Apple calls its new flagship phone, the
iPhone 5S, the most forward looking phone ever. Despite speculation about the
unchanged design and fingerprint scanner coming right, Apple managed to
surprise everyone by adding some very innovative features. Some of these
features are coming to a phone for the first time. Here is a look at what is
good and what is not so good in the new iPhone 5S.
The good part
A7 processor: Apple has never really talked about having a quad-core or an octa-core processor in the iPhone. Indeed, the company always talk about their chipset and how faster it will be from the predecessor. The iPhone 5S will come with an A7 chip, which will be twice the CPU and GPU performance of the iPhone 5. The iPhone 5S is the world's first smartphone with 64-bit support for handling some high performance apps.
iOS 7: The iOS 7 was announced a couple of months ago at the WWDC event. Many of the new features in the OS will try and exploit the A7 chipset and its 64-bit architecture.
Touch ID: Apple has implemented this fingerprint identity sensor very smartly, without making much changes to the hardware. The Home button is now made from laser-cut sapphire crystal which directs the image of the finger to a capacitive touch sensor that reads beneath the outer layers of your skin to get a detailed print.
Surrounding the button is a stainless steel ring that detects the finger, wakes the sensor, and improves the signal-to-noise ratio. Software comes into play to match to unlock your phone. In fact, this process even eliminates passwords while purchasing content from App Store, iTunes etc.
Camera: Apple has not increased the
megapixel count. But the iPhone 5S has got a 15 per cent larger sensor that
allows individual pixels to get larger, which results in a better image. There
is also a larger f/2.2 aperture that adds up to 33 per cent greater light
sensitivity for better, brighter images with more accurate colours. The true tone
flash figures out how much flash is actually needed and reduces chance of
burnout.
Motion coprocessor: One Apple surprise was inclusion of an M7 motion coprocessor. Designed to work with the A7 chip, it will measure motion data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass - to work much more efficiently. For instance, it will sense whether you are walking, running or driving and accordingly switch the mode in the navigation/maps.
Colours: Apple has finally looked beyond the colour palette of white and black as the iPhone 5S will also be available in Gold. While it will depend up on the personal preference, consumers have at least one more colour to choose from.
Motion coprocessor: One Apple surprise was inclusion of an M7 motion coprocessor. Designed to work with the A7 chip, it will measure motion data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass - to work much more efficiently. For instance, it will sense whether you are walking, running or driving and accordingly switch the mode in the navigation/maps.
Colours: Apple has finally looked beyond the colour palette of white and black as the iPhone 5S will also be available in Gold. While it will depend up on the personal preference, consumers have at least one more colour to choose from.
The downside
Design: The iPhone 5S comes with the same 5inch display found on the iPhone 5. There aren't any significant changes in the looks either.
64-bit: We still need to get some more clarity about how the iPhone will leverage the 64 bit support.
Price: The unlocked version of the iPhone 5S 16GB will retail at $649 + takes in the USA market. This comes out to approximately Rs.42,000 plus taxes. But considering the weakening Indian currency, the iPhone 5S is expected to cross Rs.50,000. India is still not a part of the first phase launch.
