Today's Apple announcement of the annual iPhone 5s edition would be business as usual if it wasn't for the executive decision not to leave the midrange market mostly in Samsung Android hands, but rather assault it with a more affordable iPhone 5c for the first time.
Apple's cheaper iPhone edition uses most of the components that last year's iPhone 5 utilized, meaning it is quite further down the specs ladder compared to the iPhone 5s. What are the subtle and not so subtle differences between the three, though? Check them out in the table below for the dry numbers, but here are the main takes what Apple did to keep its venerable profit margins intact with the iPhone 5c.
First off, both the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 5c share last year's A6 chipset - while no slouch it can't be a match for the brand new scorching 64-bit A7 that is in the iPhone 5s for the first time ever in a smartphone. All three handsets share the same 4" 640x1136 pixels screen panel with true sRGB color representation, high brightness and wide viewing angles.
Here we commence with the subtle differences, though - while all handsets have an 8 MP camera with LED flash tech, the iPhone sports a sensor with larger, 1.5 micron pixels, which means more light intake, and it also features a True Tone flash - basically a dual unit that fires up in many different color combos to make skin tones look natural, for instance. The frontal FaceTime HD cam is also upgraded in the 5s and 5c alike, with even larger, 1.9 micron pixels, plus backside illumination.
All three exteriors are different as well - the iPhone 5c wraps iPhone 5 specs in a one-piece polycarbonate chassis in multiple colors, while the 5s shares a similar premium metal/glass housing as last year's flagship, but with a brand new sapphire crystal home key with built-in fingerprint reader. Play a bit of spot the differences in the specs table below.
DESIGN
Device type
iPhone 5s
iPhone 5c
iPhone 5
OS
iOS (7)
iOS (7)
iOS (6.1, 6)
Dimensions
4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inches (123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm)
4.90 x 2.33 x 0.35 inches (124.4 x 59.2 x 8.97 mm)
4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inches (123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm)
Weight
3.95 oz (112 g) the average is 4.4 oz (127 g)
4.66 oz (132 g) the average is 4.4 oz (127 g)
3.95 oz (112 g) the average is 4.4 oz (127 g)
Body material
Aluminium
Polycarbonate
Aluminium
Design features
Fingerprint sensor
Side Keys
Left: Volume control, Other
Left: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Left: Volume control, Other
Colors
Gold, Gray, Silver
Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, White
Black, White
DISPLAY
Physical size
4.0 inches
4.0 inches
4.0 inches
Resolution
640 x 1136 pixels
640 x 1136 pixels
640 x 1136 pixels
Pixel density
326 ppi
326 ppi
326 ppi
Technology
IPS LCD
IPS LCD
IPS LCD
Peak brightness
500 cd/m2 (nit)
500 cd/m2 (nit)
500 cd/m2 (nit)
BATTERY
Stand-by time
9.4 days (225 hours) the average is 18 days (444 h)
Talk time (3G)
10.00 hours the average is 10 h (582 min)
10.00 hours the average is 10 h (582 min)
8.00 hours the average is 10 h (582 min)
Stand-by time (3G)
10.4 days (250 hours) the average is 24 days (564 h)
10.4 days (250 hours) the average is 24 days (564 h)
Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.
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