That the iPhone 5C was on it’s way was no secret; even the not-so-tech-savvy had heard of a cheaper iPhone on its way. The phone was finally released yesterday at the keynote Apple held in the US, along with the showstopper – iPhone 5S (Quick Review). The iPhone 5C is basically an iPhone 5 with a polycarbonate shell, added with a few more goodies including a lighter price tag.
The phone will be available in the US starting $99 with contract, but the device is expected to cost around 30,000 INR by the time it reaches Indian shores. The device is seen as an aggressive marketing move by Apple, who would be looking to grab a larger market share in Asian markets like India and China with this low cost (comparatively) device.
Camera and Internal Storage
The iPhone 5C retains most of the internals seen on last year’s iPhone 5. The device comes with an 8MP camera like other iPhones from the 5 series (iPhone 5 and 5S). This unit comes with an f/2.4 sensor which will probably be good, but not as good as the iPhone 5S, which packs an f/2.2 sensor.
This setup would comprise of a 5 element lens, like we saw in the iPhone 5 last year. The sensor will be BSI aided, which means low-light imaging will be better than other non-BSI aided cameras out there. This sensor would be made using 1.9-micron pixels, promising exceptional picture quality.
The phone will come in 16GB and 32GB variants, priced $99 and $199 respectively, with contract of course. Pricing for other markets including India hasn’t been revealed yet, but most likely, the device will set you back by upwards of 25k INR.
Processor and Battery
The iPhone 5C will come with the same A6 chip seen on the iPhone 5 last year. The device is expected to be as fast and snappy as the iPhone 5. However, since the phone will come pre-installed with iOS 7, it might feel a tad more snappier than the existing iPhone 5 running the previous gen iOS 6.
The A6 chip is able to handle most applications thrown at it, which the iPhone 5 proved. Most likely, users of this device won’t feel the need to upgrade to the A7 which is already available.
Apple never reveals the true battery capacity, and the iPhone 5c is no exception. The company promises up to 19 hours of 3G talktime, 250 hours of standby and 40 hours of music. This is very similar to the claims made for the iPhone 5s.
Display and Features
The phone comes with the same 4 inch display as on the iPhone 5. This means that the device will again have the 326 ppi pixel resolution that Apple call ‘Retina Display’. This will be achieved by having a resolution of 1136×640 pixels on the 4 inch screen.
Although some might argue that the device is a bit too small for their liking, we have to admit that the phone sounds like a very useable and a practical device. It will fit into the smallest pockets with ease, and the 4 inch display won’t be too small for anybody unless you’re looking to watch movies all the time.
Looks and Connectivity
The device retains the trademark iPhone look, and adds a new dimension with the various colour back panels. As you can see from the picture above, the phone is made in an array of colours, many of which are a first for the iPhone.
The device comes with the regular GSM bands and LTE in the US. Other features include WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, etc.
Comparison
The device will have the iPhone 5 (in markets where it’ll still be available) and the iPhone 4S as it’s major competitors due to the price range and similarity. On the other hand, Android devices priced at the similar level will be very different in hardware as well as size.
Key Specs
Model | Apple iPhone 5C |
Display | 4 inches 1136×640 |
Processor | Apple A6 |
RAM, ROM | Not known, 16GB/32GB ROM, non expandable |
OS | iOS 7 |
Cameras | 8MP rear, 720p front facing |
Battery | 10 hours 3G talkime, 250 hours standby |
Price | To be announced |
Conclusion
We really like the idea of introducing a low cost iPhone, but given the speculations, we aren’t entirely impressed with the price. There a zero to very few chances of the device being launched for a price close to 20k INR, which is ideally what we’d like to see. Coming back to the speculations, we believe the phone will be priced somewhere above the 30k INR mark.