It’s changed from its predecessors in
many ways – here’s everything you need to know, from the smaller components to
the larger screen and the price.
The iPhone 5 features 4G LITE (Long Term
Evolution) mobile connectivity, meaning it can get you online even faster than
ever before while you’re out and about. LTE is the next step up from the 3G
technologies used in previous models of iPhone and brings improvements across
the board. It maintains signal much better in awkward areas, but it also allows
extremely fast download speeds in some cases, faster than home broadband is
capable of.
The UK’s first 4G network, EE, has just
been launched, and will roll out across the country over the next two years.
The US already supports 4G in many areas, while Apple is working with many
other countries to make the iPhone 5 work there.
The
iPhone 5 features 4G LITE (Long Term Evolution) mobile connectivity, meaning it
can get you online even faster than ever before while you’re out and about.
LTE is capable of serving up to 100Mbps
download speeds at the moment, though in practice you’re more likely to see
speeds peak at around 50Mbps, and normally come in at 25 – 30Mbps. This is more
than enough to watch high-definition movies and TV shows from anywhere, and
will allow apps to be downloaded in just seconds. It also make sharing photos
and videos much faster.
LTE is known to be far more
battery-intensive than previous technologies. But Apple has worked to maintain
battery life, and claims you’ll get a full eight hours of use from the iPhone 5
with LTE.
For only the second time since it launched,
Apple has made a change to the screen of the iPhone. The iPhone 5 will have the
same high pixel density as the iPhone 4 and 4S, meaning that it’s still a
Retina display and that the individual dots will still be indistinguishable
from a reasonable distance but it’s now taller. It’s the same width as before,
but is now 1136 pixels tall, instead of the 960 it was previously.
This gives the screen a 16:9 aspect ratio —
the same as many movies and TV shows are displayed at - so it’ll be great for
watching widescreen video. It also increases the size of the screen, up from
3.5 inches to four inches. Apple said it kept the same width to ensure that you
can still type with one hand - you’ll always be able to reach the far side of
the screen.
It’s not just the size of the screen that
was altered, though. Improvements in the screen technology also mean it can
display a wider range of colours than before, letting you see photographs more
accurately, and making video look better than ever.
Thinner design and more
The iPhone 5 is the thinnest iPhone so far,
coming in at a mere 7.6mm thick, and the lightest at 112g; the iPhone 4S is
9.3mm thick and weighs 140g, by comparison. Even the super-thin fourth
generation iPod touch was only 7.2mm thick. Apple has achieved this by reducing
the size of many components, most notably the screen. Though it’s taller1 it’s
a lot thinner, partly because Apple has managed to include the touchscreen
technology into the display, rather than as an extra layer on top.
The iPhone’s back is also now made of the
same aluminium as the MacBook range, save for a small section at the top and
bottom.
The
iPhone 5 is the thinnest iPhone so far, coming in at a mere 7.6mm thick, and
the lightest at 112g; the iPhone 4S is 9.3mm thick and weighs 140g, by
comparison.
Apple has been using its own design of
processor in the iPhone range since iPhone 4, and it’s unveiled the latest
version in the iPhone 5. The A6 is up to twice as powerful as the AS in the
iPhone 45, both in general processing and in graphics power in games. At the
time of writing, we don’t know exactly what the technology used in the A6 chip
is. The ever-knowledgable Anand Shimpi (anandtech.com/show/6279Q/apples iphone-5-uses-a6-soc-arm-cortex-a15s-inside)
concludes that Apple has included the latest version of the ARM processor
technology it normally uses, known as Cortex-Al 5.
One thing we do know about the A6 is that
it’s considerably smaller than the A5 used the iPhone 45. The size has been
reduced by 22%, which is likely to be down to creating the chip using a smaller
fabrication process than the 4Ss A5 making the same parts at a smaller size.
This has the added effect of making the processor require less battery power to
run.
The Lightning connector
After nine years, Apple has decided to
replace the old dock connector used by iPods and iPhones past. The new Lightning
connector is 80% smaller than the old connector, saving space inside the
iPhone, as well as being reversible, which means you can’t plug it In the wrong
way. Don’t worry about your old accessories not working with the iPhone 5,
though — Apple has released an adapter to connect the latest iPhone to older
docks. However, it will set you back $37.5.
With the iPhone 5, Apple has been iterating
and improving technology all over the iPhone in little ways. The camera has
roughly the same specs as the one in the iPhone 45, but it’s been made smaller,
and there are improvements in the image processing. There’s now a Sapphire
crystal lens on the outside of the device, which should make it very hard to
scratch. There are also new modes, including a low-light mode and a Panorama
mode. The front-facing iSight camera has also had a boost, and is now 720p HD.
Phone calls will also be improved on the
iPhone in a sudden reminder that it is, in fact, a phone. There are now three
microphones for the purposes of noise cancellation, and the speakers have been
improved as well. The iPhone 5 also supports wideband audio, also known as HD
Voice, for making much higher- quality phone calls.
And finally, Apple has also improved the
Wi-Fi capabilities of the iPhone. It now offers a dual-band 802.11 n capable of
speeds of up to a huge 150Mbps.
A tour of the new iPhone
A
tour of the new iPhone
1. Improved camera
The iPhone 5’s iSight camera is still 8
megapixels, as the iPhone 45’s was, but the lens is made of more scratch
resistant saphire crystal. It has faster photo capture and better low-light
performance. You can also take pictures at the same time as you’re shooting
1080p video,
2. New design
The glass back of the iPhone 4 is gone,
replaced by an aluminium body with glass strips at the top and bottom. The
iPhone is just 7.6mm thick and weighs a healthy 112 grams.
3. Headphone jack
The 33mm headphone jack on the iPhone Sis
located at the bottom of the phone, rather than the top, where the iPhone 45’s
headphone port was. In the box you get the new EarPod earphones.
4. Lightning port
The brand new Lightning connector is much
smaller than the previous 30-pin Dock connector, and reversible, so it doesn’t
matter which way up you plug the connector in. You’ll need to purchase a £25
adaptor to use with old-style dock connector accessories though.
5. Faster A6 chip
At the heart of the iPhone 5 You’ll find an
Apple A6 chip, which is twice as fast as the previous generation A5 chip and
offers improved graphics performance for higher frame rates.
6. Third microphone
A new third microphone has been added to
the iPhone5 to improve audio when making calls. New noise cancelling technology
also reduces background noise.
