Apple iPhone 5 Reviews - Full Phone Specifications

The excitement of the rumour mill, the titillation of every leaked photo led to higher than ever levels of expectation over the iPhone 5 features, and while the announcement was greeted with some derision at the lack of perceived headline improvements, the record sales tell an entirely different story.

Given the underwhelming changes to the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 5 launch really needed to re-energise customers to prove Apple can repeat the game-changing trick it managed with the iPhone 4.

The iPhone 5 price was predictably high and continues to be so, so consumers will need to bear that in mind too when looking for their next smartphone.

So is the Apple iPhone 5 the greatest smartphone ever, and did it finally see Apple ascend to the top spot in our 20 best mobile phones chart? Or was it a case of too little, too late... and what about those darned Maps, eh?

Design

We'll begin in the traditional manner: how the thing actually feels in the hand. With the iPhone 5 there will be many types of prospective buyer: the upgrader from the 4 (or more-money-than-sense iPhone 4S upgraders), those tired of their Android handset and those taking their first steps in the smartphone market and want to get one of them iThingies their friend/child has.

Well, all of those picking up the iPhone 5 will have the same reaction: this thing is amazingly light. You've probably heard the numbers by now (20 per cent lighter than the predecessor, as well as beating most of the opposition too at 112g.)

It's an odd sensation, but it actually detracts from the experience when you first pick it up. We've praised the weighty feel of the iPhone in the past, lending it a premium feel in the face of toy-like phones, and it's almost disappointing that Apple decided to join that clan.

However, through extended use this problem quickly disappears. The overall effect of the phone is still a chassis designed for strength, and so it feels solid, if somehow a little hollow; pleasantly, though, it sits more anonymously in the pocket.

You'll obviously see the change in height too – the iPhone 5 stands 123.8mm tall to allow for the larger 4-inch screen. In truth, those not familiar with the iPhone 4S probably wouldn't notice the difference, which is why it's a good move from Apple to include the larger screen if it's not going put people off that hate larger phones.

Apple iPhone 5 Reviews - Full Phone Specifications

GENERAL
2G Network     GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - GSM A1428
                         CDMA 800 / 1900 / 2100 - CDMA A1429
3G Network     HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 - GSM A1428
                         CDMA2000 1xEV-DO - CDMA A1429
4G Network     LTE 700 MHz Class 17 / 1700 / 2100 - GSM A1428 or
                         LTE 850 / 1800 / 2100 - GSM A1429
                          LTE 700 / 850 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 - CDMA A1429
SIM                  Nano-SIM
Announced       2012, September
Status              Available. Released 2012, September
BODY              Dimensions    123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm (4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 in)
                         Weight    112 g (3.95 oz)
DISPLAY        Type    LED-backlit IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
                         Size    640 x 1136 pixels, 4.0 inches (~326 ppi pixel density)
                         Multitouch     Yes
                         Protection      Corning Gorilla Glass, oleophobic coating
SOUND          Alert types      Vibration, proprietary ringtones
                         Loudspeaker    Yes
                         3.5mm jack      Yes
MEMORY      Card slot    No
                         Internal    16/32/64 GB storage, 1 GB RAM
DATA              GPRS    Yes
EDGE             Yes
                         Speed    DC-HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76
                         Mbps, LTE, 100 Mbps; EV-DO Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps
                         WLAN       Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
                         Bluetooth     Yes, v4.0 with A2DP
                         USB            Yes, v2.0
                         CAMERA    Primary    8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, check quality
                         Features        Simultaneous HD video and image recording, touch focus, geo-tagging, face detection, panorama, HDR
                        Video             Yes, 1080p@30fps, video stabilization, check quality
                         Secondary     Yes, 1.2 MP, 720p@30fps, face detection, FaceTime over Wi-Fi or Cellular
FEATURES      OS    iOS 6, upgradable to iOS 6.1.4, planned upgrade to iOS 7.0
                         Chipset    Apple A6
                         CPU    Dual-core 1.2 GHz
                         GPU    PowerVR SGX 543MP3 (triple-core graphics)
                         Sensors    Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
                         Messaging    iMessage, SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email
                         Browser    HTML (Safari)
                         Radio    No
                         GPS    Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
                         Java    No
                        Colors    Black/Slate, White/Silver

- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- Siri natural language commands and dictation
- iCloud cloud service
- Twitter and Facebook integration
- TV-out
- Maps
- iBooks PDF reader
- Audio/video player/editor
- Organizer
- Document viewer
- Image viewer/editor
- Voice memo/dial/command
- Predictive text input

BATTERY         Non-removable Li-Po 1440 mAh battery (5.45 Wh)
                           Stand-by       Up to 225 h (2G) / Up to 225 h (3G)
                           Talk time       Up to 8 h (2G) / Up to 8 h (3G)
                           Music play    Up to 40 h
MISC                 SAR US      1.18 W/kg (head)     1.18 W/kg (body)   
SAR EU             0.95 W/kg (head)     0.90 W/kg (body)   
   
TESTS              Display    Contrast ratio: 1320:1 (nominal) / 3.997:1 (sunlight)
                          Loudspeaker    Voice 66dB / Noise 66dB / Ring 67dB
                          Audio quality    Noise -91.3dB / Crosstalk -76.5dB
                          Camera    Photo / Video
                          Battery life    Endurance rating 51h