We can’t emphasise enough how gorgeous the
iPhone 5 is. The iPhone has always had the best of Jony lye’s time, and it’s
clear that Apple wanted to make it look even better.
The
amazing thing about the iPhone 5 is that the device itself manages to feel
smaller, while the screen is bigger.
The amazing thing about the iPhone 5 is
that the device itself manages to feel smaller, while the screen is bigger.
Partly this is down to the lighter weight, slimmer design and smaller bezel.
Depth s down to a ridiculous 7.6mm, and it weighs 112g (compared to the 9.3mm
and 140g of the 4S). Every single person we’ve got to hold the iPhone 5 has
exclaimed at how light and thin it is.
It really is a slinky little thing,
especially if you compare it to some of the ever increasingly brick-like
Android and Windows phones coming out. The Samsung Galaxy S3 looks like a
monster next to it.
In terms of design, it’s thematically very
similar to the iPhone 4 and iPhone 45. The white iPhone looks similar to the
white and silver iPhone 4S, but with an anodised aluminium backing; the black
and slate model couldn’t be blacker if it tried: black screen, bezel, slate
backing and black antenna on the sides, and shiny black logo and lettering on
the back.
The 3.5mm earphone jack has moved to the
bottom of the phone, as on the iPod touch. We prefer it at the top because when
you put it in a pocket the volume controls are more accessible, but this is
minor.
4g LTE in the UK
The presence of 4G LTE networking is a step
forward, but one that very few can take advantage of n this country. New
network EE, formed by the merger of Orange and T-Mobile, is the only network
with Ofcom approval but we don’t know when its network will launch to the
public.
The camera
Apple has made improvements to the camera,
and it shows. The 8-megapixel count remains the same, but the 45 topped out at
ISO 800, which gives pretty poor images in low light; the iPhone 5 goes up to
ISO 3200. Pictures in darkened environments are much better. The surface of the
lens is made of sapphire crystal, so it’s significantly tougher than before.
The iPhone 5’s A6 processor also makes a
big difference to the speed of taking photographs. Both the focus and the
shutter work much faster in the iPhone 5.
The
surface of the lens is made of sapphire crystal, so it’s significantly tougher
than before.
The front-facing FaceTime camera,
meanwhile, has had a megapixel bump: it now snaps 1.2-megapixel images and
records HD video, so you’ll look good in video chats.
Photos are captured in the regular iPhone
format (the button sits at the side of the snap, rather than overlaying the
photo), but video is captured in 16:9, which makes sense.
Audio and speaker test
One other enhancement is the iPhone 5’s
speaker (there’s only one, even though there are grills on the left and right
of the Lightning port). Music is important to Apple and it shows. The audio
quality of the iPhone 5, given the small stature of the device, is great.
The new EarPods, too, are manifestly better
than the iPod earphones they replace. The new look is designed to fit in the
ear more comfortably - which they do - and also provide improved audio quality.
They especially have more bass than the models they replace.
The
audio quality of the iPhone 5, given the small stature of the device, is great.
Lightning vs 30-PIN
The Lightning connector is smaller and
thinner, and you can slot it in either side up. It’s still USB 2.0 and not the
faster USB 3.0, though, so there’s no major gain for the customer, other than
the space saving that helps the iPhone 5 to be so skinny. But the down side is
that those dozens of old cables and accessories won’t work without an adaptor.
Verdict
The iPhone remains comfortably the best
smartphone on the market, thanks to Apple’s slavish devotion to design (it’s a
really nice piece of kit to hold) combined with a superb ecosystem of apps,
music and video content and iCloud services. With Lightning and the troubled
iOS 6 Maps update (see page 27), it feels like there’s a bit of a cloud sitting
over the iPhone 5 — which is a shame, because it’s a really good product.
Overall, the iPhone 5 is marginally better in just about every area than the
45, so it’s a solid, if not radical, step forward.
Price depends on mobile contract.
SIM-free:
US$793.5 (16GB), US$898.5 (32GB),
US$1048.5 (64GB)
Apple • apple.com/uk/phone
Likes:
·
Achingly beautiful design
·
Thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4S
·
Super-fast processor
·
Better low-light photography
·
Stronger headphone audio
·
Taller screen allows for a few extra lines of
text in portrait mode, and one more row of icons
·
4G compatibility
Dislikes:
·
New lightning connector means all your old
cables and wired accessories will need an adaptor
·
Requires new nano-SIM
·
Will take app developers some time to take
advantage of extra screen space, and there will be black bars at the edge until
they do
·
4G compatibility is limited in the UK for the
time being
