At a media event in San Francisco this morning, Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the stage to reveal the iPhone 5. Much of what was rumored about the device is now fact: the iPhone 5 is slightly larger than iPhone 4S, boasting a taller - though not wider - 4 inch screen, and uses a new, smaller dock connector, referred to as Lightning. Pre-orders kick off on September 14th, and the phone will be available worldwide on September 21st, 2012.
Read on for in-depth details on the new smartphone but don't forget to check out our iPhone 5 liveblog for our full coverage of today's event - including a look at the new iPod models.
Made entirely of aluminum and glass, the iPhone 5 offers the expected leap in power over its predecessor, the iPhone 4S. The A6 chip at the heart of iPhone 5 is said to be twice as fast, and offer twice the graphical performance, of iPhone 4S's dual-core A5 processor. That said, the jump between iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 appears, on paper, to be far less than the jump from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4S, and some features - talk time, camera resolution - are essentially unchanged between the two devices.
Of course, the iPhone 5's major selling point is its larger screen. With a 326ppi Retina display and a resolution of 1136 x 640, the iPhone 5 is said to offer 40% more color saturation than the 4S, and Apple has updated its stable of Apps - including Garage Band and iWork - to take advantage of the new screen's dimensions. Apps that have not been updated for the new phone will be letterboxed.
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iPhone 4S was the first iPhone to include an 8-megapixel camera - a huge step up from earlier models. iPhone 5 sports the very same camera, though some features have been tweaked. For starters, the iPhone 5 captures images 40% faster than the iPhone 4S , and its camera works much better in low-light situations. Another cool feature is that iPhone 5 supports panorama photography right out of the box - no need to invest in a separate App. All stitched together, panorama shots will be 28-megapixel images. High-definition video recording, meanwhile, will benefit from improved image stabilization and facial recognition.
Despite its larger screen, iPhone 5 is 18% slimmer than the 4S, and weighs less, too - 20% less, in fact. iPhone 5 support HSPA+, DC-HSDPA and LTE, with talk time that is almost identical to iPhone 4S: 8 hours on 3G. Internet browsing gets a bit of a boost, with Apple promising 8 hours over 3G and LTE (compared to iPhone 4S's 6 hours) and 10 hours over Wi-Fi (vs. 9 for 4S). The system's Wi-Fi supports speeds of up to 150 Mbps.
Rounding out the phone's new features are improved earbuds, dubbed Apple EarPods, a 720p front-facing camera for making high-definition Facetime calls, and a trio of microphones for improved voice recognition and speech quality. The iPhone 5 will be available in 16GB ($199), 32GB ($299), and 64GB ($399) configurations, with either black or white faces, and silver aluminum or black anodized backs.
For a complete list of the iPhone 5's tech-specs, continue to page 2.
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Along with iPhone 5, Apple unveiled iOS 6, and though most of the details had already been made public at WWDC 2012, that doesn't make the operating system's September 19th debut any less exciting.
Highlighted by a new, Apple-developed Maps App that promises full turn-by-turn navigation and a Flyover view, iOS 6 packs over 200 new user features. Siri will finally be able to launch Apps and post Facebook updates, iCloud Tabs will keep track of the all web pages that are open on any of a user's Apple devices, and Passbook can manage everything from airline boarding tickets to giftcards. Though iOS 6 doesn't include any new features that are likely to have the impact of Siri, it's a robust update nonetheless, and will be compatible with iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, 3GS, new iPad, iPad 2 and iPod Touch.
Ranters, what are your first impressions of the iPhone 5? Is it the device you were expecting? What features are you most excited about, and which are you most disappointed by? Let us know in the comments below.
iPhone 5 releases September 21, 2012.
iOS 6 releases September 19, 2012.
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Size and Weight
- Height: 4.87 inches (123.8 mm)
- Width: 2.31 inches (58.6 mm)
- Depth: 0.30 inch (7.6 mm)
- Weight: 3.95 ounces (112 grams)
Cellular and Wireless
- GSM model A1428*: UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 4 and 17)
- CDMA model A1429*: CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1900, 2100 MHz); UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5, 13, 25)
- GSM model A1429*: UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5)
- 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz and 5GHz)
- Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
Location
- Assisted GPS and GLONASS
- Digital compass
- Wi-Fi
- Cellular
Display
- Retina display
- 4-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
- 1136-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi
- 800:1 contrast ratio (typical)
- 500 cd/m2 max brightness (typical)
- Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on front
- Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
Camera, Photos and Videos
- 8-megapixel iSight camera
- Panorama
- Video recording, HD (1080p) up to 30 frames per second with audio
- FaceTime HD camera with 1.2MP photos and HD video (720p) up to 30 frames per second
- Autofocus
- Tap to focus video or still images
- Face detection in video or still images
- LED flash
- Improved video stabilization
- Photo and video geotagging
Power and Battery
- Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery
- Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter
- Talk time: Up to 8 hours on 3G
- Standby time: Up to 225 hours
- Internet use: Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 8 hours on LTE, up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi
- Video playback: Up to 10 hours
- Audio playback: Up to 40 hours
Audio Playback
- Audio formats supported: AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
- User-configurable maximum volume limit
TV and Video
- AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV support at 720p
- AirPlay video streaming to Apple TV (3rd generation) at up to 1080p and Apple TV (2nd generation) at up to 720p
- Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
Headphones
- Apple EarPods with Remote and Mic
- Storage and travel case
Rating for Hearing Aids
- iPhone 5 (Model A1428): M3, T4
- iPhone 5 (Model A1429): M4, T4
Mail Attachment SupportSensors
- Viewable Document Types: .jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)
System Requirements
- Three-axis gyro
- Accelerometer
- Proximity sensor
- Ambient light sensor
Environmental Requirements
- Apple ID (required for some features)
- Internet access5
- Syncing with iTunes on a Mac or PC requires:
- Mac: OS X v10.6.8 or later
- PC: Windows 7; Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
- iTunes 10.7 or later
- Operating ambient temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
- Nonoperating temperature: −4° to 113° F (−20° to 45° C)
- Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
- Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)