The latest generation iPhone is the thinnest ever made by Apple at just 7.6mm thick and weighing in at just 112g its 20% lighter than its predecessor, the 4S. This is the first iPhone to sport a larger screen and the 4-inch Retina display has become longer, not wider, so now there is a 5th row of icons on the homescreen. The longer screen increases the visible area on webpages and emails so there is less need to scroll down too.
The iPhone 5 has the latest A6 quad-core chip under the hood delivering 2x faster performance and faster graphics compared to the A5 chip on previous models. All this extra power has been crammed into a chip 22% smaller helping the iPhone 5 keep light and compact.
Another new feature of the iPhone 5 is the Ultrafast Wireless technology that delivers wireless speeds of up to 150Mpbs and the phone is also packing tons of other connection options including HDPA+ and LTE delivering 4G ultrafast browsing speeds.
The camera package has been enhanced with a hybrid IR filter, 5 elements lens, f/2.4 aperture and precision lens alignment as well as sapphire crystal to protect the lens and improve clarity for better images. The 8-megapixel camera also has a panorama mode so you can take a slow sweep of the landscape taking a number of photos and the iSight camera combines them to create a stunning 28-megapixel photo.
The video recording functions on the camera is 1080p and includes face detection for up to 8 people and the three built-in microphones capture fantastic audio quality. There is front facing 720p camera for use with FaceTime and the audio enhancements create a more natural sound when chatting.
The iPhone 5 has the latest iOS6 on board and a number of features have been added to the OS for an even slicker experience. The Maps app is now Apples own, instead of utilising Google Maps, and the app includes fantastic 3D detailing, turn-by-turn navigation and Flyover allowing you to get a bird’s eye view of major cities and landmarks. Passbook is included in iOS 6 and this virtual wallet can be used for storing travel tickets, credit cards or at Starbucks for your morning coffee.
Siri has also received an update with enhanced and improved usability; more answers to questions and it can now update your Facebook status too. Overall there will be more than 200 new features in the iOS 6.
Battery life used to be one of the things that disappointed users of previous iPhones and Apple has addressed this with the iPhone 5 delivering 8 hours for 3G talk time, 3G browsing, LTE browsing and 10 hours for Wi-Fi and video, 40 hours for music and 225 hours of standby.
