Apple iPhone 5 Review: CPU, GPU, Battery, Wi-Fi, And Display Testing

Apple iPhone 5: Thin, Light, And Handle With Care

There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Apple hitting you up for another several hundred dollars to upgrade your cell phone. It's an event we've all come to expect, and it's always accompanied by speculation before and analysis after the company lifts its kimono.

The iPhone's technological progression has been fairly evolutionary. Over the past three years, the device hasn't really changed dramatically. Perhaps that makes the iPhone 5 more interesting than models past.

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ComparisonSize (H x W x D)Weight
Apple iPhone 4S115.2 mm x 58.66 mm x 9.3 mm140 g
Apple iPhone 5123.8 mm x 58.6 mm x 7.6 mm112 g
Samsung Galaxy S3136.6 mm x 70.6 mm x 8.6 mm133 g
HTC One X134.4 mm x 69.9 mm x 8.9 mm130 g

It is different inside and out. Perhaps that's just the nature of the smartphone business. We expect our phones to get smaller, thinner, and lighter. We haven't seen an iPhone do those things since the iPhone 4. Even then, though, Apple didn't make any dramatic changes.

The iPhone 5, on the other hand, actually looks like a different product. It’s still unmistakably an iPhone. But while the power and volume buttons, along with the vibrate toggle, are in their familiar locations, the iPhone 5 is taller than the iPhone 4S, along with thinner and lighter. The change in dimensions was made to accommodate a larger 4" LCD screen, up from 3.5". As a result, this is Apple's first phone with a native 16:9 aspect ratio. Its 1136x640 resolution is higher than the previous generation's 960x640.

What you really feel when you pick the iPhone 5 up, however, is the device's lighter weight. At only 112 g, Apple shaved off 20% of the iPhone 4S's bulk. In and of itself, that's not really a reason to buy a new phone, of course, but it's a significant achievement nevertheless.

The iPhone 4S sandwiches its internals between two aluminosilicate glass panels. The iPhone 5 achieves its thinner and lighter specifications, at least in part, through the use of an aluminum body.

In the days following the iPhone 5's retail introduction, though, many customers complained about how easy it is to chip the aluminum chassis' paint. According to Apple’s senior vice president of marketing, Phil Schiller, “Any aluminum product may scratch or chip with use, exposing its natural silver color. That is normal.” Truly, only Apple would have the stones to try calling its chipping paint normal wear. Proving how much more fragile the iPhone 5's body really is, our friends at iFixit even did a video where a two-year-old helped scrape quite a bit of paint from the device's back panel.

Source: DesignMind

A few years ago, Steve Jobs remarked that “I think stainless steel looks beautiful when it wears.” Presumably, he was referring to patina, the tell-tale sign of use or oxidation that accumulates on certain metals. Silverware, for example, starts out really shiny, but takes on a warm, muted appearance over time. If you’re shopping for antiques, this is something that actually valued. If you still own a first-generation iPhone, it probably looks something like the picture above. The hard-anodized surface may have worn off, but fine surface scratches create a patina finish.

It takes years for this to happen, though, requiring repeated daily use. If you replace your phone every time you're eligible for an upgrade, you'll never see it. So, while Apple’s decision to paint its aluminum body is theoretically sound, we're concerned about how easily the iPhone 5 is scratched. Obviously, the solution is going to be to buy a case, though taking that step wasn't nearly as necessary before as it is now.

  • mayankleoboy1
    Great GPU performance. Apple/PowerVR consistently beat the competition in this.
    Reply
  • g-unit1111
    Why can't everyone - Apple included - agree on a standardized power adapter like mini USB?? It would make not only our lives easier but the manufacturers who make these accessories able to have one device and on cord that works with everything.
    Reply
  • mayankleoboy1
    The LCD tests puzzle me a little. Most other reviews said that the SGS3 has a poorer display and the iphone5 has a better display , with much better contrast ratio and sRGB compliance.

    Maybe i am reading it wrong ?
    Reply
  • reprotected
    There needs to be more explanation in the quality of the screens. We all know Galaxy SIII covers a larger colour gamut, but does it beat the iPhone 5 in terms of accuracy is one big thing we want to know based on your eyes, not numbers and graphs.
    Reply
  • kensingtron
    Great article ^_^

    Second to last paragraph:
    "For example, Samsung's Galaxy S III has been on the market for a while, and its LCD is a market leader"

    LCD = AMOLED
    Reply
  • acku
    kensingtronGreat article ^_^Second to last paragraph:"For example, Samsung's Galaxy S III has been on the market for a while, and its LCD is a market leader"LCD = AMOLED
    My apologies. On page 6 we mentioned that S3 uses AMOLED. I'll make a correction. Thanks for the shout out.
    Reply
  • dragonsqrrl
    Excellent article as usual, very comprehensive. Hopefully this helps to dispel some of the performance myths about the iPhone that seem to circulate here on Tom's.
    Reply
  • acku
    mayankleoboy1The LCD tests puzzle me a little. Most other reviews said that the SGS3 has a poorer display and the iphone5 has a better display , with much better contrast ratio and sRGB compliance.Maybe i am reading it wrong ?
    http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57524291-37/color-me-prettier-galaxy-s3-display-outdoes-iphone-5s/ Check that one out. :)

    I'd still like to add an accuracy test at some point. I need to think about how to approach that problem. The way people normally talk about color accuracy (besides deltae and gamma) are sometimes too abstract with color terms that professionals use. I'd like to find a way to present the information in a more intuitive manner.
    Reply
  • ojas
    g-unit1111Why can't everyone - Apple included - agree on a standardized power adapter like mini USB?? It would make not only our lives easier but the manufacturers who make these accessories able to have one device and on cord that works with everything.Agreed...though don't most smartphones today use the microUSB B-type connector?
    Reply
  • dare2blink
    Seems apple has not inovated for a couple of years now. I´m shocked that the most inovative and arguably the best phone of the year is not even mentioned in this article. Nokia Lumia 920 is definitely the most inovative na the most complete phone reseased so far. It has much better build quality, a better screen and camera than the iphone 5, not to mention a much more inovative OS.
    Reply