iPhone 5 versus Android

[candroid11]

This phone costs over $500 and it is basically on par with android phones released a year ago. What a joke.

 

[ari-free]

 

[rui-no-onna]

This phone costs over $500 and it is basically on par with android phones released a year ago. What a joke.

On the screen size, LTE and features (built-in navigation, etc) front, yes Apple's playing catch up. However, despite the CPU still being dual-core, it's based on Cortex A15 (likely equivalent to Krait). I'm curious, what phones were released last year with Krait? From some of the user feedback I've seen, devices with dual-core Krait (e.g. HTC One S) beats those with quad-core Tegra 3 (e.g. HTC One X) in certain tasks.

 

[ari-free]

This also makes me sad. Had Apple not pushed Siri so hard, we wouldn't have Google Now, or are not very likely to have it, yet. Had they not pushed a smooth OS so much, we wouldn't have the Jelly Bean tweaks or such a push for better cameras in phones.

The iPhone 4 had a front facing camera and a gyroscope. Samsung also had those features (evo also had the camera) but everyone else also had to have it because of Apple.

IP4 also had retinal display and it took a bit longer for Android to catch up because of the larger screen. Lots of people still wanted larger screens but retinal was still another ✓ feature that Android OEM's needed to offer. Today everyone is rocking with 4.7" screens with 300+ ppi for the best of both worlds.

Apple will still sell to mom and grandpa but I don't think it will be the choice of tech enthusiasts anymore.

 

[jerofld]

The iPhone 4 had a front facing camera and a gyroscope. Samsung also had those features (evo also had the camera) but everyone else also had to have it because of Apple.

IP4 also had retinal display and it took a bit longer for Android to catch up because of the larger screen. Lots of people still wanted larger screens but retinal was still another ✓ feature that Android OEM's needed to offer. Today everyone is rocking with 4.7" screens with 300+ ppi for the best of both worlds.

Apple will still sell to mom and grandpa but I don't think it will be the choice of tech enthusiasts anymore.

I forgot about the gyroscope. But there are somethings Apple did make popular that have benefited us all. Playing catch up is just disappointing.

 

[Shocky]

Anyone know the specs for the A6 yet?

What is it? Quad Core A9? Dual Core A15, PowerVR SGX? clockspeeds?

 

[OfTheDamned]

Anyone know the specs for the A6 yet?

What is it? Quad Core A9? Dual Core A15, PowerVR SGX? clockspeeds?

The only thing said is that it does everything 2x faster than last year's.

 

[EarlyMon]

I have no idea what an adaptive antenna may be but that sounds interesting, unless it's a hype marketing term.

 

[rui-no-onna]

But there are somethings Apple did make popular that have benefited us all. Playing catch up is just disappointing.

I'm curious, aside from the first ever iPhone and iPod Touch, when has Apple ever been ahead when it came to the specs game? They were missing 3G support at launch, there were already phones with higher pixel density before the release of the iPhone 4 (granted, the "retina display" upped the ante), dual-core phones have been out a while before the iPhone 4S, they were late when it came to adding HSPA and LTE support and I'm pretty sure there are tons more stuff I'm missing. If you base stuff purely on hardware specifications, the last iPhone that would've enjoyed such popularity should've been the iPhone 3GS at the latest. Really, every iPhone, iPod and iPad is an incremental upgrade over the previous year's model.

Part of Apple's advantage is they were first. Folks who have already invested on a bunch of iOS apps may second-guess moving to Android. I think Apple may keep its market share but Android is poised for greater growth from users moving from Blackberry or Symbian.

 

[rui-no-onna]

Anyone know the specs for the A6 yet?

What is it? Quad Core A9? Dual Core A15, PowerVR SGX? clockspeeds?

Based on the descriptions from the keynote, likely dual-core ARM Cortex-A15.

AnandTech - Apple's iPhone 5 Uses A6 SoC: ARM Cortex A15s Inside

 

[hairypiglet]

The iPhone 4S is a dual core A9. Anyway, LTE is questionable since they get their chips from Samsung, and Samsung says they'll sue if Apple activates LTE.

The 4S is an A5 clocked at 756MHz. The iPhone 5 is an A6, supposedly twice as fast as the A5. Both dual-core.

Unfortunately Samsung doesn't own all of LTE patents, so it is still possible for Apple to activate LTE without infringing upon Samsungs patents. Also if Apple played their legal cards right they could have gotten the chip from Samsung and paid for the rights to activate. Which would have been a smart move on Apples part, but I sincerely hope Samsung would have told Apple to go F themselves. I have been loyal to Apple, but I cannot stand to see them be such whiny dames in the patent world and hope beyond hopes that Samsung comes back and pounds Tim Cook into Jobs' coffin.

 

[yfan]

Apple's new iPhone 5 slogan: the biggest thing to happen to the iPhone since the iPhone. Uhh. Alright then.

Seriously. If this doesn't make it clear that Apple is made entirely of hypes, I don't know what will. OMG, Facebook integration! Really? You can share pictures right on Facebook from your iPhone now? That is about 3 years behind time. OMG panorama. Oh come on. Give me a break. OMG turn by turn direction! About 2 years behind the times.

Oh and it's got a taller screen. Oooh.

 

[jerofld]

I have no idea what an adaptive antenna may be but that sounds interesting, unless it's a hype marketing term.

By looking at the back of the device, I would assume that the antennas now exist at both the top and bottom. If I had to guess, the cell and data antennas would be at the bottom, and wifi/GPS at the top. As per what appears to be industry standard.

I'm curious, aside from the first ever iPhone and iPod Touch, when has Apple ever been ahead when it came to the specs game? They were missing 3G support at launch, there were already phones with higher pixel density before the release of the iPhone 4 (granted, the "retina display" upped the ante), dual-core phones have been out a while before the iPhone 4S, they were late when it came to adding HSPA and LTE support and I'm pretty sure there are tons more stuff I'm missing. If you base stuff purely on hardware specifications, the last iPhone that would've enjoyed such popularity should've been the iPhone 3GS at the latest. Really, every iPhone, iPod and iPad is an incremental upgrade over the previous year's model.

Part of Apple's advantage is they were first. Folks who have already invested on a bunch of iOS apps may second-guess moving to Android. I think Apple may keep its market share but Android is poised for greater growth from users moving from Blackberry or Symbian.

I did not say "had it first". I said "did make popular". Like the front facing camera, the previously mentioned gyroscopes and accelerometers (for gaming), and other such features that we now take for granted. While they didn't invent voice commands, people certainly got more interested in them after they put their version in the lime light. As you mentioned, they pushed the retina display, which pushes all of their competitors to make better displays. Even small details, such as information on lockscreens (stock tickers, alarm notifications, etc). Another thing was audio quality. HTC and other manufacturers are now pushing Beats pretty heavily. Samsung is now using USB audio streaming. Both things the iPhone has had and Android is now getting wrapped around.

Also, Apple (until this model) has made 1 standard connector in 1 standard spot. This makes it so accessories can be developed. I hope that Moto and HTC take notice and start putting their MHL ports on the bottom of the devices and enable USB streaming, so that accessory makers take note and make more Android friendly accessories.

So, there are some things on both side of the fence. Which is why it makes me sad that Apple doesn't seem to be pushing the envelope. As you said and others (including myself), all of their real achievements are in the past. But I disagree with you with them keeping their market share. In the short term, yes. The iPhone 5 will certainly help with that. Maybe even build market share. But Android will continue to grow. Microsoft also will be moving up. They may not become a prime player like Apple and Google, but they will not be like BlackBerry. I base this on just reading some stories. Before it was "Eh...Microsoft released a new phone OS". Now people are starting to look at it and say "Oh...Microsoft released a new OS!" At least for tablets and phones. Win8 for PCs is a different story.

 

[Shocky]

Based on the descriptions from the keynote, likely dual-core ARM Cortex-A15.

AnandTech - Apple's iPhone 5 Uses A6 SoC: ARM Cortex A15s Inside

That was just a guess, they have not confirmed anything.

Try to bare in mind the CPU in the iPhone 4s was clocked at 800MHz.

For comparison the latest Exynos and Tegra chipsets are now upto 1600MHz and they are Quad Core.

 

[ari-free]

I'm curious, aside from the first ever iPhone and iPod Touch, when has Apple ever been ahead when it came to the specs game? They were missing 3G support at launch, there were already phones with higher pixel density before the release of the iPhone 4 (granted, the "retina display" upped the ante), dual-core phones have been out a while before the iPhone 4S, they were late when it came to adding HSPA and LTE support and I'm pretty sure there are tons more stuff I'm missing. If you base stuff purely on hardware specifications, the last iPhone that would've enjoyed such popularity should've been the iPhone 3GS at the latest. Really, every iPhone, iPod and iPad is an incremental upgrade over the previous year's model.

Part of Apple's advantage is they were first. Folks who have already invested on a bunch of iOS apps may second-guess moving to Android. I think Apple may keep its market share but Android is poised for greater growth from users moving from Blackberry or Symbian.

The difference is that in the past, Apple may have missed one spec but made up for it with other things. Now, it seems Apple is behind a lot and doesn't have any feature that makes me go "hmm...wish we had that too"

 

[EarlyMon]

Well, they do have an aHD display.

Almost HD.

Android doesn't have aHD, just ordinary HD.

 

[AntimonyER]

Did you just come up with that Early?

 

[EarlyMon]

Did you just come up with that Early?

Yes. Yes, I did.

But I couldn't have done it without Apple.

Really, for games and text on a 4" screen, it ought not matter that it's aHD, and for media, iPhone users can enjoy 16

 

[AndroidSPCS]

As a daily user of iPhone 4S and Galaxy S3, the iPhone 5 is a huge let down. I do like to see Apple do well so Android and others can compete, but I feel the iPhone has jumped the shark.

There is nothing new or compelling about the iPhone 5. I could swap my iPhone 4S for an iPhone 5 (through work) if I wanted to but not going to bother...no reason to. Instead I'm looking forward to getting the Galaxy Note 2 when it comes it...that is going to be an awesome companion next to my GS3.

 

[mogelijk]

I have no idea what an adaptive antenna may be but that sounds interesting, unless it's a hype marketing term.

If you remember, the iPhone 4 had antenna problems because some people would put their hand over the antenna when they held the phone. It was a particular problem with left handed people, if I recall.

The adaptive antenna essentially is a second antenna on the opposite side of the phone, so that it shouldn't matter how you hold the phone, one of the antennas will work. The phone works on the antenna that has the better signal at any given time.

 

[damewolf13]

Well, they do have an aHD display.

Almost HD.

Android doesn't have aHD, just ordinary HD.

:rofl:

 

[McBuzz]

Ok i respect apple products but when it comes to the iphone 5 i will be that guy that says it. Just got done watching the event and LoL!

Seriously. Device is thinner, has an upgraded camera/cpu and other than the sapphire glass on the camera lens everything else is Android's "been there done that". This thing should sell for 200 bucks, 299 max. Sadly I am willing to bet the masses will pay 400 to 500 dollars for this thing.

Iphone 5? No thanks I don't want to downgrade myself.

This launch was utterly dissapointing.

 

[aarif87226]

But still I will buy it for my girlfriend. Cuz she said that there are always more choices for phone cases if you have an iPhone......

 

[jova33]

My wife is an Apple junkie. I told her that the iPhone is turning into BlackBerry - your grandmother's smartphone. Only old people are going to get them.

 

[alexalexzander]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the forum and just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Kevin and I wanted to know everyone's thoughts on whether or not it is worth waiting to see what the iPhone 5 has in store before buying an Android?

Personally, I like Android and am anti-apple. But, I'm curious too.

I'm like the others in that I like the choices that come with Android. I type this on an Asus Transformer Infinity, which has something like 14 to 16 hours of battery, a keyboard and mouse pad in the keyboard dock and feels like an Android-based laptop. I have a Galaxy Note 10.1 which has the S Pen which uses the Wacom digitizer. So much better than drawing with the eraser sized styles you have to buy with Apple's iPad if you want a stylus at all.

My phone is the Galaxy S III. But you have choices from small to extremely large. The Galaxy Note 5.3 is so awesome. I might just go with the new Note II when it lands in the US. Point is, I don't have one manufacturer selling me what "they" think is the ideal phone design. I pick what works for me. That is truly thinking different. Apple no longer thinks different. They are all about thinking the same. Think back to the 1984 ad they ran. What was the message? Think Different. How everything was the same. Now look at Apple. Selling one device to the masses. Hundreds of millions of the same device. No choice at all. The screen is the same on every device for the last 5 years. And you know that same thinking will just continue on. Why would anyone want to be part of that? Not me.

Android gets the best features far sooner, too. We've been using LTE for years. We've been using Panorama for years. We're first to have a real digitizer and Wacom pen, not that huge eraser sized stylus. We're the first to offer larger screen sizes, physical keyboards, high-resolution, notifications, turn by turn navigation, and on an on. We still have a file system, which Apple still to this day does not.

Ever try to depend on Apple's MobileMe as your only email service? I'm sure you've heard the horror stories. Apple is completely incompetent when it comes to the internet age. Just look at their cloud storage. Seriously, which would you rather have? Google Drive, DropBox or iCloud? iCloud is the horrible. VIP in email is a cheap rip off from GMail's "Important" feature, where email learns to separate what is important and push it to the top. What about Flags? OMGF, seriously, they just now discovered the importance of flags? How many flags can you have in Mac mail? Just a few colors right? Look at GMail. You can have endless flags, endless colors, you name them what you want and they show up in all your devices. It is easily a 1,000 times better. Apple can't even steal features correctly.

Thinnest smart phone in the world? Wrong. The Motorola Razor is. The Razor has the thinnest phone and longest battery life of ANY smart phone bar none. Apple, just makes up crap to say in their speeches. The Android market actually produces products, faster, cheaper, and sooner than Apple can "borrow".

Seriously, if I asked you to have just one online service. No choices, would you rather have Google services or iCloud? Which would be FAR more robust? I think we all know the answer. Just look what you can do, TODAY, with Android. You can open any browser and install apps on your android devices completely from the web. You can manage your tablet or phones from a browser. You can buy a book from a browser, read it from the browser, and the devices you have all know where you left off. Can you read an iBook from a browser? Nope. Can you install or remove an app from a browser? Nope, you need iTunes. Can you buy a song and create a playlist entirely from a browser with Apple? No, you need iTunes, you need sync, and the WiFi sync has lot of problems. Enough to make you want to pull out your sync cable and do it manually. And this is legendary quality from Apple? Seriously? Apple gets a free pass when in fact their products are no where even close to the freedom and experience Android provides.