text: iphone 5 the iphone 5 is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by apple inc . it is the sixth generation of the iphone , succeeding the iphone 4s and preceding the iphone 5s and iphone 5c . formally unveiled as part of a press event on september 12 , 2012 , it was released on september 21 , 2012 . it was the first iphone to be completely developed under the guidance of tim cook . the iphone 5 featured major design changes in comparison to its predecessor . these included an aluminum - based body which was thinner and lighter than previous models , a taller screen with a nearly 16 : 9 aspect ratio , the apple a6 system - on - chip , lte support , and lightning , a new compact dock connector which replaced the 30 - pin design used by previous iphone models . this was the second apple phone to include its new sony made camera , first introduced on the iphone 4s . apple began taking pre - orders on september 14 , 2012 , and over two million were received within 24 hours . initial demand for the iphone 5 exceeded the supply available at launch on september 21 , 2012 , and was described by apple as " extraordinary " , with pre - orders having sold twenty times faster than its predecessors . while reception to the iphone 5 was generally positive , consumers and reviewers noted hardware issues , such as an unintended purple hue in photos taken , and the phone 's coating being prone to chipping . reception was also mixed over apple 's decision to switch to a different dock connector design , as the change affected iphone 5 's compatibility with accessories that were otherwise compatible with previous iterations of the line . the iphone 5 was officially discontinued by apple on september 10 , 2013 with the announcement of its successors , the iphone 5s and the iphone 5c . the iphone 5 had the shortest lifespan of any iphone ever produced with only twelve months in production . history rumors about the iphone 5 began shortly after the announcement of the iphone 4s , though detailed leaks did not emerge until june 2012 . on july 30 , 2012 , reports pinpointed the dates on which the iphone 5 would be unveiled and released , along with some accurate predictions of its features . on september 4 , 2012 , apple announced they would be hosting an event at the yerba buena center for the arts in san francisco on september 12 , 2012 . a shadow of the numeral 5 was featured in the invitations sent to the media , suggesting that the next iphone would be unveiled at the event . at the unveiling , apple announced the iphone 5 and also introduced new ipod nano and ipod touch models . they also stated that pre - orders would be accepted starting september 14 , 2012 . over two million pre - orders were received within 24 hours . initial demand for the new phone exceeded the record set by its predecessor , the iphone 4s , by selling over 5 million units in the first three days . on november 30 , 2012 , apple added an unlocked version of the iphone 5 to their online us store , with the 16 gb model starting at us $ 649 . the iphone 5 was officially discontinued by apple on september 10 , 2013 with the announcement of its successors , the iphone 5s and the iphone 5c . while the 5c shared almost the same internal hardware as the iphone 5 , the 5c used a lower - cost poly - carbonate plastic case in place of the original 5 's aluminum form . the introduction of the 5c deviated from apple 's previous market strategy , where the previous iphone model would remain in production , but sold at a lower price point below the new model . on april 28 , 2014 , apple initiated an out of warranty recall program to replace any failing power buttons of iphone 5 models which were manufactured prior to march 2013 at no cost . on august 23 , 2014 , apple announced a program to replace batteries of iphone 5 models that " may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently " which were sold between september 2012 and january 2013 . litigation following the release of the iphone 5 , samsung announced that it was filing a lawsuit against apple for infringing eight of its patents . the case was scheduled to begin in 2014 . in a statement , samsung said it had " little choice but to take the steps necessary to protect our innovations and intellectual property rights " . litigation between the two involving patent infringement has been ongoing and is being fought in several court cases around the world . production the components and labor required to construct the most basic iphone 5 are estimated to cost us $ 207 , which is us $ 19 more than the cost of components for the corresponding iphone 4s model . the lte module in the iphone 5 alone costs $ 34 , $ 10 more than the cellular module in the iphone 4s . similarly , screens used in the iphone 5 cost $ 44 , which is $ 7 more than the screen of its predecessor . mashable noted that the profit margin of selling each device is " huge " as the iphone 5 retails for us $ 649 . after the announcement of the device , a lack of supply was evident . this was due to a shortage of components such as the screen . reports emerged , stating that sharp was unable to ship the screen before the debut of the iphone 5 , and other manufacturers reported that it was difficult to keep up with demand . as a result , the number of pre - orders rose due to the uncertainty of stock at retail stores , and the delivery dates for pre - orders were postponed to dates that were after the initial release date of the device . quality control inspectors strike china labor watch , a new york state – based ngo , reported that " three to four thousand " foxconn workers who work at the iphone 5 production plant in zhengzhou stopped working on october 5 , 2012 . the strikes occurred after apple implemented a stricter quality standard on their products , which includes a 0 . 02 mm restriction on indentations inflicted during production , and imposed demands related to scratches on frames and back covers . the strikes were also attributed to the employer forcing employees to work on a public holiday . the report stated training was inadequate for quality demands expected and led to employees producing products that did not meet standards . during the strike , conflicts between quality control inspectors and employees resulted in brawls . china labor watch also claimed that concerns raised by inspectors were not addressed by factory management . foxconn spokesmen admitted that a micromanagement problem exists , but also said that there were only 300 to 400 workers absent and the conflicts did not influence production processes . in november 2012 foxconn chairman terry gou reported that the delay in production was due to undisclosed difficulties in assembly . features operating system and software the iphone 5 features ios , apple 's mobile operating system . the user interface of ios is based on the concept of direct manipulation , using multi - touch gestures . interface control elements consist of sliders , switches , and buttons . interaction with the os includes gestures such as swipe , tap , pinch , and reverse pinch , all of which have specific definitions within the context of the ios operating system and its multi - touch interface . internal accelerometers are used by some applications to respond to shaking the device ( one common result is the undo command ) or rotating it vertically ( one common result is switching from portrait to landscape mode ) . the iphone 5 is shipped with ios 6 , which was released on september 19 , 2012 . many of the iphone 5 's features that work specifically with the included ios 6 . 0 operating system only worked in certain territories on release . apple has said this is a rolling program , which will take longer to implement across more regions . the phone can act as a hotspot , sharing its internet connection over wifi , bluetooth , or usb , and also accesses the app store , an online application distribution platform for ios developed and maintained by apple . the service allows users to browse and download applications from the itunes store that were developed with xcode and the ios sdk and were published through apple . the iphone 5 can play music , movies , television shows , ebooks , audiobooks , and podcasts and can sort its media library by songs , artists , albums , videos , playlists , genres , composers , podcasts , audiobooks , and compilations . options are always presented alphabetically , except in playlists , which retain their order from itunes . users can rotate their device horizontally to landscape mode to access cover flow . like on itunes , this feature shows the different album covers in a scroll - through photo library . scrolling is achieved by swiping a finger across the screen . alternatively , headset controls can be used to pause , play , skip , and repeat tracks . on the iphone 5 , the volume can be changed with the included apple earphones , and the voice control feature can be used to identify a track , play songs in a playlist or by a specific artist , or create a genius playlist . like the iphone 4s , the iphone 5 has siri , that allows the user to operate the iphone by spoken commands . the software was improved in ios 6 to include the ability to make restaurant reservations , launch apps , dictate facebook or twitter updates , retrieve movie reviews and detailed sports statistics . on the iphone 5 , texting can be aided by the voice assistant , which converts speech to text . in addition to regular texting , messaging on the iphone 5 supports imessage , a specialized instant messaging program and service that allows unlimited texting to other apple devices running ios 5 or later . this supports the inclusion of content such as images and sound in text messages , integration with the device 's voice - controlled software assistant , and read acknowledgements for sent messages . input to the device comes from a keyboard displayed on the multi - touch screen or by voice - to text by speaking into the microphone . entered text is supported by predictive and suggestion software ; there is a multi - language spell - checker which recognises many regional accents of different languages . ios 6 features several new and / or updated apps , which includes apple maps and passbook . apple 's built - in maps app , which replaced the former maps app powered by google maps , had been universally derided and lacked many features present in competing maps apps . it uses apple 's new vector - based engine that eliminates lag , making for smoother zooming . new to maps is turn - by - turn navigation spoken directions , 3d views in some major cities and real - time ios 6 is able to retrieve documents such as boarding passes , admission tickets , coupons and loyalty cards through its new passbook app . an ios device with passbook can be scanned under a reader to process a mobile payment at locations that have compatible hardware . the app has context - aware features such as notifications for relevant coupons when in the immediate vicinity of a given store . facebook comes integrated through apple 's native apps with ios 6 . facebook features can be directly accessed from within native apps such as calendar which can sync facebook events , or use facebook 's like button from within the apple app store . new privacy settings are available to the user . in addition to location services , the following have been added in ios 6 : photos ( already partially restricted in ios 5 ) , contacts ( address book ) , calendars , reminders , bluetooth sharing , twitter , facebook , and sina ios 6 also comes with a " limit ad tracking " user control in the general settings menu to allow users the option to prevent targeted advertising . apple 's advertising identifier replaces the company 's existing unique device identification ( ) standard . advertising networks not yet using apple 's advertising identifier device identifier standard would not be affected , although apple will require the standard in the future . design apple emphasized the improved build quality of the iphone 5 at its press event . the frame used in previous versions was redesigned to use an aluminum composite frame . the iphone 4 and iphone 4s used stainless steel instead of aluminium due to steve jobs ' preference for the metal which he thought , " looks beautiful when it wears " . the iphone 5 is 18 % thinner , 20 % lighter , and has 12 % less overall volume than its predecessor , the iphone 4s . the phone 's aluminum body is 0 . 30 in ( 7 . 6 mm ) thick . at the september 2012 conference apple claimed it was the thinnest smartphone in the world at 7 . 6 mm , though that claim was disputed as the chinese oppo finder was thinner and some other smartphones could be considered to be thinner , depending upon where thickness is measured . the oppo finder measured 6 . 65 mm ( 0 . 262 in ) at its thinnest point and 7 . 1 mm ( 0 . 28 in ) at its thickest point making it overall thinner than the iphone . hardware the iphone 5 uses a system on chip ( soc ) , called the apple a6 . the soc comprises a 1 . 3 ghz dual - core processor , 1gb of ram and a tri - core powervr running at 266 mhz . the iphone 5 's operating memory ( - 1066 ) was doubled , from 512 mb to 1 gb . storage capacities available are fixed at 16 , 32 or 64 gb , the same as the 4s ; plug - in memory cards are not supported . the two color options are black ( with black glass and slate - colored metal trim ) , and white ( with white ceramic and silver - colored metal trim ) ; again the same color options ( though differently implemented ) as its predecessor the 4s had . the iphone 5 retains the 8 mp back camera on the iphone 4s , but has improved low - light performance , and has a 40 % faster photo capture than its predecessors , while having a purple hue when a strong source of light is present in the photograph . the front camera , which is accessible through the facetime and camera app has a lower resolution , at 1 . 2 megapixels . the rechargeable lithium - ion polymer battery with a charge capacity of is built in and cannot be replaced by the user ; it is rated at ≤ 225 hours of standby time and ≤ 8 hours of talk time . there are three separate models of the phone available : one supporting cdma and two gsm versions . this can have knock - on effects for which version of the device will actually work in which countries / regions . the phone takes a nano - sim , smaller than the micro - sim of the iphone 4 and iphone 4s . hardware benchmarking conducted using and validates several claims that apple included on their website and mentioned at the unveiling of the device , these include two times faster and two times the graphics performance . in the overall hardware assessment , the iphone 5 received a score that was approximately 2 . 5 times higher than the iphone 4s . the benchmark conducted using for the iphone 5 returned a score that was 2 times better than the iphone 4s . the result was however inconsistent as a 3d graphics benchmark assessment using returned a score that was only approximately 1 . 45 times better than the iphone 4s . battery life assessments conducted by anandtech concluded that the battery life is shorter on the iphone 5 than its predecessor when performing certain tasks , however when performing other tasks the iphone 5 battery outlasts the iphone 4s . the retina display is 1 , 136 × 640 pixels with an aspect ratio of almost exactly 16 : 9 , ( minus one extra row of horizontal pixels ) . with a diagonal of 4 " it has a display size of 6 . 7 square inches , compared to 5 . 7 in iphone 4 and 4s . the pixel density remains the same as the 4s model , which is 326 pixels per inch . screen icons of the iphone 5 are arranged in a matrix of six rows of four icons each . the increased screen size allows the sixth row of icons to be added to the five rows that were present in the iphone 4 . in - cell touch sensor technology from sharp the screen which allows for a thinner phone . the screen 's color saturation is 44 % greater than its predecessor . there are three microphones ( placed on the front , side and back ) for noise cancellation and video calls . on april 28 , 2014 , apple initiated an out of warranty recall program to replace any failing power buttons of iphone 5 models which were manufactured prior to march 2013 at no cost . on august 23 , 2014 , apple announced a program to replace batteries of iphone 5 models that " may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently " which were sold between september 2012 and january 2013 . accessories the iphone 5 , as well as the ipod touch ( 5th generation ) , ipod nano ( 7th generation ) , ipad ( 4th generation ) , and ipad mini feature a new dock connector named lightning , which replaces the 30 - pin apple dock connector introduced in 2003 by apple on the ipod ( 3rd generation ) . the apple lightning connector has eight pins and all signaling is digital . this new connector is smaller than the previous one , helping the iphone 5 to be slimmer than its predecessors . apple lightning cables have duplicate pins on two sides of each plug , so it can be inserted either way round . various accessories will be available to convert the apple lightning connector to the older 30 - pin apple dock connector or usb , although not all old accessories will work , as not all signals are available , in particular video output and the ipod out feature for bmw automobiles . earphones known as apple earpods are included with the iphone 5 and other devices announced at the apple media event on september 12 , 2012 . they superseded earphones that were included with previous generation iphones and ipods . according to technology commentators , the redesign of the earphones is aimed to improve sound quality by allowing air to travel in and out more freely . apple states that the redesign of their earphones allows it to " rival high - end headphones that cost hundreds of dollars more " . reviews by gizmodo and techradar reported that although the redesigned earphones sounded better than its predecessor , reviewers felt that quality of sound produced is poor . network compatibility at & t , verizon , and sprint offer lte access in the us , while in the uk , only ee and three are able to offer lte access . on march 26 , 2013 , t - mobile announced they would begin carrying the iphone 5 , making it the first iphone to be available on all four nationwide carriers in the united states . the t - mobile version of the iphone features a modified version of the iphone 5 model enabling advanced wireless services ( aws ) support . all carriers in canada selling the iphone 5 have their own lte networks , including rogers wireless , fido solutions , bell mobility , virgin mobile canada , telus mobility and mobile . 42 officially recognized bands exist for lte , however rollouts are coalescing around the more - popular bands , based on what historically has been made available in specific regions . in europe , bands available for lte include , 2 . 6 ghz ( the 3g - expansion band ) and 800 mhz ( cleared of analogue tv ) , with 1 , 800 mhz appearing in a few places including the uk . in germany , the only carrier network supported is that of t - mobile with its 1 , 800 mhz band allocated to lte . some countries in europe , including denmark , norway , sweden , and others — will not be able to offer lte connectivity via the iphone 5 to their customers on their current lte networks , as they have already deployed lte in the 2 . 6 ghz band , which the iphone 5 does not support . in november 2012 , a representative of reported that the iphone 5 only supports lte on networks that have been tested and certified by apple . unlike the iphone 4s , which was the only " world phone " produced by apple , there are three versions of the iphone 5 , which differ by the frequency used . all three work on 2g gsm / gprs and 3g umts / edge networks on both the 800 and 1900 mhz bands used in the americas , and the 900 and 1800 mhz bands used elsewhere . the cdma model works on cdma networks , such as that of sprint and verizon . another version supports lte only on the 1700 / 2100 mhz aws band , and the 700 mhz band recovered after the conversion to digital television in the us ( channels 52 to 56 ) , currently the only network that supports the band is at & t. gsm supports several other lte bands available in other countries , such as lte bands 1 , 3 , 5 . reception critical reception the iphone 5 received mainly positive reviews from commentators and reviewers . tim stevens from engadget praised the iphone 5 for its high resolution screen surpassing that of the iphone 4s , which he considered to be one of the best phone screens available on the market . stevens was critical of the new connector , which is incompatible with devices and cables that use the superseded 30 - pin connector , although the la times reported that this was a change necessary to make the device smaller than its predecessor . engadget agreed that apple fulfilled most of the promises stated on its website , such as " better battery performance " , " two times the graphics performance " and " two times faster . " david pogue of the new york times considered the 4 - inch retina display a " nice but not life - changing change " , and praised the lightning connector for its size , sturdiness , and reversibility , while noting its lack of support for older accessories , remarking that " apple has a long history of killing off technologies , inconveniently and expensively , that the public had come to love " . technology columnist ed baig of usa today was impressed that apple had met the public 's " lofty expectations " for the iphone 5 in a competitive market . in a repair - ability review , found the iphone 5 easier to disassemble and repair than its predecessor . wired reported that the iphone 5 design , carried on in the iphone 5s and iphone se , was regarded as " long been the golden child of apple phone design and a benchmark for phones in general " , while the succeeding iphone 6 / 6s design was less critically acclaimed as it " felt a little bit wrong , as though you were holding a slick $ 650 bar of soap " . wired described the iphone 5 as " elegance rooted in the way the aluminum and glass work together . it felt streamlined , yet substantial , which is different from the iphone 6 , which feels substantial in size alone . plus , unlike the ubiquitous rounded corners of the 6 , the iphone 5 didn ’ t really look like anything else on the market at the time " . however , the iphone 5 's design was not suited to scaling up , in contrast to the iphone 6 / 6s which could better accommodate the growing consumer trend towards larger screen sizes and indeed spawned the 6 / 6s plus phablet models . criticism reviewers and commentators were critical of the new maps app that replaced google maps in ios 6 . it had been reported to contain errors such as misplacement of landmark tags , directing users to incorrect locations and poor satellite images . nine days after maps ' release , apple issued a statement apologizing for the frustration it had caused customers and recommending that they try alternate mapping services . errors gizmodo editor diaz discussed the correspondence between apple and a reader about purple flare in pictures taken on iphone 5 camera . apple 's response to the issue was that it is normal and advised the customer to aim the camera away from bright light sources when taking photos . tests conducted by techcrunch indicate that the problem existed on the iphone 4s but was more distinct and pronounced on the iphone 5 . consumer reports found that the purple haze effect occurred on several other manufacturers ' phones including the samsung galaxy s iii and motorola droid maxx , and that it was not less pronounced on the iphone 4s . the report concluded that digital cameras in general , including higher - end , can all suffer from lens flare in which a purple - tinted effect was not uncommon . problems there were anecdotal claims of the iphone 5 's coating chipping off , exposing the bright aluminium underneath . apple executive 's response to email correspondence from an affected customer summarized that it was normal for aluminum to scratch . the term " " , a reference to " " which affected the iphone 4 , was applied by various sources such as cnet , yahoo news , and all things digital to describe the issue . some users reported on the internet that the white model leaked light behind the screen , though the issue was not unique to the iphone 5 , as it also affected other apple devices . commercial reception reported that the iphone 5 sold out twenty times faster than the 4 and 4s models . apple said that they were " blown away by the customer response " . phil schiller , apple 's vice - president of worldwide marketing , said that over two million iphone 5 orders had been received in the first 24 hours . at & t said that the iphone 5 was the fastest - selling iphone the company had ever offered , selling over five million units on launch weekend and exceeding the supply available . the release and sale of the iphone 5 has also slowed down the growth of android according to market share reports released by kantar . during the first 16 days after the phone 's initial release it comprised over 20 % of all phones sold in that period . j.p. morgan 's chief economist , michael said that " sales of iphone 5 could boost annualized us gdp growth by $ 3 . 2 billion , or $ 12 . 8 billion at an annual rate . " shortly after the announcement of the iphone 5 and preceding the launch , apple 's stock price rose to a record $ 705 . 07 , but within three months fell to $ 507 . 48 . according to the analysis of eric , apple 's stock decline and resulting losses were not the result of any issue with the new maps application , but disappointed investors . he points to initial hardware sales of only five million , compared to projections up to twice that , as the primary cause . since the release of the iphone 5 , discounts on previous generation iphones have enabled apple to maintain a market lead in the united states and japan , but the iphone continued to lag behind the combined total of android phones in the global market . timeline of models