Now the iPhone 5 has been announced, here's everything you need to know about Apple's brand new handset - the successor to the popular iPhone 4S.
This thing has been long rumoured of course, and we've known for a while that we'd have a lot to talk about around this time in 2012 - Apple seems to have cemented September as its time to refresh the iPhone.
1. It's called the iPhone 5
The first thing is the name - it's called iPhone 5 rather than the "new iPhone" following on from the "new iPad" which was the official Apple name for the iPad 3. Today Apple announced it had shifted 400 million iOS devices in total including a whopping 84 million iPads.
2. iPhone 5 screen
The iPhone 5 has a bigger screen than earlier versions and looks pretty much like the leaked versions we saw - the rumour mill was exactly right. There's a fifth row of icons on the home screen, while the display is the expected four inch version, but the iPhone 5 screen is not wider than the iPhone 4S, it's just thinner.
Again it has a 326ppi Retina display but now with a resolution of 1,136 by 640 pixels and a 16 x 9 aspect ratio. Apps will have to be resized for the new device - old apps will appear letterboxed. Apple has managed to make the screen thinner as touch is now integrated into the screen layer itself.
3. iPhone 5 size, weight and colour
In terms of size, iPhone 5 is 7.6mm thick and weighs 112g. It's 20 per cent lighter and 18 per cent thinner and is made of aluminum and glass. As you'll see, it has very similar aesthetics to the iPhone 4 and 4S, albeit in a redesigned shell; the volume and mute buttons are the same, for example.
iPhone 5 has a two-tone back and comes in either "white and silver" or "black and slate". In its usual understated style, Apple says "iPhone 5 combines an anodised aluminium body with diamond cut chamfered edges and glass inlays for a truly incredible fit and finish".
4. iPhone 5 processor
The processor is a new Apple A6 as expected. It has twice the CPU speed and twice the graphics power - the chop is smaller and is more battery-friendly and is based on the new-ish dual-core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU design. It's manufactured on a 32nm process, hence the smaller physical size. Performance is also frugal - Apple says it's better on battery life than the iPhone 4S.
5. iPhone 5 cameras
The camera is smaller, but still has an 8 megapixel sensor size. It's almost exactly the same as that in the iPhone 4S in terms of spec. Apple obviously wanted to make a big thing about the stuff it did to the camera to fit it inside the new chassis, but it isn't a massive step forward although the A6 includes a better image processor.
For the record it's a 3,264 x 2,448 BSi sensor with f2.4 aperture. Apple is also bigging up its low-light performance.
It can also shoot panoramas to produce a 28MP image. It can also take pictures while shooting a video, like many other high end handsets.
The front camera is now 720p rather than VGA for FaceTime calling. There are three microphones including a new beam-forming, directional microphone for higher quality sound.
iPhone 5 now includes support for cellular wideband audio for increased clarity and more natural sounding speech. Apple says that wideband audio will be supported by over 20 carriers worldwide at launch.
There are also new headphones, too! iPhone 5 and the new iPods now have EarPods (what a name!) with a more natural fit and better durability. Apple says there will be far better sound quality with these, too. And yes, the headphone jack is now on the bottom (we don't like this, but you might).
6. iPhone 5 is 4G
As expected, we've now got a 4G LTE iPhone, primarily for the US. However, it will work on EE's new 4G UK network. The 802.11n Wi-Fi also works on 5GHz now as well as 2.4GHz.
From EE: "Our Orange and T-Mobile customers will also be able to get hold of the iPhone 5 with the biggest and best network and the fastest possible 3G network speeds. Pricing and availability to be announced in due course." So no explicit 4G talk at the moment.
O2 and Three are the other networks to announce availability so far, but nothing from Vodafone as yet. Check out iPhone 5: when will you get it?
7. The iPhone 5 dock connector is Lightning
The new 8-signal dock connector is called Lightning, though Apple says that between iCloud, AirPlay and wireless sync, you won't really need it. You can plug it in either way, while it's 80 per cent smaller than the old dock connector. An adaptor will be available for the old 30 pin type. Will it be included with the phone? We doubt it.
8. The iPhone 5 has iOS 6
The new iPhone features iOS 6 - the next generation version of Apple's mobile operating system. It includes Passbook, Apple's new e-tickets app, plus FaceTime over 3G (depending on the network) and Apple's own mobile apps (including turn-by-turn navigation).
There's also native Facebook integration. The YouTube icon seems to be missing, while the Maps icon remains the same despite the change in mapping. There's also iCloud's Shared Photo Streams so you can now share pics with other friends and family.
iOS 6 will be available on 19 September for other iOS devices.
9: iPhone 5 memory and other specs
Once again - and surprisingly - the same memory sizes are available, so that's 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. You also get Bluetooth 4.0
10: iPhone 5 release date and pricing
The iPhone 5 release date is 21 September. iPhone 5 will be available in the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the US on that date, with other territories to follow. New iPhone re-orders start 14 September. In the UK, the handset will be available from the Apple Online Store, Apple's retail stores, and through Everything Everywhere, Orange, O2, T-Mobile, Vodafone, 3 and select Apple Authorised Resellers.
In terms of iPhone 5 price, we have a starting figure of $199 in the US with a contract, but nothing contract-wise for the UK as yet. We do have a £529 outright price though.
iPhone 5 will roll out worldwide to 22 more countries on 28 September, including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
By the way, the iPhone 4 and 4S will remain available, though the 3GS is now dead as a new product.
Source : techradar[dot]com
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