REVIEW: Apple’s new iPhone 5s

Over the past week I’ve been bombarded with questions about the iPhone 5s. What are the new features? Is it worth upgrading to if I already own an iPhone 5? Many are curious about Apple’s latest device, but aren’t certain if it’s worth upgrading. I’ve spent the past 7 days using the device.  Is it nice? You bet! Are the new features cool? There’s no doubt about it! Is it worth upgrading to? Well…that depends.

At first glance the iPhone 5s could be mistaken for last year’s iPhone 5. The build is almost identical, spare the fact that the new phones now come in three new colours including gold, silver and space grey (which is really just a mix of black and graphite). In fact, they even share the same measurements and weight. We all know looks are only skin deep so lets take a look what has changed on the inside.

The iPhone 5s sports Apples latest A7 chip, the fastest processor on any iPhone to date. It is also the first smartphone with a 64-bit chip. Samsung has already announced its future smartphones will have 64-bit chips, but for now Apple claims the title as the world’s first.

After using the iPhone 5s for the past week I can tell you first hand, performance is top notch. The iPhone 5s screams through menus and launches apps with next to no lag. How it compares to the iPhone 5 is tough to say at this point since both phones as of this writing use different operating systems. The iPhone 5 won’t receive iOS7 (which comes pre-installed in the iPhone 5s) until September 18th. Apple’s own literature says iOS 7 was built with a 64-bit chip in mind, so we’ll have a better idea on how the two models measure up once both are running the same operating system.

One thing you have to keep in mind when it comes to the A7 chip is apps available at this point are written for Apple’s 32-bit chips. What the A7 chip does however is future-proof it when 64-bit apps become available. That being said the spec bump will come in handy for gaming. The A7 processor has up to twice as much graphical processing power as last year’s phone. It’s quite evident when you see game demos such as the upcoming Infinity Blade III. The graphics are quite stunning for a mobile game with incredible attention to detail not seen before such as reflections on water. Gamers will love the iPhones 5s, that is of course if you play a lot of games on your mobile device. Candy Crush will look the same as it did on the iPhone 5.

Along side the A7 chip is a co-processor called the M7. This second processor is dedicated to handling all motion data obtained from the gyroscope, accelerometer and compass. The M7 is designed to take workload off the A7, allowing the overall performance of the iPhone 5s to remain unchanged while still collecting important motion data.

The M7 can collect lots of information like movement and speed. For example if you’re walking outside you may get a notice that WiFi networks are available to join. However when you’re driving in your vehicle you won’t be asked to join nearby networks since it can detect you are moving at a fast pace. This may not seem like a big deal but remember notifications and pinging networks take a toll on battery life, something the M7 is aimed at improving. I look forward to see what companies like Nike and other app developers do with this new co-processor.

Cameras have always played an important role in smartphones, and Apple is taking a bigger is better approach. Instead of focusing on the megapixels (a number which is often misleading) Apple decided to improve the internal components. The sensor has been increased by 15% and now boasts larger pixels. The aperture is also larger to let more natural light in, making for not only better pictures, but more accurate colours. This also improves photos in low light conditions. Image stabilization also helps reduce blur while shooting moving subjects, an issue I’ve had with previous iPhone cameras.

I took both the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s out on a walk this week to see how the cameras compare. Below you will see a comparison of the two cameras.

 

 

 

 

Colours on the photos taken with the iPhone 5s were much more accurate than those on the iPhone 5.

There are a couple other camera features found only the iPhone 5s. My favourite happens to be burst. When you place your finger on the shutter button the iPhone begins snapping photos and continues to snap photos in quick succession until you take your finger away. The camera is capable of 10 frames per second, which I found came in handy when I was trying to take photos of my youngest daughter. Parents will love this feature as it gives you a much better chance at capturing a decent picture.

When you go into your camera roll, all burst pictures appear in a stack, so they don’t clutter up your screen. Once you open the stack the built-in software chooses the photo it thinks is best. If you don’t like it you can scan the rest of the images then choose to delete the rest. I found the best image wasn’t always chosen so it’s best to take a look at your options before deleting an entire stack. Of course, shooting in burst mode will take up much more space but you have to remember the photos aren’t intended to all be kept, rather deleted once the best one is selected.

Another unique feature is the True Tone flash – a first for any camera. On the back of the iPhone 5s you will find not one but two LED flashes stacked one above the other. One is a cool white while the other is a warmer amber colour. When you snap a photo an internal flash goes off calculating the colour temperature in the room. It will then signal both LED flashes to go off at the same time with variable intensities. There are supposedly hundreds of combinations to match almost any lighting environment. The True Tone flash is a big improvement over traditional flashes. Take a look at the photo below and you will see what I mean about the flash imitating natural light.

 

 

One last feature that I found quite fun to play with was the new Slo-mo video mode. While the camera can record 30 frames per second in 1080 HD, Slo-Mo mode enables the phone to record 120 fps in 720p. After you shoot your video in Slo-Mo mode, a slider bar will appear beneath the timeline. You can slide this bar to mark where you want the slow motion effect to begin and where you want it to end. Press play and the video seamlessly slows down and speeds up where you marked it. The best part is your selection isn’t permanent. You can go back to the video on your phone at any time and change the in and out points where you want the slow motion effect. Slo-Mo is very user friendly and easy to use. That being said I found no easy way to export video with the Slo-Mo effect. Each time I tried to export it the effect was stripped, leaving me with a regular video. You also can’t control the speed of the Slo-Mo.

Now let’s touch on the feature that will probably be the most unique – the Touch ID sensor. Embedded in the home button is a fingerprint scanner which turns your finger into a key to unlock your phone. Set up is surprisingly simple. When you “add a fingerprint” the iPhone will ask you to place your finger several times on the sensor. A notification will then pop up asking you to move your finger around so it can scan the outside edges and your finger tip. After 30 seconds or so you will receive a message letting you know your fingerprint is captured and you can use it to not only unlock your iPhone 5s, but also purchase apps and music from iTunes without having to type in your password each time. Essentially your fingerprint replaces your Apple ID. You can store up to five fingerprints.

The big question many are wondering is how well does it work. Fairly good actually, once you get the hang of it. Here’s the key….don’t rush. You must place your finger flat against the sensor. If you don’t make full contact you will get an error message. I found certain cases, especially rugged cases designed for protection, made it more difficult to get a nice read of your fingerprint. The sensor is also not a big fan of dirty or sweaty fingers. Fortunately, if the sensor is acting up you will have the option of typing in a pin code (which you set up ahead of time) to gain access.

So what is Apple missing in the iPhone 5s? Here’s where I get picky. The first omission is support for 802.11 ac, the latest WLAN standard. While not many smartphones support this yet (the Samsung Galaxy Mega is the first), it just seems like a logical step for Apple to include since the phone is considered to be so “forward thinking”. Many believe 802.11 ac will be standard in phones within a couple of years, even though it is still an emerging technology at this point.

The other issue for some will be battery life. While I never ran out of juice during a full day of use, it is still mandatory that you plug in your iPhone before going to bed at night to ensure it will be functional the next day. Some smartphones on the market now have batteries (Samsung Galaxy Mega) that can go up to two days without a recharge. Of course those phones are also much bigger. I suppose one could argue for the iPhone 5s to gain twice as much processing power yet still retain enough juice to last a full day is quite an accomplishment, but it sure would be nice to see the battery indicator at 50 or 60% when you turn in at night. Maybe in the iPhone 6?

After spending the last 7 days with the iPhone 5s, I can say I feel quite satisfied with the upgrades. The phone has stellar performance, has a much more useful camera, and the Touch ID is great when you consider it doubles as your Apple ID. So is it worth upgrading to? It all comes down to features. You have to remember Apple will release iOS 7 this week for iPhone 4s and the iPhone 5, breathing new life and features into them. For many, that software upgrade will make those phones feel like new again. However if you want snappier performance, a better camera, and the unique Touch ID features…an upgrade is in your future.