Apple is considered by many to be the leader of the smartphone market. Within five years, the comapny has generated over $150 billion in revenue from the iPhone family of handsets and accessories (according to research firm Strategy Analytics) and over 100 million units of the iPhone itself have been purchased by consumers.
With an estimated 2 million units sold via Apple's online pre-order system for their latest handset, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company doesn't plan on relinquishing that title of "king of the smartphone" any time soon. Touted by many as the most innovative iPhone since its introduction— the Apple iPhone 5 offers Apple's first re-design of their flagship product since the "squaring" of the iPhone 4. The iPhone 5 marks Apple's first time moving beyond their 3.5-inch touchscreen comfort zone, with the introduction of a lengthened 4-inch screen.
[Get a 10% discount on ARM TechCon 2012 conference passes by using promo code EDIT. Click here to learn about the show and register.]As the first of the iPhone family to divert from its traditional 3.5-inch screen, the latest iPhone now boasts a larger Retina display with a resolution of 1136 x 640 and 326 pixels per square inch (ppi). The design of the Apple iPhone 5 with its larger size also re-introduces the front-to-back manufacturing model that was last seen with the iPhone 3GS. One wonders if Foxconn, the electronics manufacturing facility of choice for Apple, had any influence in the design change as front-to-back manufacturing would make for easier assembly.
Since the introduction of the iPhone by Apple in January of 2007, the handset has been the very definition of "iterative improvement."
The first iPhone, with its multi-touch screen and application-based environment, was considered revolutionary to the smartphone segment. Since that time, there has been five generations of iPhone models, each one improving on the model preceding it. Marketed as the most dramatic improvement of the iPhone—does the iPhone 5 really differ much from its predecessors? Let's
take a look inside to understand what changes at the component level the iPhone 5 reveals.
The front of the iPhone 5 communications board (click on image to enlarge and expand). Next: Incumbents rule