iPhone 5 Full Comparative Review: Should You Buy it or Buy Something Else?

It has been close to a month now since the release of the iPhone 5. It has been one of the most anticipated smartphones of the year and has had one of the most leaked photos and images of how its build and look would be like. By the time it did get released, the result was extremely mixed and to many was rather anti-climactic as it was exactly what the leaks were revealing. But with all the hype and hoopla about the iPhone 5, it still managed to break its own records in terms of sales compared to that of the iPhone 4s. The question that people are asking now is if it is still worth trading in their old iPhone 4s for or should they simply sit this one through.

I believe that in order for one to actually answer that question, there should be a couple of things that one has to consider. Basically, what does the iPhone 5 offer that is different from the iPhone 4s and what is the competition like in terms of costs versus features.

The iPhone 5 has come with one very obvious difference in comparison to that of its predecessor the iPhone 4s - It is longer by about half an inch. To be more specific the iPhone 5 has a 4 inch screen size in comparison to the iPhone 4s' 3.5 inch screen. Design is another factor that has been changed but only in the minimal sense. Looking at the iPhone 5 vs the iPhone 4s very little in terms of general layout has been changed. Camera position is the one thing to be noted as in the iPhone 5 it has been centered on top of the earpiece. Color and build is also different. The iPhone 4s is solid black or white and is enclosed in a glass casing, the iPhone 5 is now two toned with an aluminum back casing and has a shiny edge giving it a classy feel and design to it, which many have compared to jewelry. The lighting port is another major change which charges a lot faster than the old proprietary pin port used in all other Apple mobile devices. Speakers have been improved and so has the number of microphones making sound much better and voice communication quite pleasantly clear.

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With all those physical aspects covered, it is also important to take note of what has changed internally. the iPhone 5 has made quite a lot of changes starting with their own designed A6chip. The A6 chip is a dual core chip that Apple has developed to match their hardware and has fully optimized it in a way that regardless of it having simply two cores can still give the Samsung Galaxy Exynos Quad Core chip a run for their money(however the margin is only quite small and actual user feedback has no noticeable difference in performance). Software has also been marketed as quite different though the iPhone 4s can enjoy the same benefits of the iPhone 5 as they are both capable of running the new IOS 6. This includes over 200 new features and one of the most notable ones are the wallet functionalities and the new camera features such as panorama and image capture during video recording. The other notable new feature with the iPhone 5 is LTE.

Now back to the question of whether or not one should replace their old iPhone 4s with the iPhone 5? that is something one would find a bit tricky especially if you are someone that simply just has to have it. If you are a full avid Apple fan and simply wants to just be on top of everything Apple I would most likely recommend that you go out there and grab one for yourself. However, taking into consideration that the iPhone 4s can still carry the same functionalities that the iPhone 5 has to offer versus the somewhat minor upgrades that has been made, then it would be a much better and cheaper choice to stick with your iPhone 4s. In more ways than one you can now consider the iPhone 4s as Apple's middle range phone line as they are still intent of marketing it. They even brought back the iPhone 3Gs and is actively marketing this at an extremely low price but running on IOS 5.

There are also other things to consider before heading out to buy the iPhone 5. Out of the box, the complaints have been proving to be valid - From scratches out of the box, purple haze issues with the camera in certain angles of sunlight, poor IOS Maps, Application incompatibility with the 4inch screen, HD isn't really fully HD as the screen resolution is only 1136x640(though pixel density is at 326ppi), and touch responsiveness issues. All of these have to be taken into account and unfortunately Apple has no real solution for any of these. The iPhone 4s has proven to be of better build quality and this is because Apple has had better practice time with it. Will the issues be resolved? That is something Apple fans are expecting, but again the question being asked is when.

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Price is also something that is being openly debated by consumers. For the features that the iPhone 5 is offering is it worth the price tag? I can only vouch for this on a matter of personal preference. I have the HTC One X, The Samsung Galaxy Note, and with my hands on time with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and Samsung Galaxy S3 not to mention all the other manufacturer's flagship models such as the Nokia Lumia 920 - I would have to say unfortunately it is not worth spending that much for it. I say this because all these other smartphones are feature rich as it is, delivers what they offer quite well, and a lot of the things that the iPhone 5 is being marketed to be good at is already found in any single one of these models. Taking into account that yes, the iPhone 5 does have better bench mark scores with some of these devices does give it somewhat of an edge but the margins are quite minimal and taking into the end user perspective, that is when you pick up any of these phones and run it through like any regular consumer would, there is no noticeable difference in performance. Aesthetically many of these devices provide a breath of fresh air far from the design form that the iPhone is sticking with both physically and software-wise.

To sum everything up, the iPhone 5 does present a lot of good things to those that would choose to buy it, but with all the issues, and the marginal difference it shares with its older brother the iPhone 4s, the pricing has to be adjusted to make it worth the purchase otherwise best to buy something that is a lot less heavy on the wallet but still offers a far more richer experience as a whole than spending a ton of dough on something that I have to say is just recently catching up with the rest of the smartphone pack.

Till Next Time...

-Metz-