iPhone 5: The Best 5 New Features

A new design, bigger screen, and LTE top the iPhone 5 feature list.

ByABC News
September 13, 2012, 1:11 PM

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 13, 2012 — -- intro: At Wednesday's iPhone 5 announcement, Apple executives detailed a number of the new features of the new iPhone. Sure, many of them we had expected, but that doesn't mean this new iPhone isn't the most feature-filled iPhone yet. Here is our list of the five best new features in the iPhone 5.

quicklist: 1title: New Designtext: Some will say the new iPhone looks just like the old iPhone in photos, but when you see the phone for yourself you notice the differences. The phone isn't only thinner and lighter, but new materials make it feel different. The back of the phone is made of aluminum so you no longer get those fingerprint streaks on the glass. The slate and black model looks tough and the white and silver version looks elegant.

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quicklist: 2title: Bigger Screentext: The new iPhone has a 4-inch screen, but it doesn't feel as if Apple made it bigger just for the sake of bigness. The screen is taller than the one on previous iPhones, but not wider. The new screen now fits an extra row of icons, more text and images on a web page, and wider movies. It has the same Retina display, but the color saturation has been improved too.

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quicklist: 3title: LTE text: This is the feature that will make iPhone 4S owners want to upgrade. The phone now supports LTE on the three main U.S. carriers: Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T. That means much faster browsing speeds and app downloads than what people were used to with their 3G-only iPhones. The processor in the phone is also faster, which means you won't be waiting around for much.

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quicklist: 4title: Cameratext: Somehow Apple has figured out how to make the camera in its phone even better, while still keeping it so thin. The iSight camera now captures photos more quickly, has better low-light performance, and has a panorama mode. We got to shoot a panorama at the event yesterday -- check out the photo here.

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quicklist: 5title: iOS 6's Maps and Passbook text: The new iPhone will ship with Apple's new iOS 6 software (it will also be available for people with older phones on Sept. 19). There are more than five features we like in Apple's new iOS 6 software, but the new Maps app is stunning. The app features turn-by-turn navigation and 3-D renditions of cities and buildings. There's also Passbook, an app that aggregates all your coupons, tickets, and boarding passes.

Check out our video on the top five features.

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