See also: My iPhone 5 Review (Part 1)
Map Revisited
To further confirm the turn-by-turn accuracy, I tested it out again, this time over a longer 31km distance.
Upon entering the destination, the system gave me 3 route options. The route I took was not the default system-picked one.
This way, I'll be able to test its re-routing capability.
The system was quick to start a re-routing seconds after I deviate from its default route.
The update was fast and accurate throughout.
So far, after tested the turn-by-turn three times, I'm quite comfortable to use it on a real unknown destination.
One good feature of Apple Maps Turn-by-Turn is its support for "Lock Screen Mode".
In normal mode, the app will show the usual navigation on the map.
To operate it in Lock Screen Mode, while the navigation is going on, press the Sleep button to lock the screen.
The lock screen appears with the maps slightly dimmed. When timeout occurs, the screen goes to sleep turns black.
When the app reaches a point for a navigation voice announcement, the screen will wake up to the lock screen and an info bar will be shown above.
I thought this is an ingenious implementation that will save quite a considerable amount of battery as the screen will be off when travelling on a long expressway, which I did on the 24km-long PIE on the way to Jurong.
Of course, as iOS 6 also runs on the iPhone 4S with Apple Maps Navigation and not exclusive to iPhone 5, the experience is probably the same or close.
But, for me, the extra screen estate does make a bit of a difference.
Gaming
Apple claims that the graphics capability of the iPhone 5 is a few times better than that of iPhone 4S (which is by no mean slow at all).
I tried out the 3D-rendered racing game, Need For Speed Uncovered.
On iPhone 4S, when the game starts to load the race, while it loads, a progress bar will be shown with some instructional text above. I was able to finish reading these text before the loading was done.
On the iPhone 5, the loading went so fast that, I could only managed the first 3 to 4 words before the loading ended.
Throughout the game, the rendering was smooth without lag or jittering.
However, this is an old game with a not so full graphic details. I'll try out with a newer game like the Asphalt 7 if I have the chance.
In the next review, I'll test this out over Apple TV Mirroring to my HD TV to see it's still smooth.
Lightning Connector
The iPhone 5 sports a new type of connector called Lightning Connector.
I really have mixed feeling on this new change.
First, the good.
I really love this connector as it's small and compact.
It "clicks" into the iPhone connector socket with a nice satisfying sound.
But the most ingenious part of it is that it's "reversible". And that means you can plug it in no matter it's "right-side-up" or "upside-down". Nice!
Second, the bad.. and a really bad one!
With this introduction of a new type of connector, it renders all my purchased 30-pin accessories useless.
But wait, there's a solution.. I could get a lightning-to-30pin converter from Apple!
But wait again, that little thing cost US39! A "daylight robbery" by Apple!
I'll never spend that kind of money.
After some searching, it seems there's an alternative.
I found a 3rd party adaptor from Qoo10 (AKA GMarket) online market app.
And it's selling at a mere S$8.90. Maybe I would get that.
The Wait Ends
After months of waiting, I've finally got the iPhone when it launched in Singapore on 21st September 2012.
Took me near 2 hours from queueing to getting the phone itself. Not really a long time.
Size and Weight
The first impression that I had when I first held the phone is my hand is that it's so light and slim it seems "hollow". One can even mistake it for one of those dummy prototypes showed handphone shops.
There are other light smartphones around such as the Galaxy S2 and S3. Both of these are light but because of the wider width, they don't give the same overall-lightness feeling that the iPhone 5 gives.
Maps
There are reports of several glitches in the new Apple Maps.
I tried the Fly-Over for New York. Some buildings and roads are so distorted that they look like they are in middle of a war zone.
Turn by Turn
I read some reports that the Turn by Turn was showing wrong routes and info.
I tried once yesterday over a short distance on Singapore street.
It finished with accuracy. No errors then.
I'll have to try more over a longer distance to conclude its accuracy.
User Interface
One of the main differences, which is a big improvement in this case, over the iPhone 4S is the bigger 4" screen.
It is taller, while maintaining the width. I really welcome that size proportion. I generally have a small palm and anytime wider than the width of iPhone 4S or Galaxy S2, I will find it hard to operate the phone with one hand.
With this difference in screen size, there's an impact to the app design. For those older apps that aren't designed to take the full advantage of the taller display, there will be 2 black rectangular boxes each at the top and bottom of the main app display.
But for those apps that have updated to take up the full screen estate, they just look gorgeous.
