iPhone 5S, 5C Lets Users Choose Thick, Thin, Metal or Plastic

by Chris Preimesberger

Apple’s iPhone 5C, which are the first models to use plastic cases, will come in something its phones have never enjoyed previously: various colors. The 5Cs will go for $99 (16GB storage) and $199 (32GB), and will become available Sept. 20 in the U.S.

Besides being price-conscious, the new lower-end iPhone sports a 4-inch Retina display, widescreen video and integrated touch operation. It does not feature a fingerprint security application, as does the 5S.

The thicker 5C features the A6 processor, which is very fast but not quite as quick as the A7, which goes into the 5S. Both smartphones have new and improved batteries.

The 5C sports an 8-megapixel camera with backside illumination, a five-element lens. It also has the ability to snap off up to 10 shots in rapid succession simply by holding the trigger down. The camera itself has the intelligence to select the highest-quality snapshot and present it to you.

With all the fancy new features on the 5S and 5C Apple phones, a lot more power is required, and the company has provided it. Here are some of the key specifications in the A6 and A7 processors.

A demonstration of a video game at the Cupertino event depicted a popular war game, “Infinity Blade III,” as appearing as smooth as a high-definition movie. The M7 graphics chip handles all this power in both phones—including motion sensing.

The 8-megapixel iPhone 5S and 5C cameras are able to take many more photos, and then automatically select the best, sharpest versions of the shot, before presenting it to the camera user. In fact, the software enables the camera to pick and choose the best attributes of several shots, and then aggregate them into one good photo.

Here are the specifications for the new security device on the higher-end phone. It’s a possibility that this feature will work its way into other Apple devices in the future. The sensor is on the “home” button on the phone.

The older 4S phones are now free of charge with a 2-year telecom commitment; the new phones range from $99 to $399, as shown in this slide.

Orders will be accepted beginning Sept. 13, and deliveries will begin as shown here in these countries. One hundred other countries will get the iPhone 5S and 5C, beginning Dec. 20.