iPhone 5s vs 5c: What is Changed and Which one is For You?

Apple recently unveiled two new iPhones for the first time ever, creating a stir worldwide in smartphone markets. While the iPhone 5s is mostly well-received and is enjoying much fanfare already, the iPhone 5c is a bit controversial. It brings a new design and is supposedly aimed towards new markets, in short, the cheaper version. Despite this, it comes with a hard-to-swallow price tag.

But regardless of anything, iPhone 5C is cheaper than the iPhone 5s. Which one should you be buying? Your decision should depend on the following factors:

Design

The iPhone 5s looks better than the previous iPhone 5 and also better than the 5c (despite the fact that it’s actually 5c which is replacing the 5). It is quite sleek, weighing in at just 112g and being 7.6mm thick. Compared to that, the 5c is a bit chubby at 132g heavy and 9mm thick.

Also, while the 5s is made of premium materials (high-grade aluminium), the 5c is made of polycarbonate plastic. But don’t let that fool you. We haven’t handled it ourselves yet but since it uses a reinforced steel structure within, it’s one of the sturdiest plastic phones yet. (At least according to journalists who’ve used it.) It still won’t be beating aluminium though.

The 5c comes in a wide range of colours (five to be precise) while the 5s comes in three colour combinations, which come with more serious looks.

As for the screen, both have 4 inch Retina Displays with Gorilla Glass.

One huge addition on the 5s is Touch ID, which is a great substitute for passwords. The fingerprint scanner can memorize multiple fingerprints, is made of sapphire and has 500 pixels per inch. That is something not found on the 5c.

Internals

This is probably where the 5s has taken the biggest strides. The new A7 is the first 64-bit processor in a smartphone which is twice as fast as the A6 found in the 5c. Graphics are twice as fast too. Also making an entry is the M7 motion co-processor.

Now, of course, the A6 is not too bad either and will get the job done if you plan on playing casual games but to really believe in the A7, you have to see the Infinity Blade III demo. If that doesn’t impress you, nothing will.

Software

On the software side, both the 5s and 5c are almost similar, with the former getting an edge due to the Touch ID. The technology has been incorporated cleverly in several aspects of the user interface such as software and music purchases in App Store and iTunes.

The iWork suite and iMovie & iPhoto are free too which should really boost productivity from your iOS device.

Camera

The cameras on both the 5s and 5c are of 8 megapixels. But again, the camera on the 5s is better, with a larger sensor, larger pixel size and a True Tone dual-led Flash. It also does 720p videos at 120fps, slow motion videos and of course, 1080p videos at 30fps. The 5c can only stand its ground in that last instance.

Pricing

The iPhone 5c is considerably cheaper, at $549 for the starting model. The 5s however, will be starting at around $700 for the starting model. That’s a difference of around 20,000 PKR when the phones will hit the Pakistani market initially.

Conclusion

The difference of 20,000 PKR is quite a lot but spending that extra money gets justified easily in the case of 5s. The upper-end model easily outclasses its younger brother in virtually every category.

Or you may as well get the iPhone 5 which can be found for even cheaper. It won’t be supported by its manufacturer as much though. One last choice is the 4S which is the cheapest right now but its aging hardware makes it a less than ideal choice.

And lastly, here’s the recap:

Why should I choose iPhone 5S

• More serious design
• Thinner, Lighter
• Touch ID, Better home button
• Apple A7, M7 processor
• Better 8 megapixel camera, True Tone, Slow-motion videos

Why should I choose iPhone 5C

• Cheaper
• More colorful, youthful and glossy
• Plastic can take more hits on the ground
• Basically a redesigned iPhone 5 (if that’s a plus point for you)