With the much-awaited release of the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, the decision on which of the two to get may be a little tricky. You can’t after all base everything on how it looks; you need to take a look under the hood so to speak. Although the phones are not yet out in the market, what we can do is do a quick roundup and comparison of the existing information and specs out there.
When can I get one
Preorders for the iPhone 5c are said to start on the 13th of September, 2013 and should be available in stores by the 20th. As for the iPhone 5s, Apple isn’t taking preorders but the 5s will also be available on the 20th as well. These dates apply to the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, and the UK. For the rest of the world, we’ll just have to wait a little longer.
Under the hood
Let’s start with the iPhone 5c. A quick glance at the specs and you basically have the iPhone 5 only with a better FaceTime camera, better LTE capabilities, and a slightly better battery life – how slight, my hopes aren’t that high. Other than that, you get the same A6 chip, 8MP iSight camera, 4-inch Retina display, and iOS 7.
The iPhone 5s on the other hand get a little bit more of a makeover. With the iPhone 5 on the A6 chip, the 5s goes a step further with the new A7 processor, which is twice the power of the 5c and what Apple claims to be the first 64-bit processor available in a mobile phone. In addition to more power, the 5s also has an M7 motion co-processor. Apple has also decided to push the battery power of the iPhone 5s by a whopping additional 2hours on LTE browsing time – sarcasm fully intended.
The iPhone 5s also comes with better camera upgrades and capabilities. To be more specific, a five-element lens, a larger sensor and more sophisticated image processing. There will be a 15% larger image sensor, a larger aperture at f/2.2 and 33% increased light sensitivity.
And the last and maybe not the least is the much talked about Touch ID fingerprint-authentication system. A way to replace the lock screen code, you can bypass the log-in screen with the touch of a finger, and also make purchases over iTunes. And all with your finger! Now if someone niks my phone, they have to take my finger too – great.
Beauty first
The iPhone 5c, to both the dismay and excitement of many, comes to us in a soft silicon rubber rather than anodized aluminum of the iPhone 5 or 5s. Which may be Apples way of entering the low-cost segment. Although even with the new material for its outer shell the phone actually weighs in heavier than the iPhone 5s by almost 1oz (28grams). Not much I guess, but some people will notice the difference. Along with the new outer shell material, the iPhone 5c comes in 5 awesome colours – blue, green, yellow, pink and white. Somewhat like your iPod touch I would presume only with cellular options. Overall you still get the same screen size and resolution as the iPhone 5; 4-inch screen size at 1,136 x 640.
The iPhone 5s opts to veer away from the funky approach of the iPhone 5c and head in a completely different direction. If the iPhone 5c has 5 funky colour options, the 5s only has 3. Instead of the usual Apple colours; Black and Slate and White and Silver, the iPhone 5s come in Space Gray (black screen bezel and back trim), Silver (white screen bezel and back trim), or Gold (white screen bezel and back trim). The iPhone 5s also comes with an aluminum body and Sapphire crystal that protects the Home button and iSight camera. Also a nice little touch to the design would be the metal ring around the Home button on each phone matches its main color: gray, silver, or gold. But like the 5c, you still get the same dimensions and screen resolution as the iPhone 5.
How much will it cost
The iPhone 5c has been marketed as Apples budget phone and a cheaper choice of the iPhone family. Cheap? I will leave that up to you to decide. The unlocked version of the iPhone 5c will retail for USD 549 for a 16GB and USD 649 for 32GB. Unfortunately the 5c does not come in anything higher than a 32GB.
For the iPhone 5s, we can expect the unlocked versions to retail at USD 649 for a 16GB, USD 749 for a 32GB, and USD 849 for the 64GB.
The low down
The soon to arrive iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s are great phones on their own. It really would have to depend on your budget and need. The iPhone 5c is just like your current iPhone 5 only funkier and cheaper and with the ever-slight improvements.
The iPhone 5s on the other hand jumps forward, much, much forward with a better chipset for greater phone power and a much better camera. I can actually hear all the lively shrills of the all shutterbugs out there – Instagramers rejoice! And of course lets not forget the Touch ID fingerprint-authentication system. A step towards better security, just make sure you don’t fall asleep and leave your phone lying around.