Game Changer Or Just Another Smartphone?

For many, the battle for best smartphone will be a never-ending one. Some have settled that once and for all the enemy's flag has been captured and securely remains in the Samsung camp with the Galaxy SIII as the victor. However, countless others have placed their bets, and even their 24 month contract costs, on the newest edition to Apple's line: the iPhone 5. Admittedly that comes mostly from those possessing older model iPhones, but for those already in possession of the latest Samsung, HTC, Blackberry, Motorola or "old" iPhone 4S, you might be wondering if all the hype is worth you buying into the fruity company's latest offering.

The reasons to buy a new phone are no longer those of the past. Let's face it, a smartphone is a smartphone. We want our multiple email accounts pushed to our pockets. Take more than decent photos that will rival a budget Nikon DSLR (and HD video to boot!). Surfing the Web and downloading content at the speed of light are a given. Most importantly, though, we want to check our Facebook and other social media updates at a slide of a finger on the smoothest, most intuitive screen possible this side of Tony Stark's "touch air" technology present in Jarvis. The iPhone 5 of course does this and much more. As true as that may be, there are still a number of real reasons we convince ourselves of a new £500 gadget ("because my old one is now inferior") despite only being, sometimes, just a few months old. And why shouldn't we? We work hard and deserve to treat ourselves every once in a while, right? Right! 

So let's look at it. On the surface, if you're after a massive 4 inch, 16:9 aspect ratio, super bright, crystal clear screen then look no further. You'll be hard pressed to find such luxury within the HxWxD measurements of 123x58x19mm whilst weighing in at a mere 112 grams. Yes, it's not the largest screen, but it's not trying to be. Compared with the iPhone 4S, the weight-loss is welcomed by most - dropping a humongous 28g, something not to be snubbed at as many a boot camp attendee will attest to. And yes, although the larger screen carries with it a new can of issues, namely when it comes to apps designed for the thus far 3.5 inch platform Apple decided to stick with for the past 5 years, let's face it, we're not that bothered about playing the same old faithful Angry Birds with a black border if it means we get true wide-screen when watching movies or viewing panoramic photos shot by ourselves or talented others via Flickr or the like as they were designed to be viewed.

Not yet sold? Okay. When it comes to the innards of the beast, no penny has been spared on giving Apple users the best performance upgrade. Yes, the competition has done extremely well with a dual and even a quad-core processor at the heart of their smartphones. Yes, multitasking, graphic detail, video playback and all things performance and battery draining do well in handling the demands of the smartphone user. That said, the newest edition to the Apple family is the A6 processing chip running at super-fast 1.3GHz. Despite being more compact than the dual-core A5, it boasts superior performance meaning the smaller battery (but still a respectable 1434 mAh) provides over 40 hours of music playback, 10 hours video playback, or 8 hours talk-time. With CPU tasks operating twice as fast as the iPhone 4S along with twice the graphics performance, it's clear that on paper at least, the iPhone 5 is twice the phone its predecessor is. That said, real-time tests prove that the older phone lasts just as long on a single charge, but it's the way it lasts that makes the newer phone stand out.

So, great camera, great Wi-Fi, super-fast multitasking, 4G capable, super-model slim. Sold? Maybe.

I guess when push comes to shove; there won't actually be a real reason to buy the new iPhone. Game changer? No. Game modifier? Definitely, at least for those already in possession of the 4S. The iPhone 5 shows us what we've been missing out on with previous smartphones if your phone is older than 8 months. If you already have the latest pièce de résistance from the competition, then you've essentially already made your intentions and opinions known. In reality, there's not much that the iPhone 5 will provide other than the fact that you can say you have an iPhone 5 - but that's surely the point of the battle isn't it? Victory is in the mind of the user, and using the iPhone 5 makes you feel like you are the hottest thing since the invention of the wheel. Indeed, the iPhone 5 will keep you and your admirers' heads spinning happily just long enough until the 5S is released. The modifications made in the production of this version of the iPhone have surely meant that the comparisons between Apple and the competition, as well as the accompanying spec sheets are becoming more meaningless with each passing generation. You have to play with it to be sold on it or equally true, been coveting moving over to the "Apple Side" for a long while and finally decided to be brave enough to switch. So when it has all been said and done, happy purchasing whatever you're buying, and see you in 6 months!