Beyond image enhancement, is there real business value to upgrading to the latest model of a popular device like Apple’s iPhone 5? It depends on what you think of the phones new features and if they’ll be useful to you day to day.
Here are the key iPhone 5 features Apple announced during a September 12 event, according to Macworld’s live blog:
- Bigger screen – So far, all iPhone versions have sported a 3.5-inch screen, but the iPhone 5 boosts the display size to 4 inches. That brings the iPhone closer to its larger competitors, such as Samsung’s 4.8-inch Galaxy S III. The new model also increases resolution to an 1136-by-640 retina display and provides 44% better color saturation.
- Thinner and lighter – Despite the increased screen real estate, the iPhone 5 weighs just 112 grams — 20% lighter the iPhone 4S. It’s also 7.6 mm thick, or 18% thinner than the previous model.
- More battery life – Even with the bigger display, the iPhone 5 will feature a longer lasting battery than previous versions, with Apple estimating 8 hours of 3G or LTE talking and browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music, and more than 9 days of standby time.
- Faster data connections – The iPhone 5 adds 4G LTE for faster mobile data. The phone also includes upgraded Wi-Fi, featuring dual channel 5GHz 802.11n with bandwidth up to 150M bps.
- Faster processing – The iPhone 5′s chip doubles the speeds of its predecessor for both CPU and graphics processing.
- New software – The device will ship with iOS 6, the new version of Apple’s mobile operating system, which the company first unveiled in June. The new software features enhanced maps, a virtual wallet called “Passbook,” Facebook integration and privacy improvements.
Pre-orders for the iPhone 5 will began on September 14, but the company’s supply ran out on the first day after 2 million units were reserved. Delivery date for subsequent orders will be sometime in October.
Pricing will stay the same as with the 4S: $199 for the 16GB version, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB, with 2-year carrier contract.
Given the extraordinary demand that’s been generated by generally excellent reviews of the new phone, you’ll want to make sure your IT team is ready to support employees who may be getting them for work-related use.
