96
Criteria
Comments
Rating
- Reception and call quality No issues at all. Sounds clearer than my last phone.
- Display Amazing display, sharp as hell. No issues in direct sunlight.
- Battery life Extremely impressed by the battery life, especially since it's an LTE phone. Can definitely last an entire day for me.
- Camera Sharp images, short shutter lag. The low light is pretty decent as well considering it's a phone.
- Ease of use Level of expertise to use this phone is pretty low.
- Design and form factor Really nice looking phone, but my hand beckons for some curves.
- Portability (size / weight) Light and sturdy, really pocketable.
- Media support Supports a decent amount of media types. If you like to get movies in other ways, you're stuck converting.
- Durability My antennae has a scuff on it out of the box. Time will tell how well this stands up, but my guess it's going to have some minor battle scars.
- Ecosystem (apps, accessories, etc.) Best thing about having an iPhone is access to apps. Accessories-wise, it's a little sparse, but with time it should get better.
Detailed review
I'm a former Android user, for the time being, coming from a Motorola Droid X (gdgt.com/motorola/droid/x/reviews/4ee/). I also wrote a review for iOS 6: gdgt.com/apple/ios/6/reviews/t6a/.
--Favorite things about the iPhone 5:
Goodbye Mr. Blurrycam
The iPhone 5 camera is one of the best you can find on a phone. I'm able to get more sharp, in focus images with the iPhone, even in some low light conditions, than I did with my old phone. Generally, picture quality is great with ton of detail. This was something that I was most looking forward to and it has met my expectations.
Screentastic
When I first saw the iPhone 4 display, I was pretty damn impressed. I think iPhones always had pretty great displays, but the high pixel density puts it over the top and not that I experiencing it day to day, having a screen with a PPI of 300+ is pretty much a necessity for me at this point. I'm really impressed by the visibility of the screen in direct sunlight, text and images are perfectly readable when I'm outside. Also, I give a lot of credit to Apple for getting down auto-brightness. It adjusts perfectly when I go from indoors to outdoors, which is something that I had some issues with on my old phone. Oh, another thing on quality, I was looking at pictures from my old phone and they looked BETTER on the iPhone.
Smaller is better
Using an 4.3" Android for around two years, I was pretty convinced that I'd have a hard time adjusting to a smaller screen size when it came to just having a larger image, but especially when it came to typing. After using this phone for a bit, I can say that I'm very happy with the smaller size. One-handed operation is worlds better and I don't feel as cramped as I thought I would be when it comes to typing. Don't get me wrong, I think I could benefit from having some additional width on the screen, but it's not a deal breaker. I really appreciate the thinner, lighter design too. It's pretty effortless to get it in and out of my pocket. I still use my old phone for some things and it feels like a brick in comparison.
--What I would change about the iPhone 5:
Fit like a glove
The best phone I've ever held was the Palm Pre. The nice curves conformed to my hand well, so it was really great to hold. While I do like the industrial look of the iPhone, it's just a tad bit edge-y.
Scratchy McScratcherson
I'm one of the unlucky people who got a phone with a tiny scuff on the side. I figure if there's a scuff on it without me even using it, it's going to look like hell after a few months of use. I'm not sure if there's any material out there that give a nice balance between svelte aesthetics and durability, but if there is, I hope they use it.
Camera button (no cool title for this)
iPhone has a camera button (volume up button), but it's not a real camera button. My old phone has a two-stage, dedicated camera button and it was awesome being able to pre-focus. But the best thing about it was it's location. When I take a picture, I like to rotate my phone counterclockwise in my left hand and I instinctively press my right pointer finder to take a picture, but there's no button there. Apple will never do this, but this was one thing that I have yet to erase from my muscle memory. I'll give it more time.
tl;dr: iPhone 5 hardware is great.
--Favorite things about the iPhone 5:
Goodbye Mr. Blurrycam
The iPhone 5 camera is one of the best you can find on a phone. I'm able to get more sharp, in focus images with the iPhone, even in some low light conditions, than I did with my old phone. Generally, picture quality is great with ton of detail. This was something that I was most looking forward to and it has met my expectations.
Screentastic
When I first saw the iPhone 4 display, I was pretty damn impressed. I think iPhones always had pretty great displays, but the high pixel density puts it over the top and not that I experiencing it day to day, having a screen with a PPI of 300+ is pretty much a necessity for me at this point. I'm really impressed by the visibility of the screen in direct sunlight, text and images are perfectly readable when I'm outside. Also, I give a lot of credit to Apple for getting down auto-brightness. It adjusts perfectly when I go from indoors to outdoors, which is something that I had some issues with on my old phone. Oh, another thing on quality, I was looking at pictures from my old phone and they looked BETTER on the iPhone.
Smaller is better
Using an 4.3" Android for around two years, I was pretty convinced that I'd have a hard time adjusting to a smaller screen size when it came to just having a larger image, but especially when it came to typing. After using this phone for a bit, I can say that I'm very happy with the smaller size. One-handed operation is worlds better and I don't feel as cramped as I thought I would be when it comes to typing. Don't get me wrong, I think I could benefit from having some additional width on the screen, but it's not a deal breaker. I really appreciate the thinner, lighter design too. It's pretty effortless to get it in and out of my pocket. I still use my old phone for some things and it feels like a brick in comparison.
--What I would change about the iPhone 5:
Fit like a glove
The best phone I've ever held was the Palm Pre. The nice curves conformed to my hand well, so it was really great to hold. While I do like the industrial look of the iPhone, it's just a tad bit edge-y.
Scratchy McScratcherson
I'm one of the unlucky people who got a phone with a tiny scuff on the side. I figure if there's a scuff on it without me even using it, it's going to look like hell after a few months of use. I'm not sure if there's any material out there that give a nice balance between svelte aesthetics and durability, but if there is, I hope they use it.
Camera button (no cool title for this)
iPhone has a camera button (volume up button), but it's not a real camera button. My old phone has a two-stage, dedicated camera button and it was awesome being able to pre-focus. But the best thing about it was it's location. When I take a picture, I like to rotate my phone counterclockwise in my left hand and I instinctively press my right pointer finder to take a picture, but there's no button there. Apple will never do this, but this was one thing that I have yet to erase from my muscle memory. I'll give it more time.
tl;dr: iPhone 5 hardware is great.
good review!
6 people find this review helpful
review history
- 2012-10-03
-
Updated detailed review
peterto
cass
frankspin