The iPhone 5 went on sale in Australia today, and hundreds of folks lined up for the privilege of being some of the first in the country to purchase and own Apple’s latest cultural and technical marvel. Some waited as long as 68 hours for the iPhone 5, competing to be the first person in the world to own an iPhone 5.
If you’re planning on waiting in line for an iPhone 5 tomorrow, be warned: judging by the numbers of people already waiting outside some of the big Apple Stores, the iPhone 5 launch is looking like it’s going to be an absolute zoo. There have never been this many people in line this far ahead of an official Apple product launch, ever. And Apple themselves anticipate long lines outside of their stores “all day long, into the evening.”
The iPhone 5 is almost upon us, and Apple has mandated that all third-party developers start submitting iPhone 5 screenshots in the App Store. Devs with new updates must include screenshots optimized for the iPhone 5’s 4-inch, 1136×640 display.
Many popular App Store apps have already been updated for the iPhone 5 and iOS 6, including the official Facebook app today. There were original concerns that developers wouldn’t have time to get their apps up to date for the iPhone 5, but it looks like updates are rolling out at a fairly rapid pace.
Last year, iPhone 4S pre-orders sold out in 22 hours before shipping dates slipped to 2-3 weeks. This year iPhone 5 pre-orders sold out in 1 hour before shipping moved to 2-3 weeks. Apple is going to sell iPhone 5s faster, and in more volume, than they’ve ever sold anything.
If you didn’t manage to secure a pre-order in time and are facing the prospect of standing in line at the Apple Store to get an iPhone 5 on launch day, you’re probably wondering how early you need to wake up and get in line. There’s not a clear formula on how it all works, and only Apple knows for sure how much stock they have, but the experience of the last five iPhone launches have given us some important information.
iPhone-Garage.de has the first teardown pictures of the iPhone 5, if you want to see Apple’s latest engineering and design miracle at work. Their site is being absolutely hammered now, and it keeps on going down, so we’ve put some of the best images in a gallery below the fold so you can see for yourself. iFixIt will doubtlessly have a more nuanced take, but for right now, all I can say is…man, what a tightly packed phone.
The iPhone 5 pre-orders kicked off last Friday at 12:00 a.m. PST and it only took a few hours for delivery estimates to start to slip well into October. A little perspective – it took nearly a day (approximately 22 hours) for last year’s iPhone 4S pre-sale to begin to run out; the iPhone 5 did the same in about an hour.
Hopefully Apple will be able to keep up with the demand for the iPhone 5. But if not here are a few tips based on what we have learned from past iPhone releases that might help lessen headaches and improve your chances of getting your hands on an iPhone 5 this season.
Rumors had suggested that Samsung would add Apple’s iPhone 5 to the list of devices involved in a patent infringement suit between the two companies, and it looks like that’s going to happen. The Korean company has confirmed that it expects the latest iPhone to infringe the same patents the iPhone 4S does, and that it will be adding the handset to its case after it has had time to “analyze” it.
I usually hate these fake Apple parody ads for being both smug and witless, but I laughed pretty hard at this one by Satire. Featuring a number of earnestly hipstered faux-Apple employees with names like “Joe Bloggs” and “Alan Smithee,” the video takes the Obi-Wan iPhone 20 joke that’s been going around and actually runs with it, showing exactly how Cupertino would pitch a phone the length of a yardstick.
The touted features Satire comes up with are great. Panorama photos without moving the iPhone! Scrolling without using mulitouch! Amazing reception due to having your iPhone in physical closer proximity to orbiting satellites! And so much more. The app ideas are great too. And I love the tag line: “The longest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone.”
Source: YouTube
AT&T sent out a press release today announcing that they’ve flipped the switch on their super fast LTE networks in five new cities: Detroit, Honolulu, Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Portland. Cult of Android has another three cities to add to that list, including Birmingham, Memphis, and Sacramento. I will add Anchorage, AK.
Apple didn’t make huge improvements to the camera of the iPhone 5, but they did add a sapphire crystal lens, and a few tweaks to make it shoot better in low-light conditions. Now that early reviews have been released we have a better idea of how much better the new camera is over its predecessor.
iOS 6 comes with a host of new and improved features for us all to play with. We’ll be messing about in there over the next several weeks, helping you find the hidden tips, tricks, and features of iOS 6. Today, however, we’d like to show you the ten killer tricks we’ve found in iOS 6 to date.
Some of these tips may seem simple, while others may not be applicable to your own personal situation. Regardless, we hope that we can show you the coolest tips and tricks for your new iOS device, whether it’s a new iPhone 5, a new iPad, or anything that comae out before; iOS 6 will support the iPhone 3GS and up, the iPad and up, and the iPod touch third generation and up, so have at it!
There goes Samsung. Trying to win over iPhone users by releasing a new commercial that calls them a bunch of dumb hipster sheep. Again. Samsung isn’t going to win any fans by releasing these commercials every year, but to be honest, I actually enjoy them.
I mean, I don’t think the Samsung Galaxy S3 is better than the iPhone 5, or that people who wait in line for the new iPhone are stupid. But you totally hear Apple fans say ridiculous things like, “this phone is going to be like a precious jewel,” or “they should have a priority line for people who have waited five times.”
There’s no point in taking your smartphone preference too seriously, and even though Samsung’s newest commercial is almost offensive, it’s also kind of funny.
We’ve all been itching to get our hands on iOS 6 since it got its first unveiling at WWDC back in June, and today, three months after that announcement, the software finally gets its public debut. Apple’s packed a ton of new features into this update, including some major new features like Map and Passbook, plus some enhancements to existing apps and features, such as new Siri capabilities and a VIP inbox in Mail.
Apple’s been promoting some of these features on its website, but there are tons you may not have heard about. With that said, here’s your comprehensive guide to everything that’s new in iOS 6.
After Apple was awarded two prestigious D&AD (British Design & Art Direction) awards, Jony Ive and the rest of the Cupertino company’s design team flew to London this week to pick them up. There were 16 Apple employees in attendance, and Ive, who is responsible for Apple’s most iconic designs, received a standing ovation when he took to the stage.
On Tuesday, the first Geekbench benchmarks surfaced for the iPhone 5. Those have been followed by SunSpider Javascript benchmarks which show Apple’s latest iPhone 5 beats everything when it comes to Javascript performance. It’s twice as fast as the iPhone 4S, and significantly snappier than high-end Android handsets like the Samsung Galaxy S III, the HTC One X, and the new LG Optimus G.
It’s been less than a week since the iPhone 5 was made available for pre-order, and shipping estimates from the Apple Store have now slipped to 3-4 weeks. It took a couple hours for shipping estimates to slip to 1-2 weeks last Friday morning, and then they slipped even father to 2-3 weeks shortly after.
Considering the fact that the iPhone 5 sold 2 million pre-orders in 24 hours, it looks like demand for Apple’s newest handset won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
At this point, your best bet for getting your hands on the iPhone 5 before October is waiting in line Friday morning.
Source: Apple
Thanks: Matthew
Everyone published their iPhone 5 reviews moments ago, and unsurprisingly, the initial batch of reviews are mostly glowing. The iPhone 5 is lighter, faster and slimmer than the iPhone 4S, and there seems to be very few qualms with Apple’s latest handset.
We’ve collected most of the early iPhone 5 reviews from around the internet to give you a general sense of what reviewers are saying.
BGR got its hands on an early iPhone 5 unit, and now the first shots of the device’s unboxing are out for everyone to gawk at. Apple is sticking to the classic black outer design for the box itself, and the internal packaging reveals the new EarPods, wall charger, and Lightning cable.
Jeff Benjamin at the iDownload Blog thinks it is. Comparing it to the tiny box shot on the official Apple iPhone 5 ordering page, it looks legit, and also looks as if white iPhone 5s and black iPhone 5s will be shipping in vastly different boxes: all black for the black model, mostly white and light-toned for the white model:
Looks gorgeous. Can’t wait to rip open mine.
Source: iDownload Blog
No other news agency consistently fails as much as Fox. Take for instance this Fox 5 reporter in NY who decided to head down to the 5th Avenue Apple Store to interview a few of the crazies already lining up for the “most amazing, best Apple product ever.” I was shaking my head until the reporter started listing off some of the new features of the iPhone 5 and let me tell you… I’m packing my sleeping bag as soon as I finish this post!
The first pictures of a working iPad mini have surfaced ahead of a rumored unveiling next month. The device sports the aluminum shell we’ve seen a number of times in recent weeks, only it’s fully assembled with what appears to be a working display.
If you live in Paris, France, and you’re hoping to bag an iPhone 5 from your local Apple store on Friday morning, you may get there to find that it’s closed. Workers at two Parisian stores are reportedly threatening to strike over pay on what could be Apple’s busiest retail day in the company’s history.
Samsung can’t catch a break. Samsung Mobile USA posted the following question on their Facebook page – “If you could only take one electronic device on a deserted island, what would it be?”
They probably figured fans would respond that they would totally take their Galaxy S3 or some other Samsung device that no one cares about. But when you’re on a fantasy island, you probably want the best phone possible, right?
So rather than receiving a mob of responses declaring their desire to never be parted with their Galaxy S3, a lot of people just said that they wanted an iPhone 5. Or an electric boat.
Sorry, Samsung. Maybe people will actually want the S4?
Source: Facebook
Via: Thomas Lampo
So you want to know what apps will best take advantage of your new iPhone 5 when you get it in your hot little hands this coming Friday? One way is to start searching AppShopper using a search string that includes “iPhone 5.” This will net you a real-time list of all the apps currently in the app store that have the text string in their “What’s New” update description in the App Store.
Apple unveiled the iPhone 5 to the world this past Wednesday. Besides the privileged few, most third-party case/accessory makers saw the iPhone 5’s final design at the same time as everyone else: during Apple’s media event. Apple’s thick veil of secrecy hasn’t kept case manufacturers from getting ready, however. Rumors and part leaks predicted the iPhone 5’s look and feature set pretty precisely during the months leading up to last week’s unveiling.
Pre-orders for the iPhone 5 started Friday, September 14th, and the new smartphone goes on sale officially this Friday, September 21st. If you’re in the market for iPhone 5 cases, then companies like Incase, Otterbox, Incipio, and others have you covered.