Its almost here folks and the reviews are out. Yes! I’m talking about the iPhone 5 reviews. TheTechStorm has put together a list of some of the best and most reputable reviews on the web. Be sure to visit the source site form more low down.
Engadget
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Thinner. Lighter. Faster. Simpler. The moment the iPhone 5 was unveiled we knew that it was checking off all the right boxes, folding in all the improvements and refinements people have been demanding over the past year — yet plenty of folks still went to their respective social networks to type out their bitter disappointment. iPhone upgrade ennui seemed to be sweeping the nation, a sentiment that appeared to quickly dissipate when it came time for people to vote with their wallets.
The new height makes room for that 4-inch, 1,136 x 640 display — the most progressive change by a long shot. Steve Jobs famously said that the 3.5-inch screen size is the “sweet spot” and, frankly, it was about time Apple added a little more sugar. The new height results in a phone with more usable space and better presentation for HD content (the iPhone is finally 16:9). Yet, it’s still easy to use with one hand. Each corner is comfortably reachable by thumbs of nearly all sizes.
The iPhone 5 is a significant improvement over the iPhone 4S in nearly every regard, and in those areas that didn’t see an upgrade over its predecessor — camera, storage capacity — one could make a strong case that the iPhone 4S was already ahead of the curve. Every area, that is, except for the OS. If anything, it’s the operating system here that’s beginning to feel a bit dated and beginning to show its age.
Still, the iPhone 5 absolutely shines. Pick your benchmark and you’ll find Apple’s thin new weapon sitting at or near the top. Will it convince you to give up your Android or Windows Phone ways and join the iOS side? Maybe, maybe not. Will it wow you? Hold it in your hand — you might be surprised. For the iOS faithful this is a no-brainer upgrade. This is without a doubt the best iPhone yet. This is a hallmark of design. This is the one you’ve been waiting for.
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USA TODAY
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Nearly a year later the iPhone 5 is upon us. And what I detect this time is lust. The feelings are unlikely to diminish once buyers get their hands on the iPhone 5 Friday, or whenever their pre-ordered phones arrive.
The iPhone 5 is a winner that should keep Apple at the front of the smartphone pack. But choosing iPhone 5 vs. a top-of-the line Android alternative isn’t a cut-and-dried decision, especially if you’re partial to a jumbo display, such as the one on the big, bold and beautiful Samsung Galaxy S III, an Android rival for which I’ve had high praise.
Of course, most of these same people will probably buy the darn phone anyway and do so, I suspect, with glee.
Put me in that camp. I’ve been testing iPhone 5 for a week and want one, too. On the back of the device is the same anodized aluminum that Apple uses in its notebooks. My black-and-slate test unit has pigmented glass along the top and bottom. Apple is also selling a white-and-silver version that uses ceramic glass instead. The surface is made of sapphire crystal whose sturdiness, Apple says, is second only to diamonds. Suffice to say Apple’s designers treated iPhone 5 like a crown jewel.
People have always had lofty expectations for the iPhone 5, especially as the competition stiffens. In delivering a fast, attractive, LTE-capable and larger-screen handset, Apple has met those expectations with a gem.
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The Guardian (UK)
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Like statisticians poring over Olympic outcomes, they declared too that it didn’t break any records – not the biggest screen, not the world’s thinnest phone, not packing the most features. But as anyone who watched the Games would tell you, it’s not the record-breaking that matters; it’s the experience.
That starts when you hold it: raw specifications (18% thinner than last year’s 4S, 20% lighter, 12% less volume) don’t explain how it seems to float in the hand, and how typing or swiping feels like touching the very pixels. (New processes have removed one layer of glass from the touchscreen.) The tactile pleasure is second only to Nokia’s beguilingly curved (and largely overlooked) Lumia 800. And while the 4in screen is longer, but not wider (enough for six rows of icons rather than five), you can still swipe across it with your thumb, unlike giants such as Samsung’s whopping 4.8in Galaxy S3.
In truth, it’s the software that makes this phone amazing. In a world dominated by “specifications” – how fast, how far, how many, many commentators think the Olympics of smartphones is measured, like a race, by how fast you do things. Does this phone run at 1.6 GHz and that one at 1.61GHz? Award the medal!
For those who insist on NFC, or direct access to the phone’s file system, or the option of opening web pages in multiple different browsers, the iPhone and iOS will never be satisfactory.
But Apple doesn’t care. Steve Jobs once said that interfaces which spawned a lot of windows meant that “you get to be the janitor” – a post he didn’t relish. Android lets you be the janitor, air-conditioning chief and managing director; the iPhone lets you be the user. It’s a key difference in philosophy. You can’t do as much on the iPhone – but sometimes fewer choices mean faster decisions. Siri in particular is a revelation; expect to hear much more of its C#-listening-to-G#-acting pings around you.
As for the iPhone 5, it’s a lovely piece of equipment. Boring? Lacking wow? With its market value now crossing $700bn and iPhone 5 pre-orders through the roof, Apple might disagree.
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TechCrunch
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You pick it up and it almost feels fake. That’s not to say it feels cheap; because it doesn’t — quite the opposite, actually. It just doesn’t seem real. Certainly not to someone who has been holding the iPhone 4/4S for the past two years. It feels like someone took one of those devices and hollowed it out.
The iPhone 5 is here.
I’ve had the opportunity to play around with the latest iPhone for the past several days. I won’t beat around the bush: it’s fantastic.
In fact, I’ll go a step farther: I really do believe this is the best iPhone upgrade that Apple has done yet (besting the iPhone-to-iPhone 3G jump and the iPhone 3GS-to-iPhone 4 jump). As such, it’s the best version of the iPhone yet. By far.
If you have an Android phone and have been waiting for a big iPhone update to explore or re-explore the device, now is the time. And you Windows Phone 7 users who are getting screwed in the move to Windows Phone 8, you may want to look as well. And if you’re still a Blackberry user, well, good luck with that. I think you’re beyond my help.
Those worried about the talk of “disappointment” surrounding the iPhone 5, I suggest you simply go to an Apple Store starting on Friday and try it for yourself. My guess is you’ll immediately recognize just how ridiculous all that bluster actually is. The iPhone 5 is the culmination of Apple doing what Apple does best. This is the smartphone nearly perfected.
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The Telegraph
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The iPhone 5 is a marvellous piece of design, arguably the most beautiful object Apple has ever produced. It certainly stands comparison with the first iPod, the iMac and the original iPhone. Yes, it’s thinner and lighter and more powerful than the iPhone 4S but to really understand it, you need to hold it in your hand.
The screen on the iPhone 4S was impressive but the new one looks better. It’s brighter and the colours are richer. Initially, the extra screen size will means black bars around apps because existing iPhone apps will display at 960-by-640 until developers update them. Expect a rush of app updates starting this week.
The iPhone 5 is a great smartphone made even better. It’s fast, lightweight and backed by the largest application store for any device. It’s also probably the most beautiful smartphone anyone has ever made.
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Image: Apple
