The iPhone 5 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi, Brian Klug & Vivek Gowri on October 16, 2012 11:33 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- Mobile
- iPhone 5
Video: Finally High Profile H.264
Section by Brian Klug
There are a few things different with video capture on the iPhone 5 thanks to improvements to both the ISP inside Apple’s A6 SoC, and also software UI changes. First off, because the iPhone 5 display is now 16:9, there’s no cropped view by default or aspect-correct view with letterboxing for video capture. Instead the iPhone 5 video capture window takes an iPad-like approach with transparent UI elements for preview and shooting video.
What’s new is the ability to take still images at 1920x1080 while recording video by tapping a still image capture button that appears while recording. This is a feature we’ve seen onboard a ton of other smartphones and works the same way here. Note that you can’t magically get a wider field of view or the whole CMOS area while shooting video, it’s essentially dumping one frame from video capture as a JPEG instead of into an H.264 container.
In addition the iPhone 5’s tweaked Sony CMOS still uses a smaller center region for video capture. The difference in field of view is pretty big, but nothing that users haven’t already dealt with in the past.
The iPhone 5 brings two main things to video capture. The first is improved electronic image stabilization tweaks and improvements to ISP. The difference is visible but not too dramatic unless you know what you’re looking for. I would wager most users won’t notice a huge step forward from the 4S but if you’re using an iPhone 4 this will be a marked improvement.
The other improvement is video encoding. The iPhone 5 now shoots rear facing 1080p30 video at 17 Mbps H.264 high profile with CABAC. This is a huge step in encoding from the relatively absurd 22–24 Mbps baseline H.264 that the iPhone 4S would shoot at 1080p30. The result is vastly more quality per bit on the iPhone 5, for a big reduction in storage space per minute of video. I did some digging around and found that the A6 uses an Imagination Technologies PowerVR VXE380 for encoding and VXD390 for decoding, which is what I thought was in the previous SoC as well but perhaps wasn’t clocked high enough for encode at high profile. This brings the iPhone 5’s encoder on paper up to match what I see other smartphones running their 1080p video at as well (17 Mbps high profile).
On the front facing camera Apple is shooting 720p30 at 11 Mbps H.264 baseline, as opposed to the VGA at 3.5 Mbps that the 4S shot. Interestingly enough both front and rear shooting modes still are just mono audio, 64 kbps AAC. I would’ve liked to see stereo here since almost all the competition is shooting stereo, and it’d put those 3 microphones to use.
To get a feel for video quality, I stuck my iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 in my dual camera bracket with pistol grip and made a series of three videos. I then combined them and put them side by side for ease of comparison. I’ve uploaded the result to YouTube, but you can also grab the original videos (548 MB zip) if you’d like from the site directly without the transcode.
Overall the most dramatic improvement is the front facing camera, which is obviously night and day. Better image stabilization is noticeable while I’m walking around being intentionally shaky, but nothing hugely dramatic. The main rear facing video improvement seems to be an increase in sharpness (watch the power lines and wires in the native resolution version) and slightly wider field of view. That’s to say nothing of the fact that this quality comes at a bitrate that’s lower than the previous version but with better encode settings.
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KPOM - Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - link
However, Apple made a point about anodizing in its display. Also, Apple has historically placed a premium value on industrial design so it is interesting to read more specifics. What has struck me about Apple is how much time they devote to things people don't notice consciously or will never see on a spec sheet, but which can unconsciously affect the user experience. The aluminum has a nice feel to it, and I can see why Apple would forgo putting a resin coating on it, even though it would make it less susceptible to scratching. Understanding the physics helps make clear what kind of compromises Apple needs to make.phillyry - Sunday, October 21, 2012 - link
As per emotional input:I actually look for this in the review and podcasts because it colours the facts.
While I find the facts to be interesting and a good way to pass the time, at the end of the day my purchase decision, like those of human beings in general, will be largely guided by the sentiment of the matter.
People want to know how happy others are with their devices. Just facts alone lack humanity. I personally love hearing opinions, side comments and anecdotes that give me insight into the thoughts, feelings and experiences of people who's opinions I hold in high regard, such as anand and the gang.
There's something to be said for the qualitative experience that comes with the daily use of the device as your primary 'phone'.
Many others may also be looking to hear the comradery, jest, and fun-casual tone that you can get on this site when these guys just let their opinions out or go off on technical tangents. If you listen to the podcasts it'll all make more sense.
phillyry - Sunday, October 21, 2012 - link
P.S. the feeling that someone else, like anand, has about the device is also important because, if you are considering buying one of these things than you're going to have it for a couple of years and won't want to feel stuck with it.Spunjji - Friday, October 19, 2012 - link
I have to agree here... I already know how anodizing works (not specialist knowledge, we were taught in high-school...) and even if I didn't, I'm not sure a 'phone review is the best place to learn. An outside link would have sufficed. The whole thing does basically say that Apple had no choice in the matter unless they change the design, and that's really the point there. They should have changed the bloody design.arghhh - Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - link
How is it as a phone? Iphone never has been good at its primary function (I take an old clamshell over most smartphones in that regard).Arbee - Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - link
Brian Klug covered voice quality in this writeup, and AT's previous iOS 6 review covered the new voice call features. The upshot is it's at least as good as any other smartphone, even if no cellphone can replace a hardwired slab of mid-60s AT&T bakelite :)manik. - Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - link
Awesome read.Tangey - Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - link
The gpu comparison table shows the new iPad running @200mhz, it actually runs @250mhz ( as did the gpu in the ipad2). In a previous article you used this incorrect 200mhz as a reference point to determine that the iphone5 was running its gpu @266mhz.My calculations based on the iphone5's performance relative to the ipad3 @ 250mhz, indicate to me that the 543mp3 in the iphone5 is running in excess of 300mhz, most likely 325mhz, which also happens to be an exact divider of the 1.3ghz clock of the CPUs.
DustoMan - Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - link
Have you ever looked into why phones from certain manufactures are so picky about their chargers? I've had phones from HTC, Motorola, and Samsung and I've had three wildly different experiences when it comes to what chargers will work in what devices. When I had an HTC Incredible, I could stick pretty much anything I wanted to it and it would charge. If the charger didn't have much current, it would charge slower than a charger with my current. My Galaxy Nexus would work with a few of my chargers, but the oddest thing would happen when I would try connecting it to a Griffin car adapter that had the 1.5A plug necessary to charge a first gen iPad. The only plug that would charge it consistently was a car adapter that I purchased that was branded Samsung. Even an adapter that Verizon sold me as being compatible wouldn't work. Finally the worst offender is my wife's Droid 2 Global. It will only charge with a Motorola adapter. Adapters that work with my Galaxy Nexus, which you would think would need chargers with a higher current, wouldn't work. To charge her phone on my PowerMat, I have to plug the phone into a reserve battery and then use the Powermat to charge that reserve battery while it's charging her phone. Stupid huh?zephxiii - Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - link
Yes i recall Motorola's earlier microUSB equipped phones to be very picky....especially if the battery went completely flat as it seemed like only Motorola chargers (or compatible) would breathe life back into them.