The iPhone 5 will be hitting stores on Friday 21 September at 8:00am. With lines already forming outside flagship Apple Stores, it is shaping up to be the most popular smartphone to date. Here is everything you need to know.
Has Apple changed the design?
Apple has increased the display of the iPhone 5 to 4ins, increasing the length of the chassis by 8mm (it's 123.8mm long). This makes the display 0.5ins larger than the screen on the iPhone 4S and allows for an extra row of icons to be displayed on the home screen.
Despite having a bigger display, the iPhone 5 is thinner and lighter (7.6mm & 112g) compared to the iPhone 4S (9.3mm & 140g).
The resolution of the Retina Display on the iPhone 5 has been boosted to 1136 x 640. This is an increase from 960 x 640 on the 4S, but the pixel density remains the same at 326ppi.
In terms of the materials used, the iPhone 5 has a glass front and aluminium back as opposed to the 4S, which featured glass on both sides. Meanwhile, the headphone socket has now been moved to the bottom of the phone.
Apple has also introduced a nano-SIM, which may be problematic for users who want to use their existing SIM or micro-SIM in the device. We don't recommend trimming your SIM cards. It's best to get a nano-SIM from your operator and for them to activate it with your number. This could lead to a delay in using the device.
What other hardware changes have been made?
The iPhone 5 is powered by a dual-core A6 chip, which Apple claims is 2x faster than the A5 processor used in the iPhone 4S.
Apple has also built in 4G connectivity, allowing users to access internet speeds of up to 100 Mbps on the move. 4G will be available from EE in the UK and uses the 1800 MHz spectrum.
The iPhone 5 also sports an update to the camera. The 8-megapixel iSight camera improves the quality of shots in low-light and allows for faster picture taking. The new camera allows users to take still shots whilst taking a 1080p HD video and includes a panorama feature. To boost the quality of FaceTime and Skype video-chats over Wi-Fi and cellular connections, Apple has added a 720p front-facing camera.
It's not all positive though. Apple has had some backlash over the introduction of a smaller charging connector known as the "Lightning" adaptor. This is 80 per cent smaller than the previous connection and means any existing cords, speakers, car adapters and peripherals you have won't work with the new iPhone out-of-the-box. Apple will be offering an adapter so your existing accessories won't be rendered useless.
