TechDecisions Editor Reviews iPhone 5 – Day 1 Product Review

A quick blast from the past. Apple has always been known for their outstanding design. Right? In my opinion that is correct except for the Bondi Blue abomination. For the money I paid for this, it seemed like I was using a toy.

Thankfully that is a blue blur.

So yes, the Apple industrial design team hit it out of the park again with this design. Same park, same distance — okay maybe a little bit further because the wind was at their back.

The iPhone 5 is sleek, light and elegant. I have owned every iteration of the iPhone. Since I already had the iPhone 4S the iPhone 5 didn’t seem like that much of a difference. Slightly taller, a bit thinner and black. If the iPhone 4 had been launched in black and the iPhone 5 came out with the brushed aluminum I probably would have been equally impressed. The difference between the iPhone 3 and the iPhone 4 in design was remarkable. But I am okay not being blown away by the difference between the 4 and 5—they are both beautiful.

The iPhone 5 is being touted as “light as a feather.” Hmmm. While I was at the beach taking pictures and videos I wasn’t so happy about the product feeling that light in my hands. Something with a little bit more weight — even that of the iPhone 4S—felt like it would stay in my hands better. Even when I was flipping through my apps with one hand, I would have preferred it to sit a bit heavier because I felt I could swipe it right out of my hand too easily. I haven’t purchased the cover for it yet. That’ll be coming this week. And I didn’t buy the replacement insurance!

I am happy that the width of the iPhone 5 stayed the same because it fits better in my small hands. I held the Samsung Galaxy S III and it felt too big for me. It seemed more like a tablet. If I want a tablet experience I’ll use my iPad.

While a lot of people are comparing the size of the iPhone 5 to the Samsung Galaxy S III, I would have preferred that Apple had kept the same thickness and/or weight and added an even larger battery. The iPhone 4 was already thin enough.

Here’s how the two compare:

iPhone 5

Height: 4.87 inches

Width: 2.31 inches

Depth: 0.30 inch

Weight: 3.95 ounces

Samsung Galaxy S III

Height: 5.37 inches

Width: 2.77 inches

Depth: 0.33 inch

Weight: 4.69 ounces

The above image is my bad simulation of how I would like the home pages to react when I use the iPhone 5 in landscape mode. I would like the home pages to switch back and forth from landscape to portrait modes just like most of the other content. Given the taller design, the device is easier to use in landscape mode and I would prefer to not have to switch back and forth when I am going through the home pages to the content from the apps.

I was hoping for a new look with iOS 6. I was hoping to be blown away with the new interface. I like the “old” interface — but I was expecting Apple’s GUI team to push the envelope again with something amazing—something I didn’t know I couldn’t live without. This is not a complaint, it’s just an expectation they have set for big launches. I kind of thought since they came out with the 4S rather than the 5 that they were working on something revolutionary. This is not that.

I love the design of the new earphones. They fit better. I haven’t done an in-depth comparison of the sound between the old and the new because I am not expecting huge sound performance out of these. That said, the thoughtful ergonomic design and the two speaker openings on each ear bud are a nice feature.

Faster IS better. I have not been a fan of Safari in general and didn’t love it on the iPhone either. I used Google on the 4S. Web browsing even on the 4S was so-so either way because it was slow. When I heard Apple was going to limit the speed of Google I was really infuriated — and still am. This is not something I would expect of this company. Time for me to wake up. I can make choices. I will see if Apple delivers a better browser experience that I need.

Much to my surprise and relief the browser experience with Safari was a good one. The speed of the A6 chip helped save this experience for me. I am really pleased with the iPhone 5 for its new speed. I guess I’ll get used to Safari, but I don’t like being forced to do this. I like to make my own choices. I could choose an Android device in two years if they keep pulling that. That Samsung Galaxy S III and the new Windows 8 is looking pretty good.

Time for a road trip to the beach with the new iPhone 5 to see if the things I rely on the most are the same, better or worse. That’s Sadie in the back seat catching some wind. That’s me in the passenger seat taking a picture with my old iPhone 4S because the iPhone 5 is being used for “turn by turn.”

With my iPhone 4S I often used a combination of the Google Maps app and the Garmin app that I had purchased for $49.99. I did this because I have not used a GPS yet that hasn’t taken me way out of the way at times. Plus the Google Maps didn’t have voice, turn by turn which I really needed when I was driving by myself—no matter how far off course I was taken.

I was really worried that the Garmin app wouldn’t work with the new iOS—but thankfully it still worked. I have too often been victim to the change of operating systems rendering my software dead and having to go out and purchase thousands of dollars of new software. Thankfully the Garmin app worked with iOS 6.

I was REALLY unhappy that Apple had taken away the Google Maps app. It feels so unlike Apple to take something away that the user loved so much. But this world is heating up and I don’t think the user is going to benefit in the end.

So for the test: I brought the iPhone 4S along on the 20 mile trip so that I could compare the two experiences. I had the 4S running Garmin and Google Maps and the iPhone 5 running the new Apple Maps powered by Tom Tom. The Garmin and new Apple Maps directions were identical. The Google Maps app actually suggested a longer route. This time the Garmin and Tom Tom won.

To my relief, using the new Apple Maps app was easier to use than the Garmin app. I also like the look of the maps and the display of the directions better than the Garmin.

We had pulled into a parking lot and I zoomed in on our location using the satellite view on the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5 to compare. When I zoomed WAY in—the blinking cursor showed my exact location in the parking lot on the iPhone 5 using Apple Maps and the iPhone 4S using Google Maps showed my location on the main street outside the parking lot.

So in the end of this particular test I am relieved that I am happy with the new Apple Maps. I think this is going to be okay.

I still need to test the Apple Maps walking in a city. I have used the Google Maps a lot in a new city when I am walking. I would really miss that feature. Jury is still out.

I take a LOT of photos with my iPhones. I figured that Apple would only improve on this experience—and they did. My dogs are always my favorite subject and have often been blurry in the final image. Yes, these lighting conditions were perfect—but Sadie can blur through some pretty fast chips. I was really impressed with the detail in this shot as well. The 8MP iSight camera on iPhone 5 has improved HDR capabilities. It is not hugely significant over the 4S - but at least on this day it appeared to be the case.

Keep in mind that this image is reduced for the web. Before I reduced the size of this image, it was 3264 pixels wide x 2448 pixels high at 72 dpi and 6.5 MB.

Not sure how often I will use it, but I thought I’d try out the Panorama function. Seemed easy enough. Tap to shoot and move the camera across the scene—up to 240 degrees. The arrow helps you stay on the same plane as you turn. The gyroscope, A6 chip, and camera app work together to create one seamless shot. This image is from the Apple site. My results are on the next slide.

This is the result of my panorama image shot. I turned about 180 degrees. Fun!

Before I reduced the size of this “Panorama” image taken with my iPhone 5 the image was 2590 pixels wide x 1088 pixels high at 72 dpi and 1.3 MB file size. The file size of non-panorama images I took were 6.5 MB to 6.9 MB.

This is what happens when using the Panorama option when you don’t stay on the line. You see the image immediately so it’s not like you lost the opportunity to do it again. It was easy after a few tries.

I have a big digital SLR with changeable lenses. When I want to shoot “art” photography I use that—especially outside so I can zoom and change the depth of field as I want it. Unless you want a blurry image, don’t use the zoom on the iPhone. You’re really just making the pixels bigger. It is not a “zoom lens.”

But you can’t beat having an 8 megapixel camera in your pocket that can take a pretty picture. It’s a point-and-shoot. A nice one.

I also shot a lot video. It nice to have the option.

The file size of this image was also reduced for the web.

Battery life was the biggest disappointment with the iPhone 5. In under four hours of very heavy use, the battery was dead. Granted, I didn’t have the phone plugged into the car charger when I was using turn-by-turn (it hasn’t come in yet), I shot a lot of pictures and video, surfed the web and checked out a bunch of apps. But isn’t that what the “phone” is for these days?

I expected a much longer battery life. Really — make the device a bit “fatter” again and give us a bigger battery.

iPhone 5

Talk time:

Up to 8 hours on 3G

Browsing time:

Up to 8 hours on LTE

Up to 8 hours on 3G

Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi

Standby time:

Up to 225 hours

iPhone 4S

Talk time:

Up to 8 hours on 3G

Browsing time:

-

Up to 6 hours on 3G

Up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi

Standby time:

Up to 200 hours

I guess I am happier to have more apps visible on my home pages. Like most people I primarily use the apps that are on the first page. Here’s what I have on my first page.

I have a modest number of apps compared to many people I know, but I rarely go past the second page. Here’s what I have on my second page.

My husband, Gary is my upgrade path to new technology. I was using the 4S and he was using the 3GS. There was a 4 in there — but that’s a long story. He dropped his 3GS in our driveway THE day the iPhone 5 arrived—by accident. Just by chance we actually “needed” a new phone. I am not at all unhappy that we needed to purchase the iPhone 5. Gary is pretty happy with the 4S — especially since his fingers would have gotten pretty rough on this glass!