The Apple iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s launched on Friday, September 20, and across the country avid Apple fans were lining up to get their hands on the hot new devices first. Latinos Post Tech was there, and got a hands-on look at the new devices, as well as pictures, up close and personal with the new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s.
iPhone 5s
The iPhone 5s is the new flagship version of the iPhone, offering some new innovative features that (once again) may revolutionize the mobile phone industry. The iPhone 5s is an attractive handset, which comes in three colors: Space Gray, Gold, and traditional Silver.
All colors of the new iPhone 5s look nice, with a bushed metal back in whatever color you choose, but it looks like the Gold iPhone 5s is the most popular, as supplies for that phone won't be available now until October.
While the iPhone 5s's display has the same 4-inch Retina screen as the iPhone 5, there are other parts of the phone, which have been upgraded. For example, the iPhone 5s has a new 8-megapixel camera, with a larger aperture and sensor, which should give the iPhone 5s better low-light photography. Inside, the camera's software has also been upgraded, allowing for 720p slow-motion video at 120 frames per second and a burst mode, which give you several different photos in one, so you can tinker and find the best version of your snapshot. There's also a dual-LED flash, which, along with iOS 7's "True Tone" camera option, gives you a less harsh flash depending on your environment.
Of course, there's also the fingerprint scanner, which already has a bounty on its head in the hacker community. In any case, it is integrated into the iPhone 5s's home button, basically melting it seamlessly into the usual functions of the mobile device. Hands-on, our correspondent found the scanner to be a little awkward to use at first, but after a few minutes it was working smoothly.
The iPhone 5s feels light in the hand, coming in at only 112 grams. But despite the lightweight feel, the device's performance level should be heavyweight, as the A7 processor features 64-bit architecture for the first time in smartphones. Of course, the advantage of a 64-bit processor only comes with apps that are built around it, but app developers - especially mobile gaming developers - are likely excited about designing heavy duty games around it. The iPhone 5s also comes with an M7 processor, which can run motion-related functions without engaging the A7 at all.
The iPhone 5s comes at a base price of $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB and $399 for the 64GB model. (Prices include a two-year contract with a major carrier.)
iPhone 5c
But besides those new specs and features, on a first look, our correspondent wasn't overly impressed with the iPhone 5s.
However, the iPhone 5c looks and feels like a great phone, and for a base price of $99, we think it will sell well.
It looks solid and is noticeably heavier than the iPhone 5s - at a weight of 132 grams, which actually gives it more of a premium feel. The candy-colored shell feels smooth and premium, despite the fact that it's made of plastic.
And the new iOS 7 looks like it was reengineered specifically to look great on the iPhone 5c (or vice versa - either way it's probably true, since both are Apple chief designer Jony Ive's babies).
The iPhone 5c doesn't contain any huge improvements over the iPhone 5, besides the new outer shells. But it wasn't meant to. It's the lower-cost new iPhone with iPhone 5 parts, but that doesn't mean it won't be popular.
Coming in white, pink, yellow, blue, and green, it's likely to be a top competitor in the mid-tier and for entry-level customers who want a premium smartphone at a lower price (as well as for kids who want an iPhone and parents who don't want to fully spoil them with the top smartphone in the world).
The iPhone 5c comes with the same Retina screen, the 8-megapixel camera from the iPhone 5, and iOS 7 with a new and improved (and officially out of beta) Siri. The iPhone 5c gets basically the same kind of battery life as the iPhone 5s, and is capable of the same 4G LTE speeds.
You can pick up the iPhone 5c for $99 for the 16GB model and a 32GB iPhone 5c for $199, both with two-year contracts.