back to article Apple iPhone 5 hands-on review

Last night in San Francisco, Apple CEO Tim Cook presented his third keynote in fine, relaxed form. There were announcements about iTunes, a longer iPod nano and colourful iPod touch models. But the night belonged to the iPhone, not to be dubbed the new iPhone, but the iPhone 5. Hacks in London were treated to a simultaneous …

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  1. RobE
    FAIL

    its rubbish

    Too much hype - not enough

    Samsung is far better - better screen, better memory expansion options, better wifi tethering and apple are still flogging the same UI, same phone - wheres the 3D screen? This should have been called iPhone4.2 not iPhone5. Apple sucks again

    1. ItsNotMe
      Devil

      Re: its rubbish

      Hey wait a minute! It's not rubbish...it has that new, faster 4g LTE chip in it!!! Imagine that...Apple FIRST with LTE in a Smartphone!

      What's that? Every other Smartphone has had 4g LTE for over a year? And the phone will not work in most of Europe on LTE? Can't be. Everyone knows Apple is at the forefront of technology. The OTHERS are the ones playing catch-up.

      1. toadwarrior

        Re: its rubbish

        Fandroids always seem angry but then I guess if my favourite platform's highlights were piracy, malware and privacy invasion then I'd be upset too.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: its rubbish

          "Fandroids always seem angry but then I guess if my favourite platform's highlights were piracy, malware and privacy invasion then I'd be upset too."

          May i point you to this:

          http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/04/20/secret_iphone_location_tracking/

          I spose it is easy to ignore things like that when you are ignorant enough to own one in the first place.

          Have an android but i'd own anything that wasn't made by Apple before the fanboi cries begin. Is it possible to be a hateboi? Maybe i'm that. /care.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: its rubbish

          http://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/11/apple-took-3-years-to-fix-finfisher-trojan-hole/

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: its rubbish

      Yep, same old UI. That one the customers love, and know how to use, and that results in best in industry customer satisfactions scores. Best thing to do when you've an OS/UI like that is rip it up and start again. (think, Microsoft Office where as a 15+ year user of Word with Office 2010 I now struggle to find basic functions.)

      1. Mr. Great Sage

        Re: its rubbish

        Did you skip over Office 2007 because it's practically the same interface.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: its rubbish

          Corporate environment - went from 2003 to 2010 . I use Word on the Mac as well - current mac version is better than win BUT the interface is some crazy mishmash with both a ribbon AND toolbars and menus.

      2. rvt
        Stop

        Re: its rubbish

        "Yep, same old UI."

        The Windows UI still hasn't changed much since Windows 95, still the start button at the bottom left, same bar at the bottom. Yet everybody still bought Windows machines.

        What I am trying to say is that no UI change doesn't mean something is bad. Not everybody want's a custom UI, only on Linux I would 'tweak' my UI, on windows/OSX I never had a need for that.

        1. jai
          WTF?

          Re: its rubbish

          "Yep, same old UI."

          windows did a pretty big UI overhaul with Vista - that was a remarkably successful example of what a good idea it is to change the UI that everyone loves. In fact, microsoft must have been so pleased with the results because they've gone even further with win8 and totally changed all the bits that user liked about their old UI.

          yep, AC @13:02 is absolutely correct, totally changing the UI is the best thing any company could do

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: its rubbish

          >still the start button at the bottom left, same bar at the bottom. Yet everybody still bought Windows machines

          I prefer it at the top - on Windows 7 the last few pixels of the start button are missing if you put it at the bottom and that irritates. Office monkeys living in a couple of apps with widescreen tend to push the taskbar to the sides to gain extra screen estate.

          .....and of course you aren't stuck with the Explorer shell in Windows and can replace it if you prefer a different desktop entirely or for kiosks, appliances etc.

      3. Ammaross Danan
        FAIL

        Re: its rubbish

        "Yep, same old UI. That one the customers love, and know how to use..."

        Ignorant customers love it. Pull out an Android phone and show them homescreen widgets (such as your email inbox or your calendar) and they instantly go "wow! that would be great to have!" Sure, you can launch an App, perhaps have to wait for it to open/load depending on your iOS, but having it on the homescreen is very convenient. We'll see how long until Apple steals widgets like they did the notification pulldown...

        The only valid point you give is the "know how to use." Swapping a UI in a major way (Ribbons, in your example, or the Not-Metro UI of Win8) is a major problem. However, the transition can be done, and it can sometimes be fairly painless. Look at how Android added a task manager in 3.0+. I'm not a big fan of the permanent black bar on their Tablets, but the phone execution of 4.0 tasks is flawless. Apple could do the same if they tried.

      4. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: its rubbish

        Yeah, 'cos OS9 to OSX had no change whatsoever!

    3. tirk
      Joke

      Re: its rubbish

      But what would Samsung owners talk about if it wasn't for the iPhone??

      (Can someone wake me up when the smartphone jihad is over!)

    4. Marty
      Trollface

      Re: its rubbish

      who cares about the iphone5 , nobody can tell the difference... even iphone owners !!

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdIWKytq_q4

    5. This post has been deleted by its author

    6. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
      FAIL

      Re: its rubbish

      And it doesn't do NFC contactless payments, I guess you'll have get a S3 for that.

      If crApple spent more on innovating instead of litigating then they woulden't be the ones playing catch up. Or does somebody else hold the patents for NFC contactless payments?

      1. The First Dave

        Re: its rubbish

        For me, it is a bonus that an iPhone is not going to be spraying my cash out to every other phone it bumps into. There are enough flaws with my chip-and-pin credit card without my phone automating my losses.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: its rubbish

          Its about choice....

          if you don’t want to use contactless payments, then don't set up payment details a phone that has this facility.

          the thing about smartphones in this day and age is that the top end phones on the market should include all options. Think about when you are selecting your phone, you list features that it must have,each manufactures flagship phones should cover all of them, even if some of the features you will never use. Its up to you to decide if the price of the handset is justifiable depending on how much of it you are not going to use.

          1. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart

            Re: its rubbish

            And crApple don't mention the new, smaller power connector, of course crApple will sell you an adaptor but it probably makes all docking stations obsolete.

            The new SIM card is 44pc smaller and is therefore incompatible with existing phones, so you can't just stick your old SIM into an IPhoney 5 and expect it to work.

          2. Franklin
            FAIL

            Re: its choice

            "Its about choice...."

            You're right. It is about choice.

            Do you like Android? Buy an Android. Prefer BlackBerry? Get one (quick, before they fold). You like Windows? Get a Windows phone. You like Apple? Get an iPhone.

            Personally, I prefer iPhones. I went from an iPhone to an Android phone, I've had the Android pgone for a couple of years now, and I'm going back to iPhone. Other people may come to different conclusions. That's OK. It's about choice. Different people have different tastes.

            But fer Chrissakes, quit whining like someone stepped on your puppy. It's a phone, not a Holy Chalice. You don't need to validate your wounded ego by bleating about how awful the other choice is and how only a rank idiot with the cognitive capacity of a rabid weasel on crystal meth would ever be so stupid to choose the other.

            Seriously, these holy wars were tiresome back in the TRS-80 vs. Commodore-64 days.

  2. Lord Voldemortgage

    Thinth

    Am I alone in finding thinner phones more awkward to handle?

    I'm not sure it is one of the races I would be trying too hard to win - bigger batteries would be better for me.

    1. DF118

      Re: Thinth

      This.

      Not that I personally am interested in the iPhone, but if I was I'd be MUCH happier with a few more hours standby than a slightly thinner handset.

    2. jubtastic1

      Re: Thinth

      It's weight they're prioritising, not thinness, if you're going to keep it the same width but make it taller and keep the same runtimes than you're going to have to account for the extra volume by shaving the depth or it's clearly going to be heavier.

      That the runtime is actually improved* while jamming in 4G and a bigger hungrier display is pretty good.

      My take, seems like a nice phone, not sold on 16:9, but I don't watch media on my 4, NFC seems like an odd ommision, TBT is long overdue. If it had a 3D display (as mentioned above), I wouldn't even consider it, IMHO 3D displays (all of them), are still as crap as they were the last two times they tried to foster them on us, I can't begin to relate to someone who would want that on a mobile device

      Will wait until I have a hands on with one before I decide if its worth upgrading or cutting my contract bills instead.

      1. Bored Stupid

        Re: weight they're prioritising, not thinness

        Are you sure about that?

        They must've had quite a few headaches (and clearly given Sharp a few as well) with that new thinner screen, the biggest benefit of which appears to be, err, thinness.

        A plastic case would also save more weight.

        I'm not saying weight wasn't an issue, but clearly thinness was a major goal.

        1. Paul Shirley

          Re: weight they're prioritising, not thinness

          Didn't they claim it would have a new touchscreen with sensors embedded, substantially reducing its thickness. IMHO they should have used that reduction to fit a fatter battery, not make the phone thinner.

          1. Geoff Campbell Silver badge
            Linux

            Re: Screen advantages

            The new screen is indeed thinner, but I don't think that was the driver.

            Tim Cook is noted as being a wizard production process man, and has been credited with a lot of the advances Apple has made in how they build their stuff. The new screen has, as you say, the touchscreen sensors built in, eliminating an apparently tricky and occasionally failure-prone process of sticking the touchscreen to the glass front.

            I suspect the reduction in thickness was just a useful byproduct.

            GJC

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: weight they're prioritising, not thinness

            We've had stupid form factor trends before, like when all the handset makers were trying to make the smallest phone before smartphones took off. That also made the battery smaller, the keys unusable to everyone but spider monkeys, and the screen only readable by people with mega-bifocals. Maybe the next version has a PP9 in your pocket attached by a curly cable, you know, wearable technology like the brickphone :P

        2. Lord Voldemortgage

          Re: weight they're prioritising, not thinness

          Well to be honest I am not that concerned about weight either.

          I think my phone is something like a third again the weight of this new iPhone and it doesn't feel heavy at all.

          I quite like to have some heft to this sort of thing.

          So if they were making a device for me they'd make the battery bigger (& removable, please )and the device being thicker and heavier as a result would cause me no distress at all.

          1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
            Happy

            Re: weight they're prioritising, not thinness

            "I quite like to have some heft to this sort of thing."

            Is this so you can use it as a projectile?

            You are either Gordon Brown or Naomi Campbell, and I claim my £5...

    3. James Micallef Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: Thinth

      Yeah, what's teh point of 'thinnest ever'? Surely there's some cutoff point where the phone just gets very awkward to handle. Also, the biggest component in the back of every phone is the battery, and the on area smartphones really suck compared to non-smartphones is battery life. I wonder what percentage of smartphone owners would happily accept a 0.5mm thicker phone for an extra hour battery life, I suspect it would be quite high.

      Good job with the weight reduction though. Pre-smartphone the lightest phones were about 70-80g, so breaking back below the 100g level is a sensible target.

      1. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: Thinth

        >Am I alone in finding thinner phones more awkward to handle?

        I found my aluminium Xperia P a bit easy to fumble, so placed a strip of self-adhesive plastic down one side. I haven't been able to find a silicone case for it yet.

        >Yeah, what's teh point of 'thinnest ever'? Surely there's some cutoff point where the phone just gets very awkward to handle.

        Not necessarily, for example a credit card can be held by its edges fairly securely. With the first square iPod Nano (with the little scroll wheel), the polycarbonate face was deliberately made sharp, so as not to slip from the finger tips. To prevent slip you can either up the co-efficient of friction by choosing a different material, or you can increase the pressure by decreasing the surface area (like the knurling on a Maglite body)

    4. DrXym

      Re: Thinth

      "Am I alone in finding thinner phones more awkward to handle?"

      Most iPhones I see are living in ugly thick cases because their owners spent so much on the thing they're terrified of breaking it. Makes you wonder why anyone cares what the damned things look like so rarely are they seen nude.

      1. h4rm0ny

        Re: Thinth

        "Am I alone in finding thinner phones more awkward to handle?"

        I don't think they've reached the point of being hard to handle - they're still perfectly comfortable in that regard (screen size is more of an issue for me). But I don't see any great benefit of having them this thin though. Like everyone else on here is saying, more battery life is a far better selling point than shaving a few milimetres off the thickness. Ditto for weight. Even my little hands can handle a phone that weighs more than this. Not that I'm not impressed by the technical progress, but I think it's more for the fashonistas than for practical purposes..

    5. toadwarrior
      Meh

      Re: Thinth

      Did you actually read the review? He says the claim is that it does have a longer battery life too.

    6. Loyal Commenter Silver badge

      Re: Thinth

      Absolutely, why not make it a few mm thicker and add an extra 1000mAh* in there? Having a battery which could simultaneously handle Wi-Fi, GPS and mobile signal drain and last more than a day without having to be left on the charger would be a genuine advantage to many people.

      *Yes I know it's 1Ah, but for some reason that's the units battery capacities seem to be measured in.

  3. Ian K
    Coat

    [Hangs coat up...]

    [...sits down and gets the popcorn ready]

    This'll be good!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Popcorn

      is so 2011. Let it go, there's a love.

    2. Pooka
      Pint

      Re: [Hangs coat up...]

      Last time I suggested popcorn I got a downvote or three, so I've decided to stick with bacon sandwiches. More filling... and fulfilling whilst all the iphone fans try to convince us that this is the greatest thing since sliced bread (white, apparantly better for my bacon sandwiches - although I'd rather have a bread roll....)

      Pint. Cider, one thereof, for future consuption whilst sniggering quietly.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: [Hangs coat up...]

        "Last time I suggested popcorn I got a downvote or three, so I've decided to stick with bacon sandwiches."

        Don't get too comfortable with the bacon sandwiches: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/13/bacon_crisis/

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: [Hangs coat up...]

        "Last time I suggested popcorn I got a downvote or three"

        one of those might have been me... I am sick of popcorn......

        "so I've decided to stick with bacon sandwiches"

        Another down vote, by the time this is all sorted out we will all be dying of blocked arteries with cholesterol levels through the roof.

        but for suggesting a pint of cider*, overall its a up-vote !!!elevinty 11!!!!

        *so long as its a scrumpy jack....

      3. toadwarrior
        Meh

        Re: [Hangs coat up...]

        Awww, how cute, you base your comments around imaginary points with no meaning.

        If that's the case, I'll get the ball rolling on your downvotes.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wow, if this is the jump for the generation imagine how underwhelming the S variant will be.

    iPhone 5S - We put an S on the case this time!

    1. jubtastic1

      I don't think we'll see an iPhone 5S

      Unless they go with the subliminal aspect and replace the Apple logo with a death's head skull.

      </,godwin>

  5. Robert Grant

    Boring, but still an upgrade?

    Not going to get it myself, but it looks OK. Slightly bigger jump from 4S to 5 than it was from 4 to 4S.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    At first glance the newly announced handset looks like an iPhone 4S

    Really? I thought it looked like a Samsung.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: At first glance the newly announced handset looks like an iPhone 4S

      Yes, a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones - including an entire jury.

      1. Goldmember

        @Ralph 5

        Stand up straighter. Maybe the joke will hit you in the face instead of flying over your head nex time.

      2. Jedit Silver badge
        Black Helicopters

        "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"

        When Samsung were ordered to show Apple a number of their upcoming phone designs, I joked that Apple would be unable to design their new phones without knowing what Samsung were going to copy from them. Now we have the iPhone 5, which apart from scale and the round home button is scarcely distinguishable from a Galaxy S3 - which is one of the phone designs Apple got to see.

        Me, I'm saying nothing.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"

          From now on I should just make all my posts anon. Every time I make an anon post, thumbs up everywhere. Moment anon goes off, thumbs down everywhere.

          Anyway, I still find it hard to see how anyone could mark a samsung and an iphone as similar. I'm registered partially sighted, my vision is 6/18 on a good day (on a bad day closer to 6/36, normally rests around 6/24) and yet I can tell from a couple meters away which is an iphone and which is a samsung. From that distance I can barely make out any detail on the handsets, just the general shape.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"

            "From now on I should just make all my posts anon. Every time I make an anon post, thumbs up everywhere. Moment anon goes off, thumbs down everywhere."

            Thumbs up because, well, you're anon.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"

            "From now on I should just make all my posts anon. Every time I make an anon post, thumbs up everywhere. Moment anon goes off, thumbs down everywhere."

            I find this as well.... but it gets worse, as soon as I post something negative about the Iphone I find that all my other non related posts posts get a down vote too !!

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"

          @Jedit: "Now we have the iPhone 5, which apart from scale and the round home button is scarcely distinguishable from a Galaxy S3"

          And based on the fact that most people are complaining that Apple hasn't shifted from the iPhone 4 design, this soundly illustrates how much Samsung ape Apple phones in even recent models. Or does Apple have a time machine so they could see the S3 when they were designing the iPhone 4? Downvote all you like, but the fact remains that you're head over heels in love with a knock-off artist that hasn't released a revolutionary product in its entire existence and runs an operating system scraped from open source by a marketing firm chasing all your personal details on behalf of large corporations. And you think Apple fans are sheep...

          1. paulll
            Happy

            Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"

            "Downvote all you like, but the fact remains that you're head over heels in love with a knock-off artist that hasn't released a revolutionary product in its entire existence and runs an operating system scraped from open source by a marketing firm chasing all your personal details on behalf of large corporations. And you think Apple fans are sheep..."

            The whole way through that I was thinking, "Wait, I thought he was pro-Apple." Wasn't 'til the last sentence I realised you were having a pop at the other guys.

          2. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
            Joke

            Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"

            @ Ralph 5 or is that Ralph 4S

            And you think Apple fans are sheep..

            That's a Baa-aaa-aaa-aad thing to say

        3. toadwarrior
          Thumb Up

          Re: "a lot of people have noticed that a number of Samsung's phones look like iPhones"

          And since it's basicallly a stretch iphone 4 then you agree with the US courts that samsung copies apple.

          That's cool that someone is willing to say in on a website full of fandroid mental midgets.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            * STRETCHED

            you may have heard of something called the past tense.

    2. Philippe
      WTF?

      Re: Looks like a Samsung?

      I need to put them side by side in a shop to be sure but my first impression is that it doesn't look at all like a PSP slim and therefore doesn't look at all like a Samsung.

    3. Loyal Commenter Silver badge

      Re: At first glance the newly announced handset looks like an iPhone 4S

      Hte proles will be able to tell the difference as soon as they pick it up, when they can't find the features they're looking for on the Samsung phone...

      </flamebait>

  7. Lutin

    Adaptor

    >"But it means that speaker docks, third-party chargers and more will all need an adaptor"

    For a lot of people it means getting a new speaker dock. I have a speaker dock where the very bottom of the phone leans against the dock, if the phone is raised up (by an adaptor), there is nothing for it to lean against.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Adaptor

      That is why Apple have also made an adaptor on a cable.

      1. SleepGuy

        Re: Adaptor

        Yes, but even WITH the adapter there's NO ANALOG OUTPUT so your existing speaker dock will most likely not work.

        1. Steve Todd
          Stop

          Re: Adaptor

          No, it doesn't have video out and iPod out. iPod out is a serial connection.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Adaptor

          >Yes, but even WITH the adapter there's NO ANALOG OUTPUT so your existing speaker dock will most likely not work.

          Here's a thought - your old iPod Touch still works so don't buy a new one - use the money for a Kindle HD. Instead of that iPad4, get an MS Surface device - and next phone contract renewal get the telco austerity smartphone and £20 a month cashback for life.

          Large numbers of people will be doing 1, 2 or all 3 in 2013......

    2. Andy 115

      Re: Adaptor

      There are also many dock accessory makers that didn't follow apple design guidelines and will shortly be feeling a biting sensation on their derrière...

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Munch my butt-grapes, fruity-phone-fetishists!!

  9. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

    Review?

    Or did the P get left off Preview?

    1. TRT

      Re: Review?

      Yes. Someone's taken the P.

    2. Lutin

      Re: Review?

      Apple give some journalists some "Hands on" time with the iphone 5. This is a review based on that "hands on".

      "Get it?"

  10. Arctic fox
    Headmaster

    "Samsung and Nokia may not feel they’ve been leapfrogged.......

    .....................in the way they have been by some Apple unveils"

    They have absolutely no need to feel that way because they haven't - at all. However, it remains to be seen what happens in the market place. This Autumn promises to be very interesting indeed.

  11. Captain TickTock
    Paris Hilton

    USB plugs

    ...so it's not just me that hates connectors which are symmetrical externally but not internally.

    at least micro-USB is kind of D-shaped.

    Paris for all sorts of reasons

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: USB plugs

      Not just you, I could never understand why USB A only goes in one way, but is bloody tricky to determine which way that is!

      Whilst micro-USB is D shaped, micro-USB 3 is just weird- can't really blame Apple for using their own solution. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-3.0-superspeed-external-enclosure,2597-2.html for a picture of a microUSB 3 plug.

    2. NogginTheNog
      FAIL

      Re: USB plugs

      Me too - ESPECIALLY when you're trying to plug something in around the BACK of somewhere!

      1. Mike Brown

        Re: USB plugs

        Its a well known stat that for usb plugs that have a 50% chance of going in the wrong way, you will get it wrong 80% of the time.

  12. Richard Ball

    Looks like a nice product but damn it's expensive.

    1. GrahamS
      Gimp

      Expensive?

      Samsung Galaxy S3,16GB, sim-free: £499

      iPhone 5, 16GB, sim-free: £529

      £30 difference doesn't seem like a huge "Apple Tax" to me.

      1. Bronek Kozicki

        Re: Expensive?

        Apple tax is in memory extension. Ooops you can't put £20 32GB or £50 64GB microSD into an iPhone. It will be £80 more , or perhaps £180 for another model instead (and then you are stuck with it).

      2. Richard Ball

        Re: Expensive?

        I realise the competitors are similar in price.

        It's expensive relative to a phone I can use to talk to people on, or a month's disposable salary, or an alternative device that does some of the stuff I'd quite like an iphone for.

      3. Ale

        Re: Expensive?

        £30 is not a huge apple tax, but you ignore the fact that you can get the SIII for £425 from amazon, making it a £105 apple tax.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Expensive?

          What about re-sale? I sold my 25 month old 16GB iPhone 4 with a temperamental home button to Envirophone for £170. I bought a Nokia 800 used (few months use) for £160.

          Apple kit holds its value.

          1. Marty

            Re: Expensive?

            "What about re-sale?"

            My daughter has hung on to get the iphone 5 as an upgrade from the 3gs... and ass its been locked up in a hard-case, always had a screen protector, still got all the box and packaging, unused ear-buds and unused charger, it is in perfect "as new" condition, I am expecting to get a more than reasonable price for it.....

      4. DrXym

        Re: Expensive?

        "Samsung Galaxy S3,16GB, sim-free: 499

        iPhone 5, 16GB, sim-free: 529"

        First result on Amazon.co.uk offers a Galaxy S3 for £425. Over £100 cheaper. I also expect iPhone owners will pay a premium for cables and adapter / dongles (if they have existing kit) which adds to the price. And if they don't want to run out of 16GB space they have to pay through the nose for a 32GB / 64GB with its massive markup on the equivalent memory compared to a microSD card.

        Yes these phones are expensive.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Expensive?

          a quick search also revealed that a skoda/toyota is much cheaper than a BMW/Audi/Merc , way cheaper than a ferrari.

          So all you IDIOTS out there who pay more than what the EXPERTS in CONTROL on these forums say should be shot at birth, because they KNOW whats better for you then having your own opinion and choice of products.

          Surely you MUST have the same taste, wants and requirements as them as they are the SUPREME examples of mankind and all should follow their obviously better ways.

          or maybe they are just prats...

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Expensive?

            Hey, "Obviously!", even as an AC, you stick out like an erection at a bar mitzvah..

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Expensive?

              Barry?

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Expensive?

            OK, just for fun, a car comparo, since people are always comparing phones to cars.I gave up on Ferrari because they don't do a 4WD Estate version, as far as I know, plus they are about 5 times as expensive as these mid-range ones. :P

            Skoda Superb Estate Elegance 3.6 V6 260PS DSG 4x4 - £30,910 top of range. It's basically a stretched Passat.

            Or slightly larger A4 - something like an A6 in size.

            http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/skoda/superb/estate/36-v6-260ps-elegance-4wd_7870220/review

            OK, not a diesel, but, 28mpg tops is not too bad for a 2.3tonne estate car that does 0-60 in 6.6 and 153mph!

            Please El Reg can you test one, just for fun. Get it muddy and lap some roundabouts, you know you want to.

            I think some police forces have them as a stealth tarmac-burner.

            Closest price BMW -

            BMW 5 Series 520i SE - £31,195

            No, just , no. Well, it looks nice from the outside..... probably very smooth motor ;)

            Closest price Audi

            Audi A4 allroad quattro 2.0 TDI - £31,380

            or - Audi A6 Saloon 2.0 TDI SE - £30,495 (but estate is more)

            Very respectable ;)

            Closest price Merc

            Mercedes Benz C-Class Estate 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Executive SE Auto - £31,125

            or -Mercedes Benz E-Class Estate 220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY SE - £32,005

            Nice, but not as fast ... or as big inside. Skoda prob has better interior.

            Expensive Toyota... Land Cruiser V8. 63,910 UKP. But also huge, unique, the rest of the range apart from lesser Land Cruisers, tops out at half the price, GT-86 is nice .... :P

      5. Andy 115

        Re: Expensive?

        Plus, in 12 months time the iPhone will likely be worth considerably greater than the £30 more than the Samsung.

      6. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Expensive?

        Um, £499 for a G S III? You can get one today for about £430 from Amazon.co.uk.

      7. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Expensive?

        £499 for a GS3?!? Try shopping around a bit. Amazon.co.uk has 'em for about £430 shipped. So, that's a £100 difference, before you think about memory.

        It's about time to replace my ancient and sloooow iPhone 3G, which is falling apart. I've never owned a computer (this is going back to my first //e in 1984) which wasn't made by Apple, so I should be a massive fanboi - but I'm unenthusiastic about the iPhone 5, and sick of iOS, its lack of customisation, the lock-in, iTunes, and Apple's business practices - so I'll probably get a SIM-free GS3 and save myself £100+ while I'm at it. Just wish the grey or black versions would show up already...

        1. the-it-slayer

          Re: Expensive?

          For £70 you save on the GS3, I bet you'd lose that straight away (and probably more) if you wanted to sell it 2nd hand or wanted to get some money back through giving it to mobile recyclers a year later.

          Anyway, why does anyone worry about the lack of customisation, lock-in, iTunes etc? I'll keep sighing until the end of time.

      8. Trevor Marron
        Joke

        Re: Expensive?

        "Expensive?

        Samsung Galaxy S3,16GB, sim-free: £499

        iPhone 5, 16GB, sim-free: £529

        £30 difference doesn't seem like a huge "Apple Tax" to me."

        Nooooooo! Don't go saying that an iPhone is only £30 more than an S3, all the fanbois think that Android users are too poor to buy Apple kit!

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's a shame

    Although I am no fan of Apple or the iPhone I was really hoping they would leapfrog ahead of Android and WinPho in terms of features. It is essential for the mobile revolution that is currently taking place to have a number of participants each trying to out do each other with new tech and features.

    As soon as companies start resting on their laurels the march forward slows to a crawl. I guess the good thing with Android is that at least there will always be competition between manufacturers to keep the competition going, however the core Android OS upon which they are based also need to advance.

    NFC however would get a significant boost if the iPhone had also adopted it like Android and Windows. The big caveat being as long their implementation wasn't proprietary and/or patented to Apple.

    I hope this is just a blip and Apple can come back with something better next year.

    1. Lord Voldemortgage

      Re: It's a shame

      NFC however would get a significant boost if the iPhone had also adopted it like Android and Windows. The big caveat being as long their implementation wasn't proprietary and/or patented to Apple.

      The cynic in me wonder if not having a proprietary version is precisely the reason for not joining in.

    2. Mondo the Magnificent
      Linux

      Re: It's a shame

      Apple have never taken the "rip it up and start again" route

      The entire iPhone range has always had a familiar look and feel, I guess it works for them and their customers.

      It also ensures someone who can drive an IOS device can drive most, if not all IOS devices

      Android is a different animal, it so reminds me of LINUX distros where the underlying technology is the same, but the look and feel may vary as well as the packages..

      Each to their own I guess...

      1. ItsNotMe

        "Apple have never taken the "rip it up and start again" route"

        Ahhh...sort of like Porsche with the 911?

        1. Mr Brush

          Re: "Apple have never taken the "rip it up and start again" route"

          > Ahhh...sort of like Porsche with the 911?

          More like Ford with the Mondeo.

          The luxury car analogy doesn't wash, no matter how many times it's trotted out.

          1. JP Cavendish
            Thumb Down

            Re: "Apple have never taken the "rip it up and start again" route"

            "The luxury car analogy doesn't wash, no matter how many times it's trotted out." Actually, the analogy does work, in almost every respect.

            - Luxury* build quality (Lamborghini had a reputation for shoddy build quality for years, as indeed did Porsche with several models. The early 2.7l engines needed a complete rebuild at 40k miles)

            - Luxury* looks (Porsche Panamera? Cayenne? 917?)

            - Luxury* materials (McLaren F1s were built around a carbon-fiber 'bathtub' - great until you crashed it and it shattered)

            - Luxury* price (Come on, you gotta agree with that)

            - Luxury* features list (luxury cars seldom excel on outright features - they tend to focus on one or two things. And I remember well the satnav voice on the Aston Martin DB9 being compared to the warder from a women's prison as well as it's keyfob being from a 20 grand volvo)

            - Luxury* usability (the Mercedes AMG Black editions. Utterly undriveable. The McLaren MP4-12; clinical, clean, precise and boring as shite. iOS anyone?)

            *'Luxury' doesn't necessarily equate to 'Good' or 'More'.

            1. SleepGuy

              Re: "Apple have never taken the "rip it up and start again" route"

              The iPhone is more like a Toyota Camry. It looks decent, it's reliable and it has good resale. Beyond that it's boring as f*ck!

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: "Apple have never taken the "rip it up and start again" route"

                Ahh, Toyota Camry, the Kirstie Allsopp of the car world!

          2. ItsNotMe
            FAIL

            @ Mr Brush

            "The luxury car analogy doesn't wash, no matter how many times it's trotted out."

            Why not? It is, afterall, a luxury cell phone.

            1. Sean Timarco Baggaley

              Re: @ Mr Brush

              You've clearly never seen Vertu's prices. No, that's not a typo: you're looking at a Symbian phone that's being sold for £10000. Ten THOUSAND pounds.

              And that's not even close to being their most expensive model.

              THAT is a "luxury" phone. The iPhone isn't even close.

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: @ Mr Brush

              In the purely economic sense yes, as in, people buy more the higher the price is!

              Like a cheaper Vertu :P

              Other items also fall into this category. I also heard once of a shop (no names no packdrill)

              which was having trouble shifting of all things, lipstick. They solved this problem, by jacking the price up.

              Cue hordes of status-conscious buyers..... problem solved!

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: "Apple have never taken the "rip it up and start again" route"

          Not too sure about that, unless the opposition are Nissan GT-Rs :P

          Porsche replaced it with the 928 (or tried to) on the grounds that the 911 had been developed as far as it could be (limited space for more cylinders in motor?) and that they needed a clean sheet car to make it better for long distances, get bigger motors in etc.

          However, seems people at the time weren't ready for a big fat V-8 Porsche that did 0-60 in 5.0 or so, neither a Grand Tourer nor a full-on sports car..... little did they know, they would have had a fit if they'd known about the Cayenne.....

          so I suppose in a way Porsche got their wish by splitting the 928's abilities into stumpy and zippy (911) and fat and blobby (Cayenne) to cover all possibilities!

          Also, some people think they are deliberately not giving the Cayman the top 911-type motors because the Cayman is more nearly a clean-sheet car, and therefore better than the 911, but they make less money on Caymans since they are officially lower in the range than the (possibly overpriced) 911.

          Actually I would be happy with any of them. Heck, a nice Fiesta would do me, or an Aprilia Mana for summer!

      2. Armando 123

        Re: It's a shame

        "Apple have never taken the "rip it up and start again" route"

        Wow, really? Like when they went from 680x0 to RISC? RISC to x86? MacOS to OS X? iPod Classic to iPod Touch? Adopting USB over ... ADB, IIRC.

        Apple has, in fact, been much more willing to do this than many of the hardware and software competitors. That's part of the price of choosing Apple, just as lagging behind is the price of choosi8ng others.

    3. DrXym

      Re: It's a shame

      NFC is and will continue to be a waste of time until point of sale terminals appear which support it. Evenu then it relies on people being happy to wave their phones around in public and for consumers / stores to be happy to be hit with yet another middleman wanting a % of the sale.

      For the time being it's just feature bingo. That said I'm surprised Apple didn't pack their phone out with it given the potential revenue it could hold some day.

      1. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart

        Re: It's a shame @DrXym

        For the time being it's just feature bingo. That said I'm surprised Apple didn't pack their phone out with it given the potential revenue it could hold some day.

        But what would they put in the 5S then? Your are right there is not much point in having NFC unless the POS terminals are in place to use it, however I can't see any retailer installing contactless POS terminals unless there are enough punters willing to use it. A real chicken and egg situation.

        However I suspect that the main reason the the iPhone5 does not have NFC at the moment is that they haven't figured out how to do it with iTunes thereby allowing them to patent a propriety method, and it will become a new iShiney thing for the iSheep when the 5S is released in 10 months time. It's called product churning.

  14. Bored Stupid
    Thumb Up

    Little bit underwhelming = good news for some

    Disclaimer up front: Personal stance on the great debate - Apple products: Good; Apple company: Bad; Phone: Blackberry; Next Phone: Probably Android.

    Maybe something that doesn't lead to the fanbois crowing too much, but has just about enough to stop the fandroids popping the champagne corks isn't a bad thing - at least for the Reg forums - but also for the general market.

    Manufacturer and OS-maker wise, I'd imagine those happiest off all about the underwhelmingness of it must be Nokia/Microsoft.

    No major Samsung release imminent, Apple release what's mostly a lick of paint, Microsoft and Nokia still have time to add reactionary tweaks before release: The door for Nokia/WinPhone 8 is surely well and truly back open now.

    I hope so, because I want more than two major players.

    1. Shaun 1

      Re: Little bit underwhelming = good news for some

      "No major Samsung release imminent"

      I think you're forgetting about the Samsung Ativ S

      1. Bored Stupid

        Re: Little bit underwhelming = good news for some

        Fair point. What I should really have said was "no major Samsung Android release imminent".

        The Ativ S might actually turn out to be good news for Nokia too, if it raises interest in WinPhone8 enough.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Little bit underwhelming = good news for some

          Maybe not imminent, but a few expected before Xmas....not SG3 level launches I presume, but launches nevertheless.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Little bit underwhelming = good news for some

        The what?

    2. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

      Re: No major Samsung release imminent

      Samsung has only just released the Note 2, and the S 3 wasn't that long ago...

      And isn't the next Nexus phone due in a month or two, or is that not going to be Samsung this time around?

      1. Bored Stupid

        Re: No major Samsung release imminent

        > Samsung has only just released the Note 2, and the S 3 wasn't that long ago...

        Yes, so unless your understanding of English is different to mine, they're not imminent.

        > And isn't the next Nexus phone due in a month or two?

        It's being talked about (i.e. hyped) very little at this point in comparison, and as far as I can see the new Lumias will be available before it is. My point stands.

        1. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge
          FAIL

          Re: Bored Stupid

          "they're not imminent"

          You don't say.

          They don't need an imminent major refresh, because they've only just done two.

  15. Dazed and Confused

    The Jaguar problem

    > consistency of design language

    New model looks just like the old model.

    This is the same problem that Jag faced a number of years ago. When you already believe that you've got the best looking product on the market, and your customers are telling you the same. Its very difficult not to do the easy thing and just re-use the old design.

    The problem with this approach is that one morning you wake up to find the world suddenly starts to call it dated. Fashion moves on. Safety first marketing doesn't.

    Dropping THE connector, suddenly means that everyones compatible peripherals are no longer compatible. Sorry no one looks cool with a pile of adapter cables, you may as well fill your top pocket with a row of different coloured pens. So many existing customers will find that the other incentive to buying a newer model so they can continue to enjoy using all there existing stuff (read cars, TVs, BluRay players, HiFis... etc...) has gone away.

    It remains to be seen whether the two effects coincide.

    1. Alex King

      Re: The Jaguar problem

      Not a problem for everyone. Porsche have been effectively evolving their 911 design for over 40 years, and they're doing OK

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: The Jaguar problem

          You probably need to increase your pecker size too, that would at least be useful.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The Jaguar problem

        Not without very nearly going bust...... the Cayenne saved them. Maybe the market for the 911 were getting too physically bulky in the late 80s to fit in it, unlike in the 60s? ;)

    2. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: The Jaguar problem

      That wasn't Jaguar's problem... their problem was that the successor to the XJ8 looked like the Ford Mondeo that it was!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The Jaguar problem

        Maybe the successor was the S-Type?

        The X-Type - I suppose people didn't want a small-ish highly-developed modern platform, with about 20% Ford parts.... the best Ford bit probably being the 3.0 motor ;)

    3. Anomalous Cowshed

      Re: The Jaguar problem

      The problems with the iphone are: 1. use of non-standard SIM making it difficult to swap SIM cards; 2. Lack of open file system making it difficult to back up or transfer files; 3. No possibility to increase / remove storage. If not for these deliberate limitations, it would be a viable option for the price. With these limitations, it is simply an unbearably constraining choice.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Going round in circles

    So they started with a metal back on the original.

    But they changed to plastic for better signal strength.

    But plastic didn't look nice, so they tried a glass back.

    But glass tended to break, so they switched to a metal back.

    I'm predicting a plastic back on the 5S...

    1. Swarthy
      Go

      Re: Going round in circles

      Unless they go w/ a non-ferromagnetic metal. Or some spiffy composite. Carbon Fibre would shave off a few grams, have the strength needed, not shatter, and not interfere w/ the signal. I'm actually kind of surprised they haven't gone that route.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Going round in circles

        I would love a carbon fibre back for my S3... now someone make it and sell to me!

  17. Daz555

    It is clear Apple has run out of ideas for the iPhone. It is also clear that it doesn't matter - Apple knows the iFans will buy them in their millions regardless.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge
      Happy

      I'm not picking on you Daz555, but....

      ...I'm reading sentiments like yours a lot. I'm just curious as to what more someone would want from this class of phone. What would like to see included that they have left out? I don't just mean the iPhone, but from top models from Samsung and the usual suspects. I mean, the screen can only get sharper and brighter, not bigger, and the phone can only talk to every radio standard in common use, and have a processor that will do anything you would want to do on a screen that size without killing the battery TOO quickly.

      What do from it want? Tell me! : D A Swiss Army knife? A fag lighter? The ability to play back MiniDiscs? Little legs so it can walk around your desk, automatically scanning all your documents for inclusion into the 'cloud'? You'd better tell me what you have in mind, because all my ideas are plainly crazy, or straying into Q-department territory. Concealed plastic explosive? Ultra-strong magnet? Device for unsnapping a beautiful Russian agent's bra strap at ten paces? Triangulating transducers at each end so that an entire desk can be used as a drum kit?

      I appreciate that my comment can be read as unimaginative- I won't disagree. But without some breakthrough in flexible screen technology, or battery magic, I am having trouble imagining what you guys think is missing from these high end handsets -from any company- besides a sense of 'Wow!'.

      Anyway, sorry to have singled you out. Its all meant in fun.

      1. frank ly

        @Dave 126 re. Little legs so it can walk around your desk

        If they'd made the case out of sapient pearwood ........

      2. Anomalous Cowshed

        Re: I'm not picking on you Daz555, but....

        More battery life as opposed to thinner and lighter, no more use of exotic SIM cards, a more open file system, more upgradable storage, more use of industry standards. And as a bonus, a killer feature that nobody else thought about, even if it is relatively trivial. For instance: support for dual SIM cards.

      3. Pahhh
        Stop

        Re: I'm not picking on you Daz555, but....

        My iPhone wish list:

        - Waterproof phone - I would have LOVED if it they made the device waterproof. THAT would have been special and useful.

        - InfraRed sensor/emiter - Handy so you could convert the phone into a generic remote control

        - Ability to use phone as a USB stick without 3rd party software - you have up to 64GB of memory, shame you cant easily use it as a dumb memory stick.

        - Contractless payment - if they had done it, more likely it would be widely adopted. I would use it for sure.

        - Contactless recharge - be nice to dump the phone a tray to recharge rather than having to plug it in.

        Those would compel me to upgrade from my 4G.

      4. OrsonX

        @Dave126

        Magic would have been:

        whole front face of phone is a screen

        folding phone with flexible screen

        active icons, e.g., have the clock icon show the right bloody time (not 10:15)

        have a battery life measured in days

        have a permanently on eInk color display, passive until needed

        Not Magic:

        "another row of apps"

    2. Sean Timarco Baggaley

      Not so much "run out of ideas"...

      ... as working in a commoditised market. Everyone and his dog is selling almost identical phones now. There's only so much you can do with the form-factor. It's a phone. Phones have to be held up to your ear, while still being long enough to pick up your voice. Make the device too big and people complain that it won't fit in their pocket. Make it too small and they can't see the screen properly and tap on the virtual buttons.

      The first iPhone pretty much nailed the physical design for a multi-touch pocket computer / PMP combo with built-in telephony and networking support from the outset. Every subsequent model has been about refinement and evolution, not revolution.

      This is normal for Apple: they tend to pick a design language and stick with it for a few years. Their iMacs have looked pretty much the same since the iMac G5, released around eight years ago. They've stuck with that all-in-one "big-screen-on-a-stick" design ever since.

      Apple's designers tend to wait until a new, enabling technology—something that changes the rules, or at least allows the writing of new, much better, rules—becomes readily available at viable prices before radically altering designs to take advantage of it. The iPad wasn't possible before 2010: the components were simply too expensive. Similarly, the iMac G4 wouldn't have sold many units if it had been released much earlier as LCDs were still very expensive back then, even at those sizes.

      Apple were stung badly very early on by their problems with the Apple Lisa: good technology, but far, far too expensive. It barely sold. Even the first Macs were on shaky ground; their designers went too far the other way in cutting features and released a machine that was sorely in need of more RAM. They learned from both and this is why, when they do get it right, they stick with that formula until the Next Big Thing comes along.

      The iPhone isn't going to change that much until some radical new technology becomes cheap enough to interest Apple's design teams.

      Neither is iOS. Despite all the criticisms, iOS works. It's simple. It's easy to understand. It doesn't spam you with shovelware from operators. It doesn't shove some random GUI overlay at you. It's consistent. In the consumer electronics market, consistency is a very good thing.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Not so much "run out of ideas"...

        Spot on.

        2 year old iPhone 4 user here. Phone works fine, will be replaced when out of contract (or can persuade my employer). Why would I want to change to anything other than Apple?

        Frequent change alienating users? I've been using Word for 15+ years - completely changing the interface in 2010 has NOT improved my productivity.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Can't wait to see what problems people have with flimsy adaptors to convert one large proprietary connector to another small proprietary connector. Can just imagine that wobbling around on an expensive B+W dock.

    Oh yeah, it looks like a Galaxy S2 too.

    1. Andy ORourke
      Joke

      I think you mean.....

      The galaxy S2 looks like the iPhone 5?

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Barely enough...

    So this is the phone apple thinks is enough to keep up with HTC/Samsung/Nokia and the also rans (LG/Sony etc), when most of those manufacturers seem to be running a release schedule of less than 12 months for their top end products???

    To me, it moves the iphone on to a level where it doesnt look quite so dated. But other than that, its certainly not putting apple ahead of where everyone else is already.

    On top of that, they're expecting existing customers (their prime target surely?) to not only upgrade, but replace most of their dock related devices?? hmm, we'll see.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Barely enough...

      The iPhone 4 looks dated? I guess. I suppose it sold so well that everybody and his dog has had an iPhone 4 for the last 1-2 years and now you're tired of looking at it.

      Really nothing to do with how well the product functions. It's a shame that Apple is judged by some people on how well they produce fashion accessories.

  20. Old Cynic

    Erm isn't the Droid Razr

    thinner? 7.1mm vs iToy5 7.6mm?

    And, wasn't it released quite some time ago? And didn't it have memory card expansion? And a kevlar casing to make it robust ?

    I'm sorry but the new shiny shiny has produced nothing new, all of the innovation is courtesy of the manufacturers e.g. Samsung, LG, Hitachi etc... who actually make the components.

    NFC? No way until Apple get a slice of every transaction. Wireless charging? No, apparently that is too complicated.

    I see they are being vague on the CPU - why not just say it's a fast dual core? Oh that's why, because quad-core is now standard on flagship phones except for Apple's.

    The new screen res is interesting, now it's a 16:9 ratio, oh like most other smartphones have been for years. The aspect means most apps will have black borders until the developers sort it out - sounds like fragmentation to me.

    1. Shaun 1
      Stop

      Re: Erm isn't the Droid Razr

      No. You're wrong. iPhone is thinner.

      I'm sure I also read that it's the world's first 4G phone...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        iPhone5 first 4G phone? you are kidding

        I think you might find that everyone else has already produced 4G phones, and i believe that currently Apple is being screwed by HTC as HTC own the US patent for connecting to a 4G network.

        EE has announced the first 4G devices that will be offered on the new network this year. They are the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE, the HTC One XL (a 4G version of the One X) and the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE.

        1. SkippyBing

          Re: iPhone5 first 4G phone? you are kidding

          yes, yes he was.

        2. Darryl

          Re: iPhone5 first 4G phone? you are kidding

          Whooosh!

      2. RegKees

        Re: Erm isn't the Droid Razr

        the droid is thinner for the most part, but has a much fatter piece at the top because the designers failed to solve the camera problem. Apple does have a point here.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Erm isn't the Droid Razr

      Just what is the big hard on for wireless charging? Sure it's cool but it is slower than charging via a cable and you can't as easily pick up and use the phone as it needs to stay in contact with the charger. NFC is equally useless really, I've only ever seen it offered in Starbucks and since my bank and credit cards already have NFC chips in them I'd rather wipe them on some dirty reader than my new smartphone.

      As for a quad-core CPU, what advantage would that bring exactly? iOS already flies and with the way it sleeps/tombstones background apps that don't need to be running it achieves good performance through efficiency. GPU acceleration of the UI reduces CPU workload considerably too. Don't forget also that Android devices have a small overhead running the Dalvik VM compared to iOS which runs using native code. I'm not trying to criticise Android here, but iOS just doesn't need a quad-core CPU to perform well. The Imagination GPUs that Apple use are also extremely powerful with most benchmarks showing the iPhone 4S outperforming other devices when rendering complex 3D scenes.

  21. Bunker_Monkey
    FAIL

    Was looking forward to...

    Starting capacity at 64gb going up to 256gb maybe...

    10-13mpx camera with 1080p at the front and 4k on the back...

    inbuilt projector and dvb chip...

    Not bothered about size/weight... just functionality.....

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Siri's tone

    "OK, sports fans, let’s take a look" - so no attempt to localise response then. Though Manchaester United is subject to the joke that none of their fans are from Manchester.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wow. Samsung's best clone yet... oh, I see my mistake

    I greatly look forward to the frantic backpeddling from the many Apple fans that shouted so hard about the advantages of a 4:3 screen.

    ...or did someone just stretch the photo's, ready for another look&feel attack on Samsung ;)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Wow. Samsung's best clone yet... oh, I see my mistake

      I'm fairly certain those arguments were over the iPad rather than the iPhone.

    2. Sean Timarco Baggaley

      Re: Wow. Samsung's best clone yet... oh, I see my mistake

      The earlier iPhones didn't have a 4:3 screen. They had a 2:3 aspect display, which is sort of "widescreen-ish".

  24. TheOtherHobbes

    Since when does 'review' mean

    'we played with it for a few minutes at a PR event and took a few photos?'

    Yeah, yeah - clickbait. I know.

    But if the reviewer had played with it for a while, or even - here's a thought - downloaded the beta of iOS 6 and used it for a few months, they'd have had a few more substantial comments to make.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Since when does 'review' mean

      It doesn't, 'hands-on review' means "we played with it for a few minutes at a PR event and took a few photos?"

    2. Dave 126 Silver badge

      For your future information

      The convention (across many technology sites, not just The Reg) is that 'hands-on review' means a journalist's first impressions after having played with a device for ten minutes.

      Real reviews are, conveniently, titled 'Review'.

  25. DrXym

    It's a thinner longer iPhone with LTE

    That more or less sums up the differences.

    1. Paul Shirley

      Re: It's a thinner longer iPhone with patent infringement suit magnet LTE

      ...there, corrected your title.

      I guess the Samsung paperworks already delivered to the ITC and various US courts and the ban hammer is swinging.

  26. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Boffin

    Can we have...

    ...and in-depth technical analysis of Siri instead?

  27. Ale

    4g band compatability

    "the iPhone will be compatible with the other frequencies coming up for auction soon"

    Really? I've just finished reading an article on your site which states exactly the oposite.

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/13/4g_iphone/

  28. frank ly

    A serious technical/usability question .....

    Can anyone tell me if the iPhone5 is capable of doing something noticeable better or in a usefully different way from high-end Android phones? Please note that using any of Apple's walled garden facilities does not count, nor does using an esoteric app that has only been developed for the iPhone.

    I'm asking as someone who's had an HTC Incredible for 18 months and is quite satisfied with it, but is now considering an upgrade (maybe HTC One S, maybe not .....) I prefer to buy my phone unlocked and have a SIM only contract.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: A serious technical/usability question .....

      Given the upgrades of the 5 over the 4S, you can pretty much use the same reasoning you did when you decided to go for a HTC Incredible instead of an iPhone then.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: A serious technical/usability question .....

      Your proviso against the iPhone (the walled garden) is one of the primary reasons consumers buy it - there's a huge amount of software and hardware that works with it.

      1. frank ly

        @FatsBrannigan Re: A serious technical/usability question .....

        Let me try to understand this by asking a different question: If an iPhone 4S/5 user switched to using a Galaxy S3 (say) and got over the hurdle of setting up a Google account and installing needed apps, what would they miss about the iPhone that they could not work around?

        To save you the effort of a detailed reply, can you recommend any particular iPhone user website/guide?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: @FatsBrannigan A serious technical/usability question .....

          Their iPhone dock?

          1. frank ly

            Thank you Steve and Fats

            Time for me to do some web research/reading.

    3. Steve Todd

      Re: A serious technical/usability question .....

      AirPlay? Wireless streaming to speakers or TV. Likewise now screen mirroring. Some Android apps provide limited AirPlay functionality, but it works for any app under iOS.

      AirPrint? Zero config printing to networked printers (HP printers work direct, others need an AirPrint server app on a desktop/server somewhere), again for any app.

      iOS 6 seems to have a plugin model for map routing, so you can pick a 3rd party app to do public transport or walking routes.

      Privacy controls that allow you to revoke permissions. Don't like an app using location services? Switch off the permission.

      Privacy controls that TELL you what app used a permission.

      Text messaging integrated with instant massaging. The phone will automatically chose the cheapest method depending on what device the recipient is using.

      Will that do to start or are you looking for something in particular.

      1. FutureShock999
        Alien

        What STEVE said..

        He hit it on the head - you don't buy an iPhone for the hardware, not anymore. You buy it because the iPhone app store has more apps, and sometimes better apps. You used to buy it because the 30-pin dock connecter WAS the standard for clock radios, car audio connections, powered speakers...you could go to almost any hotel and know that you could usually plug your iPhone into the clock radio or even the audio system. Now you will need an adapter for a while, until the third parties catch up. But at least it will work. You also have almost any style of case or cover you might ever want. You buy it for the peace of mind that some Chinese hacker didn't write that cool wallpaper app just to harvest your passwords to every site you visit, because Apple QAs the AppStore. You buy it for the build quality. You buy it for the Apple customer and warrantee service, which frankly is shockingly good sometimes. You may get a 4" screen instead of a 4.5" screen, and pay 15 pounds for that 30-pin adapter that should cost 5, but Apple does seem to take care of it's customers and their devices with that extra profit margin.

        And I say all of this as someone who currently carries a BB Bold 9900 - but I do have an iPad for all those apps. NOW, I know I will get a few hundred down votes for writing this, but how many factual, point by point responses will I get?

        1. SleepGuy

          Re: What STEVE said..

          ".you could go to almost any hotel and know that you could usually plug your iPhone into the clock radio or even the audio system. "

          Do the research, the Apple Lightning - to - 30-pin adapters DO NOT support video or iPod out...so you will get NO AUDIO through the speakers. The new connector is all digital and will require speakers to basically have a small computer in them to perform the D/A.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: What STEVE said..

            A DAC is not "a small computer". Go and stand in the corner, you ridiculous troll.

          2. Steve Todd

            Re: What STEVE said..

            I'm not convinced as to the accuracy of the "no audio" claim. The iPod Out pin on a 30 pin connector is for serial data, Line Out is for audio.

            1. Dave 126 Silver badge

              Re: What STEVE said..

              As far as I can make out, the connector will contain a DAC... Apples website says something like "Have some existing kit with the old 30 pin connector? No problem, simply use a converter!* *Not suitable for all 30 pin accessories. No support for iPod Out or iPod Video"

              Suggesting that audio docks will work with the connector. Since the slide at the Apple event explicitly stated this new nine pin connector is completely digital, one then assumes the converter will contain a DAC. But let's wait until iFixit rip one open to see.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: A serious technical/usability question .....

      You don't get to ask lazy questions like that and then try to qualify it with what sorts of answers do and don't count. I shall look forward to the mocking and flaming that you'll probably get from both sets of platform foamers.

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    iPhone5 first 4G phone, you are kidding of course.

    I think you might find that everyone else has already produced 4G phones, and i believe that currently Apple is being screwed by HTC as HTC own the US patent for connecting to a 4G network.

    EE has announced the first 4G devices that will be offered on the new network this year. They are the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE, the HTC One XL (a 4G version of the One X) and the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE.

  30. Badvok
    Meh

    It's a nice phone. I like the fact that they've beveled the edge so if you drop it the glass isn't always the first thing to hit the floor and shatter. Hopefully they've also fixed any signal issues once and for all, although from the pics it looks like they are still using the same antenna concept.

    Going a bit bigger and 16:9 is a good idea, it matches what everyone else is doing and most of the content that people will be viewing even if it does upset a few of the fans of the 4:3 screen (if they don't backtrack and deny they ever said anything of the sort).

    4G is obviously a must-have these days for a top-end phone.

    NFC should have been in there, and it is always funny reading comments all over the place by Apple fans that say any feature missing is not needed! (Typing this while eating my lunch which I paid for with a wave of my phone.)

    A good solid upgrade, but no spark!

  31. uhuznaa

    Isn't it ironic?

    The same phone running Android would be adored here. I mean, what's wrong with it? Classy case in design and material, very fast hardware, light, thin, great display, fine camera...

    Nowadays I think iOS is somewhat stale, yes. The hardware is great though. Two years ago I very nearly bought a Galaxy S and then got an iPhone 4 just because it felt much better. I can't even THINK of using a Galaxy S1 today, it's very much a phone of the past and trying to sell it now would make a very disappointing experience.

    Where was getting at? Anyway, nice phone, stale OS. I'm not sure I would commit to another year or two with iOS. But I'm also not buying an expensive plastic phone either. Give me a Lumia running Jelly Been already!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Isn't it ironic?

      No, it wouldn't, not if the same design (almost literally) had been released for the previous 2 versions and the only improvements were basically the same improvements as in the previous two models (faster, more RAM). Given this one is slightly taller and has iOS6 (but isn't the 4/4S going to get iOS6 too? negating the software benefit of an upgrade.)

      I just today read the new Nexus is expected to be almost the same (spec wise) as the Galaxy Nexus (which I have) to which I gave a similar 'meh' to. They too will suffer the same software indifference when the next version of Android comes out.

      That said, if you're coming to the end of a contract and own a 4/4S and do want a current device, why not upgrade if money is not an issue. For myself, I'd rather keep the 4S and lower my price plan - which is what I'll be doing if the next Nexus is a meh device compared to the Galaxy Nexus. No more 2 year contract and I can buy a handset when one that grabs my attention is released.

      People who pay to get out of an existing contract or buy this because it's got a 5 in the model number, we'll a fool and his money.

  32. VinceH

    "Apple launches often seem underwhelming at first, and this one is no different. But as the dust settles, it’s easier to find a way to put a positive spin on things."

    There. Fixed it for you.

  33. Frederick Tennant

    I like the black one.......

    I love reading your opinions on the iphones, pods, laptops etc. it appears that engineers & coders love android phones, & PC's graphic designers & artists like iphones & Mac's (that should start another row lol)

    All my phones have been white but I will get the second gen or "S" version only because the company pays for them, and my contract runs out when the "S" version arrives.

    For years I could not get my mobile to connect with my apple computer, it was like no phone manufacturer was interested, thank you apple as i now have a phone which I can use without my laptop. I dont believe that there is a android program to connect to my mac? (funny, I've never looked as the iphone came first lol)

    Why black? Thats easy, Steve Jobs is dead and it will be my tribute to him for making my life that bit better.

    1. TRT

      Re: I like the black one.......

      What's the deal with the colour matched aluminium back?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I like the black one.......

      "I dont believe that there is a android program to connect to my mac?"

      That's because Android has always been aware of this little thing called networks and the Internet and doesn't need to be connected via a physical cable to transfer data or synchronise.

      You may have noticed Apple catching up in this department too with iCloud.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I like the black one.......

        Engineers liked PCs over Macs from the eighties because the Macs didn't have suitable expansion ports, amongst many other reasons. Graphic designers have always been a market in which Macs have held on to to, from the outset- the GUI in Macs made WYSIWYG DTP a possibility, and then conveniences such as FireWire for scanners and the ability to colour match from screen to printer were handy, too. Using the same kit as your clients, suppliers and printing bureau is a convenience in itself.

        Firewire helped Apple.... The first iPod was FireWire (and hence, more or less, Mac only) at a time most PCs only had USB1, and I was still faffing around with ZIP disks.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I like the black one.......

      "Why black? Thats easy, Steve Jobs is dead and it will be my tribute to him for making my life that bit better."

      Christ-on-a-bike. Are you for real?!

      I can imagine you buying a car:

      "What kind of car were you looking for, sir?"

      "A white one please!"

  34. Wibble
  35. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Time for some disruptive innovation, please

    Phone form factors:

    brick brick brick integrated antenna! brick brick slidey brick

    then (courtesy of startac/moto)

    clamshell clamshell move the hinge! clamshell clamshell

    then (apple)

    slab slab slab slab slab

    Isn't it time for someone new to come along? Not to say that we aren't making progress in increments (just like, say, the blackberry was an improvement on the nokia communicator) but it's hardly disruptive. This parade of my glass slab is better than yours is so 2011.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: Time for some disruptive innovation, please

      You forgot that bloody weird phone that rotated around a hinge, the axis of which was perpendicular to the face of the phone- as if you had joined two dog-tags together with a split pin.

  36. sisk

    What's with that connector?

    Will someone please explain to me why Apple refuses to use a microUSB connector? Seriously, I don't get it. If you're going to change connectors and there's an established industry standard why would you not switch to it? Why build another proprietary one and then have to make adapters to be in compliance with EU requirements?

    1. Trevor Marron

      Re: What's with that connector?

      Because there is no money in it for Apple. Next question?

    2. FutureShock999
      Boffin

      I already wrote this once today..

      The simple fact is that the micro-USB standard was originally designed as a power adapter, not for digital audio. It can be done using it, but that is a non-standard implementation in itself. It is also a "one-way" connector, forcing you to find out which way to plug it in, where as Lightening is fine no matter which side goes where. Most importantly, the micro-USB connector is not robust enough to allow a proper standing or propped _dock_ connection - it is too flimsy to support the device. And that is what sets the iPhone apart from most Android phones - the huge array of docks, in clock radios, powered speakers, etc. Sure, the third parties will have to re-engineer for Lightening, and consumers will have to upgrade or use an adapter. But at least it should physically support the device a lot better than a micro-USB. In my last phone (a corp Blackberry), the micro-USB connector gave out in less than a year, physically bent beyond repair from my frequent plugging and unplugging. So, micro-USB is a "standard", but it isn't a good one, for a number of reasons.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I already wrote this once today..

        Jesus, learn to spell "Lightning" if you're going to post such tedious wall-of-text shills for it.

      2. Dave 126 Silver badge

        Re: I already wrote this once today..

        At least it was the microUSB plug that failed, and not the micro USB female part of your phone... I did read that was by design, and a reasonable decision it was too. That said:

        The micoUSB 3 plug is a mess - looks like it came with a Sony Ericsson phone from 2004... it is basically a microUSB 2 plug with an extra bit bolted on the side. So you can't even use a micro USB 3 plug to charge or connect to a USB 2 device... So it is bigger and less elegant than it was before, still not reversible, not backwards-compatible, still liable to scratch whatever you plug it into and also not suitable for just slotting a device onto, dock style.

        Some twit has accused FutureShock of being a shill... Why? All he has done is to point out the shortcomings that we, as non-Apple users, have experienced first hand.

        Apple have produced a good connector. Now, how can it be brought about that other device makers start putting some thought into the same issue, ideally as a standard? Or maybe this brave new world of near-field data and wireless charging will render the question moot within a couple of years.... your answers on a postcard, please.

  37. pewpie
    Terminator

    Apples formula for success in two words.

    Twat-proofing.

  38. rogerpjr
    FAIL

    FAIL

    COme on people.... Apple designs LIES, as well as HYPE to be at the forefront of the public. AND the press buys it. the apple 5 jesus phone is NOT in the top 5 thinest.

    apple wants to have it ALL their way. STEAL XEROX IP. BLUDGEON HTC by tying up product in USA's CUSTOMS for weeks. WHY? SOme frivilous patent that was later rules invalid.

    BUT!!! Apple trounces all OVER HTC's LTE patent. THEN WHINGES to the court about the way HTC uses HTC's OWN patent!!!!

    WIll ALL you ANDROID OEM's EVER get together. Put together a LEGAL DREAM TEAM. TROUNCE this troubling bully, so the market can decide what we want. In a FAIR capitalist fight???? Apple... YOU are epitome of The SMART. SPOILED. UBER-RICH. BULLY!!!!! DETESTABLE

    1. Dana W
      Happy

      Re: FAIL

      Webster Phreaky is that you?

  39. Ivan Headache

    My god Roger!

    You need to have a lie down.

  40. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Galaxy S3 will be dead and gone in less than 2 years time and practically worthless - iPhones can still be used / get updated for far, far longer. I know loads of people with the 3GS and still happy with it - although most are now thinking of upgrading.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Indeed, anybody who claims that Apple products are expensive hasn't had the pleasure of reselling them later. I have bought and sold several used Apple products and lose very little money doing so. Actually I have made money reselling a couple of black plastic MacBooks.

      Meanwhile I have a couple of desktop PCs that are still pretty current but I would like to sell them and am getting zero interest on Craigslist...

  41. andy 49

    Nano or micro

    I gather that this phone will use the new nano size SIM

    I've seen a photo which suggests this fits in a little tray for insertion into the phone

    That little tray looks to be coincidentally very close to 15 x 12 mm, the size of a micro SIM

    Why didn't they ditch all the rigmarole about a new size, all the time lobbying, the tooling, the networks having to order them, and just design a system in which just the SIM is pushed in without a tray holding it, like various other phone manufacturers have?

    I don't see how they've saved any volume inside the phone compared to using that alternative and simpler approach with a micro SIM.

  42. supreme-overlord

    Apple vs Android part 128764782169481

    These releases are always interesting for the whining of the android fanbois. "Oh we had that 36 years ago!" etc.

    For example, apparently some androids have been running 4G here in the UK on the non-existant EE 4G LTE network for quite some time. Numerous android users have been using the widely available (sarcasm intended) NFC functions of their phones for eons.

    The reality is that Apple is a technology enabler. EE worked overtime to get their network ready for the iphone 5 launch and will piggyback on that success to attain customer churn from their competitors. Apple have stated that NFC is not there yet so why waste space to include it?

    Obviously I stand by for flaming from the android hordes already running on LTE and using NFC to make their lige easier on a daily basis. And of course, sporting an 86" screen!

  43. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    iPhone was great! Not anymore, simple as that.

    Every pikey, lowlife, slutty, reject and their dog has one now.

    So when I see you with an iPhone I can only assume that you to are a pikey........

    The positive status boost you so craved, was satisfied with iPhone, and made you feel better. Unfortunately, that status has diminished into "you PIKEY" because every other PIKEY has one.

    iPhone 5 aint gonna help any either, in fact it's goning to be worse still.

    1. RegKees
      Facepalm

      Re: Obviously

      yup, better get an Android phone then, no one has one of those.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Obviously

        "yup, better get an Android phone then, no one has one of those."

        At least you'll not be seen as a pikey, should you make the wise decision to not own the pikey iPhone.

    2. Dana W
      FAIL

      Its never been about status.

      That's just what the Fandroids said and now its all they talk about. I guess they were the "status conscious" once after all.

  44. Hooksie

    My HTC One S is only .2 of a millimetre "thicker" and has a considerably bigger screen. Plus with Android CM10 Jelly Bean it's pretty darn good. I'll be sticking with that thanks.

    Oh, and to the author of the article, not sure if anyone else pointed this out but there's a picture on the front of the 30 pin dock so you know which way it goes and on every USB device in the world there's a little picture of three arrow type things on the top to show you which way up it goes. Idiot.

  45. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    the familiar voice says “OK, sports fans, let’s take a look,”

    It'd go straight in the bin at that moment, laced in vomit.

    (although, I can't help wondering what it says when asked where the nearest brothel is. )

  46. OrsonX
    FAIL

    The clock icon

    still says 10:15

  47. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    i covered it in LUBE

    and it still wont fit in any of my pockets

    FUCK YOU APPLE

  48. This post has been deleted by its author

  49. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "classy and high-end" product owned by nothing more than Jeremy Kyle rejects.

    iPhone = PIKEY. Every pikey and their dog have one, hardly classy!

  50. johnnymotel
    Megaphone

    IP5

    geekbench figures just in, IP5 beats out all the competition on just TWO cores and a slower clock.

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