Apple announces iPhone 5 with a bigger screen, LTE, and more
So we know you Apple fans have been waiting a good year for the iPhone 5, or rather two years for the next generation of iPhone’s (since the 4S was pretty much a 4 replica), and your wish was finally granted as Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the device to an excited audience. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to be there nor watch a live stream (since Apple are trying to save money or something by now showing a stream). Rather, we read about it in various other blogs. However, we still have the breakdown of the brand new iPhone 5, the next big thing from Apple, and clearly one of the biggest phones of 2012. The most different thing you’ll notice about the iPhone 5 is that it’s the first phone to have a bigger screen! That’s right folks, after 5 phones with exactly the same screen size (3.7-inch) Apple have finally gone the way of the rest of the Mobile market by in fact increasing the size of the screen to a bigger 4-inches. Gone are the days of the latest iPhone having an 3.5-inch small screen. For those of you who have been wanting a bigger screen, that time has finally come and you can all rejoice. However if you were comfortable with the old 3.5-inch screen, then this will be a slight disappointment, though you shouldn’t be because according to Apple this is the thinnest and lightest iPhone they have ever made and it’s quite an accopmishment coming in at just 7.6mm thin, making it one of the thinnest mainstream phones in the world.
As for the body itself, Tim Cook said that the entire phone has been constructed of glass and aluminium (which we hope means it won’t break as fast on the first drop). The iPhone 5 will also be the first iPhone to include True LTE for some trully incredibly fast LTE speeds, oh which the phone battery can handle up to 8 hours of LTE browsing (an impressive number if it holds true). The camera also has an improvement in not the specs department (that remains at the same 8 megapixels), but in the technology with Apple reportedly promising better low light pictures, 40% faster picture captures, a Panorama mode (which results in a 28 megapixel picture), 1080p video recording capabilities and the ability to take still pictures while recording (much like the HTC One X).
Take a look at the new and improved specs below:
- Processor – Apple’s A6 Processor (unconfirmed speed)
- Display – LED-backlit IPS 4-inch display with 1136 x 640 resolution (326 PPI)
- RAM – 1GB RAM
- Storage – 16/32/64GB Storage (inbuilt)
- Camera – 8 megapixel camera with f/2.4 aperture & hybrid IR filter, 1.3 megapixel Front Facing Camera
- Battery –
- Weight – 112 grams
- Size – 123.8 x 58.5 x 7.6 mm
- OS – iOS 6
Due due to the increased screen size, Apple have bumped the resolution out to a strange 1136 x 640 resolution (16:9 aspect), a strange resolution when you think about it. That means they have a PPI of 326, similar to the iPhone 4S though with a bigger screen, however it’s still lower than the Lumia 920’s PPI of 332. This means that because of the near 16:9 aspect ratio, you could even add a 5th row of icons onto the screen – something which lot’s of people will be happy with. As well, the iPhone 5 brings a new and improved A6 processor, which Apple claims is twice as fast as the iPhone 4S (or rather the CPU performance is twice as fast as is the graphics). Apple has also added not one, not two, but three microphones to the phone to improve the voice clarity and reduce noise reduction from the outside world. The loudspeaker has also been reduced 20% with an improved design to help the output of sound.
A new iPhone 5 means a new plug as well this time around, with the charging plug dubbed ‘Lightning’. According the apple, not only is it 80% smaller but it’s also faster in charging and that should help those of you always on the go more time to do what you needs (and less time begging it to charge quicker so you can run out the door). Lightning won’t work on older iPhones, but a dock will be made available so you can use this on your older gen iPhones of course, for an added price.
Apple were prompt to announce when customers can get their hands on the new iPhone 5 (something Nokia can learn from). Preorders start on the 14th of September, and Australians can get their hands on the iPhone 5 on the 21st of September and we’ll get a link up as SOON as the Apple website goes back up. As for pricing, in the US the iPhone 5 16GB will cost $199, 32Gb will cost $299 and the 64GB will cost a whopping $399, so not a cheap buy by any means (all prices are on a 2 year contract)
Edit: Link to iPhone 5 Pre-Order Page will go live here on the 14th of September. Australians pricing will start from $799 outright for the 16GB model and up ($899 for the 32GB model and $999 for the 64GB model).
