit underwhelmed by what they have presented in the hardware. Sure, we expected that increase in processor even without the leaks. If they didn’t do that, they would have been a failure. LTE is already a trend that is not really something people have in their minds, although it is an ongoing trend among manufacturers.
The iPhone 5 is a redesign, but they didn’t put a lot on the table to make me want to get one yet. They will cover the iOS 6 updates later on, but for now, the hardware is just what the leaks told you. It’s thinner, lighter, and longer, with some minor improvements here and there.
I hope more than just 20 carriers support the better audio feature, but what happens for those that can’t support it? Not everyone will have an iPhone 5, and if we know Apple, they patented it out already; making sure the tech won’t reach other manufacturers, which means less reason for carriers to modify their services just for Apple.
Please take note that these are all just based from the presentation. Real world testing has yet to be done for the device, and as we all know, experience can always change opinions. Hopefully, I will get my own chance to play with the device when it comes out.
Image sources: engadget.com