While I am admittedly an Android fanboy, I do respect Apple for catapulting the modern smartphone industry and I have owned an iPhone 4 at one point, but choose that iOS wasn't for me. However, I'm sure most level headed iPhone fans can agree with me in the sediment that the iPhone 5, while very stylish, is pretty much only a slight improvement over last year's "meh", the iPhone 4S.
On the surface, the iPhone 5 biggest changes are a slightly larger and better screen, new charging port, thinner profile and a lighter, slightly more streamlined construction. Other than that, there are a few notable improvements under the hood: slightly upgraded front-facing camera, Apple's new A6 processor (whatever that is), slightly better battery life and LTE capabilities. The iPhone 5 will also enable users to use FaceTime over wireless or cellular networks and will also sport Apple's latest iOS 6 operating system, which includes some slight improvements to Siri.
Now, I'm sure you've probably noticed my use of "slightly" a number of time in my description of the phone. Yes, part of it is my bias coming through, but if you compare the iPhone 5 against the iPhone 4S spec-wise, it becomes a lot more apparent. You can check out a side by side comparison that Engadget put together after the jump and see for yourself.
I'm sure the iPhone 5 will be another huge success, but I'm starting to feel that Apple is starting to just ride the wave they created with the original iPhone back in 2007. The last two iterations of their flagship phone have been rather lackluster. It's true that much of the hype leading up to the iPhone 5's release was pretty much deflated after pretty much every aspect of the phone was leaked, but we haven't seen that "one more thing" moment since Steve Jobs' passing. Features that most users have been asking for (NFC, wireless charging, etc) weren't included, basically because Apple felt that there wasn't a need; I call laziness on their part.
Apple's "innovation" has always been in question to me personally, but lately they seem to just be playing catch-up to many Android offerings that have been available for the last two years and from the outside looking in, it seems they know consumers will buy whatever they produce next.
Anyway, I'll stop my little rant and turn it over to you. What do you think of the latest iPhone? Will you be placing you pre-order this Friday? Were you expecting more? Let me know what you think the in comments below.
iPhone 5 iPhone 4S
| Price (on contract) | $199 16GB, $299 32GB, $399 64GB | $199 16GB, $299 32GB, $399 64GB |
| Processor | Apple A6 | Dual-core Apple A5 |
| Memory | 1GB (tbc) | 1GB (tbc) |
| Display | 4-inch IPS 1,136 x 640 | 3.5-inch IPS 960 x 640 |
| Pixel Density | 326 ppi | 326 ppi |
| Storage | 16GB / 32GB / 64GB | 16GB / 32GB / 64GB |
| Primary camera |
8 megapixel AF with flash and f/2.4 aperture
|
8 megapixel AF with flash and f/2.4 aperture
|
| Secondary camera | 1.2 megapixel at 30fps | VGA at 30fps |
| Video recording | 1080p at 30fps | 1080p at 30fps |
| Cellular/ |
GSM Model A1428: GSM / LTE
CDMA Model A1429: CDMA / LTE
GSM Model A1429: GSM / LTE
| Hybrid GSM / CDMA "World Phone" |
| WiFi | Dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n | 802.11 b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Orientation | Accelerometer, digital compass, gyroscope | Accelerometer, digital compass, gyroscope |
| Navigation | A-GPS, GLONASS | A-GPS, GLONASS |
| FaceTime | WiFi and Cellular | WiFi-only (iOS 5) |
| SIM standard | nanoSIM | microSIM |
| Battery life | Up to 8 hours talk time on 3G Up to 8 hours data on 3G Up to 8 hours data on LTE Up to 10 hours data on WiFi Up to 40 hours audio Up to 10 hours video Up to 225 hours on standby | Up to 8 hours talk time on 3G Up to 14 hours talk time on 2G Up to 6 hours data on 3G Up to 9 hours data on WiFi Up to 40 hours audio Up to 10 hours video Up to 200 hours on standby |
| Weight | 112 grams / 3.9 oz | 140 grams / 4.9 oz |
| Dimensions | 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm | 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm |
| Colors | Black and Slate / White and Silver | Black / White |
Source: Engadget
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