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The Official iSensei iPhone 5 Review
The Master Reveals all about the New iPhone!
A little over three weeks ago iSensei took possession of the latest and greatest from Apple, the iPhone 5. (You may have heard of it–it was even on the News one night!)
As a physical object, it barely looks manufactured. More like it was carved out of a huge chunk of metal in one piece, but with laser sharp perfection. You can hardly tell this thing has any seams. We got the black model, which is ALL black, including the buttons. The mid-section of the back is a matte slate grey (i.e. a lighter shade of black) made of anodized aluminum with a glossy black Apple icon and the word “iPhone”. Very classy!
When some prototypes and mockups of the new iPhone leaked out a few months back, this design was one of them. Surprisingly (to iSensei) the people leaving comments on that post went on about how this particular design would be the ugliest iPhone ever. Really? Now, it’s true seeing a picture of a thing and holding one in your hand makes a big difference, and seeing this final design fully executed it’s one of the sharpest designs one can imagine.
You notice right away it’s taller, but not grotesquely so (like some of those 5-6″ Android models), and by virtue of being the same width as recent models, it feels just right in your hand. The surprise when you pick it up is the weight, or lack thereof. It feels like half the weight of the iPhone 4S, which it’s not but, by being thinner, front to back, it feels amazingly light. But not flimsy (see above). All in all, another Apple industrial design that will end up in some museum or 12.
We turn it on and what do we see? A big beautiful, vividly colored screen. The 4S’s Retina Display was a beauty but they improved the color range and saturation on this year’s model (still Retina, of course). Then you notice the FIVE tiers of icons, not four. Now it really looks tall. So now you’ve got 25% more space for apps on each screen. It helps if you have a lot of apps.
What’s next? Ah, yes, let’s launch an app. Zip! Well, that was fast. Overall performance is very snappy. Cellular service? Not sure what the actual difference there is between the terms, LTE and 4G, if any, but either way, it’s quite an improvement. We’re finding 4G/LTE is faster than WiFi (which is faster this time around also), so if you’re in an area with no (or weak) WiFi, the 4G will more than do the job. Web pages load fast, app downloads are quick. All in all an improved experience.
Cameras? Most excellent, as Bill & or Ted would say. The 4S’s front facing camera was a big step up but the refined lenses on this model create for even better looking images. Better stabilization on video for us shaky-handers also. FaceTime back-facing camera now does 720p video, so you look more beautiful than ever to others! Built-in Panorama is a nice feature and great for capturing those wide angle shots that give you a true sense of your environment. And very easy to use. Perfect for traveling.
Battery life is about the same as the previous model, which is pretty impressive, given they’ve packed more power into this AND put it all in a smaller case.
The little built-in speakers even sound a bit better. Oh, and they’ve done something clever with the earpiece and mic so that both you and your caller sound better to each other. We like that. Headphone jack is on the bottom, which makes sense for how most people put their phones in their pocket.
And, yes, there is the new, MUCH smaller cable connector, called Lightning (oooo!) that is a PITA from the perspective of all the old 30-pin cables we all have sitting around, but you can see that the size difference is an important development towards making the iPhone (and future models) more compact and lighter. Necessary evolution.
Like when we lost our tails. It was a drag but we got over it. Mostly. The new connector is a solid fit with the iPhone and it’s reversible so you don’t have to poke around trying to figure which side is up. Small point, yes, but it helps.
Ooops! Almost forgot about the new Earpods (‘Earbuds’ is so 2007). Definitely an improvement. Noticeably better sound, both music and phone calls. Larger inline controls, set up higher. A bit too high for iSensei but a nice upgrade overall.
Overall, yet another lovely piece of useful equipment from the World’s Kickass Technology company. And iSensei, like many others, remembers the day not ALL that long ago where the world couldn’t care less about this odd little computer company. Certainly those days are LONG gone. Keep up the good work, Apple.
iOS 6 Help: Passbook
As we’ve discussed previously in “Here’s What iOS 6 Is Doing In iPhone 5!”, Passbook is a new service from Apple by which you can carry digital copies of a boarding pass or movie tickets or coupons right in your iPhone. And, because they update themselves automatically, you can get the latest info regarding your flight’s status or new coupons being added automatically to a store account.
One problem has popped up though in Apple’s implementation of this new clever-sounding function: “How the Hell do I use this thing?!” Apple, in its ‘less than infinite but better than most’ wisdom, provides zero instructions in how it works. But iSensei isn’t going to let that take the fun out of it for you as it does seem an ultimately sensible service.
To help out, we’re going to turn again to what is fast becoming one of iSensei’s fave Apple websites, AppleGazette.com. They recently posted instructions on how to make this feature work for you (unless you run into some of the built-in problems cited in this article), plus an up-to-date (we believe) list of what third-party businesses are working with this system.
Check it out here and let us know what your experiences have been like if you’ve tried to use it. And thanks again to AppleGazette.com and the author, Robin Parrish!
PS: This Passbook function only works with iPhone and iPod touch. iPad need not apply.
Prepping iPhone, iPad & iPod touch for iOS 6
Today’s the day, O Faithful. The release of iOS 6 (the new ‘iDevice’ Operating System) is here, which is built to take full advantage of the new iPhone 5, but also adds significant functionality and coolness to existing iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. (See list at bottom for what models can work with it).
I’m going to rely on a new (to iSensei, at least) Apple site, AppleGazette.com for their excellent step-by-step suggestions of how to best prepare for the iOS 6 installation. We’d like to thank one of iSensei’s favorite Apple sites, MacDailyNews.com for alerting us to this site/post. We’re reposting it here verbatim, with additional comments, in italic, from iSensei. Here’s the direct link to the article on AppleGazette, which I recommend visiting anyway for all their other useful information. OK, let’s get on with it.
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(Soon after 1 PM EST, Sept 19, Apple dropped the 6th version of iOS on iPhones, iPods, and iPads everywhere.) Before you download that upgrade, here are five important things you should seriously consider doing first.
1. Back up your device(s).
If you don’t sync your iPhone, iPod, or iPad to your Mac via iCloud, then you should consider this one a requirement — particularly if you have a lot of personal files on your device (like music, movies, pictures, etc.). Connect your device to your computer with your connector cord, fire up iTunes, and right-click on your device’s name in the left-hand column. A new box will appear, and near the bottom, you’ll see “Backup.” Click it, and let iTunes back up all of the contents of your iDevice. This ensures you won’t lose anything if there should be any problem with the iOS 6 upgrade process.
iSensei here. Personally, the All-Knowing One would recommend upgrading to iTunes 10.7 first, inverting Steps 1 and 2, but it’s likely no big deal. iSensei’s going through these steps as he writes to see what happens first hand. He is willing to risk all so that YOU don’t have to!
The other thing you might question is whether you should backup iCloud or your Mac. Either is fine unless you only have the 5 GB of storage space that comes free with iCloud, which may not be insufficient, depending on what else is being stored there. If space is tight you might as well just backup to your Mac.
2. Upgrade to iTunes 10.7.
Right after the big Apple event last week, an upgrade for the Mac version of iTunes was made available. This isn’t the major overhaul that was shown off at the event; that’s iTunes 11 and it won’t arrive until late October. The current version is an incremental step up from 10.6 to 10.7, and what it brings is compatibility with iOS 6. So once your iPad, iPod, or iPhone is updated to the new version of iOS, you’ll want your computer’s iTunes to be able to connect to it without any issues. Upgrade here.
3. Update your apps.
It’s always a good idea to install the latest updates for your device’s apps as soon as they become available, regardless. But it’s an especially good idea to make sure you’re up-to-date across the board right now, because most of the app updates going out at the moment provide compatibility with the new features of iOS 6. Kind of a no-brainer, ain’t it?
This touches on one of iSensei’s most deeply held beliefs - update frequently - which, in his book, is every time the little UPDATES app icon – as seen above – has a number in it. You never know what benefit or fix you’ll be gaining from doing so and it’s fast and free.
4. Get ready for Passbook.
Passbook is a new built-in app that comes with iOS 6. It collects all of your customer loyalty cards, coupons, and memberships (such as the frequent-flyer account with your airline of choice, or your Starbucks member account) in a single place. It’s really pretty nifty how it works, because it’s tied in with your device’s GPS. Say you’ve got a Target gift card saved in Passbook; your device will remind you about your gift card right on the lock screen when you walk inside the store. It’s even better for airline ticketing, because not only will it store your boarding pass, it will give you updates in real time should your boarding gate change, or if your flight is delayed, and so on.
To use Passbook, you’ll need to scan or type in your personal account numbers and whatnot, so rather than wait, why not gather those materials now? After downloading and installing iOS 6, everything you need will be in one place and ready to go.
iSensei: since we haven’t used Passbook yet, we don’t know exactly what’s going to be required. This suggestion is practical though not essential. You can input this info at any later time.
5. Grab Google’s YouTube app.
Due mainly to Apple’s ongoing cold war with Android, Apple is doing away with the YouTube app that has always come with iOS. The good news: Google knew this was coming, and they’re ready with a proprietary YouTube app of their own. You can download it for free right here. The bad news: it’s not made for iPad yet. An iPad-friendly update is coming, but for now, it’s only for iPhone and iPod Touch.
A few last tips…
- Podcasts have been removed from the iOS 6 iTunes app and now have their very own app (called Podcasts amazingly). If you subscribe to any podcasts and plan to listen to or watch them on your iDevice, you should grab the new Podcasts app.
- It wouldn’t hurt to delete old apps from your device that you no longer use. Remember, you can always download them again from iTunes, anytime you want. (iSensei concurs. If nothing else it makes it harder to find the one tree you’re looking for in an overcrowded forest.)
- Like the YouTube app, the built-in Google Maps app is going away with iOS 6, in favor of the new, Apple-made Maps app. Apple’s app looks great, but it doesn’t have satellite maps or Street View. Google is working on a Google Maps app of their own for iOS, which should be released in the near future, but it’s not ready yet. So if for any reason you depend on those soon-to-be-missing features, you may want to put off upgrading to iOS 6 until Google’s new app is released.
As promised, here’s what hardware will work with iOS 6:
- iPhone 3GS and later
- iPad 2nd Generation (2011) and later
- iPod touch 4th Gen and later
Best luck to all with the preparation and installation all across the nation. And thanks again to AppleGazette.com for this timely and helpful advice. Ciao!
Productive Apps: iExplorer 3
Labelled “the ultimate iPhone, iPad and iPod manager”, iExplorer 3 does seems to be a very comprehensive piece of work. iSensei has long had PhoneView from Ecamm Network in his dock for its ability to look into the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as if they were a mounted hard drive, able to view and manipulate individual files directly, which you can’t do within the devices themselves nor from iTunes. This new iExplorer from Macroplant seems to take that concept even further.
As you can see from this screenshot (don’t ask iSensei who this ‘Ricardo’ is. No idea) you can view your IM messages, contacts, notes, photos & videos, apps, iCloud files, call history, voicemail messages, etc. etc. Pretty much everything that’s stored on your iOS device, including what you’ve worked on in 3rd party apps! You can drag off music to your computer and it’ll even skip any duplicates.
Nice to be able to see the specs of your device and what you’ve consumed in memory. It’s clean, nicely designed and could be an iSensei Essential. The stickler is the price: $35. That’s a bit steep, in our book. (Still, PhoneView is only $5 less and doesn’t seem to do quite as much and certainly not as purty.) And, like PV, it does support ALL iPod touches, iPhones and iPads ever created. It’s Mountain Lion-ready and Retina Display enhanced.
This is a tough one. iSensei may just have to forego his 3-martini lunch tomorrow and buy this sucker. Check it out and let us know what YOU think!
It IS an iPhone 5!!
What We Know That We Were Already Pretty Sure Of
(And what we didn’t)
Well, the Big Day has come and gone and what have we learned? For one thing, we learned iSensei is a pretty good judge of impending iPhones. Let’s take his posting from the other day and see what, if anything, he missed. (Unlikely, being so wise and all but…)
- Larger 4″ (diagonal) screen - Yup. (but that was easy) In terms of specifics: 1136×640 pixel resolution (iPhone 4S was 960×640) and an improved screen ratio of 16:9, same as HDTV/film proportions. Now the movies won’t get cropped off at the sides. Sweet. Whatever content is still in 4:3 ratio will just float on a black background. 44% better color saturation. Not 43 or 45. Exactly 44. Also, thinner cover over the actual screen, which will reduce glare. Good.
- Larger case - See first entry. But, get this, even with the taller configuration (in portrait mode) the whole thing is 18% thinner and 20% lighter! Same width as the 4S. 7.66 mm thin, thinnest phone out there. Less than ⅓ of an inch. (Watch for paper-thin iPhone 6, coming in 2013!) Heck, the new iPod touch (more on that later) is less than ¼ of an inch thick!!
- Metal back - “Slate Black” and “Silver Aluminum” finish. OK, close enough.
- New smaller dock connector - Tagged that one. Called Lightning (uh, ok… better than “9-pin Connector” we presume). Now, we can all admit that having to buy new chargers and such (or at least Apple’s converters) is no fun. I can accept though, after almost 10 years (a millennia in computer years) of the fairly large 30-pin connector that to make these devices smaller, lighter and capable of more, you’re be foolish NOT to introduce a smaller, faster and better version. Best part, it’s reversible, so there’s no wrong way to insert it.
Adapters are at a premium price ($29/just adapter & $39/full cable), which is not the iSensei way. It’s like they WANT to make money! Sheesh. The iMan would have given them away. - Headphone jack on the bottom - Yeah. I guess it is. I hope the new 9-pin adapters will accommodate the headphone jack at the bottom, given how most iOS devices sit, bottom down, in speakers, chargers and the like.
- New iOS (operating system) – But of course - version 6.0. I’ll be covering the details of this, as there are many, in a separate iOS 6 posting. The release date for this new iOS is Wed, Sept 19th. See this post for what iOS devices can run it.
- More Siri - Yup, again. More speakable access to data. Plus, thank Jobs, you can launch apps verbally! More on this in iOS 6 report.
- Improved earbuds, nay, Earpods! - Totally! These things look very nice. Completely redesigned for the ear, with better noise reduction and a more comfortable fit. Additional speaker for midrange. Still the trademark Apple white. Shipping today for $29.
- 4G/LTE - Exactly. All U.S. carriers will broadcast on this soon, if they don’t already. The major ones do now. Meaning? Considerably faster cellular connection.
- 3D - Nope. Stereo speakers - Didn’t think so. NFC - It won’t, so don’t even bother to ask what the hell that is.
BOOM! 100% for the iSensei!! The NFC (Near Field Communication) was what many people expected. Instead, we got a whole different approach with PASSBOOK, which we’ll discuss more in the iOS report.
OK, that’s the rundown from iSensei’s 9/10 post. Let’s see what else was added that wasn’t even on our radar…
- New A6 Processor. Twice as fast as the A5 that was in last year’s iPhone 4S. They did some demos using games, which always tax the system the most, and Wow. This thing looks and responds as well as a full console unit. Zoom!
- Faster, better Bluetooth connection (v.4), which is good, because there’s a lot of BT speakers, headphones, mice, etc out there and iSensei finds BT too wonky too much of the time.
- WiFi improved - A very good thing, given how much we’re all relying on it and more all the time. We could throw some tech specs at ya: 802.11n 2.4 & 5 gHz, up to 150 mbps, so there!
- Battery life boosted - Despite what this more ambitious system consumes, you’ll get 10 of WiFi, 8 hours LTE/4G talk, 10 hours video, 40 hrs music and 225 hours standby time. (But seriously, who ever goes 10 days without using their iPhone? More like 10 minutes for the Worldly Wise One.)
- Groovier Front-Facing (iSight) Camera - iPhone has had a great camera, certainly since the 4S. Here they tweaked all the 4S specs to get more out of them. Still has 8 megapixel lens, creating images 3264×2448 pixels. Has a sapphire lens cover for protection (and don’t you just LOVE sapphire?!) Better noise reduction, especially in low light. 40% faster at snapping shots. Very good. And, built-in Panorama functionality. Not a new concept, as the iPhone has had 3rd party apps to do this and many other (otherwise inferior!) smartphones already had it. It’s a sweet trick: the camera guides you along on how to move it to capture shots that exceed the width of the normal lens and stitches them together to create one great big panoramic image. Awesome on trips and vacations. Oh, and it can now take still shots while capturing video! Slick trick.
- Improved Back-facing (FaceTime) Camera - Now you can use FaceTime over 3G at 720p HD video. You’ve never looked better!
- Upgraded Audio - Better (tiny) speakers with noise canceling for speakerphone. Built-in earpiece also has noise canceling. It captures a broader sampling of sound coming into phone, should make caller sound fuller, less tinny.
Same prices as last year’s 4S for much more of a phone. Without contract? You don’t want to know. If you have to ask…
What’s iOS 6 Doing in iPhone 5?
… and why don’t the numbers match??
Well, the latter question is relatively easy to answer.
They’ve released a new iOS (iDevice Operating System – for iPhone, iPad & iPod touch) with each model of the iPhone since its launch in 2007.
So:
- 2007 – iPhone – iOS 1
- 2008 – iPhone 3 – iOS 2
- 2009 – iPhone 3GS – iOS 3
- 2010 – iPhone 4 – iOS 4
- 2011 – iPhone 4S – iOS 5
- 2012 – iPhone 5 – iOS 6
Now, don’t ask me why Apple decided to name the phones that way. They can be whimsical when they want to (or is it capricious?)
Anyway, let’s get to the heart of it, shall we? What can we all expect from this new iOS? This is much easier than guessing at what the new iPhone will be like, hardware-wise, as Apple spilled the beans on at least some of the major features of the iOS at its Spring 2012 WorldWide Developers Conference (you know, the good ol’ WWDC).
Passbook - Well, this is a pretty new and pretty cool thing. Could smooth out some of the rough edges in your day. It’s an app that kinda acts like a digital wallet. It lets your iPhone (or other iOS device, I guess) store things like movie tickets bought from Fandango, airline boarding passes, sporting event tickets, your Starbucks Gold Card, etc. When you need these things, you just whip out your iPhone and these get scanned and voila, you’re in! But wait, there’s more: if there’s say, a gate change or new departure time, it will automatically show up on your ticket within Passbook! Slick! This technology is open to other vendors to take advantage of and you can bet they will. Maybe someday iSensei’s wallet won’t be 2 inches thick with cards and the like. Be nice.
New 3D Mapping System – Apple, as part of its ongoing battle with Google, have developed their own, more visually sophisticated, and faster mapping technology, dumping Google Maps. It’s all new data and images and very impressive from what iSensei has seen.
The late great Steve J. felt Google had stolen the major concepts, look & feel of the iPhone for the Android OS while the head of Google was on Apple’s Board of Directors (they used to be quite chummy).
The big news within the news is that there will now be turn-by-turn driving instruction, with Siri helping for voice guidance. Goodnight, Garmin. Goodnight, TomTom.
Facebook integration - Yes, for those crazy enough to want to spend their days lost in their Wall, you’ll now be able to post from within other apps, as you can with Twitter now (if you’re running the presently current iOS 5.1.1). It’ll be integrated with your Contacts, Calendar, Maps location, etc. Man, we’ll never be out of touch now! Oh well.
Siri - As we mentioned in the iPhone 5 hardware review, Siri is being kicked up a notch or two. You’ll be able to make OpenTable or Yelp restaurant reservations vocally, along with searching for local movie times, sports scores and game schedules. Best of all, iSensei thinks, is that you can finally launch apps just by speaking. Much better than fumbling around numerous folders and many pages of apps! Oh, and happily, we’ll now have Siri on the iPad! Yay!
Do Not Disturb - Well, iSensei definitely likes the sound of this. Though not a dramatic addition, certainly a welcome one. You’ll be able to choose when you get beeps, alerts and notifications (well, you’ll still get them, albeit silently and no flashing lights). You’ll also be able to send a one-button pre-formatted text reply or a reminder to return that ignored call later. Or not.
Shared Photo Streams - You’ll now be able to select certain pictures in your photo stream to share with specific friends, family, acolytes, etc. which will be viewable via iPhones, iPads, iPod touches, iPhoto or Aperture on a Mac, or on the web and of course, Apple TV (You DO have an Apple TV, right?) This could be big, actually. Something people have always wanted to do but you needed a third party, complicated setup to do it.
3G FaceTime - Meaning, if you ever want to use FaceTime (iSensei is shy… yeah, right) you won’t have to have WiFi or 4G. Interestingly, someone calls you from their iPhone, you can now answer it on your iPad or even your Mac! That IS kinda cool. Maybe now iSensei can stop being such a wallflower.
And as for the inevitable and very righteous concern of what hardware will work with all this, iSensei’s been told:
- iPhone 3GS and later
- iPad 2nd Generation (2011) and later
- iPod touch 4th Gen and later
OK, devoted Followers, that’s it for now. A bit late in the (guessing) game for this given the 9/12 announcement but not everybody’s going to be glued to their computers for an hour and a half to watch the whole thing, and the phones won’t be available for weeks, we’re pretty sure. (Though, the iOS might be downloadable that day.)
Still, after the 12th, iSensei will update this posting to reflect whatever reality we’re dealt by Apple.
Or as Hank Kingsley used to say: “Exciting, isn’t it?”
And how correct WAS iSensei? Find out here!
