Now you can bite the apple and eat it too, quite literally; or is it? Apple has unveiled an iPhone for everyone: the
iPhone 5S, which will be its new flagship successor, and a new cheaper variant known as the
iPhone 5C for those who may find the former out of reach. The S could stand for speed, while the C possibly for cheap. Apple has appropriately put the taglines as "Forward thinking" for the 5S and "For the colourful" for the 5C. The launch has ended months of speculations about whether or not the Cupertino-based company will launch a cheaper variant along with its regular premium handset.
To start off, the iPhone 5S is obviously an upgraded version of the iPhone 5 in terms of hardware in a similar way as the iPhone 3GS was to the iPhone 3G. It is powered by a new 64-bit A7 CPU that should allow for better gaming experience approaching the graphical intensity and fluidity of hand-held consoles. Additionally, there is an M7 companion processor that handles motion data, thus offloading the A7. The much speculated silver ring fingerprint scanner is also built into the home button to allow secure unlocking of the phone by its authorised owner.
Coming to the camera, there are improvements with a 15% larger 8 MP sensor compared to its predecessor, which should help reduce noise levels in low-light photography. There is improved video stabilisation for blur-free handheld shooting in addition to Burst mode, Panorama, photo filters aka Instagram, and Full HD video capture at 30 fps. The camera also supports 720p at 120 fps thus making it possible to play back such videos in slow motion, essentially called "Slo-mo video". A dual-LED flash has also been added to shoot in the dark. Apple has retained the 4" screen size and specs from the iPhone 5 and it still looks very much like its predecessor, although it is available in colour variations of Space Gray, Gold, and Silver. However, Apple has got nicely crafted premium leather cases for the iPhone 5S, which are available in multiple colours.
The iPhone 5C is basically the iPhone 5 with cost cutting and some colour, targeting the mid-range buyer segment. After sticking to white or black for years, Apple has finally gone Technicolor with the iPhone 5C, which is available in white, pink, yellow, blue, and green. As a cost-cutting measure, the iPhone 5C sports a polycarbonate body but is heavier than the iPhone 5 at 132 grams.
The handset is powered by an A6 chip with 1 GB of RAM. The screen is a 4" Retina display with pixel dimensions of 1136x640 but without scratch-resistant glass. An 8 MP AF primary camera with LED flash is present along with a 1.2 MP front-facing Facetime camera. Additional features include Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi with AirPlay, and A-GPS with GLONASS.
Both the devices will run the new iOS7. The iPhone 5S 16 GB is priced at $199 (approx Rs 12,800), while the 32 GB variant costs $299 (approx Rs 19,200). The 64 GB version will set you back by $399 (Rs 25,500). The iPhone 5C, on the other hand is available for $99 (approx Rs 6400) for the 16 GB and $199 (approx Rs 12,800) for the 32 GB. Of course, these prices are for the US market with 2-year contracts, so retail prices will be much higher. The iPhone 5C, which has been touted to be for the mid-range, will therefore end up in the high-end price bracket with a retail price of $549 (approx Rs 36,500) and $649 (approx Rs 43,000), thus shattering the dreams of cheap iPhone aspirants.