Top ten features of Apple’s iPhone 5

Published on 22/09/2012 20:40

THE wait is finally over. This weekend thousands of people in the UK will be playing with their new iPhone 5. Here Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at uSwitch.com gives us a guide to the new and improved features

4G capability

With new mobile network EE hoping to bring 4G to 16 cities by the end of the year and other providers hoping to follow in 2013, the iPhone 5 is the first handset in the UK to enable browsing speeds as much as five times faster than 3G.

Bigger screen

The iPhone has had a bump in its screen size for the first time, from 3.5 to 4-inches, corner-to-corner. Interestingly, all of the added real estate has solely been added to its length, a revamped design resulting in a taller device without making the iPhone 5 any wider – all the better for one-handed swiping and texting.

Thinner and Lighter

All manner of new technology – from reducing the layers in the touchscreen to making the camera components smaller – has been adopted to rebuild the device from top to bottom. So the iPhone 5 weighs 28 grams less and is 18 per cent thinner than the 4S.

Speedier processor

A fancy new chip lends a much faster user experience, from opening apps to taking pictures and even loading up e-mail attachments. The new A6 processor promises performance twice as snappy as that of the iPhone 4S.

Better battery life

One of the major gripes for iPhone users has been the constant need to recharge their phone. For all its upgrades, the battery on the 5 seems uncompromised, and even when it runs on 4G, it should last as long.

New port

The new bugbear for many consumers – the cost of a sleeker handset is that all old docking stations and connectors won’t work on the new model. A new port means that users will have to purchase an adapter – at about £20 – if they don’t want to replace all their gadgets.

Nano-SIM

The iPhone 5 uses a new smaller SIM card called a Nano-SIM. Along with the diddy dock connector, the standard has been adopted in the interests of freeing up space.

Fastest-selling iPhone ever

Apple took two million pre-orders within 24 hours for Apple’s fastest-selling device so far. That’s twice as many as the iPhone 4S did in the same time.

iOS 6

It boasts 200 new features, and that’s 200 features that make the iPhone feel like new. Apple’s own Maps and Siri have been re-vamped and the new software makes it easier to share photos on Facebook.

Earpods

Apple’s new headphones are designed to rest comfortably inside – and stay inside – the ears but also benefit from improved sound quality. Apple claims the audio quality is so good that the new “earpods” rival high-end headphones that cost hundreds of pounds. The speakers have been engineered to maximise output and minimise sound loss.