Apple iPhone 5 is here. Many of the rumours proved to true with the latest phone, featuring a 4-inch widescreen Retina display, a new turbo charged A6 processor, 4G LTE and dual-channel 802.11n 5GHz networking, improved 8 megapixel iSight camera with panorama mode and all-new EarPod headphones. And, yes it still comes in Black or White . . .
The Apple iPhone 5 was officially announced today after months of rumours, updated to continue the battle in the smartphone industry. A tall order, especially will the rising dominance of Samsung, Apples closest competitor.
Apple's iPhone, first launched in 2007 - a breakthrough for the entire industry. Time magazine called the iPhone "the phone that's changed phones forever."
Apple's iPhone, first launched in 2007 - a breakthrough for the entire industry. Time magazine called the iPhone "the phone that's changed phones forever."
The Specs:
iPhone 5 - Body
- Made entirely of glass and unibody aluminum at 6.7mm thin, 18% thinner
- The world's thinnest smartphone (well actually thinnest LTE smartphone)
- Weighs 112 grams, 20% lighter than the iPhone 4S at (140g)
- Phone was made taller because the width is designed to fit the hand perfectly
iPhone 5 - Display
- 4-inch display, 1136x640
- Screen is nearly 16:9, with 44% better color saturation
- Five rows of icons, plus the shortcut row on the bottom
(the screen is basically the same size as the iPhone 4 & 4S, but a bit taller screen)
iPhone 5 - The Processor
- New A6 chip is two times faster and has two times the graphics performance compared to the A5
- It's 22% smaller and more energy efficient
- Apps will launch quicker, browsing will be swifter
- Available in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB model (White or Black)
- Here's the big one - 4G speeds finally come to the iPhone!!
- Apple has added LTE and DC-HSDPA
- Supports dual-channel 5GHz 802.11n, allowing for max performance up to 150Mbps
- In the US: Sprint, AT&T and Verizon will support LTE
- Canada: Rogers, Telus, Bell, Fido, Virgin
- Because the iPhone 5 is taller - as reported on MacRumors, it has "increased antenna spacing and thus the antenna diversity will work better." Antenna diversity allows both the upper and lower antennas to send and receive signals -- a feat that the iPhone 4S was the first to accomplish. "The probability that one of the two antennas has a better signal is higher."
- New camera has an 8 megapixel camera with backside illumination
- Panorama feature - shoot up to 240 degrees
- 40% faster on photo capture
- Record 1080p HD video
- Improved video stabilization helps prevent shaky footage
- The front-facing camera is now 720p, backside illuminated with facial recognition
- For the Geeks - The tech stuff - hybrid IR filter and a five-element lens. f/2.4 aperture. 25% smaller, dynamic low light mode, precision lens alignment, sapphire crystal. The camera evaluates nearby pixels to give up to 2 f-stops greater low-light performance and improved noise reduction, along with new image processing in the A6.
iPhone 5 - The Battery
- iPhone 5 will exceed the battery life of the iPhone 4s
- 8 hours of LTE browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music, 225 hours of standby, 8 hours 3G talk time
- The 30 pin dock connector is gone!
- New connector called "Lightning"
- It’s reversible. Which means there’s no wrong way to plug in the cable (about time!!!)
- All-digital, 8-signal design. Adaptive interface, improved durability, reversible, 80% smaller
- Bose, JBL, B&W, B&O and others are already working on the new connector for their systems
- Apple will be making a adapter so the iPhone 5 can be hooked up to 30-pin accessories
- Phil Schiller on wireless charging:
It’s not clear that NFC is the solution to any current problem, Schiller said. “Passbook does the kinds of things customers need today.”
As for wireless charging, Schiller notes that the wireless charging systems still have to be plugged into the wall, so it’s not clear how much convenience they add. The widely-adopted USB cord, meanwhile, can charge in wall outlets, computers and even on airplanes."
As for why the company is changing the dock connector that has been on nearly all iPhones and iPods since 2003, Schiller said it simply wasn’t possible to build products as thin as the new iPhones and iPods without changing the cord. Hence, the new “Lightning” connector.
That said, Schiller said that Apple doesn’t take changing the connector lightly.
“This is the new connector for many years to come,” he said.
- All New Headphones or should be say EarPods
- Designed with three microphones: one on the front, one on the back and one on the bottom
- The front and back mics work together to achieve beamforming — a technique that helps iPhone focus on sound from the desired location for clearer audio
- The speakers have also been upgraded, going from three to five magnet transducers, which will result in a clearer, richer sound. According to Phil Schiller, the new iPhone 5 can uses wideband audio. If supported by the carrier, the phone will use more of the spectrum bandwidth to send much better and high-fidelity version of your voice over the network
- It will include a revamped Maps app, Siri, as well as Facebook integration, and FaceTime video chat over cellular
- Passbook, which allows users to collect all passes - movie tickets, airline boarding passes, coupons from Target, store card from Starbucks - in one place
- Supports shared photo streams. Friends will receive push notifications with their photos on the iPhone
- Include Apple's own 3D mapping solution - Google maps are gone!
Pricing
iPhone prices of unlocked 16GB, 32GB and 64GB iPhone 5 models at $649, $749 and $849 for the U.S. Pricing in Canada at CAD $699, CAD $799, and CAD $899 for the same 16GB, 32GB and 62GB lineup.
Iphone 5 - Arriving on September 21
Images © Apple
