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(skip to 13:30 for iPhone 5 details)

So as everyone expected the iPhone 5 (thankfully not “the new iPhone!”) was announced yesterday and there aren’t too many surprises, here’s a brief summary of the major changes from the iPhone 4S:

Size

iPhone 5 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm vs 115.2 x 58.66 x 9.3mm iPhone 4S
As you can see from these numbers it’s grown a little in height, though not as much as you would expect for the screen resolution increase which has gone from 940×640 to 1136×640, that’s a 17% resolution increase but only a 7% overall phone height increase, it retains the same 326 pixel per inch pixel density. They have also managed to make it 18% thinner than the 4S at 7.6mm, it’s the thinnest phone on the market currently and 12% thinner than the Samsung Galaxy S3 (8.6mm)

Weight

iPhone 5 112g vs 140g iPhone 4S

Apple have managed to shave 28g off the iPhone which is no mean feat, this makes it 20 per cent lighter than the 4S and 21g ligher than the S3 (133g), definitely a nice saving. Instead of having front and back glass it now has an anodised aluminium back and thinner front glass. With these combined the iPhone actually feels even lighter than the 20% weight saving would suggest.

Processor

The inevitable new CPU is named the A6 and touted to be twice as fast as the A5X, this probably won’t be too noticeable as far as standard navigation goes, but gaming on the iPhone is where this really shines, with some impressive demos already seen of graphics of a similar quality to dedicated handheld consoles like the PS Vita.

4G (LTE) network connectivity

In the UK 4G will be limited to Everything Everywhere (the combination of T-Mobile and Orange) as they are the only license holder at present, and this will remain the case until some point in 2013 it seems. Three have negotiated some of Everything Everywhere’s 1800Mhz spectrum though it will not be able to launch services until September 2013, and this is the only possible range that the iPhone 5 will be able to use. This is due to the iPhone supporting the 850Mhz and 2.1Ghz range as well as the 1800Mhz, but the 850Mhz range is not supported in the UK and the 2.1Ghz range is currently used for 3G services. This means that the 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands which other operators will be bidding for in spring 2013 will be a moot point for the Phone 5 at least as it does not support these anyway. O2 and Vodafone will be pushing for alternatives, perhaps in the form of legal challenges to EE and Ofcom, as they will be a long way behind in 4G services if they cannot change the current regulations.

Real world tests of the current Everything Everywhere 4G network on the Samsung Galaxy S3 have shown that in good conditions 34Mbit is achievable, so this would be a massive increase over 3G, typically at least 10 times faster, you can see more on these tests here.

New dock connector

This will no doubt please many accessory manufacturers and annoy many consumers, as Apple have done away with the 30 pin dock connector and moved to a much smaller 8 pin “Lightning” connector, continuing their naming theme on from their “Thunderbolt” display connector. The actual benefits of this new connector seem mostly design related, as Apple stated that with the 30 pin connector it wouldn’t have been possible to achieve the size reductions. One (and possibly the only) tangible advantage for consumers is that the connector can be inserted either way, saving a few precious seconds!

The one major feature that some were expecting which could have changed phone usage somewhat was near-field communication (NFC), a wireless technology that allows for mobile payments to be made by tapping the phone to a sensor. This works in a similar way to a contactless credit card, but obviously would have potential for interaction and advertising if it was built into a phone, but it was not included in the iPhone 5.

Whether it’s worth upgrading comes down to the individual, Apple haven’t surprised anyone with this release and all the features were more or less known prior to the announcement via various leaks, but that doesn’t make the new phone any less appealing. A solid weight reduction and slimming down combined with the larger screen and 4G makes the iPhone 5 an attractive prospect even for iPhone 4S users, one thing that is not currently known is 4G data pricing which may dictate whether this is worthwhile. One thing is for sure, Apple will sell millions of these phones, whilst they have stuck to the formula and not taken risks you can be sure they are on to a winner.