iPhone 5S: The Forward Thinking Way of Apple's iPhone Fork Road

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Apple had their September 10 event, and boy all those leaks were real. There were not one, but two new iPhones announced at this event: the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c. I have a separate post for the 5c, so this is all about the 5s. This one's the typical "S" upgrade to the flagship model that they do a year after they've done a redesign, but this is touted as the biggest one yet.

From the outside, it really looks like an iPhone 5: the aluminum unibody, same thinness and lightness, and the same 4-inch Retina Display. Since this is an "S" upgrade, the usual suspects come out like the better camera, better processor, and a new feature to entice users to purchase. The three things I mentioned are the three core upgrades Apple has with the 5s.

The A7 Processor + M7 Coprocessor - This one's been a staple of the "S" upgrades, but there's this one detail that Apple really touted in the new A7 chip: 64-bit. We've seen the shift from 32-bit to 64-bit in our desktop and laptop computers. Smartphones are basically also computers but in a way smaller form factor. What 64-bit means is that the processor can process more at once, so things like opening an app will be faster. The M7 Coprocessor is a separate chip that is responsible for checking the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass. With this, the A7 chip doesn't need to be fired up when using those three sensors. This allows for a new generation of apps which take advantage of all this.

The Improved iSight Camera - Another staple of the "S" upgrades, the camera has been a big selling point of the iPhone ever since the iPhone 4. In every iteration since then, they've made the iPhone have the best camera on a smartphone and here they go again with significant improvements to it. The camera now has a wider f2.2 aperture meaning more light can go in the camera. It stays at 8 megapixels, but the sensor has 1.5 micron pixels, so more light can be accepted by the sensor. Another big change in the camera is in the flash, which the 5s now has "True Tone" flash. This basically means that there is a dual LED flash: one that's white, the other amber. This means the flash in the 5s would help in taking better pictures rather than make them worse. Other notable features include auto image stabilization and burst mode.

Touch ID - This feature has been long-rumored ever since last year because of Apple's purchase of AuthenTec. The 5s now has a fingerprint sensor that's been conveniently built into the Home button. This may sound subtle, but this means that you would be using this feature most of the time. All you need to do to unlock your phone is to touch (not necessarily press) the Home button! Your purchases from Apple's online stores are confirmed by your fingerprint.

The iPhone 5s is $199 on-contract for 16GB of storage, $299 for 32GB, and $399 for 64GB. I'm not going to go through the rest of the features of this phone since it's just in Apple's website and every other tech site that exists. What do I think of this phone, you might ask? Well, I have a lot to say about that.

My Thoughts

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I just got the iPhone 5 and based on past experiences, when you have a non-"S" generation of the iPhone, it's going to be a tough sell to upgrade to the "S" generation because the upgrades are incremental. Don't get me wrong, this is a great smartphone to get. It's just that the jump from the 5 to the 5s for me isn't really that substantial. The camera on the 4S has already been touted as the best smartphone camera which has been improved on the 5 and now again on the 5s. I trust that Apple has done a better job with the camera. The one thing that would make me wanna upgrade or not is Touch ID. If it works as advertised (and not end up like Antennagate), then it would be an incremental but fundamental step to what could happen down the line with the iPhone. I'm sure the A7 will do a good job since the A6 is blazing fast. Until I get my hands on one and try it out, I might just skip this one.