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iPhone 5s Quick Review, Price and Comparison

As expected, Apple Inc, after giving the rumour mills their own time to do their thing, finally unveiled the best iPhone yet – the iPhone 5S. Along with this updated version of the iPhone 5 which was launched last year, the American giant also showed off the new iPhone 5C, which is basically an advanced yet cheaper version of the iPhone 5, an a polycarbonate body. The iPhone 5S retains the current iPhone pricing continuing the tradition, being priced starting 199$ with contract, while the iPhone 5C will be available starting 99$ with contract.

iPhone 5s

As we all know, the iPhone found itself around innumerable rumours; like is the case before every expected iPhone launch. This included rumours of the next iPhone being a 6 incher, it having a fingerprint scanner, etc. Let us go ahead with the quick review and talk about what we actually get in the iPhone 5S.

Camera and Internal Storage

The camera on the newest iPhone is among the biggest updates the phone has received. Although the unit retains the 8MP resolution found on the previous gen iPhone, there is enough in it which makes for a worthwhile upgrade.

The sensor now comes with an improved 5-element lens which promises exquisite image and video quality. This 8MP camera now comes with an F/2.2 sensor, which means it’ll be wider and would allow for more light to fall on the actual photosensor. Low-light imaging is expected to improve by quite a notch with this upgrade.


Calculations show that that sensor would be almost 15% bigger (in terms of the actual surface area of the region exposed to light) than the previous gen iPhone camera, which agrees with the aforementioned fact that low-light images will be better. Not only this, the new iPhone features dual LEDs this time – “True Tone LED Flash” – like they like to call it. Each of the two LEDs on this set feature a different colour tone; which effectively, in combination, are expected to produce high quality images and shed the ‘washed out’ feel which was experienced in the previous iPhone.

Like always, the phone will be available in 3 variants, namely 16GB, 32GB and 64GB for you to choose depending on your needs. As it has been the case always, the iPhone 5S too won’t feature expandable storage.

Processor and Battery

The iPhone 5S comes with the 7th generation of Apple processors; the phone features an A7 chip based on the 64-bit computing platform along with the M7 motion co-processor, which will be taking up the GPU’s role in the processing hierarchy. The phone will be the most powerful iPhone yet, and according to Apple, the device will be up to 40x faster when it comes to data processing, and up to 56x faster when it’s graphics we’re talking about, compared to the first gen iPhone released in 2007.

iPhone 5s Processor and Battery

This gives us an idea about the pace at which the technology is moving ahead; it is simply astounding. It is a fact that this advancement in technology can be felt more on devices running proprietary hardware; since the company has control over the OS functions, unlike other open source operating systems (read: Android).

As far as the battery is concerned, Apple being Apple, do not unveil the actual capacity or the size (mAh). We are only given a figure which states real world usage in terms of hours; in this case, being 10 hours of 3G talktime, 250 hours of standby, 10 hours of video playback and 40 hours of audio playback. We must admit, these are rather impressive figures, and Apple devices generally live up to claims such as these. We’re really impressed by the promise of 10 hours of video, which means you could easily use your phone for up to 2 days without a charge.

Display and Features

The iPhone 5S comes with exactly the same screen specifications as that of the older iPhone 5; and there wasn’t a reason for Apple to change any. The 4-inch 1136×640 pixel display has found fancy of many including us at Gadgets To Use (the founder being one himself!), and speaking practically, the phone is about the most usable device in the world (Android fans might disagree) with a very decent screen size of 4 inches which adds to the mobility factor.

This 4 inch panel comes with a pixel density of 326 PPI, also referred to as Retina Display by Apple. Videos and gaming on this display are an enjoyable experience, and viewing angles are great. We might sound like a typical Apple fanboy, but trust us, this is just an analytical point of view of a critic.

The iPhone 5S comes with one of the most interesting features ever seen on a smartphone – the fingerprint scanner, dubbed as the ‘Touch ID’ by Apple. This interesting addition to the iPhone will let users unlock their device with just a touch. The sensor, as predicted by rumours prior to the launch, will be sitting on top of the iconic home button, covered in sapphire crystal glass, which will act as a shield for the actual sensor and a lens to focus on your fingerprint at the same time.

This new addition is bound to generate a lot of interest, and along with the ease of use, Apple have also taken care of the user’s security, by making the fingerprint data unavailable to any other app other than the in-built security system.

Looks and Connectivity

The iPhone design can only be classified as an iPhone design and nothing else. You can, at the first glance, tell that the device is an iPhone and not any other device. We feel that the iPhone 5 was among the best looking phones in the market, and the 5S comes with similar styling albeit with different colours; the phone will be available in an array of colours including Space Gray, Gold and Silver.

The phone will feature Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi, 3G and LTE.

Comparison

There aren’t many phones which are similar to the iPhone simply for the fact that the iPhone is among the smallest-screened devices in the market. You can expect the the previous gen iPhone (iPhone 5) to give the iPhone 5S a good run for it’s money in the markets where the iPhone 5 is still available, but as far as the US and other markets where the iPhone 5S will replace the iPhone 5 are concerned, we don’t see any other phone standing a chance.

Key Specs

Model iPhone 5S
Display 4 inches, 1136×640
Processor A7,64 bit
RAM, ROM Not unveiled, 16/32/64GB ROM, non-expandable
OS iOS 7
Cameras 8MP rear, 1080p front facing
Battery Up to 10 hours talktime on 3G; non-removable
Price To be announced

Conclusion

The iPhone 5 was one of the most critically acclaimed and publicly accepted devices in the world. The phone was (and still is) powerful enough to go through daily tasks like email and chat, and had enough potent in it to power the most graphic intensive games. With the 5S, it has only gotten better, and we expect the device to sell as much as any other iPhone, if not more.

Pricing and availability in India is not known yet, however, we will be updating this post once there is a word on this, so stay tuned!

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Abhishek Bhatnagar

Abhishek Bhatnagar, a known technology blogger & YouTuber from India. A Software Engineer by qualification, now he works as the editor-In-Chief, Webmaster, & Managing Director at Gadgets To Use. He runs a number of other technology websites as well.