The iPhone 5 is set to hit stores this Friday after setting an Apple sales record with 2 million preorders in the first 24 hours. Tech blogs around the net finally got their hands on it, and the verdicts are in. We compiled the experts’ opinions on everything from the new screen to iOS 6’s new map feature. Here are the iPhone 5 reviews worth checking out today.
The Design
The Loop: “The silver band around the iPhone 5 has the slightest bezel that gives the iPhone a slightly more rounded feel in your hand. You may be wondering how much difference that little change could make, but if you hold your iPhone all day, even the smallest change makes a big difference. That has been my takeaway from the design of the iPhone 5 — small design changes that make for big user experience improvements.”
CNET: “First off, you’re going to be shocked at how light this phone is. It’s the lightest iPhone, even though it’s longer and has a bigger screen. After a few days with it, the iPhone 4S will feel as dense as lead.”
Engadget: “An all-new aluminum construction extends around the back, which is either anodized black or left raw depending on whether you opt for the darker or lighter of the two offerings. The white phone is bright and clean-looking; the black, dark and menacing. We’ll let you draw conclusions about personality based on color preference, but we will say that the black surface seems to suck up fingerprints that are difficult to clean.”
The Camera
CBC: “The 4S is renowned for having one of the best – if not the best – cameras on the market (for a phone, of course). Its successor, which has improved image stabilization and better low-light processing, is the new king. The iPhone 5 takes better photos in both bright and low light, with sharper detail and colours. Photos and videos also look crisper on the new device’s screen, which has stronger colour saturation.”
Slashgear: “Panoramic shots have been possible on other smartphones for some time now, it’s true, and via third-party apps for previous iPhones, but Apple’s own system is particularly slick. The processing is all done in real-time, so there’s no waiting around at the end for the camera app to crunch the various frames together; instead, you can get on with shooting your next photo or video.”
The Earpods
TechCrunch: “I’m a big fan of the EarPods as they fit my ears almost perfectly — though I know that’s not the case with everyone. I can also hear bass for the first time with standard Apple earphones. They may not be the best earphones money can buy (nor should anyone expect them to be at $29.99 — or free with the new iPhone), but they’re a huge improvement over the old ones.”
The Loop: “You know when headphones start to push out of your ears and the music seems like it’s getting farther away? That didn’t happen. I pushed on these a number of times and they didn’t go into my ears any more than they did when I first put them there. I wore them on my flight from California after the event for five hours and they were quite comfortable.”
iOS 6
CBC: “In the case of maps, the iPhone 5 hits and misses. Since Google and Android are now its mortal enemies, Apple has ditched the Google’s map data in favour of GPS provider TomTom. Devices running iOS 6 will thus have Apple’s new Maps app, which isn’t as good as its Google-based predecessor.”
All Things Digital: “Siri, Apple’s voice-controlled intelligent assistant, can still be unreliable (it’s still a beta) but I had success with some of its new features, such as looking up movies and sports scores. It now allows you to dictate and post Facebook status messages and book restaurant reservations via the separate OpenTable app.”
Though the new design of the iPhone 5 is impressive, I struggle to remember the last time I complained about how heavy my iPhone is. The new map feature powered by TomTom is certainly a downgrade, and to me, Siri is still more gimmick than functionality. The camera’s improvements are marginal, and there are plenty of panorama apps already available, like Microsoft’s Photosynth.
If, like the planets, your cell contract aligns with this release, upgrade by all means. But I am in no rush to buy the iPhone 5.
