Apple’s iPhone 5 Not Very Different Than Its Predecessor

Published by Sierra Monica B. on September 13, 2012 under Tech Gadgets

I can say I’m a bit dissapointed that the latest iPhone version, launched yesterday by Apple, doesn’t add innovative tech or design features compared to its predecesors. Everybody has been talking about the bigger size and that it’s thinner, but overall the world’s most popular smartphone looks and does the same as the iPhone 4S.

The advertised larger display is not very large though, the difference being of only 0.5 inch, while the handset is 0.07-inch thinner than iPhone 4S. We have a higher resolution, of 1136 x 640 pixel at 326 dpi, for the Retina display.

In the specs list we also find some new technologies supported for the cellular and wireless connectivity, including 5GHz Wi-Fi, while the main camera capabilities remain the same, only that the FaceTime Camera supports 1.2MP photos, 720p High Definition video and backside illumination sensor. Now you also can take photos while filming and use face detection.

Other news include the storage and travel case, the lightning connector type, and longer battery life of up to 8 hours on LTE, 8 hours on 3G, 10 hours on Wi-Fi, and 225 hours in standby.

What cought my attention when reading the specifications, is the new type of SIM card it uses, which being so small, is not compatible with phones using standard SIM cards. It’s about the Nano-SIM, which I read is the smallest SIM card used in phones right now. Although you can buy adapters for making it larger to use in another phone, you can’t use your existing SIM card with the iPhone 5.

iPhone 5 also uses the new version of the iOS, the iOS operating system.

The new iPhone 5 is available with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities at starting prices of $199, $299 and $399, respectively, at AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. Read more about it at Apple.