- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How they compare
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Compare with...
- LG Nexus 4
- LG Optimus L5
- Sony Xperia Z
- HTC 8X
- Huawei Ascend G300
Rated 87% by by c|net (Sep, 2012)You've gotten the full rundown already, most likely, on the various ins and outs of this phone, or if you haven't, I'll tell you about them below in greater detail.
by GSM Arena (Jun, 2009)If anything else, at least it's easy to spot that the iPhone 3GS doesn't offer superior results to iPhone 3G.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Apple iPhone 5 compared to the Apple iPhone 3GS
GHz1.3
iOS 6 4G
Rated 88% by by The Verge (Sep, 2012)It's a minor detail, but one you sense immediately when you're holding the phone.
0.6 GHz
iOS 6 3.5G
Rated 80% by by c|net (Jun, 2009)As with the autofocus feature, the macro setting is a welcome addition, but we'd prefer to have more control over it.
screen size
4"
3.5"
iPhone 5 by ABookheimer (Oct, 2012)the iphone has a screen that is an inch smaller so its easier and cheaper to to make a better smaller quality screen than it is to make one that is almost 5 inches big.
iPhone 3GS by c|net (Jun, 2009)As you point the lens toward your subject, a small box appears on the center of the display.
screen resolution
iPhone 5 by henrychinaski26 (Oct, 2012)iPhone 5 has retina display meaning the pixel count is much greater and everything looks crisp.
iPhone 3GS by GSM Arena (Jun, 2009)Colors seem balanced and the image is nicely sharpened with relatively good reproduction of details.
memory
| 0 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
processor
iPhone 5 by GSM Arena (Sep, 2012)All we're left with is a surprisingly solid chipset - and we mean a surprise that most quad-cores will hardly call pleasant.
iPhone 3GS by TrustedReviews (Jun, 2012)Apple is still pretty cagey when it comes to the exact hardware specification in the iPhone, but the 3GS has seen an increase in speed for the main processor, along with a new graphics chip, while there's also more memory on tap.
camera resolution
| 0 MP | 8 MP | 8 MP |
iPhone 5 by The Verge (Sep, 2012)That said, the results produced by the iPhone 5 were markedly better than most (though low-lighting did cause some noticeable noise), and depending on how slowly and smoothly you move your hand you can take shots as high as 30 megapixels.
iPhone 3GS by c|net (Jun, 2009)Apple boosted the camera's resolution to 3 megapixels and added a new "Tap to Focus" feature.
Performance Real world tests of Apple iPhone 5 vs Apple iPhone 3GS
cpu speed
iPhone 5 by TrustedReviews (Oct, 2012)It’s slimmer, lighter and better looking than before, and yet it packs in a larger screen and faster processor.
talk time
480 min
720 min
iPhone 5 by GSM Arena (Sep, 2012)Underneath the back panel lies a non-user-accessible 1440 mAh Li-Ion battery which, Apple says, should last for up to 8 hours of calls or 225 h of stand-by.
iPhone 3GS by GSM Arena (Jun, 2009)Video playback endurance has been upgraded from 7 to 10 hours, while the stand-by and 3G talk time remain unchanged.
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the iPhone 3GS
| Store much more stuff | 64 GB | vs | 16 GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4x more storage capacity; free yourself from memory cards | |||
| Has a built-in flash | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Take photos even in poor lighting | |||
| Much sharper screen | 325 ppi | vs | 164 ppi |
| Around 2x sharper PPI; enjoy photo-realistic, crisp images | |||
| Is 4G | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Supports the fastest, most reliable networks | |||
| Acts as a wi-fi hotspot | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Share your cellphone's data plan with other devices | |||
| Much faster processor | 1.3 GHz | vs | 0.6 GHz |
| More than 2x faster processor; run computation-intensive applications, such as photo editing, faster | |||
| Much smaller | 59 x 124 x 8 mm | vs | 62 x 116 x 12 mm |
| Around 40% smaller | |||
| Outputs video to TV | Lightning | vs | None |
| Most phones can connect to a TV; the modern day slide projector, great for sharing your photos & videos | |||
| Significantly higher resolution screen | 1136 x 640 | vs | 480 x 320 |
| More than 4.5x higher resolution screen | |||
| Marginally newer | Sep, 2012 | vs | Jun, 2009 |
| Release date over 3 years later | |||
| Significantly higher resolution front camera | 8 MP | vs | 3 MP |
| More than 2.5x higher resolution front camera; Video chat with other people | |||
| Records significantly higher definition video | 1920 x 1080 @ 30 fps | vs | 640 x 480 @ 30 fps |
| Around 7x higher definition video | |||
| More cores | Dual core | vs | Single core |
| Twice as many cores; each additional core lets your phone do more without visible UI slowdowns and jerkiness | |||
| Much thinner | 8 mm | vs | 12 mm |
| Around 40% thinner | |||
| Has a gyroscope | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Play games and use applications that take advantage of device rotation | |||
| Lighter | 112 g | vs | 135 g |
| Around 20% lighter | |||
| Bigger screen | 4" | vs | 3.5" |
| More than 10% bigger screen | |||
| Supports multitasking | Yes | vs | No (iOS) |
| Somewhat common; Run multiple apps at once | |||
| More highly reviewed by consumers | 83.34% | vs | 78.36% |
| Around 10% more highly reviewed by consumers | |||
| More battery capacity | 1,440 mA·h | vs | 1,219 mA·h |
| Around 20% more battery capacity | |||
| Better theoretical download speed | 20 Mb/s | vs | 7.2 Mb/s (HSDPA) |
| Around 3x better theoretical download speed; enjoy lightning fast downloads on modern networks | |||
Advantages compared to the iPhone 5 64 GB
| Longer talk time | 720 min | vs | 480 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50% longer talk time; go days without charging | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Apple iPhone 5 | Apple iPhone 3GS | ||
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 | Rated by 306 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by CoolJohnB (Feb, 2013) Rated 80% by by Sage-Wysocki (Mar, 2013) Rated 80% by by Harkanwar-Anand (Mar, 2013) | Rated by 387 users at amazon.com Rated 20% by by 221133 (Jul, 2012) Rated 100% by by M.-Neely (Sep, 2012) Rated 80% by by lissapolanco2 (Mar, 2011) | |
screen
Apple iPhone 5 64 GB | Rated 87% by by c|net (Sep, 2012)The new iPhone 5's display also has a layer removed from the screen, creating a display that acts as its own capacitive surface.
Apple iPhone 5 64 GB | Rated 87% by by c|net (Sep, 2012)Autobrightness adjustments have also been tweaked a little, and I found on average that the iPhone 5 found more-appropriate brightness levels for the room I was in.
Apple iPhone 5 64 GB | Rated 87% by by c|net (Sep, 2012)The iPhone 5 screen is just as tall as the screen on the Samsung Galaxy S 2, but it's not as wide.
size
Apple iPhone 5 64 GB | Rated 87% by by c|net (Sep, 2012)The iPhone 5 finally extends the 3.5-inch screen that's been the same size on the iPhone for five years, but it does so by going longer, not wider.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | LG Nexus 4 Better than usual battery capacity |
 | 2 | LG Optimus L5 Long standby time |
 | 3 | Sony Xperia Z Biggest screen |
 | 4 | HTC 8X 4-way tie: Supports Flash |
 | 5 | Huawei Ascend G300 Rated the best by consumers |
 | 6 | Samsung Galaxy S Advance 3-way tie: Has a removable battery |
 | 7 | Nokia Lumia 820 2-way tie: Longest battery life during active use |
