Is iPhone 5S the best phone this year? Here we compare the specs of the latest top notch Apple’s phone versus other brands that have made headlines in 2013.
1. Pricing
If the contract pricing in the US is anything to go by, then 16GB iPhone 5S will launch at the same price range as Samsung Galaxy SIV , Lumia 1020 and HTC One. Until we get the official price, we will assume that the iPhone 5S won’t be priced way beyond the competition’s prices. We have seen pricing of $649 for 16GB which means it is within the price range of SIV and HTC One.
2. Screen size
Apple has declined to go big but decided to retain the iPhone 5’s screen size of 4 inches when other phones like Galaxy S4 are pushing the limit of screen sizes for mobile devices where it is now offering a comfortably hand held phone at 4.99 inches. When compared against price, we know that smartphone’s screen is one of the most expensive part of the phone accounting for close to half of a phone’s cost. Though Apple says that going big means that a manufacture has to compromise on colour, saturation, clarity and battery life, we know that phones like HTC One and Lumia are providing a well balanced view at bigger sizes. Actually when it comes to battery it is Apple’s own undoing for not providing higher battery milliamps hours and enabling battery removal.
Screen resolution for the iPhone stands at 1136 by 640 pixels with a density of 326ppi whereas the closest on screen resolution, the Lumia 1020, offers 1280 by 768 pixels with a density of 332ppi. Both Samsung S4 and HTC One out perform the iPhone by far offering pixel resolutions of 1920 by 1080 pixels at 441ppi and 1920 by 1080 pixels at 469ppi respectively. If the screen display is an important criteria for you, the advice is that either go for the S4 or the HTC One.
3. Camera
Cameras on smartphones have grown bigger, better and capable of capturing videos of 1080p HD. I would have expected for Apple to pull a fast by incorporating 4K resolution on its camera (just kidding) or more realistically compete with Lumia 1020’s 41MP camera. I know they have incorporated better light capture and image stabilization but on camera, the higher the megapixels available for the camera sensor, the better the image captured. Galaxy S4’s camera has ruled king in 2013 (Lumia’s camera is an outlier for now) and I doubt if Apple will outdo it with the 8MP camera. Camera picture resolutions are as follows: 7152 by 5368 pixels for the Lumia 1020, 4128 by 3096 pixels for the S4 while iPhone 5S features 3264 by 2448 pixels. If your interest is better pictures and videos then go for Lumia 1020. If choices are limited to iPhone 5S, S4 and HTC One, I would choose S4.
4. Battery
By battery size we have Galaxy S4 offering 2600mAh for up to 17 hours talk time followed by HTC One offering 2300mAh for up to 18 hours talk time, Nokia Lumia 1020 offering 2000mAh for up to 13 hours talk time. The iPhone comes in last at 1440mAh with only up to 10 hours talk time. Mind you the iPhone does not allow you to carry a spare battery.
5. Memory and Storage
Internal memory and RAM are standardized. The only set back is that the iPhone does not allow you expand memory. If you are looking forward to storing more pictures, music, and videos on the phone, don’t buy the iPhone.
6. Cover
As usual the cover by Apple is king. Apple knows how to design an iPhone for people with taste, class and style. One day when I was attending my driving classes, my the then brand new Galaxy S III was attracting admiration but was immediately ignored when this lady pulled her iPhone 4 from the bag to receive a call. Yes, iPhone 5S will still set you apart when it comes to physical appearance! HTC One also looks great.
7. CPU
[pullquote] If you decide to buy the iPhone because it has the biggest processor, then it will be like buying a lorry for your household shopping or for driving to work.[/pullquote]
iPhone 5S has the A7; the processor for the future. As at now a 64-bit processor does not have applications so its capabilities will be under utilized. What we are not sure of is whether any applications will be developed for the great evolutionary processor or it is just a marketing gimmick that will never find a practical application in smartphones. For the CPU, all other phones are at per but way below the potential capabilities of the A7 processor. If you decide to buy the iPhone because it has the biggest processor, then it will be like buying a lorry for your household shopping or for driving to work.
Ok, there is one thing I forgot. Security. The iPhone has what we have always dreamed of, the ability to use your fingers to unlock the screen; they call it TouchID. The second thing it has is the iOS7 that makes sure no one can ever use your phone if it is stolen. Finally, the answer to the question opening this article is, NO.
For features of the cheap version of iPhone 5S, the iPhone 5C, click here.
iPhone 5 S – S for Same
iPhone 5 C – C for cheap.
Sheep
Everyone nowadays is having a bunch of sheep…especially S in Galaxy series could better be understood as Sheep :)
iPhone 5 S – Shit
iPhone 5 C – Crap
Lol atij buying the iPhone because of its processor is like…blah blah blah…there are no applications…blah blah blah
Developers should use common sense ( start developing apps that utilize this resource)
Its like saying let’s not switch to digital because Media houses haven’t switched…
you lost me when you said more megapixels = better image. there’s more to a photo than the amount of pixels captured