iPhone 5 + iOS 6 Catch-All

Alright, here we go. I am most excited about the OS update since I won't be getting the new phone this year. However, I am wondering how they will deal with apps and games now that there is a good chance it will be 16:9.

I'm really keeping an eye on battery life and LTE with the new hardware to see if it's worth it. I'm not feeling the taller screen, and the new connector is a big ol' fail for me.

I may stay a generation behind for the foreseeable future. The big deal for me is iOS6 if all the features of the new os are supported for now.

If the 4S drops to $99 on contract, I can sell my iPhone 4 and get two 4S's and still come out ahead.

I'm well overdue an upgrade anyway, so I will replace my 4 with a 5. I'm actually more interested in seeing if they do anything good with the Nano. I have an 8gb that I bought second hand for a song, and found what, in hindsight, was a dodgy listing for a strap on eBay (great deal, great strap, dodgy price!) and really think that Bluetooth and compatibility with iPhone functions would make the Nano a truly excellent product. The Pebble would be better with an Android phone, and that thing Sony came with just sucks.

I'm going 4 to 5 unless there's a compelling reason not to. I'm excited about a bigger screen, though I'm not as excited that it's going to grow taller but not wider. We'll see.

The announcement that it's just getting taller makes me no longer interested in it. I want a big screen. Probably leaning toward a Galaxy S3 now.

I'm more interested in iOS6 and not necessarily the phone, although work will probably upgrade our office as the contracts run out. Really hoping that any software changes they're bringing to the new iPod nanos are deployed to existing models.

Also, iTunes seems to be getting some love. Especially a quick way to pick the next song in a playlist, which I think Winamp has had for ages. Hoping they're improving the Windows performance too.

Ok, it seems all the leaks/rumors were spot on: Taller screen. Slightly thinner/lighter. Same battery life. Same camera even. And that damn smaller connector. Nothing earth-shattering whatsoever.

Seemingly no difference in iOS features also. I really think I'm going to go with two 4S's (one for the wife who still has a dumb phone). I'll wait for a couple of reviews though I guess.

I have a 4S and I have no desire to switch early. The only thing I would really want is the LTE internet but thats all about coverage anyway.

Useful article about iPhone 5 features.

I'm finally suffering iPhone fatigue.. At this point I'd much rather have a Nokia 920... but I bet $$ Verizon won't carry it.

I've got the iPhone fatigue as well. I'm not willing to spend money on the 5 but I said the same thing about the 4s and then my work bought it for me and it looks like that is going to happen again. Zero excitement here.

I'm pretty impressed with how much thinner and lighter it is. That it's taller but not wider is reasonable: it's now 16:9, and you can still reach everything with one thumb. Nothing about the 5 is really revolutionary, but all evolutionary in logical and satisfying ways.

The upshot is that I don't have any real envy—assuaged by two other facts: that my 3GS-owning wife is due for an upgrade and has been waiting for the 5; and that half the improvements come with the software, and my still-great 4 will be a new toy again when iOS 6 comes (unless the new Maps app doesn't include public transit directions, in which case it will be a significantly less useful toy).

And the copy for the iPhone 5 is just ridiculous:

Diamond-Cut Beveled Edge

A crystalline diamond is used to cut the chamfers of iPhone 5.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/29vmE.gif)

I am really impressed by the engineering that has gone into it, but it's kind of sad they didn't have "one more thing" for hardware or software.

Also, didn't Tim Cook say they were doubling down on secrecy? How's that working out? I think they have more leaks every time.

General Crespin wrote:

I am really impressed by the engineering that has gone into it, but it's kind of sad they didn't have "one more thing" for hardware or software.

Also, didn't Tim Cook say they were doubling down on secrecy? How's that working out? I think they have more leaks every time.

Leaks or not, it's really remarkable how predictable it is: the big improvements are the larger screen and LTE, and they both seem entirely obvious. It's a bit like the new iPad all over again, where people expected an iPad 2 with a high-DPI display, and that's exactly what they got. Maybe there's just not a lot of room left for innovation in the iPhone's form factor? The real story in terms of innovation is in the OS, but a lot of that has already been revealed -- I have to wonder if people would be more excited by the new phone if they were hearing about iOS 6 for the first time today, too.

Going for a screen that's taller but no wider is completely unsurprising: while Android added resolution independence very early on, iOS has been using the one screen size in phones for so long now that I think it would be very hard for Apple to add true resolution independence at this point. A taller screen, then, is a bit of a clever hack -- most apps use a vertical orientation, so hopefully this means that existing apps will render just fine at the new screen size, but with a bit more of their UI visible before you need to scroll. I'm not sure how that'll pan out when you rotate the device to landscape, though.

pneuman - Letterboxes.

I'm in for LTE alone. Bigger is better though I'm not crazy about only getting bigger in one dimension. I'm using a 4 now, contract is up, take me to the 4G LTE promised land!

That said, today was completely unexciting.

pneuman wrote:

stuff

Maybe there's just not a lot of room left for innovation in the iPhone's form factor? The real story in terms of innovation is in the OS, but a lot of that has already been revealed -- I have to wonder if people would be more excited by the new phone if they were hearing about iOS 6 for the first time today, too.

Going for a screen that's taller but no wider is completely unsurprising: while Android added resolution independence very early on, iOS has been using the one screen size in phones for so long now that I think it would be very hard for Apple to add true resolution independence at this point. A taller screen, then, is a bit of a clever hack -- most apps use a vertical orientation, so hopefully this means that existing apps will render just fine at the new screen size, but with a bit more of their UI visible before you need to scroll. I'm not sure how that'll pan out when you rotate the device to landscape, though.

Tim Cook's Apple: A Perfectly Ordinary Company.

I'm curious, what form factor do you think would allow more innovation for an iPhone?

Perhaps I'm simply being narrow minded in thinking of the form factor being, well, a rectangle? Like the vast majority of other phones? Personally, while I am interested in what a smartphone looks like, I'm vastly more intrigued by the internals and what the OS does, and allows me to do. Of the two smartphones I've bought so far, I bought both based on their internals and their OS, the form factor was tertiary.

If I misunderstand you or went in the wrong direction, forgive me.

I'm far more intrigued these days by the Nokia 920.. wireless charging.. NFC.. possibly even better screen than the iPhone 5.. As well as IMO the snappiest and most responsive mobile OS going (this coming from Microsoft). While the sheer breadth and depth of apps on the iOS platform is unparalleled I don't really use them all that much... I love the games for sure.. but the productivity apps are for the most part only used every now and then.

The Apple ecosystem is still a huge draw for me though.. I've got 18,000+ songs in Itunes Match that follow me from iOS to iOS device.. Having the Zune pass softens that blow somewhat on the Windows Phone side..but I have lots of classic and hard to find songs that I'd have to transfer over to my Zune library and manually sync to my device (at least I can do a wifi sync)

I wish I could know before the 21st if Verizon intends to bring the 920 in Nov.. but it probably won't as iOS users consume far more bandwidth than non-iOS users and with LTE Verizon is finally kicking off a whole slew of unlimited data guys for good...

Like guru it's the Apple eco system that is keeps me coming back. My contract is up next year and I am pretty certain that I will get another iPhone simply because its where all my games and apps are.

I think the smartphone market in general is plateauing not just the iPhone. It's hard to innovate when pretty much everything has been done. Smart phones are now just like PC's. They will become faster and more powerful.

My girlfriend went from being sold sight unseen on the iPhone 5 to waiting for reviews of the Lumia 920. She's not a huge phone game person (plus she agrees with me that iOS from a usability standpoint is actually not very good) and was disappointed to see that the iPhone 5 is nothing more than a spec bump, largely with features others have had for years already. She does take a ton of photos and wanted the best camera and it looks like Nokia's going to eat Apple's lunch on that. Though they stupidly screwed up the 920's launch with that fake OIS demo, real hands-on seems to show the 920's camera solidly trouncing anyone else out there and it looks like the camera's unchanged in the iPhone 5. I've read a surprising amount of that sentiment elsewhere too. If I finally switch off the company's BlackBerry this fall, it's definitely going to be either to a Galaxy S3 or a Lumia 920.

If Microsoft wants to truly take a bite out of iOS though, they need a really good media service like iTunes Match and they need to do whatever it takes to get app developers churning them out. I think Windows 8 and the ability to easily port from phone to desktop could be a big deal in that regard but throwing some money at popular developers wouldn't hurt either. Like others have said I think every phone maker including Apple is hitting a technological wall and pretty soon, it's going to be about specs and price which takes the sheen off the fashion trend and may force Apple to start sacrificing their precious high margins. This could force them to play in the same pool as everyone else and I think that will ultimately be a good thing for everyone, whether you prefer iOS or not.

As a recent Win Phone 7 user, the apps aren't there (my phone broke about 2 months ago). With a move to the Win Phone 8, I wouldn't touch the ecosystem again for another year, at least. Being an early adopter has never been worth it for me, iOS-wise, Android-wise, or WinPhone7-wise.

For me, it's about finding something that can do what I would like it to, and going with it. The only reason I'm considering an iPhone as my next device is the established application support, and I know it's high on any mobile developer's list of OS' to support. Android still gets back-burnered regularly, and WinPhone7/8 still has much to prove.

tldr: Buying devices on promise has just burned me too many times.

The iPhone 5 has a new camera and a new screen as well, though for some reason the Apple store website is a bit vague on this and leaves out a lot of details. I'd watch the presentation and just skip ahead to the part about the iPhone hardware. That said, I have no idea how the iPhone 5 camera compares to the one in the Nokia.

As a recent Win Phone 7 user, the apps aren't there

Besides games.. which is no contest.. Win Mo has barely any compared to iOS.. I find that most of my social media apps, navigation style apps, shopping/entertainment apps are all there.

complexmath wrote:

The iPhone 5 has a new camera and a new screen as well, though for some reason the Apple store website is a bit vague on this and leaves out a lot of details. I'd watch the presentation and just skip ahead to the part about the iPhone hardware. That said, I have no idea how the iPhone 5 camera compares to the one in the Nokia.

As I understand it, it's different camera hardware but the same specifications and the hardware's largely different so they could fit it in the smaller body. Comparisons will tell ultimately though if it can take better images than the 920. That's what my girlfriend's waiting on before making her decision. I do believe apps will start coming to Windows Phone once Windows 8 gets on a few million machines but I can certainly understand anyone not wanting to adopt something based on what might happen.

Has Apple released a product in the last 4 years where the overall geek blogosphere reaction WASN'T "I'm not impressed"? It seems predictable as the yearly September iPhone announcement.

I'm quite happy with my iPhone, apps, and iOS ecosystem, and have no real desire to switch at this point. I've still got a "4," so I am seriously thinking about the upgrade this time around. Two factors seem to be holding me back:

1) I just got an iPad (3) in March, and find I do much of my reading and other app usage on the larger device.

2) I'd love to ditch AT&T for a pre-pad Virgin Mobile iPhone, but they *just* got the 4S... one can only imagine when they might get the 5. The up-front pricing is intimidating, but the "unlimited" data/text plans for $35 are tempting as hell.

I'm a weak man, though, so I might just pull the trigger and re-up with AT&T. I used to dream of a 64GB option, but with the iPad, I don't think I'd need more than a 16 (maybe 32 at the utmost).

Has Apple released a product in the last 4 years where the overall geek blogosphere reaction WASN'T "I'm not impressed"? It seems predictable as the yearly September iPhone announcement.

meh... everyone raved about the latest iPad and rightfully so.. the screen is awesome.

TheGameguru wrote:
Has Apple released a product in the last 4 years where the overall geek blogosphere reaction WASN'T "I'm not impressed"? It seems predictable as the yearly September iPhone announcement.

meh... everyone raved about the latest iPad and rightfully so.. the screen is awesome.

NO! That's the kicker!

Even the new iPad elicited cries of "it's just the same thing with a better screen." You can't make this stuff up.

2) I'd love to ditch AT&T for a pre-pad Virgin Mobile iPhone, but they *just* got the 4S... one can only imagine when they might get the 5. The up-front pricing is intimidating, but the "unlimited" data/text plans for $35 are tempting as hell.

Just FYI I'm pretty sure the prepaid people are launching the phone alongside the big names. Virgin Mobile was listed as one of their 4G partners. I plan on getting a Cricket prepaid iPhone 5 at launch, personally.

Parallax Abstraction wrote:

As I understand it, it's different camera hardware but the same specifications and the hardware's largely different so they could fit it in the smaller body. Comparisons will tell ultimately though if it can take better images than the 920. That's what my girlfriend's waiting on before making her decision. I do believe apps will start coming to Windows Phone once Windows 8 gets on a few million machines but I can certainly understand anyone not wanting to adopt something based on what might happen.

It sounded like most of the new camera optimizations were through software which leaves me wondering if I'm going to get panoramic pictures with my 4S. Given Apple's history I'm not so confident but I'm keeping my fingers crossed as it did look pretty cool.

PyromanFO wrote:
2) I'd love to ditch AT&T for a pre-pad Virgin Mobile iPhone, but they *just* got the 4S... one can only imagine when they might get the 5. The up-front pricing is intimidating, but the "unlimited" data/text plans for $35 are tempting as hell.

Just FYI I'm pretty sure the prepaid people are launching the phone alongside the big names. Virgin Mobile was listed as one of their 4G partners. I plan on getting a Cricket prepaid iPhone 5 at launch, personally.

We have Cricket here in my area... what carrier do they piggy-back on? How's their coverage? How do their plans compare?

My only fear of going with Virgin Mobile is that my service and data speeds might suffer.

EvilDead wrote:

It sounded like most of the new camera optimizations were through software which leaves me wondering if I'm going to get panoramic pictures with my 4S. Given Apple's history I'm not so confident but I'm keeping my fingers crossed as it did look pretty cool.

Urine luck:

Apple has confirmed the feature is part of iOS 6 and will work just fine on my 4S, as well as the fifth-generation iPod touch.