I thought it would be a kind of curious experiment. One week, only seven days. Leave my current iPhone in the drawer, turn it off completely, and turn on a device that has been stored for almost a decade: iPhone 5, presented by Apple in September 2012.
At that time it was the most advanced thing you could put in a pocket. Today, it is more than a tiny device That is great as decoration, it is more a time capsule with flat edges, aluminum frame and a rear that still seems like the most beautiful Apple has ever done.
The most beautiful iPhone
The first sensation was the astonishment for its size. It is absurdly small. I turn it on and I feel like a giant playing a toy mobile. How could series see in this? How did WhatsApps write with this microscopic keyboard (my fingers collide)? And yet there was something comforting to return to a device that seems Designed for one hand. The thumb travels everything without effort without juggling, or crawling through a panel of almost seven inches.
But of course, the reality blow came right away: the battery. Not that it lasts little. The thing is what a nap. Literal. I loaded it in the morning, left it on the table, without using, and in the afternoon I was already asking for a charger like who asks for help. I do not want to imagine how it would have been to use it with mobile data and apps in the background. It makes no sense. The battery was the first reminder that this experiment was not sustainable beyond romanticism.
On a physical level, I rediscovered forgotten pleasures. The mechanical start button, which really clicks. The Lightning connector, which was once a revolution after the rough 30 -pin connector. But above all, volume buttons. I don't know who decided to eliminate the + and -, but I miss them. They gave character to the device. The current anonymous buttons are cleaner and that takes away all personality trait.
The rear aesthetics of the iPhone 5 deserves a separate paragraph. That combination of Crystal and aluminumwith stripes at the top and lower part, it is pure industrial design. Today it seems more a design work than a functional phone. You look at him and understand why Jony Ive was revered. It's like looking at a classic iPod, you don't need to use it anymore, but you know it has a soul.
The smallest?
During the week, I used the iPhone 5 as the main mobile (accompanied by my 13 pro max). Calls, some message, basic navigation. Neither banks apps, or demanding social networks. I didn't even open Instagram. In part because I did not want, in part because they are not even updated in that version of the system. What for many would be a limitation, I lived almost like digital cleaning.
But not everything was good. The photos, for example, were a difficult jump to justify. I open the camera and the world seems to have 5 megapixels of resolution. Blurred, slow, with a poor dynamic range. How could we portray our lives with this? I also noticed the Lack of fluidity. The system goes, but all with the feeling that it accompanies you with effort, as if it was difficult to get up every morning. On the other hand, it is normal.
When I returned to my current iPhone, everything seemed gigantic. The screens, notifications and possibilities. But I also missed the silence of the iPhone 5. Its real pocket size and its design. Your battery, no, never.
