To much fanfare, Apple unveiled its iPhone 5 earlier this week, and as expected, pre-orders turned into back-orders mighty fast. It goes without saying that the latest iPhone is going to sell well - potentially better than anything else out there - but how does it compare to the other top-dogs in the smartphone race?
With the help of the table below, that's what we're here to evaluate. This isn't a comparison between operating systems and user interfaces, because whether one is better than the other is based on a number of metrics, including personal taste. Instead, let's look at the hardware. Does the iPhone 5 feature game-changing technology such that iPhone 4S owners will be jonesing to upgrade, while Android and Windows Phone 7 users will tempt a move or hold off until Windows Phone 8 goes prime time?
That depends. Apple likes to play coy, leaving out certain details about its new products, and the iPhone 5 is no exception. We know it has a brand-new A6 SoC, but its characteristics will be left up for benchmarks and test analysis to figure out. Apple has touted that A6 is much faster, however, especially so where graphics are concerned.
Apple's iPhone 5
Versus the iPhone 4S, Apple's latest improves the display in a rather significant way. It increases in size from 3.5" to 4.0", but manages to retain the same 326 pixels per inch, thanks to its 1136x640 resolution. WiFi on the iPhone 5 becomes dual-band, the front camera features an improved 720p resolution, LTE support is packed in and it also includes a brand-new (and smaller) dock connector dubbed "Lightning".
| Operating System | iOS 6 | Windows Phone 8 | Android Jelly Bean (4.0.4, upgradable to 4.1 in Oct) |
| Size | 4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30" | 5.12 x 2.79 x 0.42" | 5.38 x 2.78 x 0.34" |
| Weight | 112g | 185g | 133g |
| Display | 4" @ 1136x640 (326 ppi) | 4.5" @ 1280x768 (332 ppi) | 4.8" @ 1280x720 (306 ppi) |
| Display Type | IPS Retina | IPS | HD Super AMOLED |
| Battery | Up to 8 hours LTE; 10 hours WiFi | 2,000mAh | Up to 11 hours talk/data, 2,100mAh; user-replaceable |
| Storage | 16, 32 and 64GB | 32GB | 16 and 32GB (64GB in Oct) microSDXC support |
| Wireless | GSM model A1428: UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 4 and 17) CDMA model A1429: GSM model A1429: Bluetooth 4.0 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band | GSM: Yes, Specs TBA HSDPA: Yes, Specs TBA LTE: Yes, Specs TBA Bluetooth 3.1 802.11 a/b/g/n | GSM, GPRS, EDGE: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900MHz HSPA+: 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100MHz LTE: Yes, varies Bluetooth 4.0 802.11 a/b/g/n NFC |
Among these top-flight phones, Apple's is the smallest in every regard; weight, height and thinness - though Samsung's Galaxy S III does come close in terms of thickness. All three offer excellent resolutions, though if Nokia's Lumia 920 ships with its rumored display, it'll actually manage to beat out the iPhone 5 - even if it's just barely.
With its iPhone 5, Apple finally joins the LTE party, and overall, its wireless support is excellent. It should be noted however that like most other phones, including the Galaxy S III, support will differ based on region. As an added note, it's been discovered that when using LTE with either Sprint or Verizon, you will be unable to use voice and data at the same time. This was a conscientious decision by Apple, as it would have had to add special hardware to the phone just to make up for these carriers' shortcomings. However, competing phones do not suffer this issue, as they do implement a workaround (adding another antenna). If you require data while using voice, this could greatly affect whether or not the iPhone 5 is for you.
As established before, the iPhone 5 is a fairly nice upgrade to the 4S, but does it trump the competition? In some ways, it does. If size matters to you, Apple currently offers the best option, so long as you're not looking for a larger display. In terms of performance, we'll assume for now that Apple's A6 will perform similarly to the Qualcomm SoCs used in both the upcoming Lumia 920 and Galaxy S III. Display-wise, resolutions are similar, with both Apple and Nokia offering industry-leading ppis.
Samsung's Galaxy S III
Nokia's Lumia 920 will come in a single 32GB flavor, while Apple and Samsung offer 16 - 64GB. However, for those who like mass storage, the expandability of the Galaxy S III is hard to ignore. While usually slower than on-board flash storage, it's much less expensive to expand your storage space when you buy an add-in card than it is to upgrade to the next highest model phone.
Which phone, then, should you opt for? That's a difficult question to answer, because based on what we know of all these phones, which doesn't include performance from the iPhone 5, all are very attractive. It's really going to boil down to your choice of OS. If you're already an iPhone user, the 5 is a solid, appreciable upgrade if you're looking for a performance increase, a bigger screen and LTE support. Some users may be personally drawn to the Galaxy S III because they've come to appreciate the flexibility of Android. There's also the addition of NFC that helps set that phone apart - a feature Apple has once again proven it believes isn't something customers want. While not a huge feature at the moment, it is one that may help you future-proof a bit if you're not usually quick to upgrade your phone.
It's hard to ignore Nokia's Lumia 920. It should offer excellent specs, but it's not out for another month - and even then, its success will be dependent on Windows Phone 8. If Microsoft's new smartphone OS delivers on all of its promises, it could very-well by the sleeper product of Q4 and intrigue consumers on the fence to jump ship from their respective platforms. Smartphone-wise, this is going to be a very interesting holiday buying season.
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