Upcoming Phones

Apple has just announced the new iPhone 5. Unlike last years launched where all the rumors were wrong, this time around, all the rumors were dead on:

4-inch, 640 x 1136 display resolution - The new iPhone has a larger 4-inch display which migrates to the 16:9 aspect ration, the same as aspect ration as HD (720 x 1280) and Full HD (1080 x 1920), which makes the new iPhone display more optimized for playing video content. 

The display is a sharp 326 ppi, altough Apple did not focus on this too much as it is not as sharp as the 4.3-inch 720p (720 x 1280) display with a 354 ppi on the Sony Xperia S. But I doubt anyone can tell which of the two is sharper. 

Apple has confirmed that App will have to be updated to run on the new display, and we are pretty confident that App Developers will do so shortly. This result in all older versions of the iPhone as obsolete. 

7.6 mm thin and 112 grams in weight - Following current trends the new iPhone is thinner, at 7.6 mm, which is pretty impressive being 0.2 mm thinner than the HTC One S. While the iPhone 5 is a lot thinner than the 9.3 mm iPhone 4S, I do not think users will notice that much.

The really welcome change is in the weight now at just 112 grams. The older iPhone 4 and 4S were heavy for their size at 140 grams. The iPhone 5 now has a larger display at a much lighter weight. 

The appearance is similar to the iPhone 4/4S, but the phone is now taller with an aluminum back instead of glass. 

HSPDA+ 21.1 Mbps, DC-HSDPA and LTE.  One area where the iPhone 4S disappointed was the 14.4 Mbps radio. This was fine is the US where no US carriers were running faster than HSDPA 14.4 and LTE. Philippine carriers do use HSDPA+ 21.1 towers.

LTE has also finally come to the iPhone. No surprises, but no disappointments either.

1 GB of RAM and new A6 chip. The 1 GB of RAM is double of the 512 MB of the iPhone 4/4S. Not too many details on the new processor but is has migrated to the 28 nm or 32 nm process as expected, which should result in improved battery life. Apple specifications place the battery life at the same level as the iPhone 4S. The processor is supposed to be twice as fast as that one found on the iPhone 4S.

Improved faster 8MP camera - The new 8 MP camera has a faster f/2.4 lens and also focuses and takes shots faster. Best to wait for the comparisons, but it does now add new features like Panorama mode.        

Well, that is what I know of the new hardware for now. Nothing earth shattering but nothing disappointing. Whatever version of iPhone you current own, the iPhone 5 is a worthwhile upgrade. Once Apps are ported over to the iPhone 5, they probably wont be optimized for the older 2:3 displays on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4/4S.

Android owners will see nothing innovative in the Apple iPhone 5. Like I said, it is what the 4S should have been,