Gold, gray, white iPhone 5S with fingerprint scanner, A7 processor, improved camera, and slo-mo video
Apple pulled back the curtain on its buzzy, constantly-rumored iPhone 5 successor at a Tuesday launch event held at the company's Cupertino, CA headquarters. Physically, the gold, space gray, or white aluminum iPhone 5S closely resembles the iPhone before it (bye, bye, basic black,) but Apple bulks it up with a fingerprint scanner, a faster processor, and high-end camera features.
The iPhone 5S costs the same on contract as the iPhone 5 did at launch: $199 for the 16GB version, $299 for 32GB, and $399 for 64GB. Protective cases will cost $39 each.
Along with the cheaper iPhone 5C ($99 for 16GB for a two-year contract,) the iPhone 5S goes on sale September 20 in various countries liek the US, UK, China, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and Singapore. They phones will come to 100 countries and 270 carriers in December.
The fingerprint scanner that rescues Apple's reputation as a smartphone-maker with cutting edge features that actually influence how people use their phones. The new scanner, called the Touch ID sensor, is integrated into the home button and adds some classy materials with its sapphire crystal topper and "stainless steel detection ring." Now you tap to activate your phone, instead of pressing the button.
Touch ID scans sub-epidermal skin layers, Apple says, and has a 360-degree readability.
In addition to the Touch ID sensor doubling as your security instead of a 4-key password, you can also purchase apps and other iTunes content with a tap of your finger. Fingerprint information is never available to other apps, Apple says, or in the cloud. We just hope there's a way for guests to get on the phone if you ask.
Specs-a-palooza
Hardware design stays the course with the same chamfered edges as the iPhone (that means the 45-degree angles on the corners.) The iPhone 5S has the same 4-inch screen as the iPhone 5, and Apple's Retina Display, which has a 1136 x 640-pixel resolution and a pixel density of 326 ppi. (This isn't the highest around, but Apple maintains that beyond this so-called sweet-spot saturation level, higher density ceases to matter.)
Here's something new: the iPhone 5S will have the first 64-bit chip in a mobile phone, but will be backwards-compatible with 32-bit apps. Under the hood, Apple's A7 processor promises to power the iPhone 5S with 56 times the performance of the very first iPhone.
On the gaming front, the iPhone 5S features OpenGP ES 3.0., which has the potential to make this phone the technically best performing in the smartphone world. (CNET mobile gamer Eric Franklin will love splicing this one up.)
New to the iPhone 5S is the M7 motion co-processor, which joins the A7 chip in processing. Specifically, the M7 chip keeps tabs on the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass data. At the end of the day, that makes it possible for wearables like fitness bands and other accessories to tap into that data faster and more efficiently.
Battery life is a big issue in the smartphone world, and Apple remains coy with actual milliamp hour capacity. Apple takes the iPhone 5S to 10 hours of talk time over 3G (but what about LTE, Apple?!,) 10 hours of LTE browsing, and 10 hours of video. You also get 10.4 days (250 hours) in standby mode, a full day longer than on the iPhone 5 (225 hours.)
Camera and video
When it comes to camera territory, Apple has traditionally been a gold standard, highly consistent in all scenarios without fussing with controls. This has been slipping with competitors' improved cameras in rival phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4, Nokia Lumia 925, and especially the Nokia Lumia 1020 (and its 41-megapixel camera.)
Here, Apple once again challenges the field with a lot of built-in logic that makes automatic adjustments of everything from white balance to the color temperature of the new, dual-tone LED flash.
In addition, Apple gives its iPhone 5S a 5-element lens that Apple designed in-house. Its sensor size is 15 percent larger than before, and it packs in a f/2.2 aperture. The result? More light for theoretically better pictures.
You won't find more megapixels in this version of the iSight camera, which means images top out at 8-megapixels. However, you'll find an all-new burst mode that snares snaps at a rate of 10fps when you hold your finger down on the shutter. You can also take shots that span a 28-megapixel panorama. Apple will now automatically adjusted exposure as you move, which is a nice touch. There's auto image stabilization as well.
The iPhone 5S once again ups the ante with a 1080p HD camera that captures video at a staggering 120 frames per second instead of the usual 30fps. The major use case here: slow-motion video.
Calling it "the most forward-thinking phone anyone's ever made," this new iPhone ships withiOS7 software inside, which Apple previewed earlier this summer. A brighter, more colorful interface is one major cosmetic enhancement. A Control Center you can call up from any screen for one-touch settings, and new camera apps are more substantial features.
