Reality Check: THIRTY big hardware improvements over 4s!

[matttye]

but....... They are improvements over the 4S, which is the whole point of this thread. It really doesn't matter what your opinion is regarding the improvements, they are still improvements over the 4S, which is the whole point of this thread .... oops did I repeat that

That's the thing, I don't think "thinner screen" is an improvement.. I don't see the benefit. In what way does it benefit users?

"In-cell touch" is marketing jargon to try and sell things that customers wouldn't care about if it didn't have a flashy name. Kinda like "Retina display." "High PPI display" doesn't have the same ring to it

 

[BaldiMac]

I'm criticising minor details that somebody has brought up as improvements.

Minor improvements are still improvements. It is a list of improvements. Despite your attempt to characterize a couple of them as "minor", the point remains the same.

A thinner screen is not an improvement for the consumer. I guarantee nobody would even know whether the screen was thinner or not.

That's just silly. All else being equal, if the average consumer had to choose between a thicker iPhone or a thinner iPhone, I'd bet most pick the thinner one.

Apple talks about its' "precise engineering" to wow people. They're good at selling, and people fell for the hype hook, line and sinker.

Now you are shifting the goalposts. The "wow" gets people to notice, the device gets people to buy.

Can't think of a single reversible accessory off the top of my head.

Maybe because the connector was just released.

Look, I'm not saying that a reversible dock connector is a bad thing, it's just not something I would even think twice about when comparing features between devices.

All else being equal, which is better? A reversible connector a non-reversible connector? The answer is obvious.

 

[matttye]

Minor improvements are still improvements. It is a list of improvements. Despite your attempt to characterize a couple of them as "minor", the point remains the same.



That's just silly. All else being equal, if the average consumer had to choose between a thicker iPhone or a thinner iPhone, I'd bet most pick the thinner one.



Now you are shifting the goalposts. The "wow" gets people to notice, the device gets people to buy.



Maybe because the connector was just released.



All else being equal, which is better? A reversible connector a non-reversible connector? The answer is obvious.

I think it's just silly to list such tiny minor things as improvements or advantages. People have been ripping Samsung for listing things like "tilt to zoom" as an advantage for buying the S3, yet Apple fans are listing "thinner screens" as advantages.

FYI: I think that a thinner iPhone IS an advantage (lighter, easier to pocket, etc), but the thickness of a screen wouldn't necessarily affect the thickness of a device. The screen retreats into the device, so if there's any wiggle room inside the device, the screen being slightly thicker wouldn't change the thickness of the device.

Anyway, I'm done discussing this trivial nonsense.

 

[BaldiMac]

I think it's just silly to list such tiny minor things as improvements or advantages. People have been ripping Samsung for listing things like "tilt to zoom" as an advantage for buying the S3, yet Apple fans are listing "thinner screens" as advantages.

Except we are talking about an article listing hardware improvements from the iPhone 4S to the iPhone 5. Should we pretend they don't exist because you feel they are minor?

And that's hardly the same category as a Samsung advertisement.

FYI: I think that a thinner iPhone IS an advantage (lighter, easier to pocket, etc), but the thickness of a screen wouldn't necessarily affect the thickness of a device. The screen retreats into the device, so if there's any wiggle room inside the device, the screen being slightly thicker wouldn't change the thickness of the device.

And Apple specifically attributed part of the thinness of the device to making the screen thinner. Even if part of the screen in recessed, a thicker screen would decrease the internal volume for the battery and other parts.

 

[txflyfish]

I think it's just silly to list such tiny minor things as improvements or advantages. People have been ripping Samsung for listing things like "tilt to zoom" as an advantage for buying the S3, yet Apple fans are listing "thinner screens" as advantages.

FYI: I think that a thinner iPhone IS an advantage (lighter, easier to pocket, etc), but the thickness of a screen wouldn't necessarily affect the thickness of a device. The screen retreats into the device, so if there's any wiggle room inside the device, the screen being slightly thicker wouldn't change the thickness of the device.

Anyway, I'm done discussing this trivial nonsense.

I guess several folks are not following your logic here....the whole point is making the device thinner. Every component has to be considered for space saving and as little as they are, a little saved here and there adds up to the overall thickness of the device. Im not sure why there's an argument here. Apple is about design as well, not just assembling with the desired components


Plus I'm betting there's battery improvement from in cell touch as well. One of the biggest suckers of battery is the screen. If you can make it transmit light easier by eliminating an extra layer, you also save battery

 

[France-]

Why the need to be offensive? I love change which is why I don't like the iPhone 5. It's essentially an iPhone 4XL.

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I don't see the iPhone 5 breaking records. The response so far has been more negative than positive I would say. Just my opinion.

You were saying?

 

[rsnc]

the thinner screen increases contrast and outside visibility (people will notice that)

also..the reversible plug isnt great because of some accessory use...its great because many of us plug in our phones in the dark and the plug is almost always not going into the phone..its hard to tell if its upside down or just not going in right, new plug will definitely help solve this

these are real issues and these upgrades solve them..

 

[chakraj]

You were saying?

I think what everyone or most people who weren't happy were saying is not that apple wont sell a ton, or break records, the average person will eat it up, because by definition there are more average people than non average people.

Well most of us here on macrumors are tech junkies of one sort or another, and we didnt think it was a big upgrade, or revolutionary or whatever.

Just because the average grandma and 13 year old girl will buy it, doesnt make it the best thing on the planet. Yes every kid in the 5th to 12th grade will have one, and every old man or women will have one, so will every tech/ tard as I like to call them, that doesnt make it more attractive to me.

Now is someone said, iphone 5 is the simplest smart phone on the planet to use, I think they may win that argument, most advanced no, its not.

 

[txflyfish]

Just exactly what "groundbreaking" things are people expecting in a smartphone?

Has anyone this year released a smartphone with revolutionary features that changes how we use a phone?

The average consumer is doing the RIGHT thing, ie recognize a quality product that happens to be one if the thinnest AND fastest in the premium phone market. It's all these enthusiasts that are oversensationalizing the smartphone. Do they realize how hard it is to design such a small package and yet be able to outperform nearly every premium smartphone in the market? No the only thing we care is wireless charging! Who cares if you have to use charging pad? It's wireless!

Do folks really want apple to dramatically from the ground up change how we are to use smartphone every year? Technology just doesn't progress this way

 

[stockcerts]

I would like to see a list like this, but showing changes from the 4. That is what I am upgrading from. I am in the midst of putting together the justification presentation to the CFO and I would like to overwhelm her with data.

I'm upgrading from the 4 as well so this is going to be a huge upgrade. It's true that the phone will physically just seem larger, but with the much improved camera, LTE, and my switch to Verizon...it's going to be big for me! I've had AT&T for many years, but in the San Francisco area AT&T has terrible coverage, so the switch to Verizon will be a nice change as well. I considered getting a white phone as I've always had black, but everyone I know said they don't think the white phones look as good in cases.

 

[ray6712]

I love forums and I really live the term innovating. So let's look at Apples innovations vs the competition
1 First Capacitive all touchscreen phone
2 First App Store that was fully accessible from the device itself
3 First OS that was designed to use all touchscreen interface
4 First company to dictate to carriers what can and cannot be added to their devices
5 First Device to include Near Hd screen

and that's just 5 the list can go on now you can take what's out there and add features and make it faster and all that but only one can be first. Apple invented our current argument yes they're we're touchscreen devices before it but no where near as easy to navigate and use , and yes there is many areas where Android is technically superior but the one area where Apple has Android and that's ease of use and ease of mastery.
Now some will say well I can do this and that but if you put both in the hands of people that have never used these devices and have them use them then apple always wins because it's harder to make something powerful and easy to use at the same time.

 

[chakraj]

presentation to CFO

Slide one; hey beyatch wheres my beer!

Slide two; Im buying an ***** iphone 5, for me.

Slide three; Good, you can have the 5 and the beer in the dvorce.

lol

good luck with that.

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I love forums and I really live the term innovating. So let's look at Apples innovations vs the competition
1 First Capacitive all touchscreen phone - not, a long list of touchscreen phones preceded the iphone
2 First App Store that was fully accessible from the device itself , not, fandango, and the other windows mobile appstore had hundreds of my dollars befoer the iphone was even available
3 First OS that was designed to use all touchscreen interface / web os??
4 First company to dictate to carriers what can and cannot be added to their devices / blackberry
5 First Device to include Near Hd screen / not true, htc had touch screens of the same resolution out years before.

Sorry,, Im not trying to argue, its just that none of that is true...

 

[Swampthing]

But it looks the same and people won't immediately know I have the new phone unless I stop them in the street and tell them.


Waaaaaaah

/sarcasm

That's why you are supposed to attach it to a wide 14K gold rope chain and hang from your neck with a shiny diamond/gold glitter sign emblazoned with the words "iPhone 5." And make sure you are wearing your coolest shades all day when you wear this...

Doesn't anyone else read Apple's iPhone instructions but me?

 

[lorenwade]

I'm criticising minor details that somebody has brought up as improvements. A thinner screen is not an improvement for the consumer. I guarantee nobody would even know whether the screen was thinner or not. Apple talks about its' "precise engineering" to wow people. They're good at selling, and people fell for the hype hook, line and sinker.

Can't think of a single reversible accessory off the top of my head. Look, I'm not saying that a reversible dock connector is a bad thing, it's just not something I would even think twice about when comparing features between devices.

A thinner device isn't an improvement? Then maybe your prefer an 80s cell phone instead.

And about the connector... This one tiny change apple has made shows how it cares about every minute detail of the device. It's an improvement for sure.

Talk about nitpicky.

 

[From A Buick 8]

I'm upgrading from the 4 as well so this is going to be a huge upgrade. It's true that the phone will physically just seem larger, but with the much improved camera, LTE, and my switch to Verizon...it's going to be big for me! I've had AT&T for many years, but in the San Francisco area AT&T has terrible coverage, so the switch to Verizon will be a nice change as well. I considered getting a white phone as I've always had black, but everyone I know said they don't think the white phones look as good in cases.

Yea i am looking forward to it. I have Verizon now and my data speeds where i live are very poor. Less than 1 Mbps most days, so LTE will be major and it looks like i have good LTE coverage where i live.

 

[rsnc]

im upgrading from the 4 myself and cannot wait!

ive been waiting for an awesome camera...the 4s and this 5 have a good cam and the sapphire lens cover will really keep the lens from getting all scratched up (wonder if they felt the need for this because the back cover and lens isnt replaceable like previous models)
also cant wait to see how fast it is...ive been suffering with my 4 lately, seems incredibly slow...home button barely works.

im honestly so excited for this new phone...every single aspect of the phone has been significantly updated from the iphone 4

 

[ray6712]

presentation to CFO

Slide one; hey beyatch wheres my beer!

Slide two; Im buying an ***** iphone 5, for me.

Slide three; Good, you can have the 5 and the beer in the dvorce.

lol

good luck with that.

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Sorry,, Im not trying to argue, its just that none of that is true...

yes it is the iPhone was the first all capacitive touchscreen phone
2 yes windows mobile had an app store but not the kind of app stores that could really be used or even seen as a success they were based on pc not mobile
3 web os came out 2 years after the iphone
4 Blackberry had plenty of att Verizon and sprint preloaded apps that you couldn't remove unless you flashed custom software
5 Htc had touchscreens true but even with the evo the resolution was only 800*480 not even close to near HD

 

[Smithwicks]

I looked at the Galaxy S III for a bit. Returned it. And yes, I have used Android before and am familiar with the OS. Can't open the stock camera while on a call?! That was one of my nitpicks. I'm sure a lot of people like it, and that's fine, but it's just not for me. Did like the swype keyboard, though.

You returned it for THAT? Wow....

 

[thecamel55]

Display Improvements
4" Screen I'm perfectly happy with 3.5"
In-cell touch What?
44% greater color saturation I'm happy with the current screen colour, as are most people.
Full sRGB support Not sure what this is?
Higher brightness Current brightness is fine.
Less glare Glare doesn't affect me and I doubt it affects others.

Performance Improvements
2x CPU iPhone 4 is fast enough
2x GPU Current graphics processor is good enough IMO
Better battery life I doubt it, let's see what happens in real life.

Enclosure Improvements
20% Lighter Who cares?
18% Thinner As above.
Increased durability How exactly?

Wireless Improvements
LTE Good improvement but not worth £529
DC-HSDPA Unsure what this is.
Dual band 802.11n As above.

Camera/Video Improvements
Sapphire Crystal (more durable) Don't understand this.
40% faster capture speed Current camera is fine.
Better low-light performance How much better?
Improved noise-reduction
720p HD Facetime camera Current camera is fine.
Improved video stabilization Hmmm.
Still photos while recording video Pointless feature.
A6 post processing of photos Won't change much.

Audio Improvements
Better Earphones Nothing to do with iPhone 5 itself.
Three microphones What does this improve?
5 magnet speakers Unsure what this improves?
2-way noice cancelling earpiece As above.
Wideband/HD Audio HD audio? How does that work?

Connectivity Improvements
80% smaller dock connector Nothing wrong with the current dock.
Reversible dock connector What does this improve?

*********************************************************

All the above really shows me is that a lot of the new features are very minimal and hardly improve anything of any real significance. The only feature I actually think is a good improvement is the LTE.

The iPhone 5 is obviously the "best iPhone ever". But is it really worth the money for a lot of people? Certainly not for me.

I'm sticking with my iPhone 4 and until something really game changing comes out I'll be very happy with what I've got.

Half of this post is you basically confirming that you don't understand much about the hardware at all and really isn't in any way a solid argument... Also more specifically, the iPhone 4 is fast enough? What? The 4s has a massive noticeable difference on speed and the 5 is an even bigger leap than that.

 

[BaldiMac]

Now is someone said, iphone 5 is the simplest smart phone on the planet to use, I think they may win that argument, most advanced no, its not.

Depends on how you want to define "advanced". Which makes it a very subjective argument. Hardware-wise, it's hard to argue the iPhone 5 isn't the most advanced consumer-oriented phone on the market. Software - it depends on what's important to you.

Sorry,, Im not trying to argue, its just that none of that is true...

Not a single one of your rebuttals was true.

 

[jmgregory1]

What exactly is it that drives Android fans to this and other Apple fan sites to tell us all how wrong we are about any/all of Apple's products? Are all these people high schoolers in debate class? Because that's how it feels.

Of course I would be giving them mostly poor grades, given their retorts are mostly without merit and often so completely false that I feel like I'm wasting my time even reading them.

 

[lilpete]

Lol sounds like an old person who gets angry when things change and they don't understand. "IT'S ALREADY GOOD ENOUGH!"
"WE DON'T NEED TO CHANGE ANYTHING SONNY!"
"SAPPHIRE? DC-HSPA? LTE? SATURATION? I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS SO I DON'T LIKE IT!"

Oh man, that last one, I laughed so hard

 

[Geckotek]

http://spyder.datacolor.com/

Same gear used in my studio only with an app that uses a color calibrated gallery to display the images.

You have some nice shots.

I've got the x-rite i1, think it'll suffice?

Thanks btw! Hobbyist trying to get better.