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This is the first smartphone I have ever had. It is an amazing piece of technology. However there are a few things I find to be annoying.
1. You only get about 6-8 hours of actual phone usage before the battery dies. I am told that this is "normal," or that "this is how smartphones all are." What is the point of making something, if you can't use it for more than a few hours before it craps out? Why is it that people find it ACCEPTABLE that you have to turn everything off (wifi, bluetooth, location services, whatever) in order to conserve battery life?
What is the point of having an "amazing piece of technology" if you can't actually use all the technology because it all drains the battery? I would love it if someone would actually answer this question for me, because I do not get it. You buy spend all this money on an amazing device, and then you have to turn off half or most of the features because if not, they drain the battery?
In addition, I have an iPad (which I ADORE) and it has AMAZING battery life. Why is the iPhone the polar opposite?
2. No outside speakerphone button. Very dumb.
3. Earpiece volume/speaker is too low. Speakerphone could be a bit louder also (although it's better than the earpiece).
4. The auto-lock screen is annoying. God forbid I turn auto-lock off, I'd probably get 2 hours of battery life!
5. The screen is still too small. I wish it was bigger, as in WIDER as well as LONGER.
Everything else is 5 stars, from the speed (everything is extremely fast) to the screen res (gorgeous), to the operating system, to the hardware (by the way, the new connector is VERY FAST to charge the phone) and the design. The camera is freaking INCREDIBLE, I think it takes better pix than my expensive Canon. Even the new earpods are very good (sound quality). But the iPhone 5 is not perfect, as I outlined above.
Last edited by planedition; 09-23-2012 at 09:10 PM..
Yeah the iPad gets better battery life because there is a larger battery in it (iPad is a larger device so there is more room).
Honestly I don't think battery technology has kept pace with everything else. Engineers are now having to make everything in moble devices more power efficient to help keep battery life the same. This is good though because otherwise these phones would be getting hot in your hand and energy efficiency is a good thing anyway.
We have 2 iPhone 4S and 2 of the New iPad 3rd generation and we love them both. They are by no means perfect but much better than the Blackberry phones we had and much more convenient and easier to carry with us instead of our laptops. We utilize both daily but chose not to wait until the iPhone 5 came out and we are both happy we did not wait because of the reviews we have read and talked to others about the iPhone 5. I did upgrade to the IOS6 and I'm have a bit of trouble with a couple things on that but nothing that can't be worked out I'm sure.
meh: No, I don't think the mini iPad is an option because it's not a phone and it would be too big to use as a phone. I think the Galaxy Note, for example, is way too big to use as a phone. But the iPhone 6 should be bigger than the 5. The 5 screen is still too small. All it needs is to get slightly wider. The Galaxy S3 is 2.7 inches in width and seems slightly too wide/big to me. The iPhone 5 is 2.3 inches wide. The iPhone 6 shud probably be about 2.5 inches. Web pages look too narrow in the current iPhone 5 screen. At least this is my opinion anyway. As a smartphone amateur.
harrisburg: Your rationale for the battery life issue makes sense, thank you! But I agree with adric that battery tech has not kept up. Come on: If we are going to have these amazingly designed and built machines, let us actually USE them, instead of worrying about how many features we have to turn off, or how long the fone will last on one charge!!!!!!!!!!
This is the first smartphone I have ever had. It is an amazing piece of technology. However there are a few things I find to be annoying.
1. You only get about 6-8 hours of actual phone usage before the battery dies. I am told that this is "normal," or that "this is how smartphones all are." What is the point of making something, if you can't use it for more than a few hours before it craps out? Why is it that people find it ACCEPTABLE that you have to turn everything off (wifi, bluetooth, location services, whatever) in order to conserve battery life?
What is the point of having an "amazing piece of technology" if you can't actually use all the technology because it all drains the battery? I would love it if someone would actually answer this question for me, because I do not get it. You buy spend all this money on an amazing device, and then you have to turn off half or most of the features because if not, they drain the battery?
In addition, I have an iPad (which I ADORE) and it has AMAZING battery life. Why is the iPhone the polar opposite?
2. No outside speakerphone button. Very dumb.
3. Earpiece volume/speaker is too low. Speakerphone could be a bit louder also (although it's better than the earpiece).
4. The auto-lock screen is annoying. God forbid I turn auto-lock off, I'd probably get 2 hours of battery life!
5. The screen is still too small. I wish it was bigger, as in WIDER as well as LONGER.
Everything else is 5 stars, from the speed (everything is extremely fast) to the screen res (gorgeous), to the operating system, to the hardware (by the way, the new connector is VERY FAST to charge the phone) and the design. The camera is freaking INCREDIBLE, I think it takes better pix than my expensive Canon. Even the new earpods are very good (sound quality). But the iPhone 5 is not perfect, as I outlined above.
I plan on posting a review of my new iPhone 5 later today. I digress with the battery life, I've been getting great battery life. I've used it moderately with everything turned on and have seen at least 12+ hours of battery life with moderate usage.
Have you drained the battery all the way to about 2% or so and then let it recharge FULLY to 100%? Do this twice and I bet you'll see better life. Out of the box, most phones don't have good battery life because they haven't been conditioned yet. Out of the box, my battery was draining terribly. I did two full charges from 3% to 100% and it's been great afterwards.
I personally find 4" pretty good for what I want, I don't like having a massive phone like the Galaxy S3 or Galaxy Note. I always found the 3.5" screen on the previous iPhone's too small, but this screen is great.
I'll post my review later and some findings I have.
Played with an IP5 this past wknd. It offers absolutely nothing different as far as features go than the 4s. Sure its slightly taller and faster. Nothing worth going crazy for though if you already have a 4s.
I plan on posting a review of my new iPhone 5 later today. I digress with the battery life, I've been getting great battery life. I've used it moderately with everything turned on and have seen at least 12+ hours of battery life with moderate usage.
Have you drained the battery all the way to about 2% or so and then let it recharge FULLY to 100%? Do this twice and I bet you'll see better life. Out of the box, most phones don't have good battery life because they haven't been conditioned yet. Out of the box, my battery was draining terribly. I did two full charges from 3% to 100% and it's been great afterwards.
I personally find 4" pretty good for what I want, I don't like having a massive phone like the Galaxy S3 or Galaxy Note. I always found the 3.5" screen on the previous iPhone's too small, but this screen is great.
I'll post my review later and some findings I have.
Not to mention, there might be "new phone syndrome" at play here. Meaning the OP might be over "using" the phone because of it's novelty; therefore wearing out the battery.
I briefly messed around with my friend's white one this past weekend and it was light, but it was still substantial/solid. It looked funny with the stretched screen though other than that it seemed pretty much the same as the 4S.
This is the first smartphone I have ever had. It is an amazing piece of technology. However there are a few things I find to be annoying.
1. You only get about 6-8 hours of actual phone usage before the battery dies. I am told that this is "normal," or that "this is how smartphones all are." What is the point of making something, if you can't use it for more than a few hours before it craps out? Why is it that people find it ACCEPTABLE that you have to turn everything off (wifi, bluetooth, location services, whatever) in order to conserve battery life?
What is the point of having an "amazing piece of technology" if you can't actually use all the technology because it all drains the battery? I would love it if someone would actually answer this question for me, because I do not get it. You buy spend all this money on an amazing device, and then you have to turn off half or most of the features because if not, they drain the battery?
In addition, I have an iPad (which I ADORE) and it has AMAZING battery life. Why is the iPhone the polar opposite?
2. No outside speakerphone button. Very dumb.
3. Earpiece volume/speaker is too low. Speakerphone could be a bit louder also (although it's better than the earpiece).
4. The auto-lock screen is annoying. God forbid I turn auto-lock off, I'd probably get 2 hours of battery life!
5. The screen is still too small. I wish it was bigger, as in WIDER as well as LONGER.
Everything else is 5 stars, from the speed (everything is extremely fast) to the screen res (gorgeous), to the operating system, to the hardware (by the way, the new connector is VERY FAST to charge the phone) and the design. The camera is freaking INCREDIBLE, I think it takes better pix than my expensive Canon. Even the new earpods are very good (sound quality). But the iPhone 5 is not perfect, as I outlined above.
As stated, the battery life has to do with design, but I disagree that the size of the iPhone is the size that people want. I would bet good money that if the iPhone was twice the size it would still sell as well.
The design aspects have many factors, including how the phone draws power from the battery, how iOS regulates battery usage/charging, and even how the battery itself works. One of the reasons why the iPhone got taller was so it could accommodate a larger battery, and thus, extended usage between charges.
Not all smart phones are created equal, though, when it comes to battery power. For the most part, they do get horrible life out of their batteries, except for Blackberrys. But not many people consider the Blackberry, well, for anything. Many other smart phones on the market have options for either installing a larger battery (with a new back case to house the thicker battery) or a more powerful battery. One of the reasons why people root Android devices is so they can install custom ROMs in order to extend battery life.
You also need to "train" your battery. You do this by allowing the battery to completely drain before fully charging it. Do that a few times and the battery manager in iOS will "know" how to charge the phone based on your usage.
There is also a trick that works on some Android phones that you might be able to try: charge your phone until it is fully charged, unplug the charger, power off, plug the charger back in and continue to charge.
Why people find this acceptable is because it is the way it is. Some phone[s] are still good with "keeping everything on" and still getting good battery usage.
The iPhone will probably never get bigger. If you want a bigger/wider phone you have to go Android. Perhaps you can return your iPhone for a Galaxy S III?
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