If you are hesitant about getting iPhone 5...

Posted by tech specialist on December 15, 2012 02:58 am 14

I recently got iPhone 5. I thought breaking down every new feature and informing you about the real-world usefulness would help some of you make better decisions.

1. Design

- Made of aluminum and glass(simply gorgeous, mine is white and silver)

- 7.6mm, 18% thinner than iPhone 4S(the thinness makes it look super sexy, at least for me)

- 112 grams, 20% lighter than iPhone 4S(makes a bigger difference than I thought, more comfortable to use, especially with one hand)

2. Display

- 4 inches( bigger difference than I thought, especially awesome for games and videos)

- Resolution of 1136 x 640, 16:9 aspect ratio( some apps do more than simply being stretched out)

- 44% greater color saturation, full sRGB color specification(high-res photos look... amazing...I've really got to use superlative words here, man)

- Integrated touch, reduced glare(noticeable. I appreciate this very much)

3. Wireless

- Support for HSPA+, DC-HSDPA and LTE

- LTE: single chip, single radio and dynamic antenna to connect to different bandwidths(it's LTE, you know the speed)

- Worldwide LTE coverage

- 802.11a joining b/g/n( I really don't know why they did that)

- 802.11n 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz dual-band support

- Maximum theoretical download speed up to 150Mbps( my router at home supports 5Ghz and my ip5 screams)

4. System Performance

- A6 chip with 1.3Ghz dual-core CPU and 400Mhz triple-core GPU(just to let you know, proven by AnandTech)

- 1GB of faster RAM(again, by AnandTech)

- 2X greater CPU and graphics performance than A5 chip in iPhone 4S(everything is buttery smooth. I love it. Near-zero lag or waiting time. No one says "my phone is too zippy and smooth!" but seriously, I don't think it needs to get any smoother or faster)

 Launch Pages app: 2.1x faster

 Save image from iPhoto app: 1.7x faster

 Load Music app with songs: 1.9x faster

 View Keynote attachment: 1.7X faster( all claimed by Apple, which I happen to agree)

- Battery life, up to ( feels more or less true in real-life usage. I am satisfied as long as it lasts for one full day, which it definitely delivers. I consider my iPhone as a companion device, not a dedicated computer, so...)

 8 hours of 3G talk time

 8 hours of 3G browsing

 8 hours of LTE browsing

 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing

 10 hours of Video playback

 40 hours of Music playback

 225 hours of Standby

5. Camera( overall, noticeable improvement even from iPhone 4S, at least for me. Of course, not as big as an improvement from 4 to 4S, because the hardware hasn't changed other than being smaller)

- Same hardware as iPhone 4S( 8MP sensor, backside illumination, hybrid IR filter, five-element lens, f/2.4 aperture)

- Dynamic low light mode( hell lot better. Grainy due to pixel combining, but it's an acceptable compromise)

- Precision lens alignment(to produce sharper images. Marginally sharper.)

- Sapphire crystal(for better protection. Second to diamond in hardness. Needless to say.)

- Next-generation ISP(image signal processor) in A6 chip

 Spatial noise reduction

 Smart filter

 Better low-light performance(all three do make a difference, at least for my eyes. Maybe my eyesight is exceptionally good....)

 40% faster photo capture(opening camera is almost instantaneous)

- Shared Photo Streams with iOS 6(smarter and better solution than photo sharing via NFC, at least for my brain)

- Panorama feature (also supported on iPhone 4S. But with the A6 chip, it tends to work better than 4S and also better than all third-party Panorama apps I've tried. Btw, Panorama in GS3 is a joke.)

- Enhanced 1080p video recording

 Improved video stabilization(very helpful, it really works)

 Face detection up to 10 faces during video recording (A6 chip really shows off its power here)

 Take photos while recording(finally!, takes a photo of the video, though, so the images are 1920 x 1080)

- FaceTime HD camera(better than what I had expected, can even be used a decent mirror)

 720p

 Backside illumination

 Face detection

6. Audio

- Three microphones( front, bottom and back)

 Better noise cancellation(definitely noticeable)

 Better audio capture when recording videos and doing FaceTime calls(hell yes)

 Beam-forming for better voice recognition in apps like Siri(yes, Siri and Dictation are really fast and accurate)

- Improved speaker design, five magnet transducers for better frequency response( sounds louder, to my ears)

- Noise-cancelling earpiece( noticeable, I don't have to say "sorry? I didn't catch that" when doing calls)

- Wideband audio(carrier-dependent, 20 carriers supported at launch, supported in my carrier, noticeable)

- EarPods with remote and noise-cancelling microphone(comfort and sound, as good as they can be for standard earphones)

7. Connector

- Lightning( I have 30-pin accessories. I had to buy the US$29 adapter. That's one big BAD APPLE.)

- 80% smaller than 30-pin connector because it’s all-digital, 8 signal design

- Adaptive interface(recognizes the accessory connected and adjusts accordingly)

- Improved durability( because it’s all-digital)

- Reversible( I like it)

Is Lightning worth the change? Well, iPhone 5 couldn't be made if not for Lightning. I know this can sound Apple-fanboyish(which I don't really care), but I think I can compensate some money for the super sexy thin design made possible by Lightning.

And I KNOW! EVERY new feature here is incremental. But the thing is, I also happen to appreciate almost every one of these features. It's like I notice the improvement at almost every aspect of using the phone. Apple has improved on everything they could.

Now, for the conclusion, I don't care whatever you like to pass me off as.

Having owned the top-of-the-line Android smartphones(Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note 2, HTC One X: believe me, I am a geek), I can confidently say that iPhone 5 is the best smartphone at least FOR ME, even with the Apple ecosystem and iCloud excluded. If I include the iTunes Stores and integration with other Apple products via iCloud, I don't know what to say. My last words for you: Don't hesitate if you want iPhone 5. (unless you have financial problems)

I really hope this post contributes something to the forum.