Kimberly Nelson | Co-Editor-in-Chief
Last week, Apple announced the release of the newest generation of the iPhone: the iPhone 5. With only a year in between the release of the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5, many are speculating whether the upgrade to the iPhone 5 is worth the money.
Apple’s Senior Vice President of World Wide Marketing Phil Schiller announced the new features and design of the iPhone 5 at the Apple Special Event, held on Sept. 12, claiming it to be one of the most beautiful products Apple has ever created.
“With the changes they have made to the iPhone 5, it sounds absolutely incredible,” Buena Vista University’s (BVU) Academic Technology Project Coordinator Kayleen Grage said.
The design for the iPhone 5 is 18% thinner and 20% lighter than its predecessor, the 4S, and has a longer display measuring out to be four inches. BVU’s Media Support Specialist Justin Isbell claims that the design gives the iPhone 5 more practicality.
“I think it is a brilliant move to make it just a little bit longer because you can then fit that much more information on your screen without really inflating the size beyond something that is practical,” Isbell said. “That little bit of difference is going to make such a change browsing the web vertically and even sideways. I think that’s going to take it a step further. You tend to get a device that instead of being longer is wider. It’s not comfortable to hold and too big to put in your pocket. The iPhone 5 still fits.”
Not only is the new iPhone thinner, lighter, and completely made out of aluminum and glass, but it also carries features that the 4S did not. Due to the iPhone’s larger display, it can now hold a fifth row of icons on the home screen giving users the ability to show more apps at one time. All of the software from previous versions has been updated including the newest iOS update, iOS6.
Apple also boasts that there is 44% more color saturation than previous generations as well as a 30% thinner image display making it, as Schiller said, “the world’s most advanced display” with the integrated touch centers placed right into the display. Another new feature of the iPhone is the A6 chip which increases the phone’s performance to be twice as fast as the 4S without draining battery life.
While all of the features of the iPhone are eye-catching, the release of the iPhone 5 comes only a year after the release of the iPhone 4S. This led consumers to question whether or not the move by Apple to wait only a year to release its new product was a sound decision.
“I think the reason they released the iPhone 4S is because of Siri. I don’t think they wanted to wait to release 5, so they released a newer version that was virtually the same thing,” Grage said. “I think they were just trying to push the envelope and get their product out there.”
2Fix Student Technology Assistant and junior Tyler Klobossa believes that Apple has good reason to release new generations of their product, but no significant improvements have been made through the newest generation.
“Apple basically finds something new that they want as feature, so it makes sense to release a new one each year,” Klobassa said. “From the 3 to 4 was a great improvement in design and operation. However, the only visual difference to the 5 from the 4S is a bigger screen, and it’s a little thinner.”
Whether or not consumers decide to upgrade to the newest generation of the iPhone is their call. Isbell points out to iPhone 4S users that the upgrade to the 5 would not be a huge change, but for those who are looking for a quality smartphone, the 5 is a great deal.
“For people who have the 4S, it would only be worth getting it if they were having problems with battery life or just not comfortable with the small screen,” Isbell said. “If you were going to buy that phone or the other smartphones that were on the market, I think the iPhone would be the way to go.”
Graphic by Keyla Sosa
