The Official iPhone 5 Thread (Liveblog links inside!)

[ControlD]

Is there a good (technical) reason why they chose 1136x640 and not just 1280x720 for the display resolution? Or is it just a cost-saving measure?

(Didn't read all the thread, just did a Ctrl+F for '1136' to figure if it's been brought up already)

I believe the reason is that the existing 4S already has the horizontal resolution of 640 so the easiest solution was to simply increase the vertical. This means the existing apps only need to be stretched in one direction. Just a guess, but seems to make some kind of sense.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Of course it does. He just likes to apologize for Apple.

Is a comment like this necessary? The iPad 1 was built without enough memory. That I accept.

I think one thing you guys can't grasp around your heads is phones were never about how fast the CPU is and how much RAM and everything is until Android came around. Sure those specs were present, but we weren't clamoring about it like Nvidia and AMD graphics cards.

iOS and Android have significantly different system requirements. While my SGS2 outclasses an iPhone 4S, and an iPad 2 with its CPU performance, no one has really complained about iOS performance. The iPad 1 may be an exception, and legacy parts like the 3G running iOS4, but the latter is a case where the phone isn't sufficient for today's use. It's like me complaining the Motorola Droid (which is newer than a 3GS) is slow as crap. If I can do that, I think any 3GS user can too, but we all know a 3GS runs iOS 5 better than a Motorola Droid running ICS or Gingerbread.

I would love to have 1gb in an iDevice like this, but what I'm saying is it's not necessary. It's a small fault with Apple but is it going to hurt you? No. Some people point out using your device 2 years down the road, but it's not even about memory at that point. Maybe by then the CPUs are so much faster that your load times are significantly impacted with apps designed for 2 years down the road. By then your battery could be crap that you WANT a new phone anyway. I could've built a computer in 2007 with a Core 2 Duo with 8 gb of RAM. It's more than enough RAM, but if anything the CPU is the bottleneck today.

512mb on an iDevice is like 1GB on Android. You can't compare apples and oranges. Would the device perform better with 1gb? You bet, but it's not going to hurt YOU or 99.9% of the population to have 512mb in an iDevice

 

[Arsinek]

Does not have the 1700 band so no.

I thought TMo's 4G HSPA+ was 1900?

 

[Fire&Blood]

So they managed to raise the bar again before Android even got close to the previous one, pushed out entirely new SoC while the old one is still relevant.

How long do I have to wait for a similar hardware package in an Android phone? SGS4? No rush Android, shove some more of that cheap A9 stuff our way, push more Adreno 2xx and SGX 530 please, gotta make Apple look really good in comparisons.


Warning for trolling
Mod PM

 

[Aikouka]

I wouldn't mind more memory in the iPhone 5 than in the 4S. I would easily run out of memory and have to reload sites when I only had maybe 4-5 tabs open. The only negative aspect of more memory is the battery drain.

 

[Arsinek]

Could a mod make a separate thread for people to play apple vs android in and leave this thread for useful info?



I don't think so, but send me a private message with specifics and we can talk about it.

Mod PM

 

[ControlD]

Is a comment like this necessary? The iPad 1 was built without enough memory. That I accept.

I think one thing you guys can't grasp around your heads is phones were never about how fast the CPU is and how much RAM and everything is until Android came around. Sure those specs were present, but we weren't clamoring about it like Nvidia and AMD graphics cards.

iOS and Android have significantly different system requirements. While my SGS2 outclasses an iPhone 4S, and an iPad 2 with its CPU performance, no one has really complained about iOS performance. The iPad 1 may be an exception, and legacy parts like the 3G running iOS4, but the latter is a case where the phone isn't sufficient for today's use. It's like me complaining the Motorola Droid (which is newer than a 3GS) is slow as crap. If I can do that, I think any 3GS user can too, but we all know a 3GS runs iOS 5 better than a Motorola Droid running ICS or Gingerbread.

I would love to have 1gb in an iDevice like this, but what I'm saying is it's not necessary. It's a small fault with Apple but is it going to hurt you? No. Some people point out using your device 2 years down the road, but it's not even about memory at that point. Maybe by then the CPUs are so much faster that your load times are significantly impacted with apps designed for 2 years down the road. By then your battery could be crap that you WANT a new phone anyway. I could've built a computer in 2007 with a Core 2 Duo with 8 gb of RAM. It's more than enough RAM, but if anything the CPU is the bottleneck today.

512mb on an iDevice is like 1GB on Android. You can't compare apples and oranges. Would the device perform better with 1gb? You bet, but it's not going to hurt YOU or 99.9% of the population to have 512mb in an iDevice

I agree with your overall point that you cannot compare Android and iOS in raw terms like RAM and CPU power. At the same time, I cannot remember the last time an Apple product release gala did not start with what SOC was being used and what the performance gains were. It was one of the first things shown today with the new SOC going into the iPhone 5. The same can be said with the iPhone 4, 4S, iPad 2, iPad 3 press showings. There is an arms race (or is it ARM race?) in the mobile sector now not unlike what we saw with Nvidia and ATI, or Intel and AMD in the recent past. I'm not sure if this is the impact of Android or not but Apple has embraced it 100%. As such they have opened up the debate like it or not.

 

[VashHT]

Is a comment like this necessary? The iPad 1 was built without enough memory. That I accept.

I think one thing you guys can't grasp around your heads is phones were never about how fast the CPU is and how much RAM and everything is until Android came around. Sure those specs were present, but we weren't clamoring about it like Nvidia and AMD graphics cards.

iOS and Android have significantly different system requirements. While my SGS2 outclasses an iPhone 4S, and an iPad 2 with its CPU performance, no one has really complained about iOS performance. The iPad 1 may be an exception, and legacy parts like the 3G running iOS4, but the latter is a case where the phone isn't sufficient for today's use. It's like me complaining the Motorola Droid (which is newer than a 3GS) is slow as crap. If I can do that, I think any 3GS user can too, but we all know a 3GS runs iOS 5 better than a Motorola Droid running ICS or Gingerbread.

I would love to have 1gb in an iDevice like this, but what I'm saying is it's not necessary. It's a small fault with Apple but is it going to hurt you? No. Some people point out using your device 2 years down the road, but it's not even about memory at that point. Maybe by then the CPUs are so much faster that your load times are significantly impacted with apps designed for 2 years down the road. By then your battery could be crap that you WANT a new phone anyway. I could've built a computer in 2007 with a Core 2 Duo with 8 gb of RAM. It's more than enough RAM, but if anything the CPU is the bottleneck today.

512mb on an iDevice is like 1GB on Android. You can't compare apples and oranges. Would the device perform better with 1gb? You bet, but it's not going to hurt YOU or 99.9% of the population to have 512mb in an iDevice

Who cares how efficient iOS is, iphones cost just as much as high end android phones and they should have hardware to match. To answer your question about it affecting me, my ip4 seems to always have to reload webpages when i reopen safari, it'd be nice to have more RAM so that it wouldn't do that.

 

[VashHT]

So they managed to raise the bar again before Android even got close to the previous one, pushed out entirely new SoC while the old one is still relevant.

How long do I have to wait for a similar hardware package in an Android phone? SGS4? No rush Android, shove some more of that cheap A9 stuff our way, push more Adreno 2xx and SGX 530 please, gotta make Apple look really good in comparisons.

The SGS3 already moved beyond A9, quit being a pathetic troll.

 

[Muyoso]

So they managed to raise the bar again before Android even got close to the previous one, pushed out entirely new SoC while the old one is still relevant.

How long do I have to wait for a similar hardware package in an Android phone? SGS4? No rush Android, shove some more of that cheap A9 stuff our way, push more Adreno 2xx and SGX 530 please, gotta make Apple look really good in comparisons.

What a terrible troll you are.

 

[jimhsu]

I've considered the S3, but I think I'll probably end up with an iPhone 5 to upgrade from my iPhone 4. It's nice that I've already got all of the apps and settings I want. I don't really feel like I'm missing anything with my phone that I would get with switching to Android. I don't really care about most of the feature differences - I just want a good browser, the ability to check my email and Facebook, and app support from all the major players. iPhone's done all I needed for the past several years.

This. I'd be all for waiting for the supposedly awesome Lumia 920, except that my bank doesn't have an app on that platform (mobile deposit is pretty important when your bank has basically no branches), and I can't seem to find a good medical reference database (epocrates/medscape/Lexi-comp), or any for that matter (WebMD doesn't count), that I need for work. Those are basically deal-killers when it comes to switching operating systems.

 

[MrX8503]

That's what I'm kind of worried about. I hear that it has great battery life but I fear that is relative to what people used to get out of previous Android phones. I can pull my 4S off the charger at 5:30-6AM and not put it on again until I get ready for bed just before midnight (and often still have 20%+ remaining). I'm just paranoid after suffering through an EVO experience for a year.

Well, anything is better than an EVO concerning battery life. If you've been using the 4S, expect better battery life with the iPhone 5. If you're into LTE, the iPhone 5 has great battery life there as well.

 

[basslover1]

I thought TMo's 4G HSPA+ was 1900?

No, T-Mo's FuaxG is in the AWS band 1700/2100, they use 1900 for their 2G currently.

It's my understanding that their LTE will be in the AWS band, which might do double duty as their LTE/HSPA+ services, and they'll also be rolling out HSPA+ on the 850/1900 that AT&T will allow them to roam on for 7 years after the failed acquisition.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Who cares how efficient iOS is, iphones cost just as much as high end android phones and they should have hardware to match. To answer your question about it affecting me, my ip4 seems to always have to reload webpages when i reopen safari, it'd be nice to have more RAM so that it wouldn't do that.

These aren't computers. It isn't all about specs. High end phones should be able to do similar things. Apple accomplished that with the iOS 6 launch.

You bring a point about Safari reloading webpages. Perhaps more RAM would help, but even 1GB doesn't save my SGS2 from reloading webpages 24/7. What's worse is til this day, Google still hasn't addressed OOM groupings which causes the launcher to redraw. Not to mention minfree settings are still totally borked whether its 512mb, 768mb, 1gb, 2gb devices.

Throwing RAM at a device doesn't solve all your problems. I can see why it was done on Android with its inefficient multitasking and what not. It doesn't mean the same is necessary on iOS.

Like I said, 512mb on iOS behaves like 1gb on Android. The SGS3 is 1gb except for its USA variant.

Furthermore, do we have confirmation that the new iPhone uses 512mb?

Finally with RAM dirt cheap, it really doesn't cost anything for 8gb or 16gb RAM in most systems. So you should go flame PC manufacturers for not doing that. If it's not necessary, it's really not worth the extra $30 or whatever to them.

The SGS3 already moved beyond A9, quit being a pathetic troll.

The i9300 uses a quad setup based on Cortex A9s last i checked....

 

[VashHT]

These aren't computers. It isn't all about specs. High end phones should be able to do similar things. Apple accomplished that with the iOS 6 launch.

You bring a point about Safari reloading webpages. Perhaps more RAM would help, but even 1GB doesn't save my SGS2 from reloading webpages 24/7. What's worse is til this day, Google still hasn't addressed OOM groupings which causes the launcher to redraw. Not to mention minfree settings are still totally borked whether its 512mb, 768mb, 1gb, 2gb devices.

Throwing RAM at a device doesn't solve all your problems. I can see why it was done on Android with its inefficient multitasking and what not. It doesn't mean the same is necessary on iOS.

Like I said, 512mb on iOS behaves like 1gb on Android. The SGS3 is 1gb except for its USA variant.


Furthermore, do we have confirmation that the new iPhone uses 512mb?

Finally with RAM dirt cheap, it really doesn't cost anything for 8gb or 16gb RAM in most systems. So you should go flame PC manufacturers for not doing that. If it's not necessary, it's really not worth the extra $30 or whatever to them.

Don't get me wrong I really like iOS for it's efficient design, but if they're charging the same for their hardware (more in most cases) then they should have hardware to match. If it's so cheap then why skimp on it?

Edit: On the SGS3, the US variants are all beyond A9, the S4 is based on A15 right? The iphone 5 is beyond all of these from what I've seen, but Android isn't living in the past like he was saying.

 

[MrX8503]

Anyone watch the promo video?
http://www.apple.com/iphone/#video

@5min
The tolerances of the iPhone5 are measured by microns. This makes the iphone5 incredibly precise.

A camera takes a 29MP photo of 725 pieces of glass and a machine picks the right one to be fitted with the phone's aluminum chassis. The stainless steel band is also beveled to a mirror finish.

The iPhone5 is one badass piece of engineering. Android devices can keep their plastics.

Don't get me wrong I really like iOS for it's efficient design, but if they're charging the same for their hardware (more in most cases) then they should have hardware to match. If it's so cheap then why skimp on it?

Edit: On the SGS3, the US variants are all beyond A9, the S4 is based on A15 right? The iphone 5 is beyond all of these from what I've seen, but Android isn't living in the past like he was saying.

There are $300 android phones

 

[VashHT]

Anyone watch the promo video?
http://www.apple.com/iphone/#video

@5min
The tolerances of the iPhone5 are measured by microns. This makes the iphone5 incredibly precise.

A camera takes a 29MP photo of 725 pieces of glass and a machine picks the right one to be fitted with the phone's aluminum chassis.

The iPhone5 is one badass piece of engineering.

Yeah the manufacturing process is pretty amazing, they really work on fitting the pieces together.

Edit: I'm not talking about cheap Android phones, I'm talking about high end ones that are almost the same price as iPhones, pretty much all of them have more memory than the iphone.

 

[glen]

Was the phone released today? Was it a press release? Are there official specs. and pictures now? What is going on?

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Anyone watch the promo video?
http://www.apple.com/iphone/#video

@5min
The tolerances of the iPhone5 are measured by microns. This makes the iphone5 incredibly precise.

A camera takes a 29MP photo of 725 pieces of glass and a machine picks the right one to be fitted with the phone's aluminum chassis. The stainless steel band is also beveled to a mirror finish.

The iPhone5 is one badass piece of engineering. Android devices can keep their plastics.




There are $300 android phones

You realize this is every high end manufacturing process ever.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Then your usage probably does not qualify as that heavy because the high end phones have similar battery life. I currently have 50% remaining after 15 hours all syncing on, and with screen taking up 45% of that.

It really depends on just how heavy my exchange traffic is on a given day. But yeah, like I said, it's moderate to heavy. My fear is all based on the EVO. I never used the 4G function because that phone needed to be on a charger by the time lunch rolled around just using 3G. I've heard it's gotten better but just not sure if it is that much better.

Anyway, this is a thread about the iPhone 5 and while the reason I'm asking this relates to whether I want to buy the 5 or not I'm basically going to research this elsewhere. Surely there are some stats on xda.

 

[VashHT]

It really depends on just how heavy my exchange traffic is on a given day. But yeah, like I said, it's moderate to heavy. My fear is all based on the EVO. I never used the 4G function because that phone needed to be on a charger by the time lunch rolled around just using 3G. I've heard it's gotten better but just not sure if it is that much better.

Anyway, this is a thread about the iPhone 5 and while the reason I'm asking this relates to whether I want to buy the 5 or not I'm basically going to research this elsewhere. Surely there are some stats on xda.

The EVO 4g had terrible battery life ime. The GS3 had much better battery life for me.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Don't get me wrong I really like iOS for it's efficient design, but if they're charging the same for their hardware (more in most cases) then they should have hardware to match. If it's so cheap then why skimp on it?

Edit: On the SGS3, the US variants are all beyond A9, the S4 is based on A15 right? The iphone 5 is beyond all of these from what I've seen, but Android isn't living in the past like he was saying.

The S4 is A15-like but on paper the S4 should be slightly slower than A15. I think he was solely talking about graphics in which yes the SGX543 or whatever delivers stunning performance and really nothing in the Android world can match it. But we all know that GPU performance isn't anything and the lag that people complain about on Android can be resolved by simply integrating GPU acceleration on a GPU as crappy as an Adreno 200 like on the Nexus One. After all Windows Mobile devices are buttery smooth without cutting edge tech.

so yes if you do care about real racing 3 and ridiculous graphics, the iDevices have it, but the way he's making it sound like that's all that matters... well it isn't.

I still believe that Apple puts in what's necessary to run its products smoothly. In this case 512mb is enough. Just because it's a $600 smartphone doesn't mean that it needs the exact same specs. I believe as long as it performs just as well as a $600 Android phone, that should be sufficient.

 

[MrX8503]

Edit: I'm not talking about cheap Android phones, I'm talking about high end ones that are almost the same price as iPhones, pretty much all of them have more memory than the iphone.

That's true, but the iPhone5 is now sporting an A15. Overall the performance is doubled from the 4S. We'll have to wait and see what the ram is, but I'm not too worried about it.

You'll also have to remember that with this powerful hardware coupled with one of the most efficient mobile OS's out there, the iPhone 5 is going to be really quick.

 

[s44]

On the SGS3, the US variants are all beyond A9, the S4 is based on A15 right? The iphone 5 is beyond all of these from what I've seen

The architecture is real A15 vs fake A15 (Krait), but we'll have to look at clocks and benchmarks to see whether Apple's CPU performance is actually even at par.

 

[VashHT]

The S4 is A15-like but on paper the S4 should be slightly slower than A15. I think he was solely talking about graphics in which yes the SGX543 or whatever delivers stunning performance and really nothing in the Android world can match it. But we all know that GPU performance isn't anything and the lag that people complain about on Android can be resolved by simply integrating GPU acceleration on a GPU as crappy as an Adreno 200 like on the Nexus One. After all Windows Mobile devices are buttery smooth without cutting edge tech.

so yes if you do care about real racing 3 and ridiculous graphics, the iDevices have it, but the way he's making it sound like that's all that matters... well it isn't.

I dunno his comment was way more trollish, i Know S4 is somewhat slower but it's much better than A9 processors. He obviously wasn't talking about just GPU, Android devices arent far behind the A6, and since quad core krait pro processors are coming out soon they will probably surpass the iphone 5