iPhone 5: The Smartphone Everybody Loves to Hate

The iPhone 5 has been announced last September 12 (or 13 if you live in the other side of the world). Netizens and experts have weighed in on whether or not the iPhone's latest iteration is an innovation.
Well, regardless if you see it as an innovation or more of an evolution, the iPhone 5 is here and it is not going anywhere. Join me for an overview of the iPhone 5, which I made especially for ordinary netizens like you.

Image by Apple

Let's take a look on what it looks like and how different it is (or not) from the iPhone 4S. First off, it doesn't look radically different from its predecessor. It still has this iPhone 4/4S body with rounded edges - thus maintaining its iconic look. It looks awkwardly long or maybe because its longer chassis hasn't grown on me yet. But if you take a closer look, you'll notice that the materials used have changed. The back chassis is now two-tone - a mixture of aluminum and perhaps glass. Also at the back, you can find a microphone in between the camera and the LED flash. On the front part, the front-facing camera has been moved to the center and the phone's bezel looks thinner. Underneath, you'll find the loudspeaker, the all-new Lightning port, and another microphone. The 3.5mm jack for your headset has also been transferred underneath the phone. Perhaps the best view of the iPhone 5 is when you look at it from the side. It looks so sleek. Not much has changed with the volume rocker and sleep/mute button though. And finally, on top, you can find the power button. Overall, the iPhone 5 is said to be lighter and sturdier than its predecessor. Design-wise, it's more of an evolution to me, after all, I don't see the need to change its already iconic body. But it does still look awkwardly long to me. I don't know why. Oh, one more thing, it will be available in black/slate and white/silver colors.

Image by Apple

When it comes to features, the iPhone 5 is jam-packed, and with that I mean it's loaded with a lot of features (albeit not groundbreaking). Now with a 4-inch screen, the iPhone 5 is still able to maintain its 326 pixels per inch density - meaning it still fits the Retina moniker. Native iPhone apps have also been redesigned to fit the smartphone's slightly bigger screen. However, I do think that a 4-inch screen is considered small by today's standards. I'm not saying that it has to be as big as that of the Samsung Galaxy S III or that of the HTC One X, but I think the screen should be somewhere between 4.3 and 4.5 inches. This is just my opinion. You are free to disagree. Anyway, the screen still looks sharp and pictures look crisp, which make me wonder how its refreshed iSight camera performs.

Image by Apple

The iPhone 5 is equipped with an 8-megapixel iSight camera, same with that of the iPhone 4S. It records 1080p Full HD videos as well. So nothing new here so far. The change is with the internals. The iPhone 5 touts a faster photo capture, improved noise reduction, and better low-light performance. Its camera is also protected by Sapphire Crystal, which is sturdier than glass and more resistant to scratches. (By the way, the iPhone 5's screen is also protected by an oleophobic anti-fingerprint coating and glass from Corning.) Aside from the iPhone's usual touch focus and HDR camera capabilities, it is now capable of shooting panoramas as well. While Panorama is not new to smartphones, iPhone 5's implementation is arguably better than others as it lets you come up with a 25-megapixel by-product. The actual capabilities of the camera and video recorder still remain to be seen but I'm sure it will not disappoint as the iPhone 4S has one of the best smartphones cameras to date, and now we are talking about the iPhone 5.

Image by Apple

Other changes in the latest iPhone is its chip, which is the A6 chip manufactured by Apple, which is said to be twice as fast in processing data and graphics compared to the A5 chip of the iPhone 4S. While Apple decided to stay mum on the iPhone 5's number of cores, I think it is safe to say that it is dual-core as all LTE-capable phones at the moment only work on two cores. (I'm really excited about LTE, I hope LTE data plans will not be too expensive though.) Again, for performance, you have to see it for yourself or try testing it through online benchmarks. As for the browser, the music and video player, and other built-in apps, you can expect them to work as fine or maybe more fluid than they did before. The Apple smartphone still lacks Adobe Flash support but hey, even Android Jelly Bean smartphones don't have it either. And as they all say, HTML5 is the future. There is also no expandable memory for the iPhone 5 so better buy the 32GB or 64GB version than be sorry for buying the entry-level 16GB. I'm also assuming that it has 1GB of RAM like the new iPad (or iPad 3 for some).

Image by Apple

What most people did not expect is that the new iPhone also comes with new accessories such as the EarPods, which replaces Apple's classic white earphones. It also sports a new Lightning connector, which replaces the old 30-pin connector. Mind you, it is reversible. Going back to the EarPods, I actually like its design as I've never seen something like it before. I really hope that this new Apple earphone does not disappoint (in terms of performance) and will not wither after a year's usage. As for the Lightning connector and dock, it's more of Apple's preference for smaller and much simpler technology.

Image by Apple

Aside from the above mentioned improvements and add-ons, the iPhone 5 will run on the iOS 6 platform, which has better Siri functionality, the Passbook app, better Maps and navigation, better iCloud integration, Facebook and Twitter integration, better Game Center and App Store, AirPlay, AirPrint, and whatnot! Please also don't forget that the iPhone 5 is still a phone with telephony and messaging features. It also has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Internet hotspot and tethering features, accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, proximity sensor, and so on. The only thing that made me disappointed with regard to the new OS is the lack of a native YouTube app. So does that mean I have to go to the browser and type in www.youtube.com to watch videos? Hell no!

Image by Apple

When it comes to availability, it will be available for pre-order on September 21 in the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. It will be available in 22 more countries on September 28, which are all European countries, save for New Zealand. And yes, it will officially hit the Philippine shores (and 100 more countries) in December 2012, just in time for Christmas.

Image by Engadget

Image by Engadget

Image by Engadget

All in all, I think a lot of new and good things have come together to make the iPhone 5 the most amazing iPhone yet. I'm not saying it's the best out there as its flagship Android competitors are better-equipped. The iPhone 5 is not a perfect smartphone either, but is there one? I'm sure a lot of people were left underwhelmed after every feature of it has been announced. Perhaps, they have hoped for too much such as wireless charging (which is actually convenient except that it would be hard to use the phone while charging it) and NFC (which has little or no use outside first-world countries). Then again, the iPhone 5 has its pros and cons and while it lacks some features, it certainly makes up for it through constant software updates from Apple and a more cohesive app market and ecosystem. And did I mention that Apple products have this certain charm that other brands do not possess?

That's about it. Clearly, the iPhone 5 is the smartphone everybody loves to hate. So do you love or hate the new Apple smartphone? Are you going to buy it? Will you stick with your iPhone 4S or your beloved Android or maybe Windows Phone? Regardless of which smartphone you choose, it all boils down to personal preference. Choose what will make you productive or entertained the most!

Stay tuned for my review on the new iPod touch, the new iPod nano, the iPad mini, and iOS 6.

Images above taken from Apple's website unless stated otherwise.

Til then...

xoxo Nash