The Official iPhone 5 Thread

[JackBurton]

Originally Posted by Don Vito Corleone

I got my iPhone 5 yesterday. This was the first time I have restored a new device from iCloud, and I have to say it worked great. I am on a corporate account so my assistant had to work with an AT&T rep to get my number ported to the new phone, but it worked seamlessly and it was pretty remarkable to have the new phone showing my existing wallpaper and ringing with my ringtone (for years I have used No Surprises by Radiohead, because it starts with glockenspiel that sounds like bells and I find it soothing).

As for the phone itself, I got a white 32GB model because I was concerned about dinging the black anodizing on the black phone. I immediately installed an SGP screen cover and a Stickerboy tiger stripe teak skin kit on both the front and back. It looks pretty snappy and both accessories fit perfectly.

Thus far I am very pleased (I am coming from a black 32GB iPhone 4). The light weight is nice, and the phone is in all respects much snappier than my old one. I write this from the Minneapolis airport (on my iPad 3, using Mobile Hotspot), where I am getting a blazing LTE connection, but even in 4G areas the connection seems noticeably better than on my iPhone 4. The only concern I have at this point (and its a fairly minor one) is that it does feel big to me in use. I have fairly large hands, and I imagine I'll get used to it, but ergonomically I think it may be a step backwards. I am also finding that both the Facebook app and Words With Friends crash upon opening. I imagine that will be sorted out through updates.

Anyway, so far so good. I have packed up my iPhone 4 and will be trading it in to Amazon.

Give it a month, and then try using someone else's 4/4S. It will feel oddly small.

[MotionMan]

Originally Posted by JackBurton

Give it a month, and then try using someone else's 4/4S. It will feel oddly small.

That is a good point. My daughter has a 4S and my son a 4th Gen Touch. I will try to avoid them (the iDevices, not the kids) for a week or so and see how they feel (again, not the kids).

MotionMan

[JackBurton]

Originally Posted by MotionMan

That is a good point. My daughter has a 4S and my son a 4th Gen Touch. I will try to avoid them (the iDevices, not the kids) for a week or so and see how they feel (again, not the kids).

MotionMan

Yeah, it's weird. My wife had her iPhone 4 for ~2 years, and after just a few weeks using her new iPhone 5, the old one (iPhone 4) now feels weird. Funny how that works.

[mchammer187]

Originally Posted by JackBurton

Yeah, it's weird. My wife had her iPhone 4 for ~2 years, and after just a few weeks using her new iPhone 5, the old one (iPhone 4) now feels weird. Funny how that works.

It does feel weird. I am amazed how heavy the 4 feels after using the 5 for a while not that weight was ever an issue.

[Oyeve]

Originally Posted by JackBurton

Yeah, it's weird. My wife had her iPhone 4 for ~2 years, and after just a few weeks using her new iPhone 5, the old one (iPhone 4) now feels weird. Funny how that works.

My iphone 4 only feels heavier with using my iphone 5 for 2 weeks. I dont feel the 4 is smaller than the 5. In fact, they both feel tiny especially after using my sgs3 most of the day.

[JackBurton]

Originally Posted by Oyeve

My iphone 4 only feels heavier with using my iphone 5 for 2 weeks. I dont feel the 4 is smaller than the 5. In fact, they both feel tiny especially after using my sgs3 most of the day.

Yes, I guess when you get used to holding a tablet (SGS3) to your ear I'm sure any phone would feel tiny.

[JackBurton]

Originally Posted by mchammer187

It does feel weird. I am amazed how heavy the 4 feels after using the 5 for a while not that weight was ever an issue.

Yep, she also commented on the weight of the old phone too.

[Don Vito Corleone]

Just to update, I fixed my problems with Facebook and Words With Friends by deleting and reinstalling. All is well now. I am in Sarasota on business and finding good LTE coverage. I ran speedtest in Tampa and got 21.87 Mbps down and 7.99 up. Here I'm getting 12.25 and 6.84 at the moment - slower but still damned fast!

[bigrash]

Originally Posted by JackBurton

Give it a month, and then try using someone else's 4/4S. It will feel oddly small.

Yup. I went back to my old iphone 4 to wipe it so I could sell it, and it felt so tiny.

[Zink]

Going from a 4.7" smartphone to a iPhone 4 probably feels 2x worse. I don't know how I got buy using a 3.5" screen before but I can't go back now.

[joejoe666]

anyone know when the official unlocked iphone 5 will be available in US for purchase?

[Anonemous]

Fastest LTE signal on sprint I got recently was 29.20 Mbps/4.15Mbps/58ms ping in Bay Area.

[slashbinslashbash]

Originally Posted by Don Vito Corleone

I got my iPhone 5 yesterday. This was the first time I have restored a new device from iCloud, and I have to say it worked great. I am on a corporate account so my assistant had to work with an AT&T rep to get my number ported to the new phone, but it worked seamlessly and it was pretty remarkable to have the new phone showing my existing wallpaper and ringing with my ringtone (for years I have used No Surprises by Radiohead, because it starts with glockenspiel that sounds like bells and I find it soothing).

Just as another data point of iCloud restore, one of my most-used apps is a financial calculator (HP 12C) emulator. I started it up, and the numbers on the display of the calculator were carried over from my 3GS. So not just the apps themselves, but the *state* of the apps is carried over. If this is the future, sign me up.

I also love the new Lightning connector. It just feels really solid. So does the socket in the phone. It looks like the port for docking some tiny space capsule or something, it's just really nicely designed and solid-looking.

[Printer Bandit]

i don't like the sharp corners on the lightning cable where you hold it to plug in . how did that get approved?

[AkumaX]

Originally Posted by joejoe666

anyone know when the official unlocked iphone 5 will be available in US for purchase?

still pretty easy to just buy the ATT unlock on ebay

[Lifted]

Originally Posted by AkumaX

still pretty easy to just buy the ATT unlock on ebay

Is the Verizon iPhone 5 not shipping unlocked anymore?

[Aikouka]

Originally Posted by slashbinslashbash

Just as another data point of iCloud restore, one of my most-used apps is a financial calculator (HP 12C) emulator. I started it up, and the numbers on the display of the calculator were carried over from my 3GS. So not just the apps themselves, but the *state* of the apps is carried over. If this is the future, sign me up.

I assume that's because your app saves its state to the NAND, which would make it part of that app's settings.

[jalaram]

Originally Posted by Lifted

Is the Verizon iPhone 5 not shipping unlocked anymore?

It is, but Verizon's LTE bands != ATT's LTE bands.

[Lifted]

Originally Posted by jalaram

It is, but Verizon's LTE bands != ATT's LTE bands.

Will the unlocked iPhone 5 direct from Apple be the ATT version?

[Aikouka]

I'm a bit confused when it comes to taking pictures. Is an overhead 40W-60W bulb not considered ample enough light? I take pictures of stuff, and honestly... they look terrible. I've owned a 3GS, 4S and a 5, and they all look just as bad to me because they're always so grainy. Am I just expecting too much as that's how they're going to look unless I get some natural sunlight?

[DaveStall]

Originally Posted by Aikouka

I'm a bit confused when it comes to taking pictures. Is an overhead 40W-60W bulb not considered ample enough light? I take pictures of stuff, and honestly... they look terrible. I've owned a 3GS, 4S and a 5, and they all look just as bad to me because they're always so grainy. Am I just expecting too much as that's how they're going to look unless I get some natural sunlight?

That has pretty much been my experience as well with my 4S. You need lots of light to get a good non grainy picture. I am used to shooting with DSLR so I know lighting is key, but what I get from my 4S isn't any better than I get from a 10 year old P&S (if that). I think it is made to snap quick shots to email or post online but it sure isn't going to replace any halfway decent camera. I imagine that the tiny little sensor in there has a lot to do with that. You can only do so much with so little.

[jalaram]

Originally Posted by Lifted

Will the unlocked iPhone 5 direct from Apple be the ATT version?

Yes, because the unlocked version only really matters for worldwide use and for that, you need GSM/ATT. The Verizon one just happens to be unlocked for GSM by default, but you'll only get 4g on ATT/Rogers/etc bands.

[Aikouka]

Originally Posted by DaveStall

That has pretty much been my experience as well with my 4S. You need lots of light to get a good non grainy picture. I am used to shooting with DSLR so I know lighting is key, but what I get from my 4S isn't any better than I get from a 10 year old P&S (if that). I think it is made to snap quick shots to email or post online but it sure isn't going to replace any halfway decent camera. I imagine that the tiny little sensor in there has a lot to do with that. You can only do so much with so little.

Ah, okay. I was never really sure just how much light was required to get a proper shot. I've seen people post some really clear photos, but they're almost always outside and during the day. I always figured that low light shots would look bad/grainy, but I was never really sure what would classify as "low light." I was always really disappointed by my 3GS and 4S, because the photos were always so grainy.

Could it also be a factor of how the incandescent light tends to put out that yellowish hue? Although, most of my shots are taken under CFL bulbs, but they look similar enough.

[DaveStall]

Originally Posted by Aikouka

Ah, okay. I was never really sure just how much light was required to get a proper shot. I've seen people post some really clear photos, but they're almost always outside and during the day. I always figured that low light shots would look bad/grainy, but I was never really sure what would classify as "low light." I was always really disappointed by my 3GS and 4S, because the photos were always so grainy.

Could it also be a factor of how the incandescent light tends to put out that yellowish hue? Although, most of my shots are taken under CFL bulbs, but they look similar enough.

How much light you need is always the magic question no matter what camera you are using really. You mentioned a 40-60W light bulb, but is that for an entire room or is the light focussed tightly on the subject? For the former case that is low light for any camera (without using a flash), for the later you should be able to get a halfway decent shot. One thing you lose when using a phone camera is some idea of what your exposure settings are. I have a feeling the iPhone trys to keep the shutter speed fairly high to reduce motion blur, but high shutter speed comes at a price: dark picture if poorly lit and/or noise if the ISO setting is being jumped up.

The yellow hue shouldn't affect the noise in the images, just perhaps the color reproduction.

[slashbinslashbash]

LTE speeds have been pretty good on AT&T. I am getting pretty consistent 10+/10+ whenever I'm on LTE. My highest download speed was 63Mbps and upload was 23.57, both in Fort Worth, TX but at different times and locations. That's pretty astounding; I don't know that I've ever had an Internet connection that fast. I was in Atlanta over the weekend and got 12 or 13 whenever I ran the test.

Does AT&T count uploads as part of the same bandwidth limit on your plan? I'm on a family plan with 15GB across 6 people and 7 iDevices (5 iPhones and 2 iPads) and my uploads have actually been pretty significant for some reason (Photo Stream, maybe?). If uploads count as part of the 15GB, I'm really going to have to cut down on my usage or I'm going to blow through half of our bandwidth all by myself.