Phone Comparison - Apple iPhone 3GS vs Apple iPhone 5 vs Apple iPad mini 2 Retina Display

general General Info

Manufacturer Apple Apple Apple
Announced June 2009 September 2012 October 2013
Status Available - June 2009 Available - September 2012 Available - November 2013
Colors Black, White Black, White Space Gray, Silver
Form Factor Candybar Candybar Candybar
Dimension 115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3 mm
(4.55 x 2.44 x 0.48 in)
123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm
(4.87 x 2.31 x 0.3 in)
200 x 134.7 x 7.5 mm
(7.87 x 5.3 x 0.3 in)
Weight 135 g (4.76 oz) 112 g (3.95 oz) 331 g / 341 g (11.68 oz / 12.03 oz)
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
CDMA2000 1xEV-DO - for Verizon
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
4G Network - LTE 700 MHz Class 17 / 2100 - for AT&T LTE- all models
Messaging SMS, MMS SMS, MMS, Push Mail, EMail, IM , Push Mail, EMail, IM

hardware Hardware and OS

OS iPhone OS 3, upgradable to iOS 5 iOS 6 iOS 7.0.2
Processor 600 MHz Cortex-A8 Dual-core 1.2 GHz, Apple A6 Dual-core 1.3 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based), Apple A7
GPU PowerVR SGX535 PowerVR SGX 543MP3 PowerVR G6430 (quad-core graphics)
RAM 256 MB 1 GB N/A
Internal Memory 8/16/32 GB storage 16/32/64 GB storage 16/32/64/128 GB storage
External Memory No No No

display Display

Type TFT capacitive touchscreen LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen LED-backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen
Colors 16M colors 16M colors 16M colors
Size 3.5 inches 4.0 inches 7.9 inches
Resolution 320 x 480 pixels (165 ppi) 640 x 1136 pixels (326 ppi) 1536 x 2048 pixels (324 ppi)
Screen-to-Body Ratio 50.75% 60.84% 71.76%
Multi-Touch yes yes yes

multimedia Multimedia

3.5mm Jack yes yes yes
Radio No No No
Games Yes Yes + Downloadable Yes + Downloadable
Loud Speaker yes yes yes

camera Camera

Rear Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, Backside Illumin 5 MP, 2592x1944 pixels
Flash No LED flash No
Features Auto focus, Touch Focus, Geo-tagging Touch Focus, Geo-tagging, Face Detection, HDR Auto focus, Geo-tagging, Touch Focus, Face Detection, HDR
Video Yes, VGA@30fps, video geo-tagging Yes, 1080p@30fps, LED video light, video stabilization, geo-tagging, face detection Yes, 1080p@30fps, video stabilization
Front Camera No [Similar] Yes, 1.2 MP, 720p@30fps, face detection, [Similar] Yes, 1.2 MP, 720p@30fps, face detection, [Similar]

connectivity Connectivity and Data Rate

GPRS Yes Yes Yes
Edge Yes Yes Yes
3G HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps DC-HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, LTE, 73 Mbps; Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps DC-HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, LTE, 100 Mbps; EV-DO Rev. A, up to 3.1 Mbps
Bluetooth Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, headset support only Yes, v4.0 with A2DP Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, EDR
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 802.11b/g Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Plus Cellular Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band
USB Yes, v2.0 Yes, Lightning Port Yes, v2.0
GPS Yes, with A-GPS support Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Browser HTML (Safari) HTML (Safari) HTML (Safari)

memory User Memory

Internal 8/16/32 GB storage, 256 MB RAM 16/32/64 GB storage, 1 GB RAM 16/32/64/128 GB storage
Expandable Storage No No No

Apps Sensors

Fingerprint fingerprint not supported fingerprint not supported fingerprint not supported
Proximity Sensor proximity sensor present proximity sensor present proximity sensor not present
Accelerometer Sensor accelerometer sensor present accelerometer sensor present accelerometer sensor present
NFC NFC not supported NFC not supported NFC not supported

battery Battery

Type Standard battery, Li-Ion Standard battery, Li-Po Non-removable Li-Po battery (23.8 Wh)
Capacity 1440 mAh -
Stand by Up to 300 h Up to 225 h -
Talk Time Up to 12 h (2G)
Up to 5 h (3G)
Up to 8 h Up to 10 h (multimedia)