Apple iPhone 5s review: step by step

Introduction

It's that time of year again and Apple's in the usual record-breaking mood at the box-office. This is an S year in the Supertino calendar but different enough - it may be that two phones instead of one account for almost double last year's record sales. We can only guess as to which one contributed how, but this is hardly the point. We have the latest flagship reporting for duty and it will be both the main course and the desert, considering the        5c didn't quite impress as an appetizer.

As with every "S" version of the iPhone the changes are subtle but not illusory. There's no new design obviously, no bigger screen or a bump in resolution - nothing to go against the conservative grain of how Apple typically delivers iPhone upgrades every other year. That said, it's not this phone's fault that the iPhone 5 wasn't the full-digit upgrade everyone was hoping for.

As usual with Apple - we need to give it that - a certain set of users just can't wait to get the next big thing. Others, though, won't just get rid of the iPhone 5 unless the newcomer is convincing enough. An iPhone may fail to meet the (usually over-inflated) expectations but it has never been a product to be displeased with.

The new OS version may be a decider as well, if more people share our experience and feel the slowdown on an iPhone 5 running iOS 7, but the rest of the new stuff may as well be just enough to tip the scales in favor of the iPhone 5s.

 

The iPhone 5s

The first thing that makes a tangible difference is Touch ID, with a fingerprint scanner having made the iconic Home button its residence. The camera has a bigger sensor and dual LED flash, and gladly takes advantage of what's probably the most notable improvement - the 64-bit A7 chip. The iOS enters its 64-bit stage in its seventh iteration, well ahead of the competition. What this means is better memory management and more complex tasks and apps ahead. This could as well be the first step to bringing the iOS closer to Apple's dedicated desktop OS X - an early message that both platforms are due for a rendezvous eventually.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM and quad-band or penta-band 3G support with 21 Mbps HSDPA, 42 Mbps DC-HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• LTE support on all models and CDMA support when sold by CDMA carriers
• 4" 16M-color LED-backlit IPS TFT capacitive touchscreen of 640 x 1136px resolution, 326 ppi
• Corning Gorilla Glass, fingerprint-resistant coating
• 1.3 GHz dual-core ARMv8 64-bit CPU, PowerVR G6430 GPU, 1GB of RAM, Apple A7 SoC
• iOS 7 and iCloud integration
• 8 MP autofocus camera, 1/3'' sensor size, 1.5µm pixel size, True Tone dual-LED flash, touch focus, digital image stabilization
• 1080p video recording at 30fps, 720p@120fps slow motion videos
• 1.2MP secondary front-facing camera, 720p video recording
• Touch ID fingerprint scanner embedded into home button
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• GPS with A-GPS connectivity, GLONASS support; digital compass
• 16/32/64GB storage options
• Accelerometer, proximity sensor and a three-axis gyro sensor
• Active noise cancellation with a dedicated secondary microphone, dedicated third microphone for Siri
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack, stereo Bluetooth v4.0
• Apple Maps with free voice-guided navigation in 50-odd countries
• iTunes Radio
• AirDrop file transfer
• Voice recognition, Siri virtual assistant
• Supports HD Voice (needs carrier support too)
• FaceTime video calls over Wi-Fi and cellular
• Impressively slim and light

Main disadvantages

• Screen feels small by 2013 standards
• Very expensive without carrier subsidies
• TouchID is greatly underused
• No USB Mass Storage mode, iTunes required for data transfer
• No FM radio
• No expandable storage, sealed-in battery
• No NFC connectivity
• 1080p@30fps video recording is low by current flagship status
• Mono audio recording in videos

The iPhone 5s pushes the major re-design another year back - but this is something we can live with. After all, the styling of the iPhone is still relevant - to say the least. Digging a little deeper reveals that Apple has taken good care of bringing many major facets of performance to a new level on its latest flagship. The processor, the camera, Touch ID, video recording and still imagery, low light performance, and naturally, the look and feel of iOS 7.

The iPhone 5s at HQ

However many things are still annoying about the iPhone - many, if not all, repeating themselves years on end. We like the premium compact and lightweight body of the iPhone but perhaps Apple is running out of excuses in terms of screen size and resolution.

And that's what makes the next point even more agonizing - the price. Apple tax or not, the iPhone 5s is more expensive than any of the competition's flagships, and by a good margin too. The bottom line is Apple is charging more and delivering less: a smaller screen, lower resolution, less storage. Oh well. Who can blame them if they can get away with it? Scratch that - make an art of it.

Anyway, an iPhone has always been more than the sum of its specs. But we're going to do the math anyway. Starting with the hardware, which may look similar but not without some noteworthy changes. Let's go.

Unboxing

iPhone 5s retail package

The iPhone 5s comes in a retail box that's exactly the same as the iPhone 5's from last year in terms of size and shape. Our Space Grey unit came in a white box, whereas last year's Black model came in a matching-color packaging.

The box contents haven't changed either - you get the Apple lightning USB cable, an A/C adapter, EarPods headset with volume controls and microphone in their separate box and the SIM tray eject tool. There are a bunch of leaflets and, for the first time since the iPhone 4, Apple has thrown in two stickers.

Design and handling

The design of the iPhone 5s, like with every S version in the iPhone lineup, hasn't changed dramatically. And we'll say it again - it doesn't need to. The most prominent change are the color options - the White Silver option is the only one that looks identical to the iPhone 5 - the Black of old is now Space Grey, which is a much lighter hue, which contrasts nicely with the dark strips top and bottom. And, there's the brand new Gold option.

The True Tone flash, which is essentially a dual LED flash, and the home button doubling as a fingerprint scanner are the only other differences over last year's flagship.

Apple prides itself on the immaculate build of its flagship iPhone and this year's model is simply the next installment in the premium category. Every detail has been carefully considered and crafted so as to deliver the impressive 112g of weight. The front is entirely covered in Corning Gorilla Glass, with cutouts for the earpiece and home button only. The sapphire crystal and stainless steel-framed Touch ID button looks very subtle on the iPhone 5s face, contributing to an almost uniform glass surface.

Two black strips of glass frame the aluminum plate around back. The aluminum is matte and feels grippy enough. It proudly features the iconic logo and the iPhone inscription, in contrasting mirror-glass surface.

The iPhone 5s

What the iPhone 5s is missing, compared to the iPhone 5 is a black paint job

Compare wuth the iPhone 5 and 5c

Handling the iPhone 5s is a pleasure, which is hardly any news. It's built to the highest standards and has a premium feel that few can even hope of matching. The screen size is the only thing that out of line with current trend.

There a numbered few smartphones in the market that come close to the iPhone 5s in terms of build quality and finish. The HTC One comes to mind with its curvaceous, yet uncompromisingly cool aluminum back. Sony's Xperia Z1 has the steel frame to compliment the front and rear glass panels but it feels huge compared to Apple's latest gadget.

Controls

Most of the front is taken up by the 4" Retina display, with the resolution of 640 x 1136 pixels breaking down to 326ppi. It's a LED-backlit IPS LCD, but more on that in the dedicated display chapter.

iPhone 5s Upfront

Under the screen sits the good old, but actually brand new, Home button with Touch ID. The fingerprint scanner is essentially a CMOS sensor, which takes pictures of your fingerprint in 500ppi, processed by the A7 chip. Underneath is the familiar home button. A double press will launch the task switcher, while a press and hold will fire up Siri.

Above the screen sit the usual earpiece and a new iSight camera. Inside the earpiece Apple has placed a dedicated third microphone, which is used in voice recognition. The front-facing camera features a BSI sensor and larger pixels, but is still stuck on 1280 x 960 stills and 720p video recording.

Above and under the screen

The Touch ID sensor is covered with a capacitive layer under the sapphire crystal, which meets your finger. The button is encircled by a stainless steel frame accent that matches the phone's color option - in this case black to go with the surrounding glass surface.

Touch ID

On the left you get the usual three buttons: volume up, volume down and a Mute toggle. The latter is rather stiff, which makes is pretty hard to operate with one hand, even though it's located in a way to comfortably fall under your finger. Then again, probably that was required to prevent accidental pushes, which can potentially result in missed calls.

On the right you find the tray, which pops open to reveal the nanoSIM slot. The fact that you need a pin to operate it is hardly ideal, though, particularly if you need to exchange SIM cards on the go.

The sides of the iphone 5s