Love it, or love-to-hate it, the iPhone has won most reviewers over ever since its first release back in 2007. Apple’s newest iPhones, announced a week ago, are no exception. Reviewers describe the new iPhone 5s as “stellar” and “premium,” while still calling the cheaper, more colorful iPhone 5c as “very capable” and “terrific”.
The new iPhone 5s is the first smartphone to include a 64-bit capable processor, although Samsung and others have said that they will also offer 64-bit power in their next gen flagship phones. Apple says the new iPhone’s A7 chipset — along with its M7 coprocessor — offers double the processing power and graphics performance as its previous A6 chip, and it won’t drain the battery quite as much.
The 5s is also the first phone to offer a capacitive touch fingerprint reader, which you can choose to use instead of entering a password for unlocking your phone, or when buying content from iTunes. You can allow the phone’s Touch ID scanner to recognize up to five different fingerprints. Apple says your fingerprint is encrypted and stored only on your phone, never stored online or transmitted.
So far, reviewers are mostly in agreement that the iPhone 5s fingerprint scanner works well, and the new iPhone’s speed, and the new processor is faster– at least on Apple’s official iPhone apps which now support 64-bit computing. But are these things enough to justify the new iPhone over another smartphone? If you aren’t sure, take a look at some of these top reviews below:
AllThingsD iPhone 5c review:
In her review of Apple’s new second-tier iPhone 5c, AllThingsD’s Lauren Goode writes that although the 5c has the same A6 processor, the same four-inch Retina display, and the same 8-megapixel camera as last year’s iPhone 5, the cheaper 5c is a bit better than the iPhone 5, especially in battery life:
“Colors on the 5c’s display look warmer. It’s just slightly thicker and heavier than the iPhone 5. …The camera technology in the 5c has improved a tiny bit. The front-facing camera promises larger pixels, capturing slightly better images than the front-facing camera of the iPhone 5. …Call quality was good. …When my iPhone 5 died on Saturday night, the 5c had 17 percent battery power left.”
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AnandTech iPhone 5s review:
In Anand Lal Shimpi’s extensive iPhone 5s review, he says that he is “seriously impressed” by the iPhone 5s’ A7 chip. He also praises the Touch ID fingerprint reader, which, despite his initial skepticism, won him over:
“I originally expected Touch ID to be very gimmicky, but now I’m thinking this actually may be a feature we see used far more frequently on other platforms as well. …The 5s’ flagship feature? Apple’s new A7 SoC. The A7 is the world’s first 64-bit smartphone SoC, and the first 64-bit mobile SoC shipping in a product. It’s capable of competing with the best Intel has to offer in this market.”
CNET iPhone 5s review:
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Giving the iPhone 5s four out of five stars, CNET’s Scott Stein focuses much of his review on the phone’s new camera and performance benchmarks, which are better than any phone so far, thanks to Apple’s new 64-bit A-7 chip. Stein says that the flash is better and there is less blurriness, particularly in lower light, compared to previous models. But aside from the A-7 chip and new fingerprint sensor, Stein says there isn’t much that sets the iPhone 5S apart from competitors:
“Is the iPhone 5s faster than other phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One? Based on every benchmark we could throw at the 5s, the answer is yes. The 64-bit computing potential of the iPhone 5s and its A7 chip is, at the moment, largely theoretical. The killer apps don’t seem to be here yet. …Versus its fiercest competition, the iPhone 5s stands on somewhat shakier ground. With Touch ID as its only compelling hardware innovation, Apple opens the door wide for Samsung (Galaxy S4), Nokia (Lumia 1020), HTC (One), and LG (G2) to woo customers with phones that include bigger screens, exciting design, and advanced camera offerings.”
In his separate iPhone 5c review, Stein calls the 5c a “fine alternative” if you’d be happy with the features of last year’s iPhone 5:
“[For] everyday people who aren’t following every evolutionary step of the iPhone, the 5c covers most of the important bases. …It feels like the new baseline for the mainstream iPhone.”
Engadget iPhone 5s review:
Engadget’s Myriam Joire says in her review that the iPhone 5s is the best “small” screen phone out there, but unless you are already an iOS fan or are due for an upgrade, she says it’s not worth ditching last year’s phone:
“If you haven’t seriously considered an iPhone before, there likely isn’t much in the 5s to make you change your mind. For anyone who needs copious amounts of screen space, a 4-inch display likely won’t cut it, but to be fair, the 5s is the best small phone you can get. …The 64-bit support on the A7 may convince a few power users to make the transition from Android to iOS, but otherwise, the SoC is on par with what you’ll find in some of the top competing smartphones. …If developers come up with clever ways to take advantage of the M7 coprocessor and the 64-bit support in iOS 7, the 5s will truly shine.”
New York Times iPhone 5c & 5s review:
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It’s no surprise that David Pogue gives both phones his thumbs-up, but he balances this with some mild criticism of Apple for not offering enough hardware innovation, particularly in the iPhone 5c. His biggest praise is for iOS 7 and the iPhone 5s’ new camera features:
“[The iPhone 5c] is a terrific phone. …But just sheathing last year’s phone in shiny plastic isn’t a stunning advance. [In the iPhone 5s], the new camera will mean more to you. Its sensor is 15 percent bigger, and the individual light-detecting pixels are bigger. Clearer, brighter, better color. The 5S also has two LED flashes — one pure white, one amber — that fire simultaneously. When mixed in the right balance, their light can match the color tone of your subject. Apple says this idea is a first in both phones and cameras. It really works. Flash photos look much, much better.”
Pocket Lint iPhone 5s review:
The UK-based Pocket-Lint is hardly an iPhone fanboy site, so we can take editor Stuart Miles’ 5-star review of the iPhone 5s — and his 4-star iPhone 5c review — without any salt. He calls the 5S “a phone for tomorrow rather than today” — citing the still unrealized potential of the Touch ID scanner and processors with 64-bit support — but he is enthusiastic about the potential. Though Miles faults the iPhone 5S for still missing some much-wanted features, he recommends it as “one of the best phones on the market”:
“We would like a bigger and higher resolution screen, there is still no NFC (even though we believe iBeacons will destroy the need for that), …iCloud still needs to be overhauled to be more fluid, while the social aspects of the phone such as helping you join the dots in your contacts book still need to be addressed and improved. …[But] if you want a phone that just works, then the iPhone 5S is a very good place to start.”
Slashgear iPhone 5s review:
Slashgear’s Vincent Nguyen goes to lengths in his review to explain how Apple’s new A7 and M7 processors work to speed up various functions, and he offers some good examples of photos taken with the phone’s improved camera in various lighting conditions:
“The iPhone 5s feels fast, no matter what you throw at it. iOS 7 whips between apps with alacrity, and even heavy inboxes and big multimedia files don’t cause the smartphone to slow down. …The updated camera is fast and capable, with the True Tone flash proving itself to be no gimmick, while the Touch ID system feels like the first biometrics system that actually stands a chance of succeeding in the mass market. …Would we pick the iPhone 5s over the iPhone 5c? In a heartbeat. The camera, convenience, and performance increases make that a no-brainer decision for smartphone power users.”
Wall Street Journal iPhone 5s review:
WSJ’s esteemed Walt Mossberg praises the iPhone 5s as a “delight” and that its software and hardware make it the “best smartphone on the market,” but he isn’t as quick to recommend the 5s over the 5c, except for those who own phones more than an year old:
“I can recommend it for anyone looking for a premium, advanced smartphone. If you are an iPhone fan with any model older than the iPhone 5, the new 5s will be a big step up. If you own an iPhone 5, there’s less of a case for upgrading, unless you want the fingerprint reader and improved camera. You can get the new OS free of charge.”
