What's in the new iPhone 5?

iPhone 5 Key Features

The new iPhone 5 is 18% thinner and 20% lighter than the previous iPhone 4S but there aren’t many surprises with all the rumors and leaks online about the updates.

LTE Mobile Broadband: Connectivity has now reached a new level with 4G LTE mobile broadband, which will be supported by the various carriers in the U.S. including AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. In Canada, it will be supported by Rogers, Fido, Bell and Telus.

Larger Screen: The iPhone 5 has a 4” retina display, which is larger than the iPhone 4S, allowing users the ability to view an additional row of app icons on the home screen. It also provides more real estate for viewing emails.  The screen display is 1136 x 640 pixels with a 16:9 aspect ratio that supports widescreen movies.

Improved Camera: There is a thinner 8-megapixel sensor with 3264 x 2448 resolution and backside illumination for low-light mode and face detection. The camera is 25% smaller.  It also supports 1080p and has a built-in panorama mode for picture taking. The front camera now boosters HD video quality for Facetime with cellular connectivity.

Wideband Audio, Supports HD Voice: The audio sound is much richer with five magnets in the transducer.  Re-designed noise-canceling earpieces and an improved voice recognition are standard equipment as well.

New A6 Chip: The new A6 chip is twice as fast and double the performance of the A5 silicon chip. And it is 22% smaller.

Battery Life: The battery life, which has always been an issue with iPhone devices, now allows for 10 hours of video playback, 8 hours of 3G talk and 8 hours of web browsing with 4G LTE, according to Apple.  The 4S offers the same thing (8 hours of talk and web) but considering this is powering a larger, faster, more powerful phone, it’s acceptable.

Lightening Dock Connector: Apple is leaving the 30-pin dock connector port behind with its introduction of a smaller port. The 8-pin connector allows users to charge and transfer data digitally.

The iOS 6 operating system for the iPhone 5 is new, but will also power other iOS devices including the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch 4th gen, iPad 2 and iPad 3. The iPhone 5 retails for $199 (16GB), $299 (32GB) and $399 (64GB).