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iPhone 5 unboxed, in the flesh and first impressions

As what we normally do, we buy most of the highly-anticipated gadgets so we can give you a more in-depth coverage and help you decide along the way. That includes the iPhone 5 which we got for an outrageous sum of money. Check out our unboxing and first impressions after the break.

We’ve been very eager to unbox this phone since yesterday morning but since I was still on a summit in Cebu, this just has to wait. The unit came from Singapore and hand-carried to Manila right after its release in Singapore last September 21.


Photo of the iPhone 5 box right beside the older iPhone 4S. Same material, just a bit taller/longer than the old one.

We got the white model with silver backplate at the back. The unit feels lighter on the hands despite its larger size (I kind of miss that bit of heft from the old iPhones).

The EarPods now comes in a small plastic box of its own which gives it a more premium look compared to the old earphones that come with the iPhone (as if the earpods were bought separately actually).

We can also (slightly) feel that the iPhone 5 is slimmer, the controls are buttons are in their usual places. The nano-SIM cradle on the right side is much smaller. The speaker grills at the bottom are much more prominent and the proprietary cable and data port reminds me of the ones in the Macbook Air, only smaller.

We managed to cut a microSIM to fit the nano SIM cradle on the iPhone 5 and we also had to download iTunes 10.7 in order to activate the phone (we will update once all that has been done).

From afar, the iPhone 5 doesn’t seem to be any different from the older iPhones (4/4s) but once you’ve held it in your hands, you will definitely notice the oddly taller (or elongated) size of the phone. I feel it’s a bit out of proportion.

More photos and video to come once we break in the iPhone 5 along the way. We felt a bit underwhelmed after the unboxing, not sure if there’s something we’re missing here.

Apple iPhone 5 specs:
4.0-inch IPS LCD display @ 640×1136 pixels, 326ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass
Apple A6 1.2GHz dual-core processor
PowerVR SGX543MP3 (triple-core)
16GB, 32GB, 64GB internal storage
1GB RAM
DC-HSDPA 42Mbps, LTE 100Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, dual-band
Bluetooth 4.0
8MP autofocus camera, LED flash
180p video recording
1.2MP front-facing camera, 720p @ 30fps
GPS w/ aGPS support, GLONASS
iOS 6

You can also read our full overview of iOS 6 here.

We reported earlier that the iPhone 5 will probably be released by Smart and Globe some time in November. This gives the grey market sellers ample time to offer the phone at a much higher price. Initial reports on the ground saw prices of the 16GB iPhone 5 shooting up to Php50,000 a pop.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

59 Responses

  1. Avatar for Jyu Jyu says:

    sige mg s3 kayo nang sumakit ulo niyo sa sobrang daming problema hahaha

    • Avatar for iSheep iSheep says:

      As if meron. Im S3 owner for 3 months now. Kontento na nga ako sa stock eh. All is well! :)

      If may problem ka sa phone mo, its either you don’t know how to use it or you just jealous!

    • Avatar for John John says:

      LOL@iSheep

      galaxy s3 problem?
      here are some:
      1. poor battery
      2. microphone malfunction
      3. wifi low signal
      4. overheating
      5. camera bug
      6. memory bug problem
      7. back cover issue
      8. charging issue

    • Avatar for iSheep iSheep says:

      @john
      so you’re basically saying that I have problems with my S3?

      and you just google it?

      you just trolling…right?

  2. Avatar for Awesomeness!!! Awesomeness!!! says:

    Wow iPhone 5!
    I’ll buy this freaking awesome phone with premium feel and quality. no it’s just not a phone. It’s the revolutionary iPhone.

    I’ve been waiting for this for a year. Anyway, its worth waiting. Will I be those one falling in line? No. I preordered.

    Why iphone? It’s polished. Smooth. Apps and games are amazing! User-friendly UI. iOS with 200 features.
    It has LTE. 4 inch screen. Panoramic shot. Nice earPods. A lots lots casemates. And top of all, it’s Apple!

    You guys complaining can’t afford this.
    S3? Yuck! It so plasticky cheap.

    **sarcasm**

  3. Avatar for jehjeh jehjeh says:

    I’ve been waiting for Iphone 5. I skipped both Iphone 4 and 4s just for this one. Even though I’ve read a lot of reviews (good and bad), I will still buy it because of the apps. The fluidity of the iOS is just flawless. Not an apple fanboy cause this is the only Apple I own. I just love the premium feel of the Iphone. I will buy the white one because it just look awesome. :)

  4. Avatar for acuriousguy acuriousguy says:

    did you buy that from the apple singapore website then apple delivered it here to manila? or is there another way? how exactly did you purchase it?

  5. Avatar for u8mypinkcookies u8mypinkcookies says:

    how much did you get it in SG? they allow walk-ins or for reservation only?

  6. Avatar for Sherwin Reyes Sherwin Reyes says:

    If you already have an Iphone4s, will it be advisable to go for an Iphone5? Iphone5S might be on the way on 2013…

  7. Avatar for tech.Bong tech.Bong says:

    This all the more makes me want the Xperia V. Not that I wanted iPhone 5 in the first place.

  8. Avatar for Gerard Gerard says:

    It would be interesting to see how it fares against SGS3 on the local LTE. That’s one solid reason for iPhone users to upgrade.

  9. Avatar for Marcelino Marcelino says:

    “We managed to cut a microSIM to fit the nano SIM cradle on the iPhone 5…”

    So it is possible? How? Because I’ve read that it’s thinner and a micro-sim won’t fit the cradle.

    Please confirm, Yuga. Thanks!

  10. Avatar for moe moe says:

    ron, napansin ko din yan sa unit ko. i have the black one. ung metal band has paint chips, indicative of a rushed product. ung white ng wife ko wala naman ako napansin na ganun.

  11. Avatar for Mike Mike says:

    Looks great, hope local telcos will release it by Nov. After experiencing lots of bugs and crashes on Android, I’m moving on to iOS.

  12. Avatar for Ron Ron says:

    Sir Abe, does your unit has scratches on the metal band? It’s seems prominent both on the black and white versions. A lapse on quality control.

  13. Avatar for dunos dunos says:

    Wow… earlier article from this site says that iphone crap blah blah then site owner goes ahead and buys the unit….

    Grabe… next time…buy the unit then have someone write an article, it makes much more sense.

    Agreed with Jim… sino dito nakarinig of buying Samsung S3 or any Android phone with even 5000P more.

  14. Avatar for ronald ronald says:

    Im more interested in the “earpods” than the phone. Please review it if the sound is really comparable to those hundred dollar headphones that apple claims.

    • Avatar for Jesse Robredo Jesse Robredo says:

      Imagine the previous apple earphone with just a little bit of bass and redesigned. Yes, the earpod is crap you can google it the reviews are everywhere.

  15. Avatar for jim jim says:

    We are all brave to demolish this device because this is the web, the anonymity of everything saves us. But I guess in the real world, none of us would be showing up for a real debate. There are only some that would do but they’ll be left out in the dust since no one cares.

    • Avatar for Ron Ron says:

      WTH? What does online anonymity has to do with what they think about a certain product?

      To each his own.

  16. Avatar for jim jim says:

    Hi, I think what I read in the comments does not always happen in the market. We all say, yeah this feature already a year out, an old feature of other phones, but guess what, people buy these things because these just works! I think only the tech people hate how the iPhone is the market leader just because the thing they all concerned about is the raw specs, hackability, how easy it is to insert pirated movies and music. iPhone captured the likes of normal consumer and business so they are positioned on top now.

  17. Avatar for primon primon says:

    Seems no one’s impressed. I can’t wait for the Apple fanboys’ violent reactions.

  18. Avatar for ironyuppy ironyuppy says:

    The biggest turn off with this device is the price. Specially there are many smartphones in the market today that are better than this.
    Agree, if I want an apple-like experience I would
    simply buy an ipod touch. :)

  19. Avatar for procopiojose procopiojose says:

    dalawang uri lang nang tao bibili nyan… mayaman o social climber.. haha
    dafuq.. gaguhan lang??

  20. Avatar for kenny kenny says:

    i wonder how many people would snatch it up this next few weeks only to find out that you need a nanosim.

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