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Apple iPhone 5
8.0
final rating

reviewed on
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Criteria Comments Rating
  • Reception and call quality Good quality, slow to ring when someone calls. Same as pretty much everyone else. good
  • Display Clarity is good, size is too small. The iPhone should be a computer with a phone function, but instead its size makes it a phone with computer functions. good
  • Battery life I was able to drain the battery to 20% in about 3 hours. Not significantly better than many Android phones I've owned. so-so
  • Camera iPhone is the best of any smartphone I have used. Key points are auto-exposure and far fewer accidental button hits like are common with soft-button Androids. great!
  • Ease of use iOS is a simplistic operating system, making it easier to do everyday tasks, though impossible to do a lot of tasks Android can complete. good
  • Design and form factor Quality appearance, size is too small. The iPhone is a capable computer and should be designed to be that, and not a phone. Two models would have been ideal. good
  • Portability (size / weight) More portable than its peers, and plenty light. great!
  • Media support Apple limits its media support to a sub-set of what is out there. They also refuse to support Flash. so-so
  • Durability Haven't dropped yet, but videos online seem to show it as being reasonably durable, though it dents and scratches easily. good
  • Ecosystem (apps, accessories, etc.) Apple sets the bar for apps and for-pay media, but iCloud and other services are poor by comparison. good
Detailed review
The iPhone has good voice quality but is slow to ring when someone calls. It is the same as pretty much every other smart phone. The display clarity and color reproduction are excellent but the size of the screen is too small. The iPhone should be a portable computer with a phone function, but instead its small screen size makes it a phone with computer functions. I was able to drain the battery to 20% in about 3 hours. Not significantly better than recent Android phones I've owned. The camera is the best of any smartphone I have used. Key points are flexible auto-exposure and far fewer accidental button hits like are common with soft-button Androids. iOS is a simplistic operating system, making it easier to do everyday tasks, though impossible to do a lot of tasks Android can complete. The iPhone has a top-quality appearance, but its screen size is too small. The iPhone is a capable computer and should be designed to be that, and not a phone. Two models would have been ideal, one with a larger screen. Because of its small size, the iPhone 5 is the most portable super-smart phone around. Apple limits its media support to a sub-set of what is out there. They also refuse to support Flash. Overall their media support is mediocre. I haven't dropped the iPhone 5 yet, but videos online seem to show it as being reasonably durable, though it does seem to dent and scratch easily. The App Store sets the bar for apps and for-pay media, but iCloud and other services are poor by comparison to what is offered via Google and other service providers.

Comments (5) subscribe to this review's comments

ssstraub

ssstraub

How did you manage to drain the battery to 20% in 3 hours? What were you doing, playing 3D games over AirPlay?

Also, Adobe dropped flash support for ALL mobile devices (even for Android) so I'm not sure how that can be listed as a negative anymore.
stynkfysh

stynkfysh

Photo editing, simultaneous app downloads/installations, high screen brightness... those are the primary culprits. Flash was an example of the lack of media support. It's true that Adobe has given up, but that is because of Apple's decision to not support it. But Flash is just one of many non-supported media types.
ssstraub

ssstraub

How many simultaneous app downloads/installations did you have going? I'm still puzzled as how you managed to do that, though you didn't actually drain it and the % isn't always perfectly linear so... Even stress tests in reviews don't run out the battery in 3 hours.
stynkfysh

stynkfysh

Don't know what to tell you. I can do the same thing with the iPad 3. Perhaps the image processing has a lot to do with it.
stynkfysh

stynkfysh

One of my beefs with all of these iDevices is that the USB cables are not long enough for the devices to be used plugged in, which I need often. 3rd party longer cords = poor charging speed.
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