Apple has the reputation of keeping its new product releases under wraps until the very last moment, but the announcement of the iPhone 5 last Wednesday seemed to surprise no one. On Sept. 12, tech writers flocked to San Fransisco to witness the unveiling of the next iPhone: iPhone 5.
“It is thinner. It is sleeker. It has a better screen,” these writers will probably say. All of these statements may be true, but what makes the new iPhone the iPhone to have?
On Sept. 12, Apple released the new iPhone 5. Photo illustration of a white iPhone 4S. (CU Independent/Amy Leder)
The most important and the most exciting update to the iPhone 5 is the addition of 4G LTE technology, which allows users to download at speeds up to 21Mbps, depending on your carrier. Writers and consumers alike were outraged when the iPhone 4S passed on adapting to 4G LTE, so with this added technology Apple has finally brought itself into the present, rather than setting the future standard. With the addition of this new technology, the iPhone 5 can now compete with Android and the lineup of phones made by Samsung, Motorola and HTC that use this high-speed technology.
Perhaps the second most noticeable update to the newest iteration of the iPhone is the transition Apple is making from their now standard 30-pin connector (found on all iPods, iPads and other iPhones) to the new “lightning” plug. Aside from being 80 percent smaller, the initial cons seem to outweigh the pros. Apple usually likes to tout strong improvements in performance but failed to mention any that come with the lightning plug in their announcement. Although this new cable/connector shares a similar naming scheme as Apple’s Thunderbolt connectors, names seem to be the only thing that these connectors have in common. Additionally, all previous iPhone accessories will be rendered useless by this new plug, unless of course, you have an adapter, which is already back-ordered through October.
With each new iPhone model comes a new screen for people to rave about. The screen found in this version of the smart phone is larger (4”), but the size increase is nothing to write home about. Many other phones have been using this large screen size for almost two years, but it is the first iPhone to receive an improvement in screen size. The only publicized benefit of the screen seems to be the additional row of application icons you can have on your home screen, news which seems to be surprisingly underwhelming.
Despite all of these upgrades, Apple could be in a bit of legal trouble. HTC has filed a patent lawsuit with Apple about how their devices transmit data over 4G LTE networks. Following Apple’s recent legal victory over Samsung, the technology giant could possibly be in a bind. Should HTC win the case, import bans will be imposed on both iPads and the new iPhone.
Apple has finally impressed the hardcore tech crowd that it has always seemed to miss. With the addition of 4G LTE network technology, Apple’s new iPhone hopes to attract a wider market than it had before. For the first time since the iPhone 3G, Apple has really made great strides in making a completely different and new smart phone. Be prepared when iPhone 5 hits store shelves on September 21.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Patrick Fort at Patrick.fort@colorado.edu.
