iPhone 5, review is finally here

In terms of iOS, 2012 was the year of the iPhone 5. After a rather disappointing iPhone 4S, the anticipation had been growing under the surface for a long time. When the iPhone 5 was revealed on the 12th of September of last year, it sported a radical new design, a better graphics processor, new A6 chip as well as LTE technology and finally Felix Tech has one to review.

Before diving into the heart of the article, I would like to first give a negative point, not to the iPhone 5 but actually iOS 5 instead. Yes, I know that was almost 2 years ago, but I feel I have to get this off my chest. A feature which was not widely announced when it was revealed, was the fact that you need a sim card to activate your phone. While not actually detrimental, it was annoying to say the least. Perhaps it is understandable, because in effect a phone cannot be used without a sim card, however I thought the iPhone was supposed to be so much more than a phone. Nevertheless, after a trip to the Apple store to get myself a nano sim (which was less stressful than I thought), I had a perfect working model of the latest version of the iPhone.

The actual design of the new phone is quite, for lack of a better word, beautiful. Thinner than the iPhone 4S, it looks like the luxury item it is supposed to be. The black version has a grey bezel on the back which makes it elegant, and I personally feel that the move from steel, that was used in the previous two iPhone models, to an aluminium composite makes this phone feel more like a piece of art than a utility tool. This change is exemplified by the sides of the phone, which are composed of a grey matte area as well as two bands of highly buffed material, which could almost act like mirrors. Apple has also managed to make the iPhone significantly thinner as well as lighter than its predecessors, which comes with a bit of surprise, as not only is the iPhone 5 larger it also includes the LTE tech.

The screen of the iPhone 5 is, to say the least, amazing. Even better than the 4S, which was purported to be the best screen on the market, it is razor sharp and the colours are vibrant. Also in line with the general smartphone competition, the iPhone 5 has a larger screen now. Even though this is the first iPhone with a 4” screen, it just felt right. In comparison previous iPhones seem short and ill-fitting. Apps which are optimised to utilise the whole area of the screen, are beautiful to behold and really do use all those extra pixels. Even apps that are built for the smaller screen size do not suffer any disadvantage, as black bars are added to the top and bottom of the iPhone 5 screen. In fact, due to this phone being black I did not even notice unless I really concentrated on it (although probably on the white one it would be more noticeable).

In terms of processing power and actual speed the iPhone 5 kicks ass. Faster than any previous iteration of iPhone, I also pitted it against a Nokia Lumia 920. Although the Lumia was slightly more reactive with certain actions, in most of tests I did, the iPhone held its own. The new A6 chip really does feel miles better than the A5, and A5X and in the future I will be attempting to max it out as much as possible. The graphics processor is also amazing, and when playing FIFA 13, not only did it play and flow extremely nicely, the graphics performed admirably.

Cameras and photos are a big part of what makes a smart phone, as the digital camera slowly fades into obscurity. The iPhone 5 has the same 8MP camera as the 4S in the back, and now has a upgraded 1.2 MP front camera. The back camera was quite good in all lights, being sharp and focused. Also the rather rapid capture rate impressed me, as the picture was taken almost instantaneously. In addition to that, the new panorama feature is quite impressive, it’s easy to use with great panorama pictures coming out as a result. The only thing that annoys me is the digital zoom. Apple declared this was such a good camera, and yet when you want to zoom onto something everything turns blurry. Something that could maybe be improved on with iPhone 5S/6.

The operating system of the iPhone 5 (iOS 6) is Apple’s latest software. Whilst not without some “scandal”, it is a good OS nonetheless. You have probably heard all about the horrible mapping app, so I won’t bore you with it. However keep in mind not only have Nokia released Here Maps, but there is now a Google Maps app in the app store which works really well. Pros of iOS include iMessage, the great app store and iCloud services. However the most beneficial part apart about the software is that Apple makes both it and its corresponding hardware. This means that the full capabilities of the phone can be utilised. Thus the OS is fast, responsive and a pleasure to use.

Other significant features on the iPhone 5 are the new Lightning connector and usage of the nano sim card. Firstly the Lightning connector. Released to mixed reviews, it has been one of the big talking points of iPhone 5. It is much smaller than the previous connector, which allowed Apple to fit more into the new iPhone and still keep it thin and light. Yet it also renders any previous accessory useless. Admittedly for me it was not much of a deterrent as I do not have that many accessories, however I can imagine for someone who did splash out on the stereo system, car plugs etc. that this would be quite annoying. Apple’s handling of this new technology was unwise to say the least, as many people who would have bought the iPhone 5, hesitated. Perhaps they should have included converters for iPhone buyers. However they wouldn’t make that much money that way. The nano sim, just like the micro sim was used to make more space for tech. Apparently you can cut your micro sim to nano sim proportions, however for those of us who do not have such steady fingers, a rather annoying wait to use the phone starts.

The battery of the iPhone 5, like most other smartphones, is not the greatest. Often not making it past a day and a half. However I had not expected much more, so I wasn’t really disappointed. Sadly I cannot comment on the LTE capabilities of the phone, as at the time of writing of this article a contract had not yet been obtained.

All in all this phone is a wonder to behold. Apple have really released a great phone, combining a beautiful design, powerful chip, cutting-edge screen and a great OS to create one of the best user experiences of the market. The price may be a bit eye-watering but you will get everything that you paid for.