Apple's claim of 2x the horsepower was once again, an under-statement.

Apple's been notorious for undermining their own devices performance during reveals. Unlike other companies that usually under-delivers on what they claim, Apple is known for being modest about performance, from battery life, to CPU performance and to graphics capabilities.

Geekbench has bench-tested the 4S at over 600, and the iPhone 5 at over 1600. This makes the new Apple custom-designed A6 MORE than 2X the horsepower than the 4S.

Who said this was not a big upgrade?

I've got a 5...and while it is a good phone, I do wonder whether I'll upgrade to another iPhone in two years time. While I can't fault Apple on their interface, their hardware is starting to lag behind thanks to their natural conservatism. The iPhone premium is looking less and less like good value if all I'm getting is iOS for that extra wodge of cash while the quality of the designs from the competitors is getting better year on year (without spending several hundred pounds on top of the monthly contract).

I feel that iPhones are heading the way of Macs - a niche product largely eclipsed by its more flexible rival(s).

It's much better than the 4 I replaced, but I do feel that Apple are going to have to do something special to keep my custom when this contract expires in a couple of years. And hopefully in 2 years time all these silly legal cases will be sorted out and I won't be trying to upgrade to a phone (from whoever) that's had a sales ban slapped on it.

Specs don't mean anything. With every iPhone iteration, there was an Android handset that boasted "higher specs." Only for benchmarks to reveal a lot of those handsets didn't even come close to matching Apples "lower specs."

Numbers on paper meant only for marketing to unknowledgeable consumers don't mean anything. Performance tests do.

So that "extra gig of RAM" that a lot of people think matter? Doesn't really help at all in a lot of cases when the underlying OS is at fault for inefficient use of resources.

Specs don't mean anything. With every iPhone iteration, there was an Android handset that boasted "higher specs." Only for benchmarks to reveal a lot of those handsets didn't even come close to matching Apples "lower specs."

Numbers on paper meant only for marketing to unknowledgeable consumers don't mean anything. Performance tests do.

So that "extra gig of RAM" that a lot of people think matter? Doesn't really help at all in a lot of cases when the underlying OS is at fault for inefficient use of resources.

Kid-Atari

Unfortunately all to often do people give a vague comparison, example saying "dual core" vs "quad core" can carry no meaning as the type of core and information about the process remains unknown.

If someone says Snapdragon S4 Pro boats higher specs than the A6 based off a "dual core vs quad core" and "1GB RAM vs 2GB RAM" they're giving a comparison out of context, not enough information is stated to make a fair comparison. Although S4 Pro does outperform the A6, a vague statement comparing number of cores or amount of ram can be misleading.

Specs don't mean anything. With every iPhone iteration, there was an Android handset that boasted "higher specs." Only for benchmarks to reveal a lot of those handsets didn't even come close to matching Apples "lower specs."

Numbers on paper meant only for marketing to unknowledgeable consumers don't mean anything. Performance tests do.

So that "extra gig of RAM" that a lot of people think matter? Doesn't really help at all in a lot of cases when the underlying OS is at fault for inefficient use of resources.

Kid-Atari

[QUOTE="Kid-Atari"]

Specs don't mean anything. With every iPhone iteration, there was an Android handset that boasted "higher specs." Only for benchmarks to reveal a lot of those handsets didn't even come close to matching Apples "lower specs."

Numbers on paper meant only for marketing to unknowledgeable consumers don't mean anything. Performance tests do.

So that "extra gig of RAM" that a lot of people think matter? Doesn't really help at all in a lot of cases when the underlying OS is at fault for inefficient use of resources.

my_name_is_ron

One of the main things I like with the iphone is getting the updates. I have had serveral droids and once I buy them I dont get the new OS's. I like being able to get IOS6 even though my phone is last years model.AutoPilotOn

Carriers are the big problem. The carrier free google nexus series is the best supported smartphone range, no wait for updates and you get all the features that your phone can handle instead of google artificially limiting some features to attract people towards the newer phones. Thats because google isnt that interested in you upgrading your phone, google just wants you to keep using an android phone and google services.

The Google Nexus brand of phone is the only phone guaranteed to get an update. Even then, it can take months for carriers to approve it after Google releases the update. I'm on Verizon and the JellyBean update STILL hasn't been released OTA yet. Obviously, you can root and install a custom rom but even Google own branded device takes months and months to recieve an update the conventional way. Its 100% absurd and will end up being Android's downfall in the future. And on another note about the Nexus, it always ships with sub-par hardware. Bad camera, 2 year outdated GPU, horrible radios, so-so build quality, etc plagues the Galaxy Nexus. So, you either pick a Top teir phone like the GS3 or the One X and wait for God knows how long for an update, or wait for a long while, although guaranteed, for an update with mid range specs. Its pathetic. I love Android, I love the OS. I love everything about the openness and I can deal with a bit of fragmentation on devices if they would at LEAST do something about only 1% of Android users having the latest update months after its release. No one cares if the carriers or Google is at fault. The user only cares that it hurts his experience as he knows once he signs that contract, his phone's carrier and OEM could give f*ck all what happens to him once they've hooked him. Its a massive problem and I'm dumbfounded how Google has sat back and done not a god damn thing about it. I'll wait until Google's next announcement and if they announce a plan to address the problem, I'll stick with Android and ride it out. If they continue to ignore it, then fair well boys, I'm jumping camps.

The Google Nexus brand of phone is the only phone guaranteed to get an update. Even then, it can take months for carriers to approve it after Google releases the update. I'm on Verizon and the JellyBean update STILL hasn't been released OTA yet. Obviously, you can root and install a custom rom but even Google own branded device takes months and months to recieve an update the conventional way. Its 100% absurd and will end up being Android's downfall in the future. And on another note about the Nexus, it always ships with sub-par hardware. Bad camera, 2 year outdated GPU, horrible radios, so-so build quality, etc plagues the Galaxy Nexus. So, you either pick a Top teir phone like the GS3 or the One X and wait for God knows how long for an update, or wait for a long while, although guaranteed, for an update with mid range specs. Its pathetic. I love Android, I love the OS. I love everything about the openness and I can deal with a bit of fragmentation on devices if they would at LEAST do something about only 1% of Android users having the latest update months after its release. No one cares if the carriers or Google is at fault. The user only cares that it hurts his experience as he knows once he signs that contract, his phone's carrier and OEM could give f*ck all what happens to him once they've hooked him. Its a massive problem and I'm dumbfounded how Google has sat back and done not a god damn thing about it. I'll wait until Google's next announcement and if they announce a plan to address the problem, I'll stick with Android and ride it out. If they continue to ignore it, then fair well boys, I'm jumping camps.

awptical

Galaxy nexus doesnt have bad camera it's a pretty decent unit just because it's not the best doesnt mean its bad. Its build quality is fine every phone has its fair share of issues. Galaxy nexus is NOW a mid range phone when it was released it was a top tier phone, it happens with all these phones whats important is that google doesnt stop supporting outdated products.

Someone did a comparison once where you end up paying more money if you get a contract instead of getting an unlocked phone with pre-paid sim so I dont see why getting a contract is the only option.