With the smartphone market heating up, the iPhone 5 was launched last month, in September. Many analysts and experts touted it as a disappointing launch mostly because of the fact that just about every detail about the hardware was leaked weeks ago, and Apple had already given us all the scoop as far as the OS goes at the WWDC.
Despite the fact that the launch was touted as underwhelming by most, it has been long enough for people to form more informed opinions. Guess what? Many people have come to like the phone after using the phone on a regular basis. The very phone that was touted as disappointing has become the best phone ever created by Apple. What seemed like frivolous harping over the amount of work that went into creating the phone has become a classic example of craftsmanship. Everyone, as far as the phone's hardware is concerned, is impressed.
But, is it beyond any criticism? No. The iOS hasn't caught up to the competition. Android, though it struggled to catch up with the competition for a long while, has zoomed past the iOS in the last year or so. Android has a lot more features and, from an OS point of view, is far more capable. For me, it's not a major worry though with the annual release cycles of the iOS. The next iteration, in 2013, should bring some major, and much needed, improvements.
As far as the build quality goes, the phone is unmatched. The one major change has been the screen size. It has gone up, from 3.5'' to 4''. The market has evolved, obviously, and I can see where a 4'' phone wins against the competition right now. It was a necessary move for Apple and over the next year, they will fine-tune the OS to make better use of the screen size.
There are other areas of concern, too. Apple changed their Maps to something they call the best Maps application ever. If only. It's a disaster in it's current version. Maps require accurate data, and lots of it. The previous app, Google Maps, had a lot of accurate data. Apple Maps doesn't have a fraction of that data; in fact, quite a lot of what it has is pretty inaccurate too.
It's important to note though that the problems are software related, which always gets better without you having to spend anything at all. The hardware is pretty impressive, perhaps the best out there. The software, unfortunately, isn't very capable in it's current version. It won't stay like this forever though. As time progresses, apps will take better advantage of the screen size and in my opinion, the latest iPhone is a good purchase. It looks gorgeous, and you'd not regret your purchase.
Despite the fact that the launch was touted as underwhelming by most, it has been long enough for people to form more informed opinions. Guess what? Many people have come to like the phone after using the phone on a regular basis. The very phone that was touted as disappointing has become the best phone ever created by Apple. What seemed like frivolous harping over the amount of work that went into creating the phone has become a classic example of craftsmanship. Everyone, as far as the phone's hardware is concerned, is impressed.
But, is it beyond any criticism? No. The iOS hasn't caught up to the competition. Android, though it struggled to catch up with the competition for a long while, has zoomed past the iOS in the last year or so. Android has a lot more features and, from an OS point of view, is far more capable. For me, it's not a major worry though with the annual release cycles of the iOS. The next iteration, in 2013, should bring some major, and much needed, improvements.
As far as the build quality goes, the phone is unmatched. The one major change has been the screen size. It has gone up, from 3.5'' to 4''. The market has evolved, obviously, and I can see where a 4'' phone wins against the competition right now. It was a necessary move for Apple and over the next year, they will fine-tune the OS to make better use of the screen size.
There are other areas of concern, too. Apple changed their Maps to something they call the best Maps application ever. If only. It's a disaster in it's current version. Maps require accurate data, and lots of it. The previous app, Google Maps, had a lot of accurate data. Apple Maps doesn't have a fraction of that data; in fact, quite a lot of what it has is pretty inaccurate too.
It's important to note though that the problems are software related, which always gets better without you having to spend anything at all. The hardware is pretty impressive, perhaps the best out there. The software, unfortunately, isn't very capable in it's current version. It won't stay like this forever though. As time progresses, apps will take better advantage of the screen size and in my opinion, the latest iPhone is a good purchase. It looks gorgeous, and you'd not regret your purchase.
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