Remember the days when phones were small? The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
take pride of place in Apple's line-up these days, but the 2013 iPhone
5S is still on sale for £459, US$549, AU$749 and above, so we thought
we'd take another look and see how it stands up in 2015.
When it was first unveiled, the iPhone 5S looked a lot like the iPhone 5,
even though it went much further under the hood. We'd been there before
with the iPhone 'S' conundrum: a new phone comes along, taking the
shell of the previous model, adds some new bits and pieces, and then
claims to be an entirely new phone.
Which it was, of course. But
also wasn't. Well, mostly was. It's the kind of move that only Apple can
pull off with any kind of conviction: the notion that it can take the
same chassis, have a little tinker, throw in a new CPU, slightly better
battery and camera, and call it an all-conquering device.
There's a new flagship on the block. Read our iPhone 6 review
The
jump from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 5S was nowhere near as significant
as the leap to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus - Apple's latest handsets have
changed notably inside and out, and their release should give you
serious pause if you're looking at buying an iPhone 5S right now.
The 5S is an expensive smartphone, even on 3G plans - although thankfully the price has started to fall.
You'll
still be looking at around £30 a month to get one without an upfront
fee, but Apple has dropped its SIM-free prices following the iPhone 6
and iPhone 6 Plus
releases. The 16GB model is now £459, while the 32GB version will set
you back £499. The 64GB variant has vanished as an option.
This
means if you want a larger capacity iPhone, you'll want to either look
for second hand models of the iPhone 5S, or make the leap to the iPhone 6
or iPhone 6 Plus, which go up to 128GB in size. In
the USA, contract prices start at US$99 (16GB) and US$149 (32GB), with
the SIM-free prices set at US$549 and US$599 respectively. In the
Australian market, the 16GB costs AU$749, with the 32GB model coming in
at AU$799. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus cost more, sure, but not that much
more considering the upgrade in technology.
For its time though,
the 5S was a big jump forward, and it's still in credit now: whether
it's the Touch ID home button (which is excellent, more on that later),
the jump in CPU power over its predecessor or the fact the camera was,
once again, improved, the iPhone 5S saw Apple attempting to bring as
much as it could to the party without having to re-design the whole
concept all over again.
There are many that think releasing the
same design twice is cheeky, and there are others who realise that
sometimes there's no need for change. It's easy to fall into the former
camp, and while Apple will happily point out it's not forcing anyone
to buy its phones, it's acutely aware the competition is now scarily
strong and it needed to bring its best to stay relevant.
Design
What
can you say about the design of the iPhone 5S that already hasn't been
said with the iPhone 5? Let's face it: there's nothing really new here
that's going to help you work out if the person sitting opposite you on
the train is using the more recent phone.
Perhaps that's less of
an issue now that the iPhone is becoming something of a commodity, a
device that is so oft-used by the middle-aged generation that it no
longer carries the lustre that the exclusivity of the earlier models
emanated.
That's not necessarily a bad thing either; just because
it's not an 'exclusive' design doesn't make the iPhone 5S any less
premium.
It's
still a stunning phone to hold in the hand, coming with the
all-aluminium-and-glass chassis. There's no doubt Apple has had a look
at the way the iPhone 5 range (well, black and white) chipped so badly
around the edges. But
that same issue was apparent already in my iPhone sample within a week,
so it looks like you're going to quickly need to stuff your new iPhone
5S in a case the second you release it from its box, lest you leave it
in a pocket or bag with change and keys and it comes out looking like
it's gone a few rounds with a randy cheese grater. The
new colours, introduced with the 5S, which include champagne and space
grey are a little odd, but at least promise to show up the scuffs a
little less prominently.
The way the iPhone 5S feels in the hand
is something impressive though, coming with the low, low weight of 112g
and dimensions of 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm.
It's still got that
almost too-light feeling, that the premium metal finish is somehow
diminished through the lack of heft, but it's a long way from feeling
cheap. Compared to something like the Galaxy S5 or LG G3, the iPhone 5S is miles ahead when it comes to design, although less so than the HTC One M9 or One Mini 2 which have repeated the aluminium-clad trick.
The new Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge
demonstrate that Samsung has got its design mojo back, and both
handsets give the iPhone 5S a run for its money in the looks department.
It's
got a slightly sharper edge than other models on the market, which can
make it a little uncomfortable when being pressed to the ear. But I'm
not going to quibble too much there lest it makes me seem a little
wimpy. There
are only a couple of real design differences compared to the iPhone 5,
and one of them really is miniscule: the camera module is flanked by a
dual-LED flash, which I'll talk more about later (it's a really rather
nifty piece of technology, trust me).
The other is a lot more
substantial and impressive: the home button got a redesign which has
been carried over to the newer handsets.
Yes, it doesn't sound
like much, but consider how iconic the Apple home button has been over
the past half-decade, and you'll see why I'm holding the change in such
high esteem. The visual effect is impressive, taking the square off the
button and putting a fancy silver ring around the key. The
effect isn't only aesthetic either, as this area serves as the Touch ID
fingerprint scanner, now well established in Apple's iPhone range. It's
good to know that even on this older handset you've got the benefits
that Touch ID brings.
Having bought two separate biometric security firms,
Apple was likely to do something like this, but the implementation and
visual effect is really something that Apple does well, and has done so
here too.
Beyond that, the iPhone 5S is identical to the 5, even
down to the rattle in the power button. We're still a little confused as
to why a device with such a high build quality has a slightly loose
part with it, but shake the iPhone 5S gently and you'll feel the key
moving around. It's not a big deal, but every so often you'll note the motion, and it does detract somewhat.
Thankfully
the rest of the phone is built impeccably. The round volume keys are
easy to hit. the switch to enable volume on or off has the same sturdy
feel that I've come to enjoy, and the headphone port is still welded to
the bottom of the phone.
The Lightning connection port is here as
well, along with the stereo speakers on the bottom of the phone. I wish
these were placed somewhere else, as when cupping the phone in landscape
mode it's far too easy to cover these with palms or digits, and there's
not really any way to shift around them. You can always use headphones, but that kind of negates the point of the speakers for gaming completely.
The
right hand side hasn't been left completely alone on the 5S, with Apple
choosing this surface as the location for the SIM card tray - but
unlike most smartphones that take microSIMs these days, iPhones now rock
the tiny nanoSIM technology. There
are also matching leather cases, which are something of an oddity for a
brand that's just overhauled its whole outlook with an all-new
operating system. They're slightly cumbersome, making it hard to hit the
buttons, and they get scuffed so easily - all for £25.
But beyond
that I'm still impressed with the design of the iPhone 5S. It's hard
not to be, as if there's one thing that Apple gets totally right it's
the way it assembles its devices.
The metal and glass combination
does feel a little fragile, and I'd recommend a case (perhaps a third
party option) to protect the aluminium, but the design is something that
at least helps mitigate the higher price.
Of course, good as the
design is, it's now up against the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus: sleeker,
thinner, and rocking much larger screens. Whether or not these changes
are for the better is up to you - you might be really attached to a
phone screen that you can get your thumb comfortably across.
We're also gearing up for the expected release of the iPhone 7 (or iPhone 6S) this year, which could leave the design of the iPhone 5S feeling even more antiquated.
