It’s a tale of two solitudes: Apple has stuck to a roughly once-a-year product
release cadence with its iPhone since it first bowed in 2007, while new and
ever-more feature-laden Android-powered
superphones from Samsung, Motorola, HTC, LG, Sony and others
seem to pop up in stores and online virtually every week or so.
As the
competition continued to mount, Apple’s annual cycle didn’t do the iconic
smartphone any favours this year. The iPhone 5 cruised into the late summer
with a growing list of things it lacked compered to the competition. The
almost-year-old product – it turns one out Sept. 12th – needed a refresh.
A quick look
at the specs of the just-announced
iPhone 5S shows that Apple has once again
levelled the playing field. Where the iPhone 5 was starting to be outshone by
newer competitors with faster Wi-Fi, enterprise-grade
security and quad-
and even eight-core processors, the new 5S fills in the obvious gaps, with
careful tweaks to the hardware and the upgrade to iOS7. In doing so, Apple’s
latest device re-ignites the battle for supremacy among flagship phones.
The new
top-end device manages to re-establish the iPhones without radically shifting
away from what made previous versions so successful in he first place. At first
glance, save for the fancy new slate, gold or silver color scheme, it’s easy to
mistake the 5S for the 5. Continuing its previous habit of keeping the basic
shape consistent for at least two consecutive generations, the screen hasn’t
physically grown.
While the
new superphone’s less expensive little brother, the
colourful iPhone 5C, may have stolen some of the 5S’s thunder, it’s the halo product
that sets the tone for the platform and indicates where Apple may be headed
next with the rest of its iOS-based lineup, namely the iPad and iPod touch. For
now, at least, the 5S keeps Apple current.
Here’s a closer look at today’s top
superphones from the major players. While no one device is perfect for
everyone, some hardware specs matter more – or less – depending on how the
phone is ultimately used. Let the specs be your guide:
|
iPhone 5S
|
iPhone 5
|
Samsung Galaxy S4
|
HTC One
|
Motorola X
|
LG G2
|
Sony Experia Z1
|
|
|
Processor
|
"Apple A7 (64 bit)
M7 motion coprocessor |
Apple
A6
|
Qualcomm Snapdragon
600*
|
Qualcomm Snapdragon
600
|
Qualcomm Snapdragon S4
Pro
|
Qualcomm Snapdragon
800
|
Qualcomm Snapdragon
800
|
|
Processor Cores
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
|
Processor Speed (GHz)
|
N/A
|
1.3
|
1.9
|
1.7
|
1.7
|
2.26
|
2.26
|
|
Screen Size (Inches)
|
4.0
|
4.0
|
5.0
|
4.7
|
4.7
|
5.2
|
5.0
|
|
Screen Type
|
Retina
|
Retina
|
Super AMOLED
|
Super LCD 3
|
Super AMOLED
|
True HD-IPS + LCD
|
Triluminos
|
|
Screen Resolution (Pixels)
|
1136 x 640
|
1136 x 640
|
1920 x 1080
|
1920 x 1080
|
1280 x 720
|
1920 x 1080
|
1920 x 1080
|
|
Pixels per Inch (PPI)
|
326
|
326
|
441
|
468
|
316
|
424
|
441
|
|
Dimensions (Inches, HWD)
|
4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30
|
4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30
|
5.38 x 2.75 x 0.31
|
5.41 x 2.69 x 0.37
|
5.09 x 2.57 x 0.41
|
5.45 x 2.79 x 0.35
|
5.67 x 2.91 x 0.33
|
|
Dimensions (mm, HWD)
|
123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6
|
123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6
|
137 x 70 x 7.9
|
137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3
|
129.3 x 65.3 x 10.4
|
138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9
|
144 x 74 x 8.5
|
|
Available colours
|
Slate, Gold, Silver
|
Black, White
|
Black, White
|
Black, White, Red, Blue
|
Multiple/Customized
|
Black, White
|
Black, White, Purple
|
|
Weight (Ounces)
|
3.95
|
3.95
|
4.59
|
5.04
|
4.59
|
5.04
|
6.00
|
|
Weight (Grams)
|
112
|
112
|
130
|
143
|
130
|
143
|
180
|
|
Wi-Fi
|
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
(802.11n 2.4GHz and 5GHz) |
802.11 a/b/g/n
(802.11n 2.4GHz and 5GHz) |
802.11 a/b/g/n
(802.11n 2.4GHz and 5GHz) |
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n
|
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
|
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
|
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
|
|
Additional Radios/Access
|
GPS, Glonass, Bluetooth 4.0,
fingerprint scanner
|
GPS, Glonass, Bluetooth 4.0
|
GPS, Glonass, Bluetooth 4.0,
NFC, Infrared
|
GPS, Glonass, Bluetooth 4.0,
NFC, Infrared
|
GPS, Glonass, Bluetooth 4.0,
NFC
|
GPS, Glonass, Bluetooth 4.0,
NFC, Infrared
|
GPS, Glonass, Bluetooth 4.0,
NFC
|
|
Operating System
|
iOS7
|
iOS6
|
Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
|
Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
|
Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
|
Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
|
Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
|
|
Storage (Gb)
|
16, 32, 64
|
16, 32, 64
|
16, 32, 64
|
32, 64
|
16
|
16, 32
|
16, 32
|
|
Expansion
|
None
|
None
|
microSD, up to 64 Gb
|
None
|
None
|
None
|
microSD, up to 64 Gb
|
|
RAM
|
1 Gb
|
1 Gb
|
2 Gb
|
2 Gb
|
2 Gb
|
2 Gb
|
2 Gb
|
|
Rear Camera
|
8MP iSight with built-in
image stabilization & 15% larger sensor
|
8MP iSight
|
13MP
|
4.08MP (UltraPixel) with
optical image stabilization
|
10MP
|
13MP with optical image
stabilization
|
20.7MP
|
|
Video Capture
|
1080p video at 30 fps
720p video at 120 fps (slow-mo) |
Up to 1080p at 30fps
|
Up to 1080p at 30 fps
|
"Up to 1080p at 30 fps
Up to 720p at 60 fps |
Up to 108op at 60 fps
|
Up to 108op at 60 fps
|
Up to 1080p at 30 fps
|
|
Front Camera
|
720p video at 30 fps
1.2MP photos |
720p video at 30 fps
1.2MP photos |
2.0MP
|
1080p video at 30 fps
2.1MP photos |
"1080p video at 30 fps
2.0MP photos |
1080p video at 30 fps
2.4MP photos |
1080p video at 30 fps
2.0MP photos |
|
Battery Capacity
|
N/A
|
1440 mAh
|
2,600 mAh
|
2,300 mAh
|
2,200 mAh
|
3,000 mAh
|
3,000 mAh
|
|
Battery Removable?
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
|
Talk Time
|
3G: Up to 10h
|
3G: Up to 8h
|
Up to 17h
|
2G: Up to 27h
3G: Up to 18h |
Up to 13h
|
Up to 28.9h
|
2G: Up to 13h, 50 min
3G: Up to 15h |
|
Standby Time
|
Uo to 250 hours
|
Up to 225 hours
|
3G: Up to 15 days
4G: Up to 13 days |
2G: Up to 20 days, 20 hours
3G: Up to 20 days |
Up to 10 days
|
Up to 29 days
|
2G: Up to 36 days, 16 hours
3G: Up to 35 days, 10 hours |
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