Note: This iPhone 5 review was written by our guest poster, Sohail Qaisar. Official Craving Tech’s iPhone 5 review can be read here. All images are courtesy of Apple.
Taller, thinner, lighter, faster, better: the five things that give Apple’s latest iPhone its name — iPhone 5. It’s undeniable that no other phone has gained so much attention or created as much hype as the iPhone. This year, Apple has brought iPhone 5 to the world and it truly stands up to the many, many expectations. Apple calls it “the biggest change to iPhone since iPhone”.
When the iPad was announced, it was labeled by critics as a giant iPod Touch. But soon people realized that it’s much more that. History repeats itself. Then the iPhone 5 came, and got criticized for being only taller. I have to tell you, if you haven’t seen and used it, you cannot even imagine how different it actually is. Let’s dig deep into it and explore the new stuff it has to offer.
iPhone 5 Design changes
Let’s start with the obvious. Although the iPhone 5 might look like an elongated version of the iPhone 4S; it isn’t just that. It is a brand new product with a design similar to that of the iPhone 4S, but with some very fine, beautiful changes. After five generations of iPhones and a lot of waiting by the customers, Apple has finally increased the screen size. It now measures four diagonally, instead of the same old 3.5″ screen; it’s taller, and not wider. Technically speaking, the display has a resolution of 1136×640, and a perfect 16:9 aspect ratio. Yet, it features Apple’s signature ‘retina display’, and watching widescreen movies on this screen is an amazing experience.
Even though the technology is still the same, the screen looks better compared to the screen on the iPhone 4S. It looks spectacular even when the screen is off as the front would be completely black in contrast to the previous generation iPhone in which you could easily decipher where the display is. The software handles the screen length change pretty well.
Increased length (and the screen) is only one aspect of this new product. The iPhone 5 is noticeably thinner and lighter as well. As a matter of fact, I underestimated how light it was until I picked it up for the first time. It feels significantly lighter compared to the previous generation iPhones. Although the design of the iPhone 5 is reminiscent of the iPhone 4S, it has been completely rebuilt from the ground up, and features some changes as well. The headphone jack is now moved to the bottom, the speaker and microphone/speaker grill perforations are wider, there’s a new port instead of the classic 30-pin connector port, and this iPhone has three microphones (for better noise cancellation). The back of the phone is now made of Apple’s high quality aluminum that feels great in the hand; and on the top and bottom, there are two strips of glass.
The white (White and Silver) model looks like a really special; the silver antenna band that runs around the phone is now black, with chamfered edges, and these minor changes bring the combined effect of an exquisite design improvement. I second what some reviewers 4S, but the black one (Black and Slate) is really special; the silver antenna band that runs around the phone is now black, with chamfered edges, and these minor changes bring the combined effect of an exquisite design improvement.
Another minor hardware change is the camera. It still has an eight megapixel sensor, but don’t be disappointed, because you can’t judge a camera by its megapixels. The camera hardware has been slightly changed, and if you compare the camera result of the iPhone 4S and 5, you can really see how much better the photos from an iPhone 5 look.
There’s another minor yet important change to the hardware: the iPhone 5 uses a nano-SIM, which is essentially a SIM card even smaller than the micro-SIM. The availability of nano-SIM could be an issue in countries where the iPhone 5 (or any other phone with nano-SIM) hasn’t officially launched.
The iPhone 5 has a dual core processor, and it is fast (I mean, really fast!). Gaming is now a really smooth and immersive experience. Whether you’re playing Angry Birds or Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, it feels fluid, and the graphics are superb. In fact, I don’t have enough words to describe the experience of gaming on the iPhone 5.
iPhone 5 Accessories
The 30-pin dock connector has now been replaced by a 9-pin connector, what Apple refers to as “Lightning” (named in relation to the Thunderbolt connector found on newer Macs). It is reversible, so no matter which way you plug in the cable, it works. And it’s really tiny. I had only seen it in pictures and thought it might be a little bit smaller compared to the older connector. In reality, it looks no bigger than my pinky fingernail. But the old dock connector is not useless — you can purchase a 30-pin-toLightning adapter made by Apple. So you can still use an iPhone 5 on your expensive JBL iPhone docking station!
Apart from the cable, Apple has also modified the earphones that have bundled so far with iDevices. Behold, the new generation of earphones: the EarPods. Pictures don’t do them justice, because the shape of the EarPods is unique, and they have much better sound quality. Just like the iPhone, they have to be seen and used to be believed.
The Soul of iPhone 5— iOS 6
The iPhone 5 is powered by iOS 6, which is a just as good as previous version of i0S. But keeping in view the capabilities of the iPhone 5, it does bring a lot of new features. Starting with the most obvious — it is optimized for iPhone 5, which means now you have another row of apps on the home-screen (that’s a total of six rows of apps on the screen, including the dock).
Since the screen size has changed, app developers will have to optimize their apps for the longer screen (and most developers have already done that). But you might ask, what about the current apps which are not optimized for the iPhone 5? Apple has cleverly tackled this issue. Old apps run in a mode that Apple calls “letterboxed–. This means that the app still runs, but in its native resolution, and centers itself on the screen, with black bars on the top and bottom. The bars aren’t as distracting as you would think. As a matter of fact, once you start using an app, you can’t even feel the presence of extra (unused) screen space.
iOS 6 also brings some minor yet highly anticipated features. Facebook is perfectly integrated into iOS (Twitter integration was introduced in iOS 5). Now the sharing options include posting to Facebook as well. Sharing is the magic word here. You can tweet or post a Facebook status update right from the notification centre. Moreover, you can ask Sini to post or tweet on your behalf. Speaking of which, Siri is also quite intelligent now, and answers more naturally. Other miscellaneous changes include a redesigned Music app, changes to the Mail app, Facetime over cellular network, better iCloud integration, the new passbook app (I wonder if there’s a use for it in many countries), and redesigned iTunes and App Store. Although Apple has eliminated the YouTube app from i0S, it is available as a standalone app on the App Store.
Lost in Maps
Apple has eliminated the YouTube app from iOS. According to Apple, it is due to the licensing issues that Apple can no longer use the YouTube app in iOS. The good news? it is available as a standalone app on the App Store. Now here comes the bad news (that you might already know). Apple has pulled the plug on Google Maps as well, and rolled out its own Maps app.
The lack of turn-by-turn directions in the previous Maps app (powered by Google Maps) looks like one of the major reasons why Apple decided to create its own version of the Maps app, thereby dropping Google Maps. But the former reason sounds more valid, that is Apple is slowly giving up on Google. Apple has done it in quite a short period of time. The new Maps app has some like turn-by-turn navigation, a mode called Flyover where you can see a high quality 3D view of a city (available for selected countries only).
You can pan, zoom, and rotate around buildings with your fingers. It’s also quite impressive, but here’s the problem: Maps is missing a lot of essential information (and as a result, screwing up some information as well). The data sources for Apple Maps include big names like TomTom, but they’re no match when it comes to Google Maps. It is clearly a difficult thing to map the entire world in such a short period of time. When I tried Maps on an iPhone 5, it determined my location and locked on to it pretty quick. But on the map, it looked like I’m in the middle of nowhere. Overall, the new Maps app is impressive, but nowhere near as extensive as Google Maps.
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, after massive complaints by people, finally decided to apologize for the poor performance of impressive features, Apple Maps. He did so in an open letter published on Apple’s website. As for the complaints regarding the app, he responded with a simple solution: use any other navigation apps available on the App Store while Apple fixes the buggy app.
The tough decision: to buy iPhone 5 or not
In my opinion, Apple has done a great job with designing the iPhone 5. But they have introduced this phone at a time when the market is already flooded with smartphones with even larger screens. Keeping that in view, some people might not prefer the iPhone 5 for its relatively smaller screen. But these phones are no match for Apple’s build quality. For people like me. who aim for a better user experience, a rugged yet beautiful design, and a friendly operating system, iPhone 5 topped up with iOS 6 is the best you can get.
However, region-wide factors like unavailability of 4G LTE in our country can be a determining factor. If you’re also concerned about navigation issues due to the new Maps app, you might want to wait out a bit before going for the big purchase. Also, the availability of nano-SIM might be an issue for a while (but not too long, as some carriers are already offering it).
If you’re really planning to get an iPhone 5, here’s a word of advice: don’t compare it with other smartphones. It’s like comparing an apple with an orange (I’m referring to the fruits). Both have their own taste, and you can choose whatever you like. But the satisfaction and feeling of having an Apple product is unlike anything else, and what I just said can only be understood if you have owned an Apple product.
Note: This guest post was written by Sohail Qaisar is a technology review lover, contact him through: contact@gamesht.com
Comments are closed.