The Official iPhone 5 Thread (Liveblog links inside!)

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

The same could be said of any phone, but Yeah, iPhone and IOS are really super stale. Only the hardcore apple fanatics will say it's a major improvement. How can it be a major upgrade if there is no exclusive iphone 5 only apps? pretty much all ios apps will run across all of there devices so why even make a super iphone if it will still run the same shit as the 3gs?

your definition of an upgrade is if your apps aren't backwards compatible anymore? LOL

See the thing is you can use a 2009 phone like the 3GS and still experience iOS 6 no problem and run plenty of apps. Go try using your Motorola Droid. Hack it to run ICS or JB. It'll break down. Even Gingerbread causes maps to run out of memory on a daily basis if you don't reboot. I know. I've been there. Even with the latest CM7 tweak that came out a month ago or so in attempts to free up 10 MB here 10MB there, it's like a lagfest.

The fact is there are plenty of apps out there that do take advantage of the iPhone 5 or iPad 4 hardware. Real racing for example. If you run real racing on an older phone like the 3GS you won't get that many graphical features.

You should be happy that 3GS users can still run apps. Just because on the Android side you see fragmentation and broken apps, and hardware that gets outdated in months and gets left behind for upgrades doesn't mean that's the model Apple needs to follow.

Furthermore, I brought my 2004 Dell laptop back to life with a new eBay battery. It does a great job surfing the web. I can watch flash videos up to 480p and do word processing with Office 2010 no problem and read forums, check email. Does that mean my 2008 MacBook Pro isn't an upgrade? Or my i7 in my desktop?

The fact is the iPhone 5 IS an upgrade. You just don't want to admit it. Even comparing photos from iPhone 4 to iPhone 5 is a huge difference. The camera has come a long way. I know you guys don't want to admit it on the Android side but the camera doesn't even come close. That same 8MP on my SGS2 doesn't hold a candle to the iPhone 5. The minimum focus distance is so much better, and the resulting bokeh looks far better. Not to mention indoors performance (not low light or anything, but indoors where my S95 would shine), where the iPhone produces low noise and sharp photos.

Honestly in many ways you could argue that Android products have stagnated too if we're using your logic. The Nexus' camera isn't better than 2011 devices.

 

[bearxor]

The same could be said of any phone, but Yeah, iPhone and IOS are really super stale. Only the hardcore apple fanatics will say it's a major improvement. How can it be a major upgrade if there is no exclusive iphone 5 only apps? pretty much all ios apps will run across all of there devices so why even make a super iphone if it will still run the same shit as the 3gs?

Wait... Being able to run apps that provide the same functionality as a device 3 revisions ago is a... negative?

 

[Ichinisan]

Wait... Being able to run apps that provide the same functionality as a device 3 revisions ago is a... negative?

Yeah. It was one of the dumbest anti-iOS "points" I've seen anyone try to make.

iOS developers know they can maximize their profit by taking advantage of the capabilities of each iOS device. Flashlight apps will work with devices that don't have an LED flash (by showing a white screen). Games will have sharper graphics, better resolution, better textures, and fancier special effects. Screen layouts are quickly optimized to take advantage of iPad and iPhone 5.

Optimization for multiple devices is one of the things iOS developers do FAR better and far more often than Android developers.

Try using Words with Friends HD or TiVo for Tablets on a 4:3 HP TouchPad running the latest CM9 nightly. I dare you. Just try it.

It's miserable.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

See the thing is you can use a 2009 phone like the 3GS and still experience iOS 6 no problem and run plenty of apps. Go try using your Motorola Droid. Hack it to run ICS or JB. It'll break down. Even Gingerbread causes maps to run out of memory on a daily basis if you don't reboot. I know. I've been there. Even with the latest CM7 tweak that came out a month ago or so in attempts to free up 10 MB here 10MB there, it's like a lagfest.

To be fair plenty of features are removed from iOS6 on the 3GS while the Droid is running a complete version of ICS or Jellybean.

 

[Oyeve]

The usual idiots took what I said the wrong way so they typed paragraphs of shit to misconstrue what I said. Their problem. IMO it's not much of an upgrade if its running the same shit the other iPhones are running. Until they make apps specifically iPhone 5 exclusive it's not a major upgrade. Right now my iPhone 5 runs as well as my iPhone 4. Only noticeable difference is the retarded half inch more screen. 3d maps is useless and there is no reason at all the the other iPhone don't have it. It is a selling point and nothing else. Pan aroma? It's pathetic at best. Sapphire lens cover? Puhlease. I don't hate my iPhone 5. It's just not much of an approvement over the 4. So bitch and whine all you want but this is my opinion.

 

[badb0y]

The usual idiots took what I said the wrong way so they typed paragraphs of shit to misconstrue what I said. Their problem. IMO it's not much of an upgrade if its running the same shit the other iPhones are running. Until they make apps specifically iPhone 5 exclusive it's not a major upgrade. Right now my iPhone 5 runs as well as my iPhone 4. Only noticeable difference is the retarded half inch more screen. 3d maps is useless and there is no reason at all the the other iPhone don't have it. It is a selling point and nothing else. Pan aroma? It's pathetic at best. Sapphire lens cover? Puhlease. I don't hate my iPhone 5. It's just not much of an approvement over the 4. So bitch and whine all you want but this is my opinion.

iPhone wasn't released as a beta product so obviously Android looks like it improved a lot over time which is true because it sucked ass when it was released. In face it sucked all the way up to when the Atrix came out, it wasn't even on the same playing field until Ice Cream Sandwich came out.

 

[s44]

iPhone wasn't released as a beta product

LOLOL

You clearly don't remember the original iPhone.

 

[MrX8503]

The usual idiots took what I said the wrong way so they typed paragraphs of shit to misconstrue what I said. Their problem. IMO it's not much of an upgrade if its running the same shit the other iPhones are running. Until they make apps specifically iPhone 5 exclusive it's not a major upgrade. Right now my iPhone 5 runs as well as my iPhone 4. Only noticeable difference is the retarded half inch more screen. 3d maps is useless and there is no reason at all the the other iPhone don't have it. It is a selling point and nothing else. Pan aroma? It's pathetic at best. Sapphire lens cover? Puhlease. I don't hate my iPhone 5. It's just not much of an approvement over the 4. So bitch and whine all you want but this is my opinion.

Lte that doesn't drain the battery with an SoC faster than any smartphone currently on the market. Big improvement over the 4.

Thinner, faster, lighter, better battery life.

LOLOL

You clearly don't remember the original iPhone.

LOLOL, You clearly don't remember the Android blackberry.

 

[badb0y]

LOLOL

You clearly don't remember the original iPhone.

I do remember it raping every other phone on the block. Do you remember the G1? That phone was a POS that I wouldn't even wipe my ass with and it came out after the iPhone.
iPhone when it first came out wasn't perfect but the iPhone from 2007 was still better than the T-Mobile G1.

 

[bearxor]

Lte that doesn't drain the battery with an SoC faster than any smartphone currently on the market. Big improvement over the 4.

Thinner, faster, lighter, better battery life.

His point is that because an iPhone 4 can run the vast majority of apps as an iPhone 5, that it doesn't count as a significant upgrade. Basically, he's advocating planned obselence for a device Apple still actively sells.

 

[Oyeve]

His point is that because an iPhone 4 can run the vast majority of apps as an iPhone 5, that it doesn't count as a significant upgrade. Basically, he's advocating planned obselence for a device Apple still actively sells.

Stop being an ass and twisting my words. I swear, it's idiots like you that have turned this forum to crap.

 

[bearxor]

The same could be said of any phone, but Yeah, iPhone and IOS are really super stale. Only the hardcore apple fanatics will say it's a major improvement. How can it be a major upgrade if there is no exclusive iphone 5 only apps? pretty much all ios apps will run across all of there devices so why even make a super iphone if it will still run the same shit as the 3gs?

Stop being an ass and twisting my words. I swear, it's idiots like you that have turned this forum to crap.

I'm sorry. Do you care to further elaborate on this point? I mean, I agree with you that iOS's interface is stale, and I've said as much in other threads. But I don't know how else to take "so why even make a super iphone if it will still run the same shit as the 3GS?"

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

LOLOL

You clearly don't remember the original iPhone.

well it was a first of its kind, so yes it was kinda a beta. it wasn't run as a beta like google will call its products, but you could tell Apple was trying to get its feet wet and seeing how the smartphone market responded.

remember that despite small market penetration that only hit a few geeks, they majorly revamped iOS for 2.0 and introduced apps. they also started giving away iPod touches like mad with their mac sales in July 2008... what happened? the marketshare started taking off.

anyway, this is better than launching the Xoom a year after the iPad and having that as a beta launch despite having a target competition model you're trying to take down. or perhaps Android 2.x itself was a beta LOL.

 

[Red Storm]

To be fair plenty of features are removed from iOS6 on the 3GS while the Droid is running a complete version of ICS or Jellybean.

This. When an older iPhone like the 3GS gets the latest iOS it is almost entirely in name only. It's good PR.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

To be fair plenty of features are removed from iOS6 on the 3GS while the Droid is running a complete version of ICS or Jellybean.

The Droid never got an upgrade to Gingerbread, ICS, or Jellybean. Try running even Gingerbread and itll run out of memory. Good luck on ICS or Jellybean. And just because you can "run it" doesn't mean it's very usable. iOS6 is at least usable.

It's like when people installed iOS 4 on their iphone 3g and it ran like crap, but this would be worse. I run CM7 on my Milestone and it has every memory hack you name loaded on it. Maps will still frequently run out of memory. Go a few days and try to load maps. It'll crash a lot due to memory issues.

I'm not just talking about speed. The phone isn't built to run these OSes period. The 1ghz phones are different story. While they didn't upgrade the Galaxy S past Gingerbread, they're all very capable of running 4.0, 4.1, and 4.2 in a usable manner. It's just not as great as a dual or quad core phone in terms of experience, but it's usable. more comparable to a iPhone 3GS on iOS 6.

This. When an older iPhone like the 3GS gets the latest iOS it is almost entirely in name only. It's good PR.

I updated my mom's iPhone 3GS to iOS6 so she could read PDFs using iBooks. You get plenty of features. Maybe not Siri, but this is a 3+ year old phone. It's older than the Motorola Droid, which never got upgraded past an OS that was released in May 2010, a mere 7 months after its release.

 

[bearxor]

This. When an older iPhone like the 3GS gets the latest iOS it is almost entirely in name only. It's good PR.

I disagree. The 3GS received the vast majority of software features. It got everything but FaceTime in iOS 4 (hardware), almost everything in iOS 5 except reminders and siri (again, hardware) and again practically everything in iOS 6. The big notable exceptions of a 3GS are photo streams and synced tabs, but with only 256MB of RAM, I can't say that I really blame them for leaving out things that are likely memory hogs in the background. Turn by turn is out, but with no Siri it's not really a surprise. It did get the Maps application and still has manual turn by turn just like the Google Maps App, so it didn't lose functionality. Panorama is also out but, again, single-core processor.

The iPhone 4 got every feature of iOS 5 except for Siri (Partially hardware based. Older Audience chip and single core-processor). iOS 6 arrived with most features. Think it's missing Panorama (single-core processor). The biggest question mark for me was the exclusion of FaceTime over cellular. Turn by turn was expected to be left out because of no Siri in the iPhone 4.

Do features get left out of older devices? Yes. But to say that "When an older iPhone gets the latest iOS it is almost entirely in name only," is being a little disengenuous. There are always more feature than the 10 or so that Apple always trots out. Older devices may not get the 1 or 2 "flagship" features but that hardly means newer iOS versions are "name only".

Here is, I think, the biggest differentiator. Yes, you can find a third party ROM to load ICS on to that Moto Droid. But, as far as Motorola is concerned, the Droid 1 is dead. Motorola isn't going to provide you with that software update. Prior to this year, getting any Android manufacturer to support a phone the full two years of most contracts was just wishful thinking. That's changing for the better and I'm happy to see it. But this is at least why we have different platforms. If someone wants to buy an Android device and stay on top of ROMs, that's cool. If not, that's cool too. If someone wants to buy an iPhone because they know Apple will deliver a handful of useful new features every couple of years, that's cool too.

It's all pretty cool, really.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

I disagree. The 3GS received the vast majority of software features. It got everything but FaceTime in iOS 4 (hardware), almost everything in iOS 5 except reminders and siri (again, hardware) and again practically everything in iOS 6. The big notable exceptions of a 3GS are photo streams and synced tabs, but with only 256MB of RAM, I can't say that I really blame them for leaving out things that are likely memory hogs in the background. Turn by turn is out, but with no Siri it's not really a surprise. It did get the Maps application and still has manual turn by turn just like the Google Maps App, so it didn't lose functionality. Panorama is also out but, again, single-core processor.

The iPhone 4 got every feature of iOS 5 except for Siri (Partially hardware based. Older Audience chip and single core-processor). iOS 6 arrived with most features. Think it's missing Panorama (single-core processor). The biggest question mark for me was the exclusion of FaceTime over cellular. Turn by turn was expected to be left out because of no Siri in the iPhone 4.

A dual core processor isn't necessary for panoramas, my Captivate shipped with that feature over two years ago and it hand a single core cpu.

Ultimately the excuses for why Apple dosn't deliver new features to old devices don't matter, they are willing to do partial or in some cases name only upgrades for older devices while Android is all or nothing.

If a single core cpu and 256mb of ram is an acceptable reason for a 3GS not having Siri, turn by turn navigation, tab sync, panoramas, and photo stream then it should also be an acceptable reason for a Droid 1 not to have Gingerbread or newer.

 

[ponyo]

Both Apple and Google exclude features. Apple more so than Google but both are guilty. Galaxy Nexus is missing the HDR mode on the 4.2 stock camera app. Nexus 4 has it. Why is it missing on the Galaxy Nexus?

 

[bearxor]

A dual core processor isn't necessary for panoramas, my Captivate shipped with that feature over two years ago and it hand a single core cpu.

How the iPhone captures and processes panoramas != the way Android captures and processes panoramas.

Ultimately the excuses for why Apple dosn't deliver new features to old devices don't matter, they are willing to do partial or in some cases name only upgrades for older devices while Android is all or nothing.

Then I tell you what... You go get a new Captivate (Galaxy S) and open it up and install the latest version of Android through software update... Go ahead... I'll wait.

Just kidding, I'm not going to wait. The Captivate will never get 4.0, let alone 4.1 and 4.2. Yes, you can root and install ROMs, but understand you're in the minority. The ultra-vast majority of Captivate users will never see any of the improvements of ICS. So in this case, nothing...

Now, props to Google here. They've done a great job of breaking out the applications that ship on thier devices so that they're updatable through the Play Store and less dependent on the actual version of Android that's run. I believe a 2.3 device can be just as capable as a 4.1 device and that's admirable. Google identified a problem with software updates from manufacturers and is trying to alleviate it.

Still, there are improvements in newer versions that can't be updated by app updates alone.

If a single core cpu and 256mb of ram is an acceptable reason for a 3GS not having Siri, turn by turn navigation, tab sync, panoramas, and photo stream then it should also be an acceptable reason for a Droid 1 not to have Gingerbread or newer.

This is where, I think, the disconnect is between how iPhone users think and use their phones and how the power users on Android think about and use thier phones. I'm not going to accept your cutoff of Gingerbread. Eclair, Froyo and GB are all pretty similar in their hardware requirements. I'll put the cutoff at ICS. Go ahead and find me a single device released in the states in 2009 that was officially updated to ICS. I can show you an Apple phone that was released in 2009 and has the latest version of Apple's OS which includes, not only new features, but important things like security hole patches and bug fixes.

But look, I'm not just some blind Apple fanboy, regardless of what Oyeve may think. I think if you were buying a new smart device today, I think Google, with a Nexus device, is objectively the best choice. If you were to write a list of features between the two OS's on paper and co late them, Google wins. Totally.

But that's only half the story. Subjectively, the platforms offer different things that weigh more or less to each user. Consistent software support is important to someone like me. I dreaded that I bought a Toshiba 2032SP and couldn't upgrade to Windows Mobile 2003 and I just had to buy a Hitachi G1000 out of contract. I hated that I couldn't update my PPC-6600 to Windows Mobile 5. I hated that my Treo 700wx wasn't going to get WinMo 6. I was so sick and tired of dealing with ROM hacks and flashing to get my phone working right. That's why, when I consider an Android device, I only consider a Nexus. As far as I'm concerned, none of the other phones from Samsung, HTC, Motorola, Sony or LG even matter. Nexus or nothing for me.

If this were 2008, and I was just switching from Windows Mobile for the first time and the choices were the iPhone 5 or the Nexus 4, I think I'd pick the Nexus 4 without hesitation. But it's not. And it's taken Google too long to be competitive for me. Not only have I been using an iPhone for 4 years already and am invested in the ecosystem, but now my family is a part of that ecosystem. Am I supposed to switch to a Android device and then tell my mom to Skype me instead of using the easily integrated FaceTime? Am I supposed to tell my sister in law that now she has to download google talk, sign up for an account and message me that way instead of texting me through iMessage so that she doesn't use up her 200 SMS allotment?

I digress, and am quite off track here. Regardless, yes, software support is a very big "feature" for me and I don't want to have to spend any time bothering with tinkering or trying out custom ROMs. The iPhone 5 and iOS 6 is the first combination that I haven't jailbroken and that I'm not anxiously awaiting a jailbreak for. That's because of a combination of iOS including features that I used to jailbreak for and the hardware being significantly faster so as to nullify any extra time that a jailbreak hack might have saved me. So no, I don't consider iOS6 and the iPhone 5 to be a significant improvement over the iPhone 4 even though it's "running the same shit the other iPhones are running."

 

[Ichinisan]

The usual idiots took what I said the wrong way so they typed paragraphs of shit to misconstrue what I said. Their problem. IMO it's not much of an upgrade if its running the same shit the other iPhones are running. Until they make apps specifically iPhone 5 exclusive it's not a major upgrade. Right now my iPhone 5 runs as well as my iPhone 4. Only noticeable difference is the retarded half inch more screen. 3d maps is useless and there is no reason at all the the other iPhone don't have it. It is a selling point and nothing else. Pan aroma? It's pathetic at best. Sapphire lens cover? Puhlease. I don't hate my iPhone 5. It's just not much of an approvement over the 4. So bitch and whine all you want but this is my opinion.

I upgraded from iPhone 4 to iPhone 5. I also skipped the 4S.

...and you are completely full of shit. I couldn't bear to use my A4 devices any more. The performance of my iPhone 5 was like a night-and-day difference. Night and day.

There's simply no way you are being truthful. This is not a matter of opinion.

 

[Ichinisan]

LOLOL

You clearly don't remember the original iPhone.

True. No A2DP. No apps. No voice dialing. No cut/copy/paste.

Hard to even qualify as a smartphone until the 3rd version of iOS was released.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

How the iPhone captures and processes panoramas != the way Android captures and processes panoramas.


Then I tell you what... You go get a new Captivate (Galaxy S) and open it up and install the latest version of Android through software update... Go ahead... I'll wait.

Just kidding, I'm not going to wait. The Captivate will never get 4.0, let alone 4.1 and 4.2. Yes, you can root and install ROMs, but understand you're in the minority. The ultra-vast majority of Captivate users will never see any of the improvements of ICS. So in this case, nothing...

Now, props to Google here. They've done a great job of breaking out the applications that ship on thier devices so that they're updatable through the Play Store and less dependent on the actual version of Android that's run. I believe a 2.3 device can be just as capable as a 4.1 device and that's admirable. Google identified a problem with software updates from manufacturers and is trying to alleviate it.

Still, there are improvements in newer versions that can't be updated by app updates alone.


This is where, I think, the disconnect is between how iPhone users think and use their phones and how the power users on Android think about and use thier phones. I'm not going to accept your cutoff of Gingerbread. Eclair, Froyo and GB are all pretty similar in their hardware requirements. I'll put the cutoff at ICS. Go ahead and find me a single device released in the states in 2009 that was officially updated to ICS. I can show you an Apple phone that was released in 2009 and has the latest version of Apple's OS which includes, not only new features, but important things like security hole patches and bug fixes.

I'll find one of those devices right after you come up with an iPhone from 2010 that has a feature complete version of iOS, I can easily find an Android device that old running a full official version of Jellybean.

Gingerbread is clearly more demanding, as DLeRium said the original Droid doesn't have enough memory to run it which becomes very clear thanks to third party roms.

 

[bearxor]

I'll find one of those devices right after you come up with an iPhone from 2010 that has a feature complete version of iOS, I can easily find an Android device that old running a full official version of it.

Nexus S?

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Nexus S?

Correct, probably not the best example since it is the exception rather than the rule but it has been well updated up to this point.

 

[bearxor]

Correct, probably not the best example since it is the exception rather than the rule but it has been well updated up to this point.

Face unlock?