iPhone 5s India - Features, Availability, Design, Bugs and Other Discussions
iPhone 5s IndiaThis is an "S" year in the Cupertino calendar but different enough - it may be that two phones instead of one account for almost double last year's record sales. We can only guess as to which one contributed how, but this is hardly the point. We have the latest flagship reporting for duty and it will be both the main course and the desert, considering the 5c didn't quite impress as an appetizer.
Features, Availability, Design, Bugs and Other Discussions
As with every "S" version of the iPhone the changes are subtle but not illusory. There's no new design obviously, no bigger screen or a bump in resolution - nothing to go against the conservative grain of how Apple typically delivers iPhone upgrades every other year. That said, it's not this phone's fault that the iPhone 5 wasn't the full-digit upgrade everyone was hoping for.
As usual with Apple - we need to give it that - a certain set of users just can't wait to get the next big thing. Others, though, won't just get rid of the iPhone 5 unless the newcomer is convincing enough. An iPhone may fail to meet the (usually over-inflated) expectations but it has never been a product to be displeased with.
The new OS version may be a decider as well, if more people share our experience and feel the slowdown on an iPhone 5 running iOS 7, but the rest of the new stuff may as well be just enough to tip the scales in favor of the iPhone 5s.
iPhone 5s Touch ID
The first thing that makes a tangible difference is Touch ID, with a fingerprint scanner having made the iconic Home button its residence. The camera has a bigger sensor and dual LED flash, and gladly takes advantage of what's probably the most notable improvement - the 64-bit A7 chip. The iOS enters its 64-bit stage in its seventh iteration, well ahead of the competition. What this means is better memory management and more complex tasks and apps ahead. This could as well be the first step to bringing the iOS closer to Apple's dedicated desktop OS X - an early message that both platforms are due for a rendezvous eventually.
Main Features
- Quad-band GSM and quad-band or penta-band 3G support with 21 Mbps HSDPA, 42 Mbps DC-HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
- LTE support on all models and CDMA support when sold by CDMA carriers
- 4" 16M-color LED-backlit IPS TFT capacitive touchscreen of 640 x 1136px resolution, 326 ppi
- Corning Gorilla Glass, fingerprint-resistant coating
- 1.3 GHz dual-core ARMv8 64-bit CPU, PowerVR G6430 GPU, 1GB of RAM, Apple A7 SoC
- iOS 7 and iCloud integration
- 8 MP autofocus camera, 1/3'' sensor size, 1.5µm pixel size, True Tone dual-LED flash, touch focus, digital image stabilization
- 1080p video recording at 30fps, 720p@120fps slow motion videos
- 1.2MP secondary front-facing camera, 720p video recording
- Touch ID fingerprint scanner embedded into home button
- Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
- GPS with A-GPS connectivity, GLONASS support; digital compass
- 16/32/64GB storage options
- Accelerometer, proximity sensor and a three-axis gyro sensor
- Active noise cancellation with a dedicated secondary microphone, dedicated third microphone for Siri
- Standard 3.5 mm audio jack, stereo Bluetooth v4.0
- Apple Maps with free voice-guided navigation in 50-odd countries
- iTunes Radio
- AirDrop file transfer
- Voice recognition, Siri virtual assistant
- Supports HD Voice (needs carrier support too)
- FaceTime video calls over Wi-Fi and cellular
- Impressively slim and light
Main Disadvantages
- Screen feels small by 2013 standards
- Very expensive without carrier subsidies
- TouchID is greatly underused
- No USB Mass Storage mode, iTunes required for data transfer
- No FM radio
- No expandable storage, sealed-in battery
- No NFC connectivity
- 1080p@30fps video recording is low by current flagship status
- Mono audio recording in videos
Battery Life:
iSight Camera
iPhone 5s features advanced technologies custom designed for the iSight camera’s hardware and software. So anyone anywhere can take an amazing photo at any time. It simply makes more sense to teach iPhone how to take a great picture rather than teach people how to be expert photographers. Here are just some of the capabilities of the new iSight camera.
- Larger sensor. Larger pixels. Larger aperture: Light is a key factor in getting a great photo. The new iSight has a 15 per cent larger sensor. Bigger pixels, measuring 1.5 microns. And an aperture of ƒ/2.2. All of which let in more light.
- Continuous burst mode: Burst mode lets you capture multiple shots of the action by snapping 10 photos per second. And real-time analysis suggests individual shots or a sequence of photos that you might like best.
- True Tone flash: A white LED and an amber LED work with intelligent software algorithms to adjust the flash intensity and colour temperature, using over 1,000 unique combinations to light your subject perfectly.
- Slow-motion video: Shoot video at 120 frames per second at 720p and play back any section at quarter speed for a dramatic effect. Then share it with friends for mass appeal.
- Panorama photos: Take a piece — a rather big piece — of a gorgeous skyline with you. Pano mode lets you capture epic panorama photos with dynamic auto exposure that adjusts as you take the shot.
Conclusion:
The A7 chipset is not meant to set a speed record, it's meant to run iOS 7 smoother than A6 ran iOS 6 and it delivers. Plus, the future-proofing of course. The camera doesn't go head first into the megapixel race, but meaningful upgrades to both the hardware and software make it one of the better cameras around. Even the fingerprint sensor is meant to be a quicker alternative to the four-digit PIN, rather than an NSA-grade security feature. Perhaps, different levels of access would've been a great addition.
Anyway, the iPhone 5s is what we want most phones to be - compact, premium-quality, some improved features, some to make life easier and an OS that works equally well for children, teenagers and adults.
Our biggest quarrel with Apple is the screen - a big screen (4.3-4.7", perhaps) is a must for a high-end smartphone with aspirations for multimedia consumption, gaming and productivity. The resolution could use an update too - the PPI was stunning in 2010 when the iPhone 4 was announced, not so much today. We guess we have to wait until iPhone 6 to, hopefully, get that wish granted.
What if the iPhone 5s is too pricy for you? The iPhone 5c is no alternative, you'd be better off getting a second-hand iPhone 5 (it's the 5c in the body of a 5s). And if you already have an iPhone 5, the upgrade isn't worth the $200 in the US (let alone other markets where the price is much higher). iPhone users with 4S and earlier are the only ones that could seriously think about upgrading, as the cumulative changes would be worth it.
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