iPhone 5 review: Apple iPhone 5 hands on impressions: It doesn't look it, but it's incredible
# One of the more striking things about holding a new iPhone model is
how your old iPhone, which seemed perfectly sleek and adequate just an
hour earlier, can suddenly feel slow, clunky and heavy. It's a neat
trick, one that Apple is betting on to help it ship new units to
exsisting iPhone owners in the coming year.
# After the Apple press
event, we were given some hands-on time with the upgraded iPhone 5, as
well as the iPod touch and iPod nano. Here are our first impressions of
the taller, lighter iPhone 5, which we tested next to a crusty,
pratically fossilied iPhone 4.
# The iPhones and iPods were laid
out on tables in the dim, windowless hall at the Yerba Buena Center for
the Arts. Protective Apple employees made sure the devices weren't
pilfered, wiped off journalists' finger prints and visibly flinched
every time someone dropped a phone (which happened quite a few times
while we were there).
# From the front, the iPhone 5 looks just
like the iPhone 4 and 4S. It actually takes a moment to register that
it's taller (holding it next to a previous iPhone model helps bring it
home). The display is the same retina display found in the iPhone 4,
iPhone 4S and now, the new iPod Touch, but is now 4-inches instead of
3.5-inches.
Then you pick it up. The phone is incredibly light, and that weight
is its most striking and memorable feature. It feels almost delicate in
the hand, naked without some sort of protective case to prevent it from
snapping in half. Of course, the iPhone is not nearly that fragile. The
body is made out of the same aluminum found in MacBooks, as well as
glass. It feels expensive, not like a plastic device that could break
easily. (We look forward to the inevitable drop tests.)
# On their
own, thinner and lighter are interesting selling points. Yes, it feels
incredible in the hand, but the iPhone 4 wasn't exactly weighing anyone
down, and consumers weren't clamoring for a thinner smartphone. On the
other hand, Apple prides itself on delivering features people will want
before they know they want them. There has been demand for more screen
real estate, and on that front the iPhone 5 delivers, but it might still
not be enough for those hoping for a 4.5-inch screen like what's found
on many Android devices.
# The new iPhone has a faster, A6
processor. It did feel zippy as we flipped through the new Passbook
feature, watched movies and scrolled through websites, however these
tasks weren't exactly lagging on the iPhone 4. Games were a great place
to see the processor in action, where detailed graphics are rendered
incredibly fast.
# Also noticeably speedy was the new panorama
feature in the camera app, which processed a 360-degree image of the
room almost instantly. For many similar third-party apps, there's a
short wait time while the images are stitched together.
# The demo devices were all running the new version of Apple's mobile
operating system, iOS 6, which has Apple's first Google-free maps app.
The Flyover feature turns cities into interactive, 3D images. You can
drag a finger to spin around a skyscraper and zoom in and out of the
city from any angle, not just the straight down satellite view. There is
a bit of lag on the loading time when you move to a new area, but
somehow the features still feels shockingly fast. Flyover is more fun
than functional, but perhaps the stunning graphics and turn-by-turn
directions will distract consumers from what's newly missing from the
Maps app, like the very useful public transit directions feature.
# The
room was too loud to test out the Siri voice assistant, which has
turned to third-party services to improve results. Restaurant results
are now powered by Open Table, movie times and reviews by Rotten
Tomatoes. It has also added Facebook integration. And the devices were
all connected to WiFi, so tests of the new LTE cellular connections will
have to wait until we have devices in hand.
# We also spent a bit
of time with the iPod touch. The iPod touch is like the iPhone's kid
brother, always inheriting old clothes and toys. It has the 5 megapixel
camera from the last version of the iPhone, as well as the A5 processor.
It finally got a Retina display, Siri and front-facing camera. But this
time the iPod touch got two of the iPhone's most stunning new features
at the same time: The taller screen and crazy thin and light body (the
iPod touch is actually .06-inches thinner and weighs 0.85 ounces less
than the iPhone 5).
# During the hands-on time, Apple executives
milled about the room, including smiling CEO Tim Cook, who was shaking
hands and giving a lot of hugs. He had good reason to be happy; the
phone appears to be top-notch, its new body an impressive feat of
engineering. It may not be the most mind-blowing upgrade, but that
doesn't diminish its level of quality.
