As the first weekend with my iPhone 5 draws to a close I thought I would write up a few thoughts on how I have found using it over the last couple of days.

To give you some background, I have been using an iPhone 4S for the last year and although I like the design have always found it a little uncomfortable, with its slippery back and sides and that the phone really needed to be used with a case.  I was also starting to see issues with the smaller screen size as I found that I read more on the phone than I did any other device.  So upon seeing the Apple keynote boasting new materials, thinner, lighter and the bigger screen I was foaming at the mouth to get a new phone.

I checked O2 recycle and seeing that I could get almost £300 back for my 4S I jumped at the chance and preordered on the 14th at 8:30am.  Luckily enough I was early enough to be in the first batch and received the phone on launch day.

As soon as I opened the box and handled the 5 I knew I had made the right decision, it was amazingly light and more importantly comfortable in the hand.  The harsh corners are all now integrated into one piece and the they have been bevelled off to make it the most comfortable phone I’ve used.  The edges are now the same material as in a MacBook so do offer more grip and the back is the same so no longer will you be picking your phone up off the floor where it’s slipped off the arm of the chair.

I know it’s been said before but the 5 really is a big step up from the 4/S design, it’s light but solid.

In the box you get a new pair of headphones (EarPods…), which although don’t sit amazingly in my ears do sound better than the old ones, power adaptor, lightning to USB cable and of course the Apple stickers.  One thing I will say here about the headphones is that Apple has included a neat little carry case as seen in the image above, which really makes a difference to me as I was sick of unknotting my old ones all of the time.

Does the screen really make a difference?

There has been a lot written about the stance of going taller but after using iOS 6 with the larger display it makes a lot of sense.  The app store redesign seems to flow better, movies look great and the Kindle app looks amazing.  I’ve used larger display’s on Android phones such as the HTC One X and Nexus but always found them a little uncomfortable.  By going slightly taller there isn’t a big learning curve from what you are used to and I have been able to reach all parts of the display.

Something else to note here is that the new display does actually look brighter to me and it seems a lot more balanced.  It feels brighter and more vivid, I wasn’t expecting this and it looks really nice.

How about those new ports on the bottom?

The headphone port being moved to the bottom of the phone seems strange to start with but actually makes sense to me given I sit the phone top down in my pocket or flat on a desk so having this at the bottom actually works out better.

Now the more controversial lightning connector… Well to be honest apart from charging I haven’t found it to be an issue.  We have a B&W Zeppelin at home, which serves as a charger for both myself and my wife’s iPhones.  I obviously can no longer use this but as it supports Air Play it’s not a big issue.  I’m tempted to get an adaptor for charging but I can live without it for now, let’s pay off the phone first.

Camera?

So it’s the same 8 megapixel as the 4S but better in low light and more resistant to scratches apparently (i’m not testing this…).  I’ve found the camera to be great indoors and outdoors but does still degrade slightly in low light but much better than the 4S.  Personally I wouldn’t upgrade just for the camera on this one but it is better if you are upgrading anyway.

Overall

I’m loving the 5, it’s light but solid construction makes it a joy to use and the screen is a really nice upgrade.

If you want to save some cash but thinking of upgrading, don’t try one out or you are going to be spending some money.

Love it.