iPhone 5 vs iPhone 4S: Which is better?

Here's a look at the features of the latest iPhone 5 and its predecessor, iPhone 4S.

iPhone5

Dimensions
4.87 inches tall, 2.3 inches wide, 0.3 inches thick ; 112 grams

iPhone 4S

Dimensions
4.5 inches tall, 2.3 inches wide, 0.37 inches thick ; 140 grams

Reviewer's take

The iPhone 5 completely rebuilds the iPhone on a framework of new features and design, addressing its major previous shortcomings. It's absolutely the best iPhone to date, and it easily secures its place in the top tier of the smartphone universe. - Scott Stein, CNET

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iPhone 5

Display
4-inch (diagonal)
Retina display
1136x640 resolution (326 ppi)

iPhone 4S

Display
3.5-inch (diagonal)
Retina display
960x640 resolution (326 ppi)

Reviewer's take

Apple has taken an already great product and made it better, overall. Consumers who prefer huge screens, or certain marginal features, have plenty of other choices, but the iPhone 5 is an excellent one. — Walt Mossberg, WSJ

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iPhone 5

Processor

A6 chip (Apple claims new chip is 2x faster at CPU tasks, and also has 2x greater graphics performance)

iPhone 4S

Processor

Dual-core Apple A5 chip

Reviewer's take

It's worth recalling a smartphone isn't a package of specifications. It's that, plus features (the software that drives the on-board camera, say) and services (like the software that runs Siri or the maps)...Android lets you be the janitor, air-conditioning chief and managing direct#8744 the iPhone lets you be the user. It's a key difference in philosophy. You can't do as much on the iPhone - but sometimes fewer choices mean faster decisions.  - Charles Arthur, Guardian

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iPhone 5

SIM Card
Nano-SIM, iPhone 5 is not compatible with the existing micro-SIM cards

iPhone 4S

SIM Card
Micro-SIM

Reviewer's take

The iPhone 5 is a winner that should keep Apple at the front of thesmartphone pack. But choosing iPhone 5 vs a top-of-the lineAndroid alternative isn't a cut-and-dried decision, especially ifyou're partial to a jumbo display, such as the one on the big, boldand beautiful Samsung Galaxy S III, an Android rival for which I'vehad high praise. — Edward C Baig, USAToday.

iPhone 5
Camera, video

8-megapixel (back) and 1.2-megapixel (front)

Can shoot 1080p HD video (30 fps), take still photos while recording video and do face detection

iPhone 4S
Camera, video

8-megapixel (back) and VGA resolution (front)

Can shoot 1080p HD video (30 fps)

Reviewer's take

With the camera in the iPhone 5, Apple opted to take a step outside of the megapixel arms-race (it remains eight megapixels) and instead focus on other things, such as low-light photography. The results are noticeably better ... By far, the best new camera functionality is the Panorama mode, which is amazing. It's so simple to use and works so well that I suspect a lot of people will start using it fairly regularly, and we may see some new panorama-focused apps pop-up as a result. — MG Siegler, TechCrunch

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iPhone 5

Connector/ear phones

A new lightning connector that's smaller 8-pin type.
Redesigned Apple EarPods with remote and mic

iPhone 4S
Sports a 30-pin connector

Comes with standard Apple earphones with remote and mic

Reviewer's take

The most controversial hardware change in the iPhone 5 is bound to be the new, smaller "Lightning" port for accessories and charging. It's much easier to use than the previous 30-pin connector, and it doesn't matter which side of the plug is up. That's a real blessing...also the newly redesigned headphones, called EarPods, are the first ever from Apple that don't either immediately fall out of my ears, hurt or both. - Rich Jaroslovsky, Bloomberg