iPhone 5 Vs iPhone 4s Vs iPhone 4: What’s the difference??

On Wednesday the 12^th September 2012 the iPhone 5 was announced to much hype in an Apple Conference along with an updated iOS 6, new iPod touch and Nano range and you may be asking yourself, ‘what’s the difference?? So how does the iPhone 5 compare to the previous iPhone models?

Expectations

The iPhone 5 is likely to become the fastest selling smartphone in history, and after the underwhelming release of the iPhone 4s last year expectations were very high!

Many people expected the iPhone 5 to be released last year alongside the iPhone 4s and after that failed to happen, reports suggested a complete redesign for the new iPhone this year. The big question is did Apple deliver on those expectations?

If you ask me, the answer to that question is a big stinking NO!

Now maybe I’m being harsh, this is just my opinion (also shared by many of my friends in the ‘real world’), but my contract expired long ago and I’ve been waiting for a shiny brand spanking new iPhone to glisten in my pocket and every new iteration of the iPhone has simply been a ‘spec bump’ so I was hoping for much more! It was about time that Apple released a brand new feature that no other phone on the market has.

Comparison

So what’s the difference between the iPhone 5, iPhone 4s and iPhone 4? Let’s delve a little deeper:

Design & screen

Feature	iPhone 5	iPhone 4s	iPhone 4
Screen size	4 inches	3.5 inches	3.5 inches
Weight	112 grams	140 grams	137 grams
Screen Resolution	1136 x 640	960 x 640	960 x 640

 
As you can see, the iPhone 5 is lighter, has a longer screen (to fit more apps and play larger videos) and has a better quality resolution and if you believe the apple hype….this is ‘breath taking.’

…..but fortunately, after hearing this I wasn’t struggling to breathe! These kind of spec bumps were expected and if I’m honest, I have no problem with the quality of pictures, video’s and screen size with my iPhone 4!

Processor

The processor (that makes apps work faster and things load quicker) of the iPhone 5 has been upgraded to an Apple A6 chip. Previous models had A5 and A4 chips. Whilst I’m all up for things working quicker, and Apple claims the A6 chip makes the phone twice as fast as the iPhone 4s, I don’t have a problem with the speed of my iPhone 4…what’s next precognition?

Camera

Feature	iPhone 5	iPhone 4s	iPhone 4
Quality	8MP	8MP	5MP
Detection	Face detection	Face detection	–
Video Calling	Facetime over wifi or 3G	Facetime over Wifi	Facetime over Wifi

 
The biggest change here is the ability to FaceTime over your 3G network meaning that you can do this whenever you have a network signal which I really like. Other changes are that the camera can now detect more faces, and video recording has the ability to take photo stills.

Battery life

Feature	iPhone 5	iPhone 4s	iPhone 4
Talk time	8 hours	8 hours	7 hours
Browse time	8 hours	6 hours	6 hours
Standby time	225 hours	200 hours	300 hours

 
So the battery has much been improved which is very impressive considering the iPhone 5 is smaller, lighter and the components have all been reduced in size…oh and don’t believe the 300 hours of standby time for the iPhone 4; mine never lasted that long though when do we ever leave our phones idle for that long?

Other features

Body – The iPhone is now thinner and has a glass and aluminium body. It looks sexy…something we all come to expect from an Apple product.

Earphones – The earphones have been redesigned and renamed the ‘earpods.’ They’re meant to be much better and fit your ears better.

Panorama – The camera now has a built in feature that allows you to easily take a panoramic picture. A feature that I can already do with an independent app.

Maps – An all new map app to replace the Google maps one you already had. This is probably by far the biggest software change as the new app has a 3D map (only available for selected cities) that allows you to see and navigate around buildings in 3D and a spoken turn by turn based Sat nav.

Lightning connector – A new, smaller connector to charge and sync your iPhone. A necessary change to make the phone smaller means that any accessories you bought for a previous iPhone now won’t connect to the new one….unless you buy an adapter for £25! Cough, cough, Rip-off!

Conclusion

So the new iPhone 5 is thinner, lighter, sexier and overall has a better quality, but Apple seem to have concentrated on the technology rather than the software or innovative new features, and the iPhone doesn’t really have anything new that any other phone manufacturer doesn’t already have…something that used to set it apart from the rest. I find myself feeling a little disappointed….what do you think??