iPhone 5 Review

By Rob Boggan

Way way back in 2007 Apple and Steve Jobs ushered in a mobile device that would forever change the smart phone game. Ever since then, the iPhone has consistently smashed sales records time and time again and in the meanwhile gained a massive following. A following so large that until now, all other competitors have essentially been dwarfed by Apple’s tremendous shadow, starting first with Palm all the way to Blackberry most recently. Fast forward five years, and we are now being graced with the iPhone 5 (6th Generation), and a promise that this device is “The biggest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone.”

As far as design goes, I can easily say that this is the best made iPhone I’ve ever handled. It’s amazingly light, so light that you would mistake the phone for being made with cheap materials. Upon closer inspection, you’d see the exact opposite. Apple used really high grade materials on this device and it shows. The iPhone 5 feels like a high end handset, and you can tell that Apple really put a lot of thought into the design and build of the newest iPhone.

One of the biggest beefs with iPhone devices have been addressed with the release of the iPhone 5 and the addition of a bigger screen. Customers have been begging for years to have a bigger screen on the iPhone and Apple answered, but without going too over the top. Adding more screen real estate accomplishes two things for Apple: It pacifies those who have been claiming the biggest shortcoming of the iPhone was the screen size, and it immediately makes iPhone more attractive to those who would previously neglect it for that very reason. But it’s not all about the larger screen on iPhone 5. This iteration of the iPhone also represents a return to form of sorts, as Apple has reverted to a mostly aluminum back plate. People seem to poke fun at the fact that Apple brags about the phone being 20% lighter than the 4S, but that is really a gigantic selling point. To describe this phone as being incredibly light would be an understatement. With my review unit, I could easily slip the iPhone into my pocket and literally not be able to tell it was there. As with any Apple press conference, Tim Cook and gang spent a lot of time talking about design procedures and “chamfered edges” but bottom line is this is a fantastically built device.

On the side of performance, the iPhone 5 flat out flies. Aided by the new Apple A6 processor, the iPhone 5 makes most other smart phones on the market feel like children’s toys. Most of my usage is done via apps and through the web browser, both of which happened to be extremely snappy. I am an avid Google Chrome user so Safari didn’t see much action, but Chrome itself worked like a charm and no matter what website I visited, Apple’s plug ins worked flawlessly. One area of disappointment with the iPhone 5 was in the battery life department. I came into this with really high hopes and while not terrible, battery life was a bit of a bummer. According to Apple, you should be able to do up to 8 hours of LTE talk time or web browsing, and up to 10 hours of video playback. During my tests, with heavier than average phone calls and LTE data usage, I ended up getting just under 6 hours. LTE data speeds on this device are amazingly fast and with Apple’s minimalist interface, other phone seem flat out slow by comparison. AT&T will have a small competitive edge with their model as it remains the only iPhone capable of simultaneous voice and data.

The cameras on the iPhone 5 work flawlessly and actually churned out some amazing shots. The new optics one the iPhone definitely helps further the gap between photos taken on an iPhone and photos from other devices. The flash has also been improved over previous models which was a much needed improvement. With my iPhone 4S sometimes the flash felt too weak, and would in fact fail to lighten anything beyond 2 feet of my position. With the iPhone 5, the reach of flash has been expanded and in most cases would actually brighten up a small room. As for the new and improved Panoramic mode, I tried it, I liked it, but it wasn’t exceptionally mind blowing like Apple would lead on for it to be. Video recording worked amazingly well and I was surprised at how good the recordings turned out to be. No choppiness  no lag, nothing. In short, it worked exactly as one would expect an iPhone to work.

Pound for pound, the iPhone will in most areas be leaps and bounds better than it’s other smart phone peers. It usually has a more elegant design, better R&D to ensure a high rate of adoption, and most importantly a minimalist interface that will continue to make even the most hardcore tinkerer swoon. From what I can see, the iPhone 5 will be the smart phone to beat, at least according to sales. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some Jelly Bean goodness waiting on me.