Apple has launched the iPhone 5 at a special event in San Francisco. As expected, it’s taller than the iPhone 4S and has a larger screen. That screen is 4in, with a resolution of 1136 x 640 pixels, giving it a pixel density of 326ppi.
The taller screen allows an extra row of apps on the Home screen. All the included apps have been updated to take advantage of the larger screen, and Apple said developers had been given advance warning to allow them to prepare their apps.
The screen is an in-cell display, meaning that the touch sensors are integrated into the display, rather than sitting on a separate layer. This allows it to be thinner, with sharper images and less glare in sunlight.
According to Apple, the iPhone 5 is the thinnest smartphone in the world, just 7.6mm thick. It weighs 112g.
Apple also announced that the iPhone 5 will support LTE 4G internationally, including in the UK. EE, formerly Everything Everywhere, announced yesterday that it would roll out an LTE network on the 1800MHz spectrum, starting this year. And, Apple confirmed that the iPhone 5 would support LTE on EE’s network.
The iPhone’s wifi supports the 802.11a/b/g/n protocols on two channels and at speeds up to 150Mbps. ‘We’ve updated every aspect of iPhone 5. Everything has been enhanced, re-engineered, re-designed,’ said Apple’s worldwide product marketing chief, Phil Schiller.
The processor in the iPhone 5 is an Apple A6, which Apple says is twice as fast for both graphics and regular processing tasks as the A5. As for the all-important battery life, the iPhone 5′s battery lasts longer than that in the 4S; 8 hours talk time over 3G; 10 hours wifi browsing; and 40 hours playing music.
The camera in the iPhone 5 has also been improved. It has a five-element lens and a maximum aperture of f2.4. Apple said that a dynamic low-light can sense low light, combine elements and offer an addition two stops.The sensor is 25% smaller, but crams in eight megapixels and and IR sensor. The camera also now has a panorama mode, allowing you to sweep across a scene as it grabs images. The camera shoots 1080p video, has improved stabilisation, face detection, and can take photos while shooting video.
There are three microphones, to help with voice recognition and voice cancellation. And the speaker has been improved.
There’s a new dock connector too, known as Lightning. ‘So now we have Thunderbolt and Lightning,’ said Schiller. The new connector is all digital and 80% smaller than the predecessor. Apple said it is working with manufacturers to help them integrate the new connector. There’s also an adaptor to allow the new iPhone to connect to older accessories.
The iPhone 5 will come in two colours; white, with a plain aluminium back; and black with a black anodised aluminium back.
The price of the iPhone 5 is the sae as that for the iPhone 4S.
More to follow.
