Fri, 21 Sep 2012 iPhone 5 Unboxing

We managed to pick up a few iPhone 5 units today and have given one of them our time-honoured (well six, now) unboxing ceremonies. 

The iPhone 5 box contains a lot of the usual Apple flair, although the contents are a little different with a new style connector and EarPods. Here's our iPhone 5 unboxing photos.

1. Waiting for the van

We start our iPhone 5 unboxing a little early this time, as we were so keen to get it we were standing outside waiting for the UPS van to arrive. We also want to thank UPS this time as they phoned us up to confirm the address (which had an error on it) and updated the driver as he was heading around. (Other delivery experiences may be available).

2. iPhone 5 box

The iPhone 5 box is similar to the last few models, and continues Apple's tradition of trying to shave as much space as possible from the packaging. As with most recent Apple products it shows extreme confidence in not even having the name of the product on the front, let alone any promotional text. 

4. The iPhone 5 box opened up

When you open up the box to reveal the contents we find the packaging structure largely unchanged from last year. The iPhone sits in a tray on the top of the accessories, which now contain our first look at the EarPods.

5. The iPhone 5 and accessoriess

The iPhone 5 comes with a USB connection, Lightning cable, and EarPods. What it doesn't come with is the Lightning to 30-pin Dock adaptor that Apple initially promised on the Web site, to the chagrin of several many people.

6. The iPhone 5 EarPods

A nice touch is that the new EarPods come in the plastic case that - we presume - Apple is shipping them in when it sells them seperately. The plastic box seems a tad extravagent for an accessory.

7. Peeling the iPhone 5 cover away

As with previous models the iPhone 5 comes with a clear plastic cover on the front and rear of the device.

8. The iPhone 5 handset

The iPhone 5 handset is, largely similar to look at as before. As our hands-on test suggested, the first impression is just how thin (very) and light (definitely) the new iPhone 5 is. 

9. Looking at the rear of the iPhone 5

The reverse of the iPhone 5 still displays just a Apple logo. Our flash is lighting up the back so you can see the text and logo, but in normal lighting both the logo and text are barely visible. 

10. All the iPhone 5 box contents

Here's everything together. The cardboard on the right contains the manual and warranty card, plus the SIM card tool. This looks the same as before. 

11. The iPhone 5 new nano-SIM

The nano-SIM very much lives up to its name, by being extremely tiny. It's a bit fiddly getting it in to the SIM card tray, but you only need to do this once.

12. iPhone 5 up and running

And that's it. our iPhone 5 is turned on and up and running. We are performing tests and a detailed review which should be ready shortly.

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