On September 10th, Apple took the wraps off the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c – two smartphones meant to rule the mobile market. It’s the first time in the history of Apple when two different phones are announced at once. So let’s see what’s the difference between them and whether the 5c or 5s suits you better.
Design
In terms of exterior design an general appeal, iPhone 5s is pretty much the same iPhone 5, except it comes in new colors. iPhone 5c is the new deal here that features a polycarbonate unibody design, which gives it a rigid, solid feel.
| iPhone 5s | iPhone 5c | |
| Body | Aluminum | Polycarbonate |
| Size | 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm
|
124.4 x 59.2 x 8.97 mm
|
| Weight | 112 grams | 132 grams |
| Colors | Space Gray, Gold, Silver
|
White, Pink, Yellow, Blue, Green
|
Display
Both iPhone 5s and 5c have the same beautiful Retina screen from the iPhone 5.
| iPhone 5s | iPhone 5c | |
| Screen size | 4 inch | 4 inch |
| Resolution | 1136 x 640 pixels | 1136 x 640 pixels |
| Pixel density | 326 ppi | 326 ppi |
| Display type | IPS LCD | IPS LCD |
Hardware
Even though iPhone 5c is a reminiscent of iPhone 5 when looking to internal specs, iPhone 5s, on the other hand, has got undoubtedly the most powerful chip Apple has ever put in a smartphone. It’s also the first processor for mobile devices that uses 64-bit architecture – usually found in desktop computers.
| iPhone 5s | iPhone 5c | |
| Chip | Apple A7
|
Apple A6
|
| Cores | Quad-core | Dual-core |
| Frequency | (supposed) 1.7 GHz | 1.3 GHz |
| RAM | (supposed) 2GB | 1GB |
| Speed increase (from iPhone 5) | (claimed) 31% | 0% |
| Coprocessor | M7 motion coprocessor
|
No |
| Battery capacity | 1570 mAh | 1507 mAh |
| Battery usage (LTE browsing) | up to 10 hours | up to 10 hours |
Camera
The camera in the iPhone 5c has remained the same from the previous generation. Even so, Apple claims that they’ve improved the Front-face camera so you can get a better picture while in a FaceTime call. On the other hand, the iSight camera in iPhone 5s has been drastically refined. It’s got a f/2.2 aperture that captures more light making it way better in low-light conditions, an upgraded picture stabilization software, dual-LED light with over 1000 combinations for different environments and so much more.
| iPhone 5s | iPhone 5c | |
| Main camera | 8 megapixel, True Tone dual-LED, burst mode 10fps, f/2.2 aperture, IR filter | 8 megapixel, LED flash, f/2.4 aperture, IR filter |
| Main camera video | FullHD 1080p, 720p 120fps Slo-Mo | FullHD 1080p |
| Front-face camera | 1.2 megapixel, HD 720p video recording | 1.2 megapixel, HD 720p video recording |
Connectivity
Apple claims that the new iPhones have got more LTE bands any device has ever had. Apple did not consider to add NFC technology this year. Instead, they’ve added a similar feature called AirDrop. With AirDrop you can share files over bluetooth or Wi-Fi directly to another iOS device that supports this feature.
| iPhone 5s | iPhone 5c | |
| Connector | Lightning | Lightning |
| Networking | Wi-Fi 802.11n, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE | Wi-Fi 802.11n, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE |
| Bluetooth | V4.0 | V4.0 |
| NFC | No | No |
| AirDrop | Yes | Yes |
Features
Both devices come with iOS 7 pre-installed, which means they’ve both got the same features, except for Touch ID. Touch ID is a fingerprint scanning technology that is only available for the iPhone 5s. http://images.gizmag.com/inline/iphone-5s-4.jpg
| iPhone 5s | iPhone 5c | |
| Operating System | iOS 7 | iOS 7 |
| Fingerprint scanning | Touch ID
|
No |
| Siri | Yes | Yes |
| Cases | $39 leather case | $29 polyurethane case |
| Case colors | Yellow, Beige, Blue, Brown, Black, (Product) Red |
White, Pink, Yellow, Blue, Green, Black |
Price
Unfortunately, iPhone 5c comes only in 16GB and 32GB versions. If you want to get a 64GB iPhone, you have to go for a 5s. As you know, iPhone 5c is $100 cheaper in any case. All people expected it to be at least $150 cheaper, like a mid-end phone, but it doesn’t.
| iPhone 5s | iPhone 5c | |
| Storage | 16GB / 32GB / 64GB | 16GB / 32GB |
| Price (16GB) with new 2-year contract | $199 | $99 |
| Price (16GB) off contract | $649 | $549 |
| Pre-order | – | 13 September |
| Availability | 20 September | 20 September |
Apple iPhone 5s vs iPhone 5c: What’s the difference!