Production
The components and labor required to construct the most basic iPhone 5 are estimated to cost US$207, which is US$19 more than the cost of components for the corresponding iPhone 4S model. The LTE module in the iPhone 5 alone costs $34, $10 more than the cellular module in the iPhone 4S. Similarly, screens used in the iPhone 5 costs $44, which is $7 more than the screen of its predecessor.
Mashable noted that the profit margin of selling each device is "huge" as the iPhone 5 retails for US$649.
[18][19]
After the announcement of the device, a lack of supply was evident. This was due to a shortage of components such as the screen. Reports emerged, stating that
Sharp was unable to ship the screen before the debut of the iPhone 5, and other manufacturers reported that it was difficult to keep up with demand. As a result, the number of pre-orders rose due to the uncertainty of stock at retail stores, and the delivery dates for pre-orders were postponed to dates that were after the initial release date of the device.
[20]
Quality control inspectors strike
China Labor Watch, a
New York-based
NGO, reported that “three to four thousand”
Foxconn workers who work at the iPhone 5 production plant in
Zhengzhou stopped working on October 5, 2012.
[21] The strikes occurred after Apple implemented a stricter quality standard on their products, which include a 0.02 mm restriction on indentations inflicted during production, and imposed demands related to scratches on frames and back cover.
[21]The strikes were also attributed to the employer forcing employees to work on a public holiday. The report stated training was inadequate for quality demands expected and led to employees producing products that did not meet standards. During the strike, conflicts between quality control inspectors and employees resulted in brawls. China Labor Watch also claimed that concerns raised by inspectors were not addressed by factory management.
[21] Foxconn spokesmen admitted that a
micromanagement problem exists, but also said that there were only 300 to 400 workers absent and the conflicts did not influence production processes.
[22] In November 2012, Foxconn chairman,
Terry Gou, reported that the delay in production was due to undisclosed difficulties in assembly.
[23]
Features
Operating system and software
Main articles:
iOS and
iOS 6
The
iPhone 5 features
iOS, Apple's
mobile operating system.
[24] The
user interface of iOS is based on the concept of
direct manipulation, using
multi-touch gestures. Interface control elements consist of sliders, switches, and buttons.
[25] Interaction with the OS includes gestures such as
swipe,
tap,
pinch, and
reverse pinch, all of which have specific definitions within the context of the iOS operating system and its multi-touch interface. Internal
accelerometers are used by some applications to respond to shaking the device (one common result is the undo command) or rotating it vertically (one common result is switching from portrait to landscape mode).
[25]
The iPhone 5 is shipped with iOS 6, which was released on September 19, 2012.
[24] Many of the
iPhone 5's features that work specifically with the included iOS 6.0 operating system only worked in certain territories on release.
[26] Apple has said this is a rolling program, which will take longer to implement across more regions.
[27]
The
iPhone 5 can play music, movies, television shows, ebooks, audiobooks, and
podcasts and can sort its media library by songs, artists, albums, videos,
playlists,
genres, composers, podcasts, audiobooks, and
compilations. Options are always presented alphabetically, except in playlists, which retain their order from iTunes.
[29] Users can rotate their device horizontally to
landscape mode to access
Cover Flow. Like on iTunes, this feature shows the different album covers in a scroll-through photo library. Scrolling is achieved by swiping a finger across the screen. Alternatively, headset controls can be used to pause, play, skip, and repeat tracks. On the 5, the volume can be changed with the included Apple Earphones, and the Voice Control feature can be used to identify a track, play songs in a playlist or by a specific artist, or create a
Genius playlist.
[29]
Like the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 5 has
Siri,
[29] that allows the user to operate the iPhone by spoken commands. The software was improved in iOS 6 to include the ability to make restaurant reservations, launch apps, dictate Facebook or Twitter updates, retrieve movie reviews and detailed sports statistics.
[30]
On the
iPhone 5,
texting can be aided by the voice assistant, which converts speech to text.
[29] In addition to regular texting, messaging on the
iPhone 5 supports
iMessage, a specialized instant messaging program and service that allows unlimited texting to other Apple devices running iOS 5 or later. This supports the inclusion of content such as images and sound in text messages, integration with the device's voice-controlled software assistant, and read acknowledgements for sent messages. Input to the device comes from a keyboard displayed on the multi-touch screen or by voice-to text by speaking into the microphone. Entered text is supported by predictive and suggestion software; there is a multi-language spell-checker which recognises many regional accents of different languages.
[29]
iOS 6 features several new and/or updated apps, which includes
Apple Maps and
Passbook. Apple's built-in Maps app, which replaced the former Maps app powered by Google Maps, has been universally derided and lacks many features present in competing maps apps. It is also known to give inaccurate directions.
[31][32] It uses Apple’s new vector-based engine that eliminates
lag, making for smoother
zooming. New to Maps is
turn-by-turn navigation spoken directions, 3D views in some major cities and real-time traffic.
[30][33] iOS 6 is able to retrieve documents such as
boarding passes, admission
tickets,
coupons and
loyalty cards through its new Passbook app. An iOS device with Passbook can be scanned under a
reader to process a
mobile payment at locations that have compatible hardware. The app has context-aware features such as notifications for relevant coupons when in the immediate vicinity of a given store.
[30][34]
Facebook comes integrated through Apple’s native apps with iOS 6. Facebook features can be directly accessed from within native apps such as Calendar which can sync Facebook events, or use Facebook’s
like button from within the
Apple App Store.
[30]
New privacy settings are available to the user. In addition to location services, the following have been added in iOS 6: photos (already partially restricted in iOS 5), contacts (address book), calendars, reminders,
bluetooth sharing,
Twitter,
Facebook, and
Sina Weibo. iOS 6 also comes with a “Limit ad tracking” user control in the general settings menu to allow users the option to prevent
targeted advertising. Apple’s Advertising Identifier replaces the company’s existing
Unique Device Identification (UDID) standard.
Advertising networks not yet using Apple’s Advertising Identifier
device identifier standard would not be affected, although Apple will require the standard in the future.
[35]
Design
Apple emphasized the improved build quality of the iPhone 5 at its press event.
[10] The frame used in previous versions was redesigned to use an aluminum composite frame.
[36] The
iPhone 4and
iPhone 4S used stainless steel instead of aluminium due to Steve Jobs' preference for the metal which he thought, "looks beautiful when it wears".
[37]
All versions of the
iPhone 5 are 18% thinner, 20% lighter, and have 12% less overall volume than its predecessor, the
iPhone 4S. The phone's aluminum body is 0.30 in (7.6 mm) thick. Apple at the conference claims it is the thinnest smartphone in the world at 7.6 mm, though that claim has been disputed as the Oppo Finder is thinner and some other smartphones can be considered to be thinner, depending upon where thickness is measured. The Oppo Finder measures 6.65 mm at its thinnest point and 7.1 mm at its thickest point making it overall thinner than the iPhone.
[38][39][40]
Hardware
Apple's A6 chip is 22% smaller than the A5 and consumes less power.
The
iPhone 5 uses a
system on chip (SoC), called the
Apple A6.
[41][42][43] The SoC comprises a 1.3 GHz dual-core
processor, 1GB of
RAM and a tri-core PowerVR SGX543MP4 running at 266 MHz.
[44][45] The
iPhone 5's operating memory (
LPDDR2-1066
eDRAM) was doubled, from 512 MB to 1 GB. Storage capacities available are fixed at 16, 32 or 64
GB, the same as the 4S; plug-in
memory cards are not supported.
[46] The two color options are black (with black glass and slate-colored metal trim), and white (with white ceramic and silver-colored metal trim); again the same color options (though differently implemented) as its predecessor the 4S had.
[47] The iPhone 5 retains the 8 MP back camera on the iPhone 4S, but has improved low-light performance, and has a 40% faster photo capture
[48] than its predecessors, while having a purple hue when a strong source of light is present in the photograph.
[49] The front camera, which is accessible through the
FaceTime and camera app has a lower resolution, at 1.2 megapixels. The rechargeable
lithium-ion polymer battery with a charge capacity of 1440mAh
[6] is built in and cannot be replaced by the user; it is rated at ≤225 hours of standby time and ≤8 hours of talk time. There are three separate models of the phone available: one supporting CDMA and two GSM versions.
[50][51] This can have knock-on effects for which version of the device will actually work in which countries/regions.
[citation needed] The phone takes a
nano-SIM, smaller than the micro-SIM of the
iPhone 4 and
iPhone 4S.
[52]
Hardware benchmarking conducted using Geekbench and GLBenchmark validates several claims that Apple included on their website and mentioned at the unveiling of the device, these include two times faster and two times the graphics performance. In the Geekbench overall hardware assessment, the iPhone 5 received a score that was approximately 2.5 times higher than the iPhone 4S. The benchmark conducted using GLBenchmark for the iPhone 5 returned a score that was 2 times better than the iPhone 4S. The result was however inconsistent as a 3D graphics benchmark assessment using Passmark returned a score that was only approximately 1.45 times better than the iPhone 4S.
[53][54] Battery life assessments conducted by
AnandTech concluded that the battery life is shorter on the iPhone 5 than its predecessor when performing certain tasks, however when performing other tasks the iPhone 5 battery outlasts the iPhone 4S.
[55]
The display is 1,136 × 640 pixels with an
aspect ratio of almost exactly 16:9, (minus two extra rows of horizontal pixels). With a diagonal of 4" it has a
display size of 6.7
square inches, compared to 5.7 in
iPhone 4 and
4S.
[56] The pixel density remains the same as the 4S model, which is 326
pixels per inch. Now, the matrix icons appear as a column 4 of 6 icons, including those located at the bottom. This gives an extra row of icons on the desktop. In-cell touch sensor technology from Sharp allows the screen to be thinner, allowing for a thinner phone. The screen's color saturation is 44% greater than its predecessor.
[57]
There are three microphones — placed on the front, side and back — for
noise cancellation and video calls.
[58]
Peripherals
Apple Lightning connector
The
iPhone 5, as well as the
iPod Touch (5th generation),
iPod Nano (7th generation),
iPad (4th generation), and
iPad Mini feature a new
dock connector named
Lightning, which replaces the 30-pin Apple Dock connector introduced in 2003 by Apple on the
iPod (3rd generation). The Apple Lightning connector has eight pins and all signaling is digital. This new connector is smaller than the previous one, helping the
iPhone 5 to be slimmer than its predecessors.
[59] Apple Lightning cables have duplicate pins on two sides of each plug, so it can be inserted either way round. Various accessories will be available to convert the Apple Lightning connector to the older 30-pin Apple Dock connector or
USB,
[60] although not all old accessories will work, as not all signals are available, in particular video output and the iPod Out feature for BMW automobiles.
[61][62][63]
Earphones known as Apple EarPods are included with the iPhone 5 and other devices announced at the Apple media event on September 12, 2012. They superseded earphones that were included with previous generation iPhones and iPods.
[64] According to technology commentators, the redesign of the earphones is aimed to improve sound quality by allowing air to travel in and out more freely.
[65][66] Apple states that the redesign of their earphones allows it to "rival high-end headphones that cost hundreds of dollars more".
[65] Reviews by
Gizmodo and
TechRadarreported that although the redesigned earphones sounded better than its predecessor, reviewers felt that quality of sound produced is poor.
[67] TechRadar further opined that the EarPods is inferior to other earphones of a similar price.
[66]
LTE reception and usability
42 officially recognized bands exist for LTE, however rollouts are coalescing around the more-popular bands, based on what historically has been made available in specific regions. In Europe, bands available for LTE include, 2.6 GHz (the 3G-expansion band) and 800 MHz (cleared of analogue TV), with 1,800 MHz appearing in a few places including the UK. In Germany, the only carrier network supported is that of
T-Mobile with its 1,800 MHz band allocated to LTE.
[72][73] Some countries in Europe, including
Denmark,
Norway,
Sweden, and others—will not be able to offer LTE connectivity via the iPhone 5 to their customers on their current LTE networks, as they have already deployed LTE in the 2.6 GHz band, which the iPhone 5 does not support.
[74]
Unlike the iPhone 4S, which was the only "
world phone" produced by Apple, there are three versions of the iPhone 5, which differ by the frequency used. All three work on 2G
GSM/
GPRS and 3G
UMTS/
EDGE networks on both the 800 and 1900 MHz bands used in the Americas, and the 900 and 1800 MHz bands used elsewhere. The CDMA A1429 model works on
CDMA networks, such as that of Sprint and Verizon. Another version supports LTE only on the 1700/2100 MHz
AWS band, and the 700 MHz band recovered after the forced
conversion to digital television in the US (channels 52 to 56), currently the only network that supports the band is AT&T. GSM A1429 supports several other LTE bands available in other countries, such as LTE bands 1, 3, 5.
[75][51]
Reception
Critical reception
Comparison between the 30 pin port of the
iPhone 4S and lightning port of the iPhone 5
The
iPhone 5 received mainly positive reviews from commentators and reviewers. Tim Stevens from
Engadget praised the
iPhone 5 for its high resolution screen surpassing that of the
iPhone 4S, which he considered to be one of the best phone screens available on the market. Stevens was critical of the new connector, which is incompatible with devices and cables that use the superseded 30 pin connector, although the
LA Times reported that this was a change necessary to make the device smaller than its predecessor.
[59] Engadget agreed that Apple fulfilled most of the promises stated on its website, such as "better battery performance", "two times the graphics performance" and "two times faster."
[76] David Pogue of
The New York Times considered the 4-inch Retina display a "nice but not life-changing change", and praised the Lightning connector for its size, sturdiness, and reversibility, while noting its lack of support for older accessories, remarking that "Apple has a long history of killing off technologies, inconveniently and expensively, that the public had come to love".
[77] Technology columnist
Ed Baig of
USA Today was impressed that Apple had met the public's "lofty expectations" for the iPhone 5 in a competitive market.
[78] In a repair-ability review,
iFixit found the iPhone 5 easier to disassemble and repair than its predecessor.
[6][79]
Reviewers and commentators were critical of the new Maps app that replaced
Google Maps in iOS 6. It had been reported to contain errors such as misplacement of landmark tags, directing users to incorrect locations and poor satellite images.
[80][81][82] Nine days after Maps' release, Apple issued a statement apologizing for the frustration it had caused customers and recommending that they try alternate mapping services.
[83]
Gizmodo editor Diaz discussed the correspondence between Apple and a reader about purple flare in pictures taken on iPhone 5 camera. Apple's response to the issue was that it is normal and advised the customer to aim the camera away from bright light sources when taking photos.
[84] Tests conducted by
TechCrunch indicate that the problem existed on the iPhone 4S but was more distinct and pronounced on the iPhone 5.
[85] Consumer Reports found that the purple haze effect occurred on several other manufacturers' phones including the
Samsung Galaxy S III and
Motorola Droid Razr Maxx, and that it was not less pronounced on the iPhone 4S. The report concluded that digital cameras in general, including higher-end
SLRs, can all suffer from lens flare in which a purple-tinted effect was not uncommon.
[86]
There have been some
anecdotal claims that the coating on some of the devices chipping off, exposing the bright aluminium underneath. Apple executive's response to email correspondence from an affected customer summarized that it was normal for aluminum to scratch.
[87][88] The term "scuffgate", a reference to "
antennagate" which affected the iPhone 4, was applied by various sources such as
CNET,
Yahoo News, and
All Things Digital to describe the scuffing issue.
[89][90]
Some users have reported on the Internet that the white model leaks light behind the screen, though the issue is not unique to the iPhone 5, as it also affects other Apple devices.
[91]
Commercial reception
J.P. Morgan's chief economist, Michael Ferol said that "sales of
iPhone 5 could boost annualized US GDP growth by $3.2 billion, or $12.8 billion at an annual rate."
[92]
Techcrunch reported that the
iPhone 5 sold out twenty times faster than the 4 and 4S models. Apple said that they were "blown away by the customer response".
[93] Phil Schiller, Apple's vice-president of worldwide marketing, said that over two million
iPhone 5 orders had been received in the first 24 hours.
[94][95] AT&T said that the
iPhone 5 was the fastest-selling iPhone the company had ever offered, selling over five million units on launch weekend and exceeding the supply available.
[96][97][98] The release and sale of the iPhone 5 has also slowed down the growth of Android according to market share reports released by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.
[99]
Shortly after the announcement of the iPhone 5 and preceding the launch, Apple's stock price rose to a record $705.07,
[100] but within three months fell to $507.48.
[101] Apple reportedly lost $30 billion in revenue. According to the analysis of Eric Savitz, Apple's stock decline and resulting losses were not the result of any issue with the new Maps application, but disappointed investors. He points to initial hardware sales of only five million, compared to projections up to twice that, as the primary cause.
[102]
Since the release of the iPhone 5, discounts on previous generation iPhones have enabled Apple to maintain a market lead in the United States and Japan, but the iPhone continued to lag behind Android in the global market.
[103]
Timeline of models
