iphone 5 Review

iPhone 5: Apple's latest smartphone gets a bigger screen and more power

A6 chip
performance & graphics up to twice as fast

iSight camera
the camera you love now shoots in panorama

iOS 6
the world's most advanced operating system

ultrafast wireless
browse, download & stream content at blazing fast speed

4-inch retina display
its not just bigger its just right

thinner, lighter design
so much more than before.
and so much less too

Performance

Faster performance on the iPhone 5 was not exactly unexpected. Every year, Apple bests itself in the speed of operation for its phones, and I had no doubt the company would accomplish a bump in the new device. After touting what the A6 processor and its GPU could do on stage at its event two weeks ago, I knew that the iPhone 5 would feel faster than its predecessor. My only surprise was that the increase in speed wasn't quite as noticeable between the 4S and the 5. That may have more to do with the still-excellent performance of the iPhone 4S (particularly with iOS 6) than it does with the A6.

When running graphically-intensive games, there are clearly some improvements in frame rates, as well as a noticeable lack of stutter on the iPhone 5. General multitasking and app performance was superb. In particular, the new Maps 3D Flyover view pushed the phone hard, and the differences between the older and newer models was clear. Basically — there's not much to complain about when it comes to speed on the new phone. It's really, really fast.

BATTERY LIFE

One of the most amazing feats Apple pulled off in the thinner, lighter iPhone 5 is that the battery life is not only as good as the previous phone... it's actually better. Even when using LTE data! 

More about iPhone 5 

        What a blessing, and what a curse. It's actually funny to think that there was a time not that long ago that the iPhone wasn't even a thing, let alone an iconic part of pop culture. A time when an Apple-made phone was just a fantasy; a blogger's fever-dream; a secret glimmer in the eye of Steve Jobs and his team of engineers and designers.

         But the iPhone has become very real. In fact, it's grown up, moved out, and taken over the world. Well, half the world anyhow. These days the iPhone isn't just components on a breadboard in a lab in Cupertino, it's the device by which all others are measured. And that makes for some interesting measuring indeed.

          The new iteration of Apple's phone is everything it should be: faster, smarter, thinner, and lighter. It boasts LTE data speeds, improved cameras, a larger screen with a higher resolution, and a design which — while not groundbreaking — is unquestionably beautiful. But it's also very much the iPhone you've seen before. Apple's iOS 6 software is not a leap forward, but a small jump, and the phone design is an evolution of the iPhone 4S, not a revolutionary new spin.

           So does the new iPhone 5 retain its title as MVP in smartphones, or is it just another contender in a big, big game?

           The phone is also thinner and of course taller. Combined with the lighter weight, it feels somehow smaller in your hands despite that new 4-inch display.

            Apple moved the headphone jack to the bottom of the phone, which is a welcome change in my opinion. It also slightly tweaked some of the details on the device, like the grid on the speakers and the more polished, streamlined beveled edges on the sides of the phone. The mirrored, angular rims give the phone a glint akin to jewelry (something I noted in my first hands-on with the device).

            In all, while the iPhone 5 might look familiar, the sheer attention to fit and finish in its build lends it a sense of quality and craftsmanship that far too many devices lack. The new design — particularly the black version, which has a kind of sinister simplicity to it — is truly something to behold.

• GENERAL 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - GSM A1428
•   CDMA 800 / 1900 / 2100 - CDMA A1429
• 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 - GSM A1428
•   CDMA2000 1xEV-DO - CDMA A1429
• 4G Network LTE 700 MHz Class 17 / 1700 / 2100 - GSM A1428 or LTE 850 / 1800 / 2100 - GSM A1429
•   LTE 700 / 850 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 - CDMA A1429
• SIM Nano-SIM
• Announced 2012, September
• Status Available. Released 2012, September
• BODY Dimensions 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm (4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 in)
• Weight 112 g (3.95 oz)
• DISPLAY Type LED-backlit IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
• Size 640 x 1136 pixels, 4.0 inches (~326 ppi pixel density)
• Multitouch Yes
• Protection Corning Gorilla Glass, oleophobic coating
• SOUND Alert types Vibration, proprietary ringtones
• Loudspeaker Yes
• 3.5mm jack Yes
• MEMORY Card slot No
• Internal 16/32/64 GB storage, 1 GB RAM
• DATA GPRS Yes
• EDGE Yes
• Speed DC-HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, LTE, 100 Mbps; EV-DO Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps
• WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth Yes, v4.0 with A2DP
• USB Yes, v2.0
• CAMERA Primary 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, check quality
• Features Simultaneous HD video and image recording, touch focus, geo-tagging, face detection, panorama, HDR
• Video Yes, 1080p@30fps, video stabilization, check quality
• Secondary Yes, 1.2 MP, 720p@30fps, face detection, FaceTime over Wi-Fi or Cellular
• FEATURES OS iOS 6, upgradable to iOS 6.1.4, planned upgrade to iOS 7.0
• Chipset Apple A6
• CPU Dual-core 1.3 GHz
• GPU PowerVR SGX 543MP3 (triple-core graphics)
• Sensors Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
• Messaging iMessage, SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email
• Browser HTML (Safari)
• Radio No
• GPS Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
• Java No
• Colors Black/Slate, White/Silver
•   - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• - Siri natural language commands and dictation
• - iCloud cloud service
• - Twitter and Facebook integration
• - TV-out
• - Maps
• - iBooks PDF reader
• - Audio/video player/editor
• - Organizer
• - Document viewer
• - Image viewer/editor
• - Voice memo/dial/command
• - Predictive text input
• BATTERY Non-removable Li-Po 1440 mAh battery (5.45 Wh)
• Stand-by Up to 225 h (2G) / Up to 225 h (3G)
• Talk time Up to 8 h (2G) / Up to 8 h (3G)
• Music play Up to 40 h
• MISC SAR US 1.18 W/kg (head)     1.18 W/kg (body)    
• SAR EU 0.95 W/kg (head)     0.90 W/kg (body)    
• Price group
• TESTS Display Contrast ratio: 1320:1 (nominal) / 3.997:1 (sunlight)
• Loudspeaker Voice 66dB / Noise 66dB / Ring 67dB
• Audio quality Noise -91.3dB / Crosstalk -76.5dB
• Camera Photo / Video
• Battery life Endurance rating 51h