The
iPhone 5 is a touchscreen-based smartphone developed by Apple. It is the sixth generation of the iPhone and succeeds the iPhone 4S. The phone is a slimmer, lighter model that introduces a higher-resolution, 4-inch screen to the series with 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio support. The phone also includes a custom-designed ARMv7 processor called the Apple A6,
an update to Apple's mobile operating system known as iOS 6, and support for LTE.
Apple held an event to formally introduce the phone on September 12, 2012. After Apple began taking pre-orders on September 14, 2012, over two million were received within 24 hours.
Initial demand for the iPhone 5 exceeded the supply available at launch on September 21, 2012, and has been described by Apple as "extraordinary", with pre-orders having sold twenty times faster than its predecessors
.
While reception to the iPhone 5 has been generally positive, the new Maps application has been negatively received and was reported to contain many serious errors. Several hardware issues have also received criticism from consumers and
reviewers, including an unintended purple hue in photos taken by the
iPhone 5 and an issue with its coating being prone to chipping. In addition, there have been a small number of reports claiming a light
leak around the bezel near the top of the display on white models. Also, some incompatibilities with certain LTE networks are an issue, despite being the first Apple phone to support LTE.
