The mobile phone world’s worst kept secret was officially confirmed by Apple last night. Solopress.com reveal why you should be excited by the new iPhone 5…
1. Smaller, Faster, Better
Apple’s iPhone 5 is the thinnest, lightest and fastest iPhone that this canny Cupertino company have ever released – with smart tweaks in just about every department. Needless to say, Apple think customers are going to love it. Soon you’ll also be able to use it on the UK’s new superfast 4G LTE mobile phone network, meaning you’ll be able to browse, download and stream content from the Internet even faster.
Whether you use the iPhone 5 for work or play, there’s plenty of reasons for you to consider swapping your existing smartphone for Apple’s latest must-have gadget.
2. Tech Specs
Size:
123.8mm height x 58.6mm width x 7.6mm thickness
112g weight
iPhone 5 is 18% thinner and 20% lighter than the iPhone 4S
Screen:
4-inch Retina display
326 pixels per inch
1136×640 resolution
Apple claims the colour saturation is 44% greater than the iPhone 4S
Memory:
Models available with 16Gb, 32Gb or 64Gb
Camera:
8 megapixel iSight camera
1080p HD video
Improved low-light performance
iPhone 5 also allows you to share photos using iCloud’s Shared Photo Streams
FaceTime HD front facing camera records 720p HD video
Battery life:
Up to 8 hours on 3G
Video playback up to 10 hours
Audio playback up to 40 hours
Audio:
EarPods – all-new earbud headphones
3 microphones (front, back and bottom)
New noise-cancelling technology
CPU:
A6 chip is twice as fast as the A5 on the iPhone 4S
Other new features:
iOS 6
iTunes 11
Maps app
Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar
3. Of Pinterest
The new Lightning dock connector for the iPhone 5 is smaller than than before. However, if you want to use any of your old iPhone accessories, you’ll need to buy Apple’s £25 Lightning-to-30-pin Adapter for them to work. Why couldn’t Apple have just implemented a more convienient micro-USB charging port if they wanted to make this kind of change?
4. Pricing and Availability
Available in either black or white colours, the iPhone goes on sale in the UK on Friday 21st September 2012. Pre-orders begin tomorrow, prices start at £529.
5. What the UK media think…
“Looks to me like a respectable upgrade that does enough to satisfy the Apple community, without winning over the larger Android fanbase.”
Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC technology correspondent
“The iPhone 5’s LTE will only work on EE, even after Vodafone and O2 roll out 4G too.”
Gizmodo UK
“Its width has remained the same meaning it still fits comfortably in your hands. It’s also deceptively light.”
Stuff
“Apple has worked wonders to reduce the overall size and weight while upping the power.”
T3
“The maps look great: during the demonstration Apple showed off an aerial view of Big Ben.”
The Guardian
iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 video on the T3 YouTube channel. Press the play button below to watch it:
For the latest news and views on iPhone 5, visit Apple’s official UK website at www.apple.com/uk/iphone/ or search on Twitter (http://twitter.com/AppStore) using the #iPhone5 hashtag.
You may also be interested in these Solopress.com blog articles:
Brits addicted to their smartphones
How 4G will benefit your business
Apple iPad 3 – Five Things You Need to Know
Is the Apple iPhone 4S worth buying?
Win an iPhone 5
Have Your Say
What do YOU think of the iPhone 5? Will you buy Apple’s new baby or go Android with the Samsung Galaxy S3 mobile phone? Please scroll down this page to the ‘Leave a Reply’ box below and post your comments (you can also comment via the Facebook box)…
The phone looks good. I love apple & always will but are they pulling the stops out for each new model or just playing safe by tweaking the design and software…
Two year contracts are a big commitment for a slight tweak…
Very cheeky of Apple to make you buy the adaptor so you can use your accessories…didnt’ realise that… I have a camera connector for my iphone3 to import my pics when I need to on the move…might stick with this phone a little longer.. but it’s hard to resist a new gadget!
I Think I’ll wait till other phones/operating systems due out soon are evaluated and the price made available, I will then make my decision as to what I will buy.
I didn’t even know they were making a new iPhone, im abit behind haha but I’ve now got a Nokia lumia and I really like it
I have an iphone 4s at the moment and i cant really see a compelling reason to upgrade.. 4g might be useful but until coverage is nationwide.
Its very annoying that the charger has changed too im on my second iphone now and have chargers etc littered everywhere i would hate to just bin them all
The phone looks really tall and skinny and i’m not sure i like that. Also, i have a bose dock designed for apple products that cost over £150 and now they have changed the charger dock thing i will need to buy a new one. On just not get the new phone…
I don’t see any reason to trade in my old phone for these underwhelmingly incremental improvements.
I won’t be bothering, I think its all hype, previous models have had nothing but glitches and I suspect the same will happen with this one.
I think it’s alarming that in this climate where people don’t seem to have much money, they seem to budget for this phone! The price is crazy! Think I’ll wait a year or so!
When are Apple going to come up with something different and ‘innovative’ – or have they reached their peak?
Looks impressive. It would be a massive upgrade from my current phone but can’t really see why it is such as ‘must’ for anyone who already has an iphone 4. I suppose you’d have to be a hardcore fan with money to burn.
don’t know what all the fuss is about. I’m still using my sagem my v 56 that I’ve had for ages. love it to bits and won’t be upgrading for a long while yet.
It looks very smart but just not different enough to drag me away from my Samsung Galaxy III. I reckon I’ll be an android girl for a while to come..
It amazes me how people complain about changes to parts such as the dock connector becoming so much smaller and not compatible with any existing devices but at the same time the consumers are expecting thinner and more lightweight devices. Change has to come sometime for technology to continue developing at the rate it is! We should be grateful apple are even offering a convertor back to the old style 30 pin connector!
Interesting that Guardian liked the maps app. Maybe Apple should have gone on further with their demo of that app considering the problems that io6 users have had. Apple have really let their fan base down with this. There really is no reason why people should shell out so much more money than what you do on the Galaxy S3 or HTC One X. The iPhone5 should be streets ahead of those phones to justify the prices but it is probably level if not weaker.
ouch! £529! I don’t even get a reliable signal where I live so haven’t forked out for a fancy phone as many of the features would go to waste, but it sure looks the business!
Although I like the iphone 5 I’m a bit skint so have gone with an iphone 4 to keep my costs down. Maybe I’ll get an iphone 5 when the 6 comes out….!
This is the most amazing computer to fit into my back pocket. I love it, its my new best friend and even answers me back. It’s a proper toy on steroids
I picked up my iPhone 5 yesterday from the Apple shop in Cardiff. I had to bid to buy it! I applied to 5 separate stores. And awaited the 9pm email telling me if I was successful. Turns out I was lucky on my first try.
I have ordered my nano sim today and that should arrive tomorrow. I am really looking forward to using it, but I am already afraid of dropping it.