Apple has finally unveiled the iPhone 5 but what are the big developments in its new flagship smartphone?
The iPhone 5 is slimmer, taller and lighter than previous models. The new elongated body means an extra row of icons can be squeezed onto the screen. The new design is 18% thinner and 20% lighter than the iPhone 4S, Apple claims. The iPhone 5 casing is made entirely from glass and aluminium.
The new 4-inch Retina display "has a pixel density so high your eye can’t distinguish individual pixels," Apple says. The 1136-by-640 resolution offers 18% more pixels than on the 4S. The 16:9 ratio will match widescreen TVs.
One of the biggest surprises about the new iPhone is the lack of near-field communications (NFC), which enables contactless payments. It had been widely tipped to feature here but it looks like Apple is holding that one back for now, hoping people will greet it with wild applause when it is finally introduced.
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The new phone is however 4G-enabled, which will delight EE here in the UK. Apple says it will work on EE’s 4G network, unlike the iPad, which will not run 4G here in the UK.
The iPhone is expected to begin shipping on September 21. Prices here in the UK will begin at 529 for pay-as-you-go 16GB model from Apple.
Other developments include a new dock connector and, finally, totally redesigned headphones. Hopefully they will be an improvement on the noise-bleeding mess of the previous headphones.
