iPhone 5S/5C thread

[MrX8503]

From Brian's HTC One review: (plastic = bad)




From Brian's G2 mini review: (plastic = bad)




From Brian's S4 review: (plastic = bad)




From Brian's Moto X review: (plastic = bad)




But now the 5C (plastic = nice) and he focuses on the rounded edges and avoids saying the word plastic during his hands on description, but he loves to use the word plastic during Android reviews. Pretty much what I expected.

The 5C ain't flagship and yet it seems like a better build than other flagship plastic Android phones.

In terms of screens it's not even a competitor much less a master. The iPhone 5S is lower resolution than all of the 2012 Android flagships and even the 2011 Galaxy Nexus. Additionally the 5S has lower pixel density than every single 2013 Android flagship, often significantly lower. For the company that tried to convince everyone pixel density and resolution were the most important factor for displays this is simply hilarious. And before you bring up color accuracy even the Galaxy S4 has beaten the 5S on that front too.

The 5's screen got top rating on display mate. Apple was pushing retina hard during a time where ppi was off the grid. Now the only "innovative" thing Android manufacturers can think of is more pixels! More ram, moar cores.

 

[ponyo]

The 5C ain't flagship and yet it seems like a better build than other flagship plastic Android phones.

It's priced like flagship. Better build? Only to Apple fans.

 

[MrX8503]

It's priced like flagship. Better build? Only to Apple fans.

Was the S4 $200 on contract at release?

 

[Puddle Jumper]

I don't believe so. Its about the same as the megapixel wars. Apple makes the intelligent choice to configure a megapixel rating with respect to the fidelity of their lens and CMOS, while Android makers wage megapixel wars. "My Android can capture more noise than your Android!"

The same is true for pixel density. You would have to be 4" from the device or use a magnifying glass to see the pixels on an iPhone 5 while Samsung and others are trying to one up a spec sheet number without asking if it even enhances usability. Higher pixel density means a brighter backlight is needed, so there is a fine balance between achieving a seamless look and saving battery life. Apple struck a fine balance with 326ppi.

With almost everything it constantly seems that Apple finds the right balance between spec and usability while other makers have a knee jerk reaction to add more more more. The S5 will have 10 finger print sensors!

AMOLED screens don't have back lights. Besides the latest Android phones are improving battery life, performance and pixel density all at once. Who would have thought you could improve more than one aspect of a phone in a year.

The flip side of all of that is you could say Apple only cares about specs they can win. They made a big deal about pixel density until the Android oems crushed them at that, they made a big deal about cpu performance until Quallcomm blew them out of the water, etc.

 

[ponyo]

Was the S4 $200 on contract at release?

LG G2 32gb. Newest flagship Android phone released this week. AT&T $574.99
iPhone 5C 32gb. AT&T $650.00

5C is failship at flagship pricing. Only teenagers and fools will buy it since you can get the much superior 5S for $100 more. $550 vs $650. But there are lot of fools and teenagers so Apple will sell boatload of 5C.

 

[kaerflog]

Yeah the price for the 5c is a big time failed.
They should have this at $400 at most.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Yeah, I'm disappointed (but not surprised) by the iPhone 5C pricing. I was hoping last years specs and a thicker plastic shell combined would allow Apple to sell this $200 cheaper.

Normally the iPhone 5, with it's thin premium aluminum build would drop to $100 thanks to the internals getting cheaper to produce after a year. With the 5C we get those same internals, some think they might even go with a cheaper display (with the same resolution) and toss this into a cheaper thicker plastic body. And charge the same price? Ugh, feels like a lose to me.

The iPhone 5C is built to help Apple do better in China (C doesn't mean cheap or color). And I bet the 5C is more than $100 cheaper than the 5S in China.

 

[Eug]

The 5C is supposed to have the same excellent screen. And it supposedly gets an improved FaceTime camera, and increased battery life (although possibly just from the OS), as well as free iWork (worth $30).

Furthermore, Apple has in fact dropped the iPhone 5 price by $100, at least in some stores, clearing out inventory.

What does this all mean? In some ways, it might actually even make sense to choose the 5C over the 5, even at the same price. Everyone says the 5C shell feels very sturdy and well made.

What I was actually predicting was that the 5C was going to be lower end than the 5 in terms of the internals, and would sell $100 cheaper than it is now, with the 5 fitting between the 5S and 5C, but obviously I was wrong. However, I definitely did not expect a iPhone $200 lower than the 5C's current price.

 

[WelshBloke]

... Apple was pushing retina hard during a time where ppi was off the grid. Now the only "innovative" thing Android manufacturers can think of is more pixels! More ram, moar cores.

TBH is there much hardware that's going to be user facing and innovative now?

 

[MrX8503]

LG G2 32gb. Newest flagship Android phone released this week. AT&T $574.99
iPhone 5C 32gb. AT&T $650.00

5C is failship at flagship pricing. Only teenagers and fools will buy it since you can get the much superior 5S for $100 more. $550 vs $650. But there are lot of fools and teenagers so Apple will sell boatload of 5C.

It's still cheaper than flagship price. I admit the G2 is a good price. I didn't expect the 5C to be $200 less.

The flip side of all of that is you could say Apple only cares about specs they can win. They made a big deal about pixel density until the Android oems crushed them at that, they made a big deal about cpu performance until Quallcomm blew them out of the water, etc.

Apple has kept cpu performance on par or has beaten the competition most of the time upon release. Android releases are much more frequent so it seems like Apple is behind.

 

[Crono]

The 5's screen got top rating on display mate. Apple was pushing retina hard during a time where ppi was off the grid. Now the only "innovative" thing Android manufacturers can think of is more pixels! More ram, moar cores.

HTC One: Really good front facing speakers, Zoes, automatically generated highlights reels, infrared universal remote, and Blinkfeed.

Not to mention that despite Apple's presentation yesterday, HTC beat them to larger pixels for the camera sensor and slow motion video.

They weren't even the first to do a fingerprint reader (even if it actually works this time around). Now the only "innovative" thing Apple can think of is to copy Nokia with colors and to add another flash to their camera! More colors, moar flashes.

 

[openwheel]

Been flying all day, I just found out the price of 5C. WTF were Apple thinking?

Also very underwhelmed by the 5S. "Twice the speed of iPhone 5"? I guess 64/32 does equal to 2.

 

[MrX8503]

HTC One: Really good front facing speakers, Zoes, automatically generated highlights reels, infrared universal remote, and Blinkfeed.

Not to mention that despite Apple's presentation yesterday, HTC beat them to larger pixels for the camera sensor and slow motion video.

They weren't even the first to do a fingerprint reader (even if it actually works this time around). Now the only "innovative" thing Apple can think of is to copy Nokia with colors and to add another flash to their camera! More colors, moar flashes.

The difference is that Apple's implementation is most likely better for the scanner. HTC does have a large sensor, but the MP is too low. The 5S will be able to take great photos in most cases rather than just low light like the HTC One.

 

[Crono]

The difference is that Apple's implementation is most likely better for the scanner. HTC does have a large sensor, but the MP is too low. The 5S will be able to take great photos in most cases rather than just low light like the HTC One.

Does the iPhone 5S have optical image stabilization? Because that does help the HTC One a bit in other cases, not just for low light.

 

[Subyman]

All teenies will see is the $99 upgrade charge and jump on their favorite color. The 5C is a simple replacement for the iPod series except now they get $600 instead of $200 by hiding the subsidy in a phone contract.

Why is anyone here complaining about the 5C? It obviously isn't for us. No need to complain about a product because it isn't aimed squarely at your demographic.

 

[gorcorps]

I like the idea of using your thumb to buy stuff, but overall it's just a better implementation of the fingerprint reader I had on my Atrix. That's the most interesting feature I've seen come out of Apple in a while, but it's something that could have been done years ago. Sounds like it could be pretty slick though.

 

[Ravynmagi]

The 5C is supposed to have the same excellent screen. And it supposedly gets an improved FaceTime camera, and increased battery life (although possibly just from the OS), as well as free iWork (worth $30).

Furthermore, Apple has in fact dropped the iPhone 5 price by $100, at least in some stores, clearing out inventory.

What does this all mean? In some ways, it might actually even make sense to choose the 5C over the 5, even at the same price. Everyone says the 5C shell feels very sturdy and well made.

What I was actually predicting was that the 5C was going to be lower end than the 5 in terms of the internals, and would sell $100 cheaper than it is now, with the 5 fitting between the 5S and 5C, but obviously I was wrong. However, I definitely did not expect a iPhone $200 lower than the 5C's current price.

The iPhone 5 discount is a store decision to clear out inventory as you said. It'll be gone soon (except for eBay).

They could have kept the iPhone 5 and included iWorks as well.

Not sure what you mean by better facetime camera. Both phones seem to have the same 1.2MP front facing cameras.

The improved battery life could be just software optimization, I'd be surprised they put a bigger battery in the 5C. And the 5C is getting a better camera or just the iOS 7 softw

I'm sure the 5C is a very sturdy phone, Apple doesn't build stuff half ass. But it's still a noticeably thicker phone that is cheaper to build.

I meant it should be $200 cheaper than the 5S (not the current 5C pricing). 5C should be $0 on contract and $450 off contract. With last years components and the cheaper build process, it seems like it should be doable with the same profit margin.

And I think they will sell in cheaper in markets Apple isn't doing well it. Apple is doing well in the US and because of the stupid contract model we have here, most people don't care about off contract prices. So Apple has no incentive to give us an affordable off contract price phone. Ugh, I hate our contract racket.

 

[MrX8503]

Does the iPhone 5S have optical image stabilization? Because that does help the HTC One a bit in other cases, not just for low light.

I don't know. I'll wait for the reviews. The camera has always improved considerably with every new release.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I meant it should be $200 cheaper than the 5S (not the current 5C pricing). 5C should be $0 on contract and $450 off contract. With last years components and the cheaper build process, it seems like it should be doable with the same profit margin.

Maybe a little too far of a stretch there. You can't even get a decent phone for $0 today, so why the 5S?

It's still cheaper than flagship price. I admit the G2 is a good price. I didn't expect the 5C to be $200 less.

Apple has kept cpu performance on par or has beaten the competition most of the time upon release. Android releases are much more frequent so it seems like Apple is behind.

I agree the 5C is a bit pricey. Maybe $500 or $450, but even the mid-range $450 phones like the GS4 Mini gets blasted by most users as "crap specs." I'm pretty sure in terms of fluidity and user experience those Mid Range Android phones probably offer a worse experience than the iPhone 5.

The G2 is an example of a nicely priced phone, but the Moto X is an example of a WTF pricing as well. For every exception people find for one side, there's another exception that says the opposite.

As for CPUs, Apple has never been about raw specs. It's never been about performance. The general sentiment on the iOS side isn't "omg this phone is finally fast enough, my old phone was so slow." You get speed bumps every year, but very few iDevices were actually in danger of falling behind the speed race. The exception was probably the iPad 1 which had just too little RAM at its time of release.

 

[Eug]

Not sure what you mean by better facetime camera. Both phones seem to have the same 1.2MP front facing cameras.

I don't know, as it's not spelled out, but the press blurbs and tech site reports keep mentioning an improved FaceTime camera in the 5C.

I don't know. I'll wait for the reviews. The camera has always improved considerably with every new release.

My guess is no, since Phil didn't gush about it.

And I think they will sell in cheaper in markets Apple isn't doing well it. Apple is doing well in the US and because of the stupid contract model we have here, most people don't care about off contract prices. So Apple has no incentive to give us an affordable off contract price phone. Ugh, I hate our contract racket.

The iPhone 5C is US$735 in China.

 

[TuxDave]

I am too. Other than the much needed iOS overhaul, faster CPU/GPU. I'm pretty disappointed with this launch compared to others. I guess I'll be preordering my note 3 on VZW.

I've been sitting on my 4S looking for an upgrade. I'll probably upgrade at least one of our handsets just for the better camera.

 

[jpeyton]

Now the only "innovative" thing Apple can think of is to copy Nokia with colors and to add another flash to their camera! More colors, moar flashes.

Actually even I (one of Apple's biggest critics) will admit that everything they did regarding imaging on the 5S is brilliant. The dual color flash is ingenious, slow-motion video is sweet (even if others did it first), the camera software has been much improved, and the image-quality is definitely top-notch.

The A7 SoC is a bit puzzling. On one hand, Apple seems to be looking too hard for a new feature to flaunt. How many typical Apple users will care about 32-bit vs. 64-bit, or the number of floating point registers, or what version OpenGL it uses? On the other hand, pushing the envelope is always good, even though the pace of Android manufacturers is too fast for Apple to keep up with.

The 5C is entirely a tribute to American stupidity. Nobody in the international market (who almost entirely buy phones off-contract) will be stupid enough to buy one when the 5S is marginally more but far improved. One main reason people buy iPhones are because they exude quality and craftsmanship. Maybe someone bad at math will go to their carrier and lock themselves into another 2-year $2500+ contract while saving a whopping $100 on their handset.

Apple is trying to sell us a $549 iPhone 5C that has lower build-quality than a $229 iPod Touch. Think about that.

 

[Ravynmagi]

All teenies will see is the $99 upgrade charge and jump on their favorite color. The 5C is a simple replacement for the iPod series except now they get $600 instead of $200 by hiding the subsidy in a phone contract.

Why is anyone here complaining about the 5C? It obviously isn't for us. No need to complain about a product because it isn't aimed squarely at your demographic.

Well that's the thing. I would have liked for the 5C to be for me. I only buy phones off contract now. I don't want to spend $650 on an iPhone 5S. That's crazy. A $450 iPhone 5C would have been tempting.

And I buy phones for our employees. I can only go with the free on contract phones with our business plan. And it would have been sweet to be able to hand out iPhone 5C to the employees. But I gotta buy the lame 4S still (not even LTE).

It would have been really nice to see the 3G iPhone 4S retire and the 5C take it's spot at $0 on contract and the 5 drop to $100 on contract.

 

[Crono]

I don't know. I'll wait for the reviews. The camera has always improved considerably with every new release.

I wouldn't doubt that the camera has gotten better, and I'd bet it's better than the One for most bright, normal lighting situations (just as the GS4m and LG G2 probably, beat it out in daylight) but nowhere near as good in low light.

I was responding to you saying that Android manufacturers aren't innovating. They definitely are, as much as Apple is at the very least. And if you compare the iPhone 5C to the HTC One or one of the other Android flagships, clearly you are getting more for your money with the Android phone. Take off the branding from the plastic body of the iPhone and the aluminum body of the HTC One.

Which would you think was made by Apple and worth $550 off contract?
Of course, once you turn on the devices you would see one is Android... and surprisingly, it's nearly as smooth as the one running iOS - as close as to make no difference - and with all the customization options that come along with it. The only area Apple is definitively ahead is app count, and that's mattering less and less each day.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Maybe a little too far of a stretch there. You can't even get a decent phone for $0 today, so why the 5S?

That's mostly a problem with the screwed up contract system. $650 and $700 phones are $200 on contract, yet a $400 phone is $100 on contract. WTF? I'm capable of basic math and this doesn't make sense to me. But that's another rant I guess.