Apple’s iPhone 5 has a lot to live up to. Its predecessor set sales records; its original ancestor changed the smartphone industry immeasurably. In the five years since the first iPhone, Apple’s smartphones have taken the company’s value sky-high, and made it a star performer in an otherwise laboring tech segment. In question: could the iPhone 5 shift the game ahead once again, while still retaining the essential DNA that makes iPhone users and developers so loyal to the platform? With competition surging, a bigger, faster, and bolder iPhone steps into the fray. Read on for our full iPhone 5 review to see if it can live up to those expectations.

Design

Unmistakably iPhone, and yet different. It takes little more than a glance to recognize the iPhone 5’s lineage, though with closer examination it’s clear quite how many aesthetic changes have been made in this sixth-generation handset. The new phone is thinner and longer than its predecessor; its anodized aluminum back replacing the old model’s glass; the “sandwich” construction made more discrete.

Importantly, none of these changes have been forced for the sake of aesthetics alone, and in ensuring that they keep the DNA of previous models. The iPhone 5 is longer – 123.8mm now, versus the 115.2mm of before – so that it can accommodate a larger display. Its stretched appearance, meanwhile, is to keep the width of the display consistent: that means it can still be comfortably used with a single hand, the thumb extending to reach the limits of the UI without demanding that the person holding it stretch or use a second hand.

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