Misconceptions about the iPhone 5

[bonskovsky]

# 1 Biggest misconception

Faster Wi-Fi

I was drawn to this phone because I thought that if it could be faster simply internally.. I just thought that was cool. I mean, at first I didn't think you could make Wi-Fi faster. The Wi-Fi is at a set speed. But Apple said that it was something about the phone's recievers that make the phone actually process a better Wi-Fi connection.

It doesn't. It's just the same old Wi-Fi connection. Alot of people were pretty mad about that.

Diamond cut beveled edge

The way that Apple talks about it on their website, they refer to the phone as having a "Diamond cut beveled edge" .. now that I have the phone, I'm left thinking, where's the diamond cut? What, is it supposed to be like extra sharp? The edges of the iPhone 4S/4 felt more solid and was made of stainless steel.

Camera

Somehow, I felt like the camera was supposed to be, like, crazy good, but it just feels like a regular camera. The panorama is a nice touch though, is the front camera 1080p?

Speed

It doesn't really feel any faster than the iPhone I already had even though I know it is. I mean I still have to wait for apps to load.

But, I DID notice that there's a shorter boot time, which I like. I'm also surprised by the volume bump. It's definitely louder.

The way they talked about it, it just seemed like you could actually feel results. I do, but just not in the way that I thought I would.

What did you think about the iPhone 5 when you opened the box?

[marioman38]

Front camera is 720. Its not much faster real world than the 4S, but I imagine coming from a 3gs or 4 it is a major improvement.

[bonskovsky]

I'm coming from a 4. My mind was boggled with the iPhone 4S camera. But on the 4, I kept having apps crashing after iOS6, so I felt like I HAD to get the iPhone 5 for piece of mind's sake.

Turn by turn is elegant and overall the phone is elegant. It's not like a power demon like you'd think.

[Shadyriley]

The edge is cut with diamonds not made with diamond

[bonskovsky]

How do you cut something with a diamond in the first place?

I don't know, I just heard the word diamond and thought it would be shiny or something.

Didn't they also say something about having diamonds inside the camera?

[Raggsokk]

You'll notice this at any commercial for any product. They have one goal with their products; to make money. This is common knowledge, and you shouldn't be surprised and disappointed if the only research you've done is looking at commercials.

To answer your question, I'm disappointed in the rattling sound when you tap the back of the phone (near the camera), even though this was present in earlier models as well.

[bonskovsky]

That sound actually reassures me because you know you have a camera that can focus. That thing moves you know.

[S.L.]

Wikipedia is your friend in regards to "diamond" being used.

[phixionalninja]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

# 1 Biggest misconception

Faster Wi-Fi

I was drawn to this phone because I thought that if it could be faster simply internally.. I just thought that was cool. I mean, at first I didn't think you could make Wi-Fi faster. The Wi-Fi is at a set speed. But Apple said that it was something about the phone's recievers that make the phone actually process a better Wi-Fi connection.

It doesn't. It's just the same old Wi-Fi connection. Alot of people were pretty mad about that.

That depends entirely on your wireless setup. For me, in an apartment complex where I'm surrounded by 2.4GHz networks, the addition of 5GHz support has been fantastic.

[bonskovsky]

Really? What is it doing for you?

[MattZani]

I personally think you aren't that knowledgable in this area, and all your misconceptions are just you understanding Apple wrong.

[phixionalninja]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

Really? What is it doing for you?

There are some great articles out there outlining the differences between 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, but in a nutshell:

Many devices emit 2.4GHz signals, including wireless phone handsets, microwaves, baby monitors, etc. When you combine all of that signal noise with a ton of 2.4GHz wireless networks in an apartment complex, you have a ton of interference. 5GHz networks totally avoid the bulk of that interference, so in some situations 5GHz will perform significantly better than 2.4GHz.

If I'm in the same room as the router, all is well, both (I have a dual band router) perform the same. At the far end of the apartment, my 2.4GHz network can be slow, hiccup, or completely drop on my phone. I have no such problems using the 5GHz connection.

[AppleFanatic10]

I came from a iPhone 4 so of course I was blown away by the iPhone 5. It's so much faster than my iPhone 4 and the camera is 1000x better. Not sure about wifi but I did notice that its a lot slower since I have LTE now.

[corvus32]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

How do you cut something with a diamond in the first place?

I don't know, I just heard the word diamond and thought it would be shiny or something.

Didn't they also say something about having diamonds inside the camera?

How old are you?

[phixionalninja]

Originally Posted by AppleFanatic10

I came from a iPhone 4 so of course I was blown away by the iPhone 5. It's so much faster than my iPhone 4 and the camera is 1000x better. Not sure about wifi but I did notice that its a lot slower since I have LTE now.

Yeah... I was really surprised that the OP said he didn't feel the speed boost, coming from an iP4. I made the same jump, and I absolutely feel the speed difference, especially in the UI responsiveness.

[adam044]

Okay then...

[ValerieDurden]

Originally Posted by phixionalninja

Yeah... I was really surprised that the OP said he didn't feel the speed boost, coming from an iP4. I made the same jump, and I absolutely feel the speed difference, especially in the UI responsiveness.

The 5 is tons faster than my 4, tons faster than the 4's I have used by quite a large margin as well.

[batting1000]

The diamond chamfered edge is not the antenna band. It's between the screen bezel and antenna band. It's the shiny edge not the side. You can't really miss it.

[bonskovsky]

I never thought about that before. But I see it now. That part has a bit of shadow but its not exactly shiny. :/

From Apple.com

"Sapphire Crystal

Although the surface of the iSight camera is as clear as glass, it’s not made of glass. It’s actually sapphire crystal, whose hardness is second only to diamond on the scale of transparent materials. That means the surface of the lens is far less likely to scratch."

If you're going to mention that the camera is made of Crystal, I want to see results, I want to see some shine. I don't mind a purple glare, if I know it's because of the crystals. The less likely to scratch part is good news to my ears, the iPhone 4 had a big ugly scratch right down the middle of the lens. Not with this phone!

[batting1000]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

I never thought about that before. But I see it now. That part has a bit of shadow but its not exactly shiny. :/

From Apple.com

"Sapphire Crystal

Although the surface of the iSight camera is as clear as glass, it’s not made of glass. It’s actually sapphire crystal, whose hardness is second only to diamond on the scale of transparent materials. That means the surface of the lens is far less likely to scratch."

If you're going to mention that the camera is made of Crystal, I want to see results, I want to see some shine. I don't mind a purple glare, if I know it's because of the crystals. The less likely to scratch part is good news to my ears, the iPhone 4 had a big ugly scratch right down the middle of the lens. Not with this phone!

The chamfered edge is dark colored on the black model too..

I'm not sure how you'd actually prove it's a sapphire crystal lens cover but I don't think Apple would like about that, or any of their design processes or materials for that matter.

[bonskovsky]

Another misconception is, they said that they fused the touchscreen and the display, so it's like you're actually touching the content.

I don't feel the results from that statement either. It feels like a regular iPhone.

I don't really notice an actual speed bump or graphics intensive improvement, or even a display improvement. There was an app in the App Store that said it could only work on the iPhone 5. Does anyone remember what that one was? I wanted to see this phone process something amazing.

[F123D]

Apples marketing is second to none. People eat it up.

[PNutts]

Another misconception is FaceTime. When I watched the demo I thought my mom would be in the iPhone. iPhone 5 is terrible because it didn't meet my curiously uninformed expectations.

[batting1000]

Originally Posted by bonskovsky

Another misconception is, they said that they fused the touchscreen and the display, so it's like you're actually touching the content.

I don't feel the results from that statement either. It feels like a regular iPhone.

I don't really notice an actual speed bump or graphics intensive improvement, or even a display improvement. There was an app in the App Store that said it could only work on the iPhone 5. Does anyone remember what that one was? I wanted to see this phone process something amazing.

Yes, they did do that and it was proven by iFixit and proven by the fact that the device itself is thinner. You're not really supposed to notice a difference honestly. iOS is already smooth and fast. Not sure what you're expecting here.

And yes, the iPhone 5 is faster than all previous models. Of course you may not notice it with every day use, but compare it side by side with all other iPhones and you'll notice a difference. Like I said, iOS is already smooth and fast in itself. The A6 processor only helps.I don't think there are any iPhone 5 only apps. Most apps are "optimized" for it, in that they fit the display, but that's it. Graphics-wise, you might have to put it side by side with previous models for that.

You seem to be really picky here. What are you expecting the phone to do?

[bonskovsky]

I remember trying to download an app that said that it would *not* work on a iPhone 4. They said it could only run on a iPhone 5. This was a game.

I noticed that Google Earth runs like water. I was impressed by that. It renders everything instantly, no hiccups. With the iPhone five screen, it's like heaven. Vs the iPhone 4 where it load then zoomed load then zoomed load then zoomed.

iOS itself is not as fast as it gets. It could be faster. I should not be seeing blank screens while waiting for the phone or weather app to load. This was an egregious problem on the iPhone 4. You had to sit and wait for the weather app to load.