Unless you’ve been away on a remote island somewhere for the last week, chances are you’ve heard that Apple have launched 2 new iPhones – the iPhone 5c and the iPhone 5s.
It looks like Apple will be discontinuing the iPhone 5 this Autumn so if you’re after a new iPhone or just want to know what new features the latest additions to the iPhone family will offer, here’s what you need to know about both new handsets.
The iPhone 5s is the latest flagship smartphone for Apple and will appeal to those looking for a high-end mobile phone. It certainly looks sleek and expensive and has been designed in aluminium and tough sapphire crystal. Apple have cleverly redesigned many of the iPhone components to make a powerful smartphone in a very neat and compact handset – the iPhone 5S is a very slimline 7.6mm thick and weighs just 112 grams.
Looks-wise the iPhone 5S is similar to the iPhone 5 with a 4-inch screen but it has one new defining feature which is the Touch ID fingerprint sensor which is located on the Home button which essentially acts as a great security feature as only your fingerprint (& up to 4 others such as family/friends whom you entrust to use your mobile) can unlock the handset.
The iPhone 5s also features an 8-megapixel iSight rear camera. This has seen some upgrades from the iPhone 5 with an increased sensor size as well as a larger aperture. In turn this increases the size of the pixels and allows more light into the lens and Apple have also included a clever True Tone flash and image stabilisation so essentially your photos will be sharper, better lit and a whole lot more beautiful than they were on previous iPhone models.
The iPhone 5s will operate on Apple’s brand new iOS7, it’s powered by a A7 chip which is an upgrade to the older A6 chip and battery life should be more efficient and will last longer than the iPhone 5. The 5s also comes with a motion coprocessor known as M7 which means that your iPhone 5S will continuously gather ‘motion data’ which will be really useful for the ever growing fitness apps on the market.
The iPhone 5S is available in three colour choices including silver, space grey and gold and there’s also a choice of storage options as it comes with a storage capacity of 16, 32 or 64GB.
The iPhone 5c is aimed at the mid-range of the mobile phone market. The 5c is fun and funky and is available in a range of 5 vivid colours including blue, green, yellow, white and pink. Just a shade bigger than the iPhone 5s, the 5C is made of durable and high quality plastic with a hidden steel frame for robustness and measures just less than 9mm thick and weighs 132 grams.The iPhone 5c will also run on iOS7 and is powered by an A6 chip similar to that found in the iPhone 5. Better battery efficiency means that the 5c should manage an additional two hours of battery life compared to the iPhone 5. It’s also compatible with all of the UK’s 4G networks and comes with either 16 or 32GB of built-in storage.
Like the 5s, the iPhone 5c has an improved rear-facing 8-megapixel camera as well as a front-facing 1.2-megapixel FaceTime camera. The 5c and 5s cameras are in fact quite similar with both featuring Face detection, panorama, a burst mode and an LED flash.
The iPhone 5s and 5c have both been released and are available to order online.
