The iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C might have been launched at the same time, but they're very different beasts in terms of design, spec and, perhaps most importantly, cost. So instead of muddling through on your own, here's our guide to help you decide which one is for you.
Are you design-conscious? Do you need that 64-bit technology? Are you tired of passwords? We've created this guide to highlight the key features of each handset to help you decide which iPhone suits you.
Design
As with every iPhone in existence, both the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C follow very similar design strategies. The screen and the home button are both central to the 'flavour', and both the 5S and the 5C come with the Apple and iPhone logos on the rear.
The 3.5mm headphone jack sits in the lower left corner, with the lightning port in the centre of the base. Volume keys and the lock key are also identically placed on both models. In all, a very similar start, but that's where it ends.
Following on from the iPhone 5 before it, the iPhone 5S comes in a metal chassis measuring 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm. This makes it larger than the plastic iPhone 5C, which measures 124.4 x 59.2 x 8.97mm. The plastic hasn't made the 5C lighter though, as it comes in 20g heavier than the 5S; 132g to 122g.
This weight is particularly noticeable whilst holding the two phones, although the iPhone 5C manages to feel a little more comfortable. The plastic back wraps around the 5C more than the metal frame of the 5S, resulting in a more pleasing grip.
- Read our in-depth iPhone 5S review
Apple's svelte design of the 5S does bring a slightly cheaper feel (borne out in the price), with the sharper lines of the iPhone 5S packing a tangibly more premium punch.
The iPhone 5C would look a little strange in the stiff working environment, but far more comfortable in the hands of a teen or young adult.
According to Apple, the C in iPhone 5C is meant to stand for colour, with five different colours available; green, blue, yellow, pink and white. The bright colours and plastic chassis give the iPhone 5C a cheaper feel - it certainly wouldn't feel out of place in a ball pit.
The metal chassis of the iPhone 5S comes in either 'space grey' and black, gold and white, or silver and white. These help give the 5S a far more premium look and feel. The redesigned home button (to incorporate Touch ID) is also a nice touch with the lack of white square giving the front of the 5S a smoother, more professional look.
While we really like the design of the iPhone 5C, it doesn't quite meet the same standards of the iPhone 5S. The plastic casing does result in a cheaper price tag, but the metal casing of the 5S matches its higher cost better than the 5C.
Camera
In terms of camera performance, the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 5S come with identical forward-facing sensors. This means that for those heavily invested in the likes of Snapchat, or enjoy posting selfies to Facebook or Instagram, both handsets have you equally covered.
The difference in cameras is exclusive to the rear sensor, although both come with 8MP to capture those candid, and less so, moments.
Differences in the cameras lie deeper than just the amount of pixels that have been crammed into the sensor though. The size of the pixels on each sensor has changed, with the iPhone 5S commanding larger pixels and therefore allowing more light in.
The iPhone 5S also comes with optical image stabilisation (OIS), helping to make images come out clearer, especially in low light conditions. Minor blurring associated with slight hand movements has been lowered as a result, if not eradicated.
Upgrades have also made over to the flash, with the iPhone 5S being fitted with a dual-LED offering to make night time shots brighter and clearer, as well as bring a more natural tone to shots. This puts it above the iPhone 5C that comes with only a single LED light.
In order to highlight the differences in cameras, we've taken a variety of shots so you can compare them side by side.
Click here to view the full resolution image
The larger pixel size is immediately obvious, with the image taken by the iPhone 5S coming out a lot brighter than on the 5C. More detail is also noticeable on the image taken by the 5S, with more colour appearing in the sky.
Contrast is slightly higher on the 5S rather than the iPhone 5C, with markings in the paint work being more prominent, and water droplets also showing up better. Zoomed in, text also comes out clearer on the 5S.
Click here to view the full resolution image
The same differences found in the postbox images are also found in the images of the cathedral. It is clear that there is more detail in the brick work, and the contrast level is a lot higher. Zoomed in, edges of the building are a lot crisper.
Click here to view the full resolution image
Throughout our flash photography we found that the iPhone 5S generally produced more in focus shots, thanks to the dual-LED flash that sits next to the camera and improved processor speeds. When comparing photos there is a slight difference, although it's not as huge as you might think.
Click here to view the full resolution image
The larger pixels in the iPhone 5S come into play in darker scenes, allowing a lot more light to hit the sensor. This allows the 5S to produce a brighter image, with far more detail being captured; it is possible to make out brick work on the building opposite in the image taken by the 5S, but not the 5C. Light streaks are also largely eliminated.
Performance
A lot of the talk surrounding the upgrade of the iPhone 5S from the iPhone 5 was the inclusion of the new A7 chip, bringing across a laptop-esque 64-bit architecture. Right now this means very little, but as time goes by and as apps are optimised to suit the newer chip, expect to see bigger and faster apps.
The iPhone 5C keeps the same chip that is found in the older iPhone 5. This follows a more standard chipset, although one that is expected to be replaced by 64 and eventually 128-bit chips in flagship models. Even Qualcomm have recently launched the budget Snapdragon 410 64-bit chip.
This should mean that iPhone 5S comes with a greater life span, as it will be able to run the bigger and more demanding apps that we are likely to see in the future.
Flicking through the home screens and the differences in terms of speeds aren't all that noticeable, but for everything else there is a definite disparity. Web browsing, gaming and downloading is a lot faster on the 5S.
- Read our in-depth iPhone 5C review
We noticed that apps needed updating on both handsets, and the iPhone 5S managed to download four apps before the 5C had downloaded two. A check of the app sizes even showed that it wasn't due to the file size, as the iPhone 5S had downloaded larger files.
Web browsing over Wi-Fi was a lot faster too. There may have only been a slight delay in loading basic mobile sites, but the delay was a second or two when browsing full mobile sites. Gaming was also faster on the 5S.
Loading Sonic Dash on the iPhone 5C was considerably slower than the 5S; we had already started gaming on the 5S by the time the load screen had disappeared on the 5C. Anybody with the 5C won't feel too let down by their handset, until a 5S-toting friend turns up.
Taking it down to brass tacks, and in the benchmark testing you can see that the 5S is streets ahead of its cheaper rival, scoring 2557 in real world testing compared to the 1282 of the 5C. This won't matter if you're only going to be idly checking web and email, but over time you'll likely yearn for a little more power.
Storage and Touch ID
Internal storage is relatively similar on both the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C. Both come with 16GB and 32GB models, although the 64GB model is only available on the 5S.
Given that Apple has never supported additional storage through the likes of microSD, storage is a hotter topic on iPhones than it is on most other handsets - although many are now following Apple's lead.
We're getting more and more conscious of just how much storage is needed on handsets, but Apple has always given the iPhone a very heavy media slant, starting life as a combination of the iPod and a standard mobile phone.
If you're like us, you'll have a rather hefty catalogue of music and HD movies that you'll want to pop onto your new iPhone, as well as a range of gaming and productivity apps. This means that the smaller storage option can often be left feeling a little wanting.
The 32GB option is a rather nice compromise, and should provide enough storage to last a typical two year contract. For those with really hefty media libraries, or those that are heavily into mobile gaming, the 64GB found only on the iPhone 5S is a must.
It isn't just the massive storage that is reserved for the iPhone 5S, with Apple also reserving one of its other innovations for the 5S. For those that haven't heard, Touch ID is a capacitive finger print scanner built into the home button.
Building the scanner into the home button was a stroke of genius, allowing swift and easy unlocking, saving the few seconds that it takes to input a pass code. It can also be used to safeguard iTunes purchases, so lending your iPhone 5S to someone won't result in a hefty bank statement.
Having this technology built into the 5S is part of the reason that it commands a higher price tag. We can see it being a fantastically helpful feature for parents that loan their iPhone to their kids, and for those that are very privacy conscious.
It is also a feature that has yet to take off widely, although it comes (rather awkwardly placed) on the HTC One Max and is rumoured to appear on the Samsung Galaxy S5.
Price
With all the extra features that we have mentioned so far, from the A7 and M7 chip to Touch ID and the metal chassis, the iPhone 5S was always going to command a higher price. It currently retails SIM free for £549, £629 and £709 for the 16, 32 and 64GB versions respectively.
This puts it at £80 more expensive than the SIM free iPhone 5C equivalents; the 5C is available for £469 for the 16GB variant and £549 for 32GB.
SIM free, this does also put the 32GB iPhone 5C on the same pricing structure as the 16GB iPhone 5S.
We can envisage there being a few occasions where both models are being weighed up, choosing whether or not to opt for the larger storage on the 5C for the same price as the smaller 5S. In reality though, this isn't really a question that should be asked too often.
If storage is that important, and we can see that really being the case, we'd advise going for the larger storage on the iPhone 5S. The added storage and the extra features make the larger 5S better value all round... as long as your heart's set on an iPhone, that is.
Verdict
We ended this by asking Siri which handset it thought was the best, and it told us to make our own minds up.
If you've read this and are now left thinking that out of the two handsets we would opt for the iPhone 5S over the iPhone 5C...you'd be right.
Having used the two together, sat often side by side, it is immediately clear which of the two Apple handsets is superior. Be it the sleeker, more industrial design, the lighter weight or the fancy Touch ID technology, the iPhone 5S beats the 5C every time.
It is a little disappointing that we've had to say this, because the iPhone 5C is, in its own right, a very nice and very capable device. Anybody that has purchased one, or is thinking about purchasing one won't be left disappointed by what the 5C has to offer.
In all, the iPhone 5S brings a lot of features to market that make it more pleasant to use than its lower spec-ed brother. We can't help but feel that the appeal of the 5C is limited, with playground politics meaning that 5S will always bring more appeal - and for the money, there's not a lot of difference in price between the two devices.
However, that doesn't mean that the 5C is without charm. It's got a strong and unique design and does give a lower entry point for an iPhone user. It may be a rebadged iPhone 5, but that's no bad thing. We would always recommend you look at the 5S if you're buying the C, and beseech you to save a little more as the gap between the two is so vast.
Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/iphone-5s-vs-iphone-5c-1209018
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