Apple's iPhone event marked a slight shift in the company's ongoing strategy for new releases. Instead of announcing a new device and lowering the price on the previous generation, the company introduced two new phones: one flagship and one aimed at more budget-conscious buyers. Yes, the iPhone 5S and 5C are officially a reality, and rumors centering on them over the last few weeks have been mostly spot on.
You can read all the details in our announcement coverage. But if it's hardware specs you are after, we've compiled a side by side comparison with some of today's top contenders for your smartphone dollars.
| Apple iPhone 5S | Apple iPhone 5C | Moto X | HTC One | Samsung Galaxy S 4 | Nokia Lumia 1020 | ||
|
Price (on contract) |
$650 ($200) | $550 ($100) | TBA ($200) | $600 ($200) | $650 ($200) | $660 ($200) | |
| Availability | September 20 | September 20 | Now | Now | Now | Now | |
| Metascore | N/A | N/A | 81 | 89 | 87 | 82 | |
| Review | More info | More info | More info | More info | Review | More info | |
| System chip | Apple A7 | Apple A6 | Motorola X8 (Snapdragon S4 Pro) | Snapdragon 600 APQ8064T | Snapdragon 600 APQ8064T | Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 | |
| CPU | - | 1.3GHz dual-core, Apple Swift | 1.7GHz dual-core, Krait | 1.7GHz quad-core, Krait 300 | 1.9GHz quad-core, Krait 300 | 1.5GHz dual-core, Krait | |
| GPU | - | PowerVR SGX543MP3 | Adreno 320 | Adreno 320 | Adreno 320 | Adreno 225 | |
| Display |
4-inch IPS LCD |
4-inch IPS LCD |
4.7-inch AMOLED |
4.7-inch S-LCD 3 |
5.0-inch Super AMLOED |
4.5-inch AMOLED |
|
|
Resolution (PPI) |
640 x 1136 (326) |
640 x 1136 (326) |
720 x 1280 (316) |
1080 x 1920 (468) |
1080 x 1920 (441) |
768 x 1280 (334) |
|
| RAM | - | 1GB | 2GB | 2GB | 2GB | 2GB | |
| Front camera | 1.2MP | 1.2MP | 2MP | 2.1MP | 2MP | 1.2MP | |
| Rear camera | 8MP | 8MP | 10MP | 4MP | 13MP | 41MP | |
| Storage | 16/32/64GB | 16/32/64GB | 16/32GB | 32GB | 16/32/64GB | 32GB | |
| USB | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| microSD | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | |
| Cellular | HSPA+ / LTE | HSPA+ / LTE | HSPA+ / LTE | HSPA+ / LTE | HSPA+ / LTE | HSPA+ / LTE | |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0 | Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0 | |
| NFC | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Operating System | iOS 7 | iOS 7 | Android 4.2.2 | Android 4.2.2 | Android 4.2.2 | Windows Phone 8 | |
| App Marketplace | iTunes | iTunes | Google Play | Google Play | Google Play | Windows Marketplace | |
| Weight | 112g | 132g | 130g | 143g | 130g | 158g | |
| Other | Airplay, Fingerprint sensor, always-on motion sensors | Airplay | Always-on voice recognition / authentication, gesture controls | ||||
Keep in mind that as smartphone hardware has reached a certain level of maturity, these raw specs can only paint part of the picture. For instance, at 8-megapixels the iPhone 5S' camera may seem to be on the losing end of this chart. But other camera related improvements like a larger sensor, improved autofocus and image stabilization, and dual LED flash setup may go a long way in keeping Apple among the best in this category.
Otherwise we're seeing an emerging trend where some manufacturers are carefully looking at hardware differentiators that can truly enhance how you interact with your smartphone and the world around you, as opposed to throwing stuff you'll rarely use in there just because it exists. For Motorola that's always on voice controls and gesture recognition, whereas Apple also has a motion coprocessor plus fingerprint reading.
That said, it's kind of surprising Apple didn't include 802.11ac wireless in their latest handset.