The Apple iPhone 5 has now been officially released and shoppers are clamoring toward getting their hands on the newest smartphone from Apple. But if you are reader curious to know if purchasing the new iPhone is the right choice, you have come to the right place.Is the iPhone 5 right for you? What does the new iPhone offer which the older iPhone 4S or iPhone 4 can’t offer? Do I really need to get the newest iPhone?
Here are five reasons you may not want to buy the new iPhone 5
Number 01 – New software, same old features
Apple has traditionally introduced a new software feature which is exclusive to their newest iPhone. Last year with the iPhone 4S it was Siri, which remained exclusive to that iPhone. This year iOS 6 will be available to a range of Apple’s devices, and while the older iPhones will omit certain features of the newest version of iOS, the iPhone 4S will have all the features available on the iPhone 5. So you wont be able to pull that ‘Look what I can do with my new iPhone 5 trick on your friends, because someone with an iPhone 4S could do the same thing.Apple’s Maps application is another new feature which seams to miss some basic requirements for average users. It allows driving navigation, but misses the opportunity to show walking or public transport routes. Not everyone drives around in a car all day Apple.
Number 02 – Letterboxing
The iPhone 5 comes with a much welcome large 4 inch display, but the existing apps wont take too kindly to it. Developers will be required to redesign their apps to fit the larger display. Until then you will be left with your apps appearing in letterboxes.
Several months from now, most developers should have updated their apps, and by then we will be ready for an iPhone 6. Maybe that would be a better time to upgrade.
Number 03 – Better Camera ? But not by much
Apple has added several features to their new camera, but that’s on the software side, and most of the iOS devices will get treated to features like panorama pictures which is available through iOS 6. The iPhone 5 does have a sapphire crystal lens and boasts 40 percent faster performance over its predecessor, but it still has an 8 megapixel camera capable of 1080p video. Been there, seen that and not everyone is going to care about how fast their camera is when the iPhone 4S is pretty fast itself.
Number 04 – No NFC
Apple is known for leading innovation, but they seam to have fallen short this time. NFC (Near Field Communication) is a set of standards for mobile devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them
together or bringing them into close proximity. NFC payments have started making their way into many Android devices and will be one of the main features of Windows Phone 8. However Apple has chosen to stick with traditional barcodes, which is something the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S can do pretty well themselves. Their new Passbook app allows coupons, airport check-ins and loyalty cards which could have greatly benefitted from NFC. Unfortunately we may have to wait another year for Apple to ‘Do it right’.
Number 05 – New dock connector
Apple has finally released a new lightning dock connector for the Apple iPhone 5, but is this a little too late? iPhone 5 hopefuls are probably already part of the Apple family and would have some of the legacy connectors lying around the house, but they can't use them anymore nor can you use the lightning dock connector on your older device, not without a separate adaptor which will cost you no less than $29.
A few years from now the lightning connector should have made its way to the entire Apple line-up and that would be a better time to upgrade.
All in all the iPhone 5 is a beautiful device. Its thinner, lighter and faster, especially with 4G LTE connectivity. However its important that we don’t get caught in the hype and forget that Apple releases a newer iPhone every year. You may just be just as happy holding onto your iPhone 4S until then.