iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S: Specs, Features, Launch Dates and Prices

iPhone 5c

Apple on Tuesday unveiled its 2013 iPhone models – the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C to rival several new released Android phones

For the first time ever, Apple decided to launch two new iPhone versions, a high-end device (iPhone 5S) and a lower-priced handset (iPhone 5C), and in what follows we’re going to check out each new device.

The company did say that by the end of September it will have activated over 700 million iOS devices.

iPhone 5C

As expected, the iPhone 5C introduced by Apple looks identical to the devices shown in various leaks and rumors preceding the event.

We’re looking at a plastic design – a single piece of material is used for the back and sides – which comes in five distinct colors, including yellow, pink, blue, white and green.

According to the company, the case is made of hard-coated polycarbonate and hides a steel-reinforced frame that acts as the antenna of the device.

Specs and features

When it comes to actual specs, the iPhone 5C will remind users of the iPhone 5:

• 4-inch Retina display with integrated touch, full sRGB standard and widescreen video.
• Apple A6 chip.
• 8-megapixel camera with backside illumination, hybrid IR filter, five elements lens.
• New FaceTime HD camera with larger 1.9micron pixels, improved backside illuminations and FaceTime audio.
• More LTE bands “than any other smartphone in the world”.
• 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz).
• 16/32GB storage.
• iOS 7.
• Bigger capacity battery

Release date and pricing

While the iPhone 5C is supposed to be Apple’s cheaper iPhone model, the company did not mention full prices for the handset, only on-contract ones.

The 16GB model will sell for $99 with new two-year contracts, while the 32GB will cost $199 with a similar contract in Europe and North America, there was no mention of the full prices for Africa and the rest.

Furthermore, Apple will offer iPhone 5C buyers free access to its iWork and iLife apps for iOS.

Moreover, a special case is available for the iPhone 5C, which will cost $29.

The phone will be available for pre-order starting with September 13 and launch on September 20 in various countries including USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Singapore and China.

iPhone 5S

The name of the high-end iPhone is, as expected, iPhone 5S.

The device is made of high-grade aluminum and has chamfered edges. Unlike the iPhone 5, the new iPhone 5S will not be available in just two colors. Instead, Apple will sell three color versions of its handset including Silver, Gold and “Space Grey.”

Specs and features

The specs of the iPhone 5S have also been widely discussed in unconfirmed reports before the announcement. Many of them have been confirmed by Apple on stage, so let’s check them out:

• 4-inch Retina display with integrated touch, full sRGB standard and widescreen video.
• Apple A7 64-bit chip – the first smartphone in the world to have a 64-bit “desktop class” CPU. It will run both 32-bit and 64-bit apps. The company says it will offer a 40x CPU performance and 56x faster graphics than the original smartphone.
• Apple M7 motion coprocessor – “continuously measures motion data” from the accelerometer, gyroscope and compass. A new CoreMotion API is available and will identify user movement and offer “optimizations based on contextual awareness.
• Open GL ES 3.0 support.
• 8-megapixel camera with larger f2.2 aperture, two-LED flash (one is cool and white, the other is warm and amber), 15% larger active sensor area (1.5microns pixels), iOS 7 optimizations for better pictures (auto image stabilization, new burst mode that takes 10 frames per second) and 720p video recording at 120fps.
• More LTE bands “than any other smartphone in the world”.
• 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz).
• 16/32/64 GB storage.
• iOS 7.
• Fingerprint scanner in the Home button (touch ID capacitive sensor, 170 microns thin, 500ppi resolution, scans sub-epidermal skin layers and offers 360-degree readability). The feature can be used to unlock the handset but also perform various tasks in apps (support for multiple fingerprints is included).
• Home button made of laser-cut sapphire crystal with a stainless steel detection ring around it.
• Fingerprint software protects fingerprint with encryption, and the fingerprint is not available to other apps, and it’s not stored on Apple’s servers.
• Bigger capacity battery: 10 hours (LTE and Wi-Fi browsing, 3G talk time and vide), 8 hours (3G browsing), 250 hours (standby)

Release date and pricing

The iPhone 5S will also be available starting with September 20 in the same markets where the iPhone 5C will sell. The iOS 7 iLife and iWork suits are also available free of charge with each iPhone 5S prices.

As for prices, the iPhone 5S will cost $199 (16GB), $299 (32GB) and $399 (64GB) on contracts in Europe and North America, no mention of Africa yet. Its special cases are priced at $39.

Wrap up

As you can see, Apple has not revealed all the hardware details about its new smartphones, which is in line with previous iPhone announcements. We’ll also note that in addition to the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5S models, the iPhone 4S will still remain in Apple’s lineup, and it’ll be available free of charge with new contracts