The iPhone 5, all the important details

The iPhone 5 has arrived, and it sure looks nice.

Main highlights:

- 4 inch screen. Nice to see that they extended the display without compromising how comfortable the iPhone was to hold and use with one hand. Definitely the right move here. Virtual buttons and virtual sticks will definitely be better now that they're off to the sides even more this way.

- Updates to all wireless features, even speedier WiFi. HSPA+, DC-HSDPA and LTE support. WiFi protocol has also been updated & now features 2.4ghz & 5ghz on 802.11n.

- A6 Chip. 2X the CPU performance and a whopping 2X the graphical power of the 4S. Just wow. The 4S graphic capabilities were no slouch. The A6 chip ensures the iPhone's dominance and further cements it in the gaming industry.

- Battery will allow for 8 hours of continuous talk time, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music and an impressive 225 hours of standby before requiring a charge.

- The new camera features an 8 megapixel sensor & f/2.4 aperture. Apple also included a dynamic low-light mode. The camera is also 40% faster at photo capture than the 4S.

- New lightning connector. The iPhone 5 will not utilize the 30-pin connector all Apple handheld devices have used since 2003. Instead the new phone will feature a new, smaller "lightning" connector. It's reversible, so no more fumbling in the dark to get your device plugged in. You can plug it in using any orientation. It's also 80% smaller than the original dock connector.

- 20% thinner, 20% lighter. How they managed to do this while doubling the raw processing power and graphic ability is pretty amazing. An iPhone 5 inserted in an average case would equal a naked iPhone 4S. They maximized the thickness reduction by replacing the old dock connector with the lightning port.

- With a contract, the iPhone 5 will cost $199 for a 16GB device, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB. iPhone 5 starting at $199? Who said Apple was overpriced?

A6 Chip. 2X the CPU performance and a whopping 2X the graphical power of the 4S. Just wow. The 4S graphic capabilities were no slouch. The A6 chip ensures the iPhone's dominance and further cements it in the gaming industry.

Kid-Atari

The only set-back could be a PowerVR SGX 5xx series GPU (very likely) which lacks the API support for OpenGL ES 3.0, OpenCL 1.1 and DirectX 11 (9_3).

Apple's 2013 iPad will likely use the SGX 6xx series which will have support for those APIs.

The a6 chip is nice and its most likely on par with the snapdragon s4 found in the HTC One XL and the GS3 LTE. (if rumors of a15 architecture of true, but as nvidiati said we have no evidence yet.) mystic_knight

Even if it uses Cortex A9, I'm sure the SoC would still outperform the Snapdragon S4.

A 4" screen is a pretty big upgrade from a 3.5" screen if you ask me. However I would have liked apple to change the position of the power button from the top to the right side as this is now quite a tall phone and having the power button at the top is not the most comfortable position. Anyways its not a huge problem since the phone is still not too big, on something like an HTC one X its a deal breaker to have the button on top.

I like that they got rid of the glass back finally although I am not a fan of a 2 tone back but cant give final verdict on the design until I dont see it myself. In any case its better than having glass.

The camera on such thin phones can only be improved that much, the S3 didnt really improve much on the S2 and so will be the case with the iphone 5. It's the software gimmicks that are getting the attention now.

This phone is really really thin and lightweight and thats what my problem is. They had so much room to give a monstrous battery, nobody would have complained if it had same weight and thickness as 4S. Sure people love it thin but wouldnt they love it more if the phone lasted 2 days of heavy usage? It's not like the 4S is not pleasingly thin. 2 days battery life with LTE would have delivered a knockout punch to android phones, motorola phones dont compare in sheer hardware quality and software support to apple so they are not really a comparable thing.

The biggest problem remains iOS6 but we knew about it for months now how it is going to be. Software is where apple has really stalled and people are bored of it. I mean the way they decided to use the extra screen space was to add another row of icons? Seriously?? How about having that weather widget on the top of the homescreen instead of in the notification bar? Seriously there are so many things you could do with more screen real estate and all they do is add a bunch of more icons.

If apple didnt go after android in court they could have copied alot more from android without being hypocritical and dare I say they could have created better OS because they already have the best ecosystem which is one of the hardest things to have and something you cant "buy". Having accused everyone else of copying them now apple is in a difficult position where they are out of ideas of what new they can implement that wouldnt be deemed as copying.

It's impossible to post anything anymore. musicalmac

A 4" screen is a pretty big upgrade from a 3.5" screen if you ask me. However I would have liked apple to change the position of the power button from the top to the right side as this is now quite a tall phone and having the power button at the top is not the most comfortable position. Anyways its not a huge problem since the phone is still not too big, on something like an HTC one X its a deal breaker to have the button on top.

I like that they got rid of the glass back finally although I am not a fan of a 2 tone back but cant give final verdict on the design until I dont see it myself. In any case its better than having glass.

The camera on such thin phones can only be improved that much, the S3 didnt really improve much on the S2 and so will be the case with the iphone 5. It's the software gimmicks that are getting the attention now.

This phone is really really thin and lightweight and thats what my problem is. They had so much room to give a monstrous battery, nobody would have complained if it had same weight and thickness as 4S. Sure people love it thin but wouldnt they love it more if the phone lasted 2 days of heavy usage? It's not like the 4S is not pleasingly thin. 2 days battery life with LTE would have delivered a knockout punch to android phones, motorola phones dont compare in sheer hardware quality and software support to apple so they are not really a comparable thing.

The biggest problem remains iOS6 but we knew about it for months now how it is going to be. Software is where apple has really stalled and people are bored of it. I mean the way they decided to use the extra screen space was to add another row of icons? Seriously?? How about having that weather widget on the top of the homescreen instead of in the notification bar? Seriously there are so many things you could do with more screen real estate and all they do is add a bunch of more icons.

If apple didnt go after android in court they could have copied alot more from android without being hypocritical and dare I say they could have created better OS because they already have the best ecosystem which is one of the hardest things to have and something you cant "buy". Having accused everyone else of copying them now apple is in a difficult position where they are out of ideas of what new they can implement that wouldnt be deemed as copying.

Gambler_3

Mods, does Gamblers post count as forum invasion? This article had no reference, relevance nor mention of Android here. The entire forum already knows his stance on Apple, that he owns an Android device, and generally is just here to spin a negative angle on every Apple related article.Kid-Atari

I think it's important to note that people who criticize the connector probably don't understand how little it's used for actual data transfer. I have never plugged my iPhone into my computer. It's really a very tiny, very efficient charching port.musicalmac

Mods, does Gamblers post count as forum invasion? This article had no reference, relevance nor mention of Android here. The entire forum already knows his stance on Apple, that he owns an Android device, and generally is just here to spin a negative angle on every Apple related article.Kid-Atari

What do we have like 2 or 3 iOS users on gamespot that like to talk about it? This forum will be utterly dead without us.

It's not about data transfer (though it's slow on that regard as well). It's about rendering everyone's peripherals useless unless they want to buy an adapter that costs $30 PER PERIPHERAL. I am not entirely sure why they changed connectors, but since they decided to they should have went mini USB. But like I said above, apparently Apple knows us best and we have to be force fed their proprietary crap.BeErBOnG29

[QUOTE="BeErBOnG29"]It's not about data transfer (though it's slow on that regard as well). It's about rendering everyone's peripherals useless unless they want to buy an adapter that costs $30 PER PERIPHERAL. I am not entirely sure why they changed connectors, but since they decided to they should have went mini USB. But like I said above, apparently Apple knows us best and we have to be force fed their proprietary crap.musicalmac

Yes it makes some of your add-ons require an adaptor, but give companies a few months and everything will support the new connector.

It's a non-issue. musicalmac

There is a small white peice placed behind the dock to support the iDevice and keep it from putting too much pressure on the plug.

With the new adaptor, an iDevice with lightning will sit above the back support and put stress on the lightning plug. This may not be an issue with the new iPhone 5 as it is rather light, but the new iPad mini and iPad with lightning may be too much weight.

So a new iDevice will not be ideal for the person who was stupid enough to actually spend $1200 on a B&O iPod dock.

It would also look horrible with an adaptor in the loop.

This forum is officially a headache. musicalmac

Clearly we need to go back to having one forum, with windows 8 in the mix now it'll all be pretty fun.

Has anybody seen the amount of one post threads in this forum? Clearly nobody is interested in talking about relevant stuff.

Clearly we need to go back to having one forum, with windows 8 in the mix now it'll all be pretty fun.

Has anybody seen the amount of one post threads in this forum? Clearly nobody is interested in talking about relevant stuff.

Gambler_3

[QUOTE="Gambler_3"]

Clearly we need to go back to having one forum, with windows 8 in the mix now it'll all be pretty fun.

Has anybody seen the amount of one post threads in this forum? Clearly nobody is interested in talking about relevant stuff.

NVIDIATI

[QUOTE="NVIDIATI"]

[QUOTE="Gambler_3"]

Clearly we need to go back to having one forum, with windows 8 in the mix now it'll all be pretty fun.

Has anybody seen the amount of one post threads in this forum? Clearly nobody is interested in talking about relevant stuff.

Gambler_3

A reasonable number of people come to the iOS and Android boards with questions.

iOS help/information threads with posts in the last few days:

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29290974/very-silly-question-about-the-ipad.

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29282314/new-ipad-help

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29290689/is-now-the-right-time-to-get-an-ipad3-plz-help

Android help/information threads with posts in the last few days:

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29283727/acer-iconia-a701

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29289982/updating-android-os

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29283972/androidflash-playerno

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29275801/should-i-get-the-galaxy-nexus

Cross platform discussion is for System Wars, hence why the Android/iOS thread has been so successful.

This forum is officially a headache. musicalmac

[QUOTE="musicalmac"]This forum is officially a headache. Kid-Atari

My apologies that there aren't as many extreme Apple fans such as yourself, but don't disrespect those who come here for discussion with a meaningful purpose.

Take BeErBOnG29 for example, he's obviously a fan of Apple and came to this thread to talk about the likes/dislikes of the iPhone 5.

Instead of creating discussion, his comments get brushed off. Why is that?

Why do you only believe that this thread is for Apple users? Some sort of discrimination? No other board is like this.

There happens to be a temporary Windows Phone 8 and RT discussion thread on the Android board at the moment and everyone gets along just fine. Amazing how reasonable people can be, then again you would just assume everyone hates Apple, etc. etc.

Normally I'd inform you it is wise to ignore trolls, but based on your history, I highly doubt you give a ****.

Once again, SW is the place for cross-platform discussion, users should be directed there.

[QUOTE="Kid-Atari"][QUOTE="musicalmac"]This forum is officially a headache. NVIDIATI

My apologies that there aren't as many extreme Apple fans such as yourself, but don't disrespect those who come here for discussion with a meaningful purpose.

Take BeErBOnG29 for example, he's obviously a fan of Apple and came to this thread to talk about the likes/dislikes of the iPhone 5.

Instead of creating discussion, his comments get brushed off. Why is that?

Why do you only believe that this thread is for Apple users? Some sort of discrimination? No other board is like this.

There happens to be a temporary Windows Phone 8 and RT discussion thread on the Android board at the moment and everyone gets along just fine. Amazing how reasonable people can be, then again you would just assume everyone hates Apple, etc. etc.

Normally I'd inform you it is wise to ignore trolls, but based on your history, I highly doubt you give a ****.

Once again, SW is the place for cross-platform discussion, users should be directed there.

It's not about data transfer (though it's slow on that regard as well). It's about rendering everyone's peripherals useless unless they want to buy an adapter that costs $30 PER PERIPHERAL. I am not entirely sure why they changed connectors, but since they decided to they should have went mini USB. But like I said above, apparently Apple knows us best and we have to be force fed their proprietary crap.BeErBOnG29

My apologies that there aren't as many extreme Apple fans such as yourself, but don't disrespect those who come here for discussion with a meaningful purpose.

Take BeErBOnG29 for example, he's obviously a fan of Apple and came to this thread to talk about the likes/dislikes of the iPhone 5.

Instead of creating discussion, his comments get brushed off. Why is that?

Why do you only believe that this thread is for Apple users? Some sort of discrimination? No other board is like this.

There happens to be a temporary Windows Phone 8 and RT discussion thread on the Android board at the moment and everyone gets along just fine. Amazing how reasonable people can be, then again you would just assume everyone hates Apple, etc. etc.

Normally I'd inform you it is wise to ignore trolls, but based on your history, I highly doubt you give a ****.

Once again, SW is the place for cross-platform discussion, users should be directed there.

NVIDIATI

This forum is useless. It is mobile SW. None of the iOS forumites care about Android, which is why the Google forum is so peaceful. And WinMo8 isn't worth anyone's time yet because it's smaller than RIM. I'm afraid I have to be be tougher. It's time to draw the line between legitimate, thoughtful posts and obvious trolling attempts.musicalmac

This forum has had alot more "comparison" posts than the android board and you two complaining are the biggest culprits of it. When you make false claims about apple superiority with BS surveys and what not then us posting in that thread is not forum invasion. We have had hardly any topics on the android board where someone tried to belittle iOS but thats certainly not true of this board. The only threads that are even there happened after it started happening here.

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29219823/ios-growth-doubles-android-in-last-three-months

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29192365/ios-still-holds-significant-lead-in-developer-interest

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29233850/apple-granted-the-mother-of-all-smartphone-software-patents

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29254400/ars-technica-recognizes-ios-as-biggest-gaming-platform

If you cant follow the rules then dont talk BS about others!!! No such topics exist on the PS3/360 boards.

And yes among the knowledgeable community there are very few apple fanboys so by default an-anti apple thread is going to be less intense. "None of the iOS forumites care about android" haha that one cracked me up coming from you.

I didnt even post in this board in it's initial days until these sort of threads started coming up!!!

[QUOTE="NVIDIATI"]

My apologies that there aren't as many extreme Apple fans such as yourself, but don't disrespect those who come here for discussion with a meaningful purpose.

Take BeErBOnG29 for example, he's obviously a fan of Apple and came to this thread to talk about the likes/dislikes of the iPhone 5.

Instead of creating discussion, his comments get brushed off. Why is that?

Why do you only believe that this thread is for Apple users? Some sort of discrimination? No other board is like this.

There happens to be a temporary Windows Phone 8 and RT discussion thread on the Android board at the moment and everyone gets along just fine. Amazing how reasonable people can be, then again you would just assume everyone hates Apple, etc. etc.

Normally I'd inform you it is wise to ignore trolls, but based on your history, I highly doubt you give a ****.

Once again, SW is the place for cross-platform discussion, users should be directed there.

musicalmac

[QUOTE="Kid-Atari"]Mods, does Gamblers post count as forum invasion? This article had no reference, relevance nor mention of Android here. The entire forum already knows his stance on Apple, that he owns an Android device, and generally is just here to spin a negative angle on every Apple related article.BeErBOnG29

I think it's important to note that people who criticize the connector probably don't understand how little it's used for actual data transfer. I have never plugged my iPhone into my computer. It's really a very tiny, very efficient charching port.musicalmac

[QUOTE="NVIDIATI"]

My apologies that there aren't as many extreme Apple fans such as yourself, but don't disrespect those who come here for discussion with a meaningful purpose.

Take BeErBOnG29 for example, he's obviously a fan of Apple and came to this thread to talk about the likes/dislikes of the iPhone 5.

Instead of creating discussion, his comments get brushed off. Why is that?

Why do you only believe that this thread is for Apple users? Some sort of discrimination? No other board is like this.

There happens to be a temporary Windows Phone 8 and RT discussion thread on the Android board at the moment and everyone gets along just fine. Amazing how reasonable people can be, then again you would just assume everyone hates Apple, etc. etc.

Normally I'd inform you it is wise to ignore trolls, but based on your history, I highly doubt you give a ****.

Once again, SW is the place for cross-platform discussion, users should be directed there.

musicalmac

[QUOTE="musicalmac"][QUOTE="NVIDIATI"]

My apologies that there aren't as many extreme Apple fans such as yourself, but don't disrespect those who come here for discussion with a meaningful purpose.

Take BeErBOnG29 for example, he's obviously a fan of Apple and came to this thread to talk about the likes/dislikes of the iPhone 5.

Instead of creating discussion, his comments get brushed off. Why is that?

Why do you only believe that this thread is for Apple users? Some sort of discrimination? No other board is like this.

There happens to be a temporary Windows Phone 8 and RT discussion thread on the Android board at the moment and everyone gets along just fine. Amazing how reasonable people can be, then again you would just assume everyone hates Apple, etc. etc.

Normally I'd inform you it is wise to ignore trolls, but based on your history, I highly doubt you give a ****.

Once again, SW is the place for cross-platform discussion, users should be directed there.

BeErBOnG29

Why is everyone arguing.

Kid Atari you don't own the board, and you can't push other members out just because you feel like it.

If there are features of the iPhone that people do not like it can still be voiced here. If he is coming here saying iOS is crap and that its useless or as it says in the header anti-iOS talk yes its considered an invasion.

What did gambler even try to voice. He said how much better the iPhone would have been if they decided to make it that little bigger. Or how many advancements they could have used if they weren't in a court room with every other manufacturer. Its his opinion. He was never praising android devices in here. He stated how much the phone could have been improved. And my comment was stating in some areas you have caught to the current standard and was outlining that the phone was actually good.

So not sure how you consider these invasive comments. You should really stop holding grudges to anyone who doesn't say the iPhone is the best phone in the market.You don't hear what you want to hear, thats too bad. But no one got out of line.

On to something more relevant about the device.

Apple have used their own ARMv7 instructions and designed the CPU similar to a15 architecture. In the same vein as Qualcomm with their Krait processor, similar to a15. Article here Still not too much info as everyone is waiting for someone to get their hands on a phone to break it down. They purposely didn't advertise cores as some of the clueless might have been upset if it was a 'dual core'. A common problem found in the android world. People dismissed the dual core krait without realising it was on par with the quad core a9 in most tests. Promising SOC in this A6. It might actually be the best SOC available right now.

It might actually be the best SOC available right now.

mystic_knight

[QUOTE="mystic_knight"]

It might actually be the best SOC available right now.

NVIDIATI

[QUOTE="musicalmac"][QUOTE="BeErBOnG29"]It's not about data transfer (though it's slow on that regard as well). It's about rendering everyone's peripherals useless unless they want to buy an adapter that costs $30 PER PERIPHERAL. I am not entirely sure why they changed connectors, but since they decided to they should have went mini USB. But like I said above, apparently Apple knows us best and we have to be force fed their proprietary crap.BeErBOnG29

[QUOTE="NVIDIATI"]

[QUOTE="mystic_knight"]

It might actually be the best SOC available right now.

mystic_knight

I acknowledged in my post that I like the screen size if I were being a fanboy I could have said OMG so much smaller than the galaxy S3 but I have always said 4" is a very good size and I wont back off from it just because iphone has it now. I appreciated the fact that they finally got rid of the glass back. What exactly do you guys want? Only those post in this forum who are completely and totally in unconditional love with apple products? :?