Smartphone review: Apple iPhone 5s

Smartphone review: Apple iPhone 5s

Apple's new flagship smartphone might share the same physical dimensions as the iPhone 5, but it is better in many ways.

A major highlight is the Touch ID, which is a new fingerprint sensor located in the Home button. The sensor allows you to unlock your smartphone with just a touch; relegating the passcode to a backup security feature. You can save up to five fingerprints.

The smartphone's next big feature is its new A7 chip, which was designed for 64-bit desktop- class architecture. It is the first 64-bit smartphone to be released.

According to Apple, the A7's processing and graphics performance is two times faster than that of the A6 chip found in the iPhone 5.

Also, 64-bit processing is more power efficient, giving the smartphone better battery life.

In addition, the smartphone has an M7 co-processor which measures motion data from the phone's accelerometer, gyroscope and compass; these tasks were previously done by the main processing chip. Unlike processors in other smartphones, the M7 knows when you are walking, running or driving. Thus, fitness and health apps will be more accurate in tracking your daily activities.

Apple has decided to use a large image sensor in the iPhone5s. This allows its sensor to collect more light to produce images of better quality. Plus, the camera's aperture has been enlarged to f/2.2 to allow even more light to enter the image sensor.

The iPhone 5s has 13 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) bands, more than any smartphone currently on the market. It is able to work with both 1,800MHz and 2,600MHz LTE bands in Singapore to fully utilise the faster mobile network speeds.

For a more in-depth review of iPhone 5s, catch next week's issue of Digital Life.

TECH SPECS

Price: $988 (16GB), $1,148 (32GB), $1,288 (64GB), all without contract

Availability: From Friday

Processor: A7 chip with 64-bitarchitecture, M7 motion co-processor

Operating system: iOS 7

Display: 4-inch touchscreen; 1,136 x 640 pixels

Cameras: 8 megapixels (rear), 1.2megapixels (front)

Weight: 112g

 


Get a copy of Digital Life, The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.