The estimated reading time for this post is 12 minutes
This iPhone 5s review is different, it’s personal. This is my phone that I bought and use every day. My experiences in choosing and using the iPhone 5s may help you decide whether this is the phone for you. The features and functions of the 5s make this phone worthy of your consideration if you’re looking to get a new phone.
Not interested in the personal journey? Feel free to scroll down to the review below. Or sit back and enjoy the ride.
My iPhone 5s Story
I wasn’t going to do it. I wasn’t going to get an iPhone 5s. I had an article written, Why I’m Not Getting an iPhone 5s, that I will never publish. I was convinced I wasn’t going to upgrade to the iPhone 5s, my iPhone 4S was perfectly adequate for my needs. The next thing I knew, I was standing in a lengthy line at the Apple Store waiting to get an iPhone 5s at 7:30 AM on launch day.
That didn’t work. I went to four other stores, leaving empty-handed before I ordered my AT&T 64 GB silver iPhone 5s online.
What Changed?
A bit of history first. I wasn’t an early adopter of the iPhone. I waited until the third generation of the iPhone, the 3GS, before I decided to get one. I upgraded from a Palm Treo 750 which I was reluctant to give up because I was such an avid fan of its keyboard. Moving to a virtual keyboard wasn’t a change I embraced but my Treo’s operating system wasn’t going to be supported any longer so I knew I would have to make a move.
As a polygadgetist, I used a Palm PDA and an iPod Touch in addition to my Treo. I wanted the successor to me Treo to be compatible with either the Palm PDA or the iPod so I wouldn’t have to start from scratch with apps.
This was 2009 and I debated between getting the iPhone 3GS and the Palm Pre. While I appreciated the many powerful features of the Pre, including the ability to multi-task and run iTunes (later taken away), I was disappointed that the Pre wasn’t backwards compatible, making all of my favorite apps on my PDA obsolete. If I couldn’t play Ball Smash! on my Pre, then there wasn’t a very good reason to stay with the Palm platform. When Palm stopped making smartphones a few years later, my choice of the iPhone was affirmed.
I made the move to the iPhone 3GS and seemed to enter the “S” cycle of iPhone launches. I upgraded to the 4S in 2011, even though I was eligible for an upgrade to the iPhone 4 in 2010 when I moved back to the US. No need to upgrade if you don’t have to — even with getting a discount you’re still spending money.
Why I Didn’t Want the 5s at First
I was reluctant to upgrade to the 5s mainly because of the Lightning connector. Last year, Apple retired the 30-pin connector it had used since it first launched the original iPod in 2001. As someone who has owned Apple mobile products since the iPod Mini nearly 10 years ago, my collection of 30 pin connector cords, docks, and other accessories is vast.
Yes, I know, I could get an adaptor to fit a device with a Lightning connector into a 30 pin connector. But adaptors only get you so far and that adaptor looks like something I would lose frequently. The first time I need an adaptor and don’t have one, I won’t be happy. (That probably will happen soon.)
I’m a big fan of large screens. As someone who tests smartphones with screens up to 5.3″, I have always struggled going back to the 3.5″ screen of my iPhone 4S. The iPhone 5s has the same 4″ size screen of the iPhone 5, but that screen only is longer, not wider than the 4S screen, displaying more lines of text, not larger text and images.
Why I Changed My Mind
Trusted friends and daughters urged me to upgrade to the 5s, telling me that I would be delighted with the latest tech Apple had to offer. They were persuasive with their reasons that I would appreciate having a more powerful processor, Touch ID fingerprint sensor and a better camera.
I was leaning towards getting the 5s when I updated my 4S to iOS 7. I quickly became a big fan of iOS 7 features, but not of its effect on my iPhone. I’m a power user of the phone and the strain of my demands seemed to be too much for my two-year old device.
My 4S battery life suffered greatly with iOS 7. I spend many hours in the car each day with my phone connected via Bluetooth to the car’s sound system and to my Pebble watch. I receive a lot of notifications on my phone from apps such as Twitter and Facebook. I listen to podcasts and audiobooks throughout the day. With iOS 7 I needed to charge my 4S two or three times a day. Yes, I know that I could adjust my iOS 7 settings to make the battery last longer but then I wouldn’t be able to appreciate iOS 7 in all of its glory.
I know plenty of people who have updated their 4S iPhones to iOS 7 without any problems. No strain on battery life, no problems with apps, they are fully enjoying the new features of iOS 7.
Apps weren’t loading and updating properly either. Perhaps I had too many on the device? Yes, I could and should pare down from my obese collection of 391 apps, but I didn’t have to do that before iOS 7 so perhaps the update created issues I would be dealing with later.
iPhone 5s Review
I’ve been using the 5s for three weeks now, putting it to the test, and am liking it even more than I thought I would.
Larger Screen
The larger screen turns out to make more of a difference than I expected it would. While it’s not the 5.5″ screen of the Note 3, the 5s offering extra real estate in front of my eyes is quite significant. By turning the phone 90° I can take full advantage of the 4″ length of the screen when fonts are too tiny to see. Unfortunately, not all apps take advantage of the rotation capabilities of the iPhone (I’m talking to you, Twitter and Facebook!).
Many apps are not optimized for the larger screen size of the iPhone 5/5s. This painting, The Sea from the Heights of Dieppe, in the Louvre HD app fills the iPhone 4S screen but has black borders on the 5s screen.
Touch ID
Having Touch ID will spoil you quickly. Immediately, entering a passcode seems to be a gargantuan undertaking. Setting up Touch ID was not only easy, it was fun.
Go to Settings => General => Touch ID and Passcode => Touch ID.
You’ll be asked to press your finger on to the home button repeatedly until your print has been recorded. Then you press your finger at different angles to give the sensor a wider view of your print. You can repeat the process with up to five fingers so you can use multiple digits of your own and/or record the prints of your trusted loved ones.
Once activated, the Touch ID sensor has worked smoothly for me. The process is so intuitive that I don’t even notice that I’m unlocking the phone, rather it seems almost as if I don’t have the phone passcode protected. In fact, turning on my phone using Touch ID is even easier than turning on the phone without passcode protection. I just touch the Home button with my finger, no swiping needed, and the phone opens into the last screen I was using. Magic!
http://youtu.be/TJkmc8-eyvE
You can activate Touch ID for Phone Unlock and the iTunes and App Stores. I’m hoping future versions allow you to use Touch ID for in-app purchases, Find My iPhone, Find My Friends and other times when a passcode is required.
Design
The design of the 5s is nearly identical to the 5 though much more svelte than the 4S. The thinner and lighter body of the 5s is pleasing but won’t be a significant factor for most people. If you thought the 4S was heavy, then perhaps your funds should be invested in barbells instead of a new phone?
The elegant, artistic design of the 5s is lovely but hidden by the case I enrobe the phone with for protection.
Camera
The camera is one of the crown jewels of the iPhone 5s with its improved hardware and software. The iSight camera with a larger sensor and True Tone flash has been beating other smartphone cameras in head-to-head tests.
See, Laptop Magazine, iPhone 5s vs. Nokia Lumia 1020: Camera Shootout
http://youtu.be/kK0_OVn_uxA
I have been extremely pleased with the 5s camera, both with the quality of the images and the features such as Burst mode and True Tone flash.
Sample photos taken with the iPhone 5s:
Samples of iPhone 4s vs iPhone 5s photos:
Compare the cameras using Flash:
The 4S gained Burst mode with iOS 7, but the images are taken at a much slower speed than the 10 frames per second of the 5s. The 5s camera also analyzes the images taken with Burst mode and gives you a composite picture with the best shot. You can then go in and see the images taken in Burst mode and delete or choose individual ones. With the 4S all of the Burst mode shots end up in your camera roll and aren’t combined for the best shot.
I use Burst mode frequently and if you have kids or take group photos you’ll appreciate this feature too. As my iPhone is now my only camera, having a high quality camera makes a big difference.
The slow motion video hasn’t come in handy yet but will be very impressive when I need to use it.
Faster Processor
The universe of hard core gamers who use the iPhone as their primary gaming device is probably quite small so Apple equipping this phone with a chip of such massive power is a mystery to some. My theory is that Apple is recognizing that the apps are what bring the functionality to the iPhone and the iPad so the company is upgrading these devices with power instead of added features. The benefits of the added processing power aren’t apparent yet for most but once app developers start harnessing the power of this generation of iDevices, we will then be able to appreciate their capabilities.
Apple uses Infinity Blade to show off the processing power and graphics of updated hardware. If you’re an Infinity Blade fan, you can take advantage of the power of the 5s right away:
Battery Life
My issue with the short battery life of the iPhone 4S was eliminated with the 5s. The 1420 mAh battery of the 4S has been replaced with the 1570 mAh battery of the 5s. The 5s needs more power with its larger screen and 64-bit processing, though it uses its power more efficiently with two co-processor chips.
The stated battery life of the 5s is:
- Talk time: Up to 10 hours on 3G
- Standby time: Up to 250 hours
- Internet use: Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 10 hours on LTE, up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi
- Video playback: Up to 10 hours
- Audio playback: Up to 40 hours
I can get through a day of heavy use easily without worrying about where the closest outlet is and whether I have a Lightning cable handy.
Lightning Cable
I have loaded up on Lightning cables and adaptors so I wouldn’t be caught without one when I need to charge my 5s. I have grown to appreciate how the Lightning connector is reversible so now I become annoyed when I inevitably try to plug my 30-pin connector into my iPad 3 the wrong way.
Compass/Level App
Reports have surfaced about the iPhone 5s having inaccurate readings for the Level and Compass app. My level shows the same reading on my 5s as my 4S, but the compass readings on my 5s are 10-17° off of the reading on my 4S. If you depend upon the compass app on your smartphone for navigation purposes, wait until this issue is sorted by Apple before investing in the 5s. Apple is not replacing the phones with inaccurate readings pending a future solution.
Availability
The iPhone 5s is still in short supply in the US with a 2-3 week ship time showing at the Apple Store online.
The phone is available in
- Gold and White
- Silver and White
- Space Gray and Black
Pricing:
With a two-year contract –
- 16 GB $199
- 32 GB $299
- 64 GB $399
Without a contract –
- 16 GB $649
- 32 GB $749
- 64 GB $849
Bottom Line
If you’re in the market for a new cell phone or you’re eligible for an upgrade, be sure to check out the iPhone 5s. The design, the power of the phone, the Touch ID and advanced camera may be enough to convince you to choose the 5s. If you’re content with your current phone or need your phone for compass navigation, you may want to wait on the 5s.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the iPhone 5s? Are you planning to upgrade your phone? Which are your favorite features of the 5s? Let us know in the Comments section below!
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Shout Out
Thank you to the members of the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania Robotics Team who attended the Tech Talk at Tierney on Monday. I was honored to be a panelist at the event and to meet amazing fellow tech bloggers as well as impressive young girls interested in careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) .
Hi Carolyn,
The iphone5, does it have the BBM messenger pre-installed?
Thanks for the review!!
Hi Dare, The iPhone 5s does not have BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) pre-installed, but you can get the app free from the iTunes App Store: BBM
Hello Carolyn,
This is a well thought out and properly written review. Though, I use the iPad a lot, I wonder why a seemingly small device like the iPhone should cost so much!
However, you’ve cleared some of my doubt. When it’s time to change my Blackberry, I’ll be considering a 5s.
Do have a great and fun filled day!
– Terungwa
Hi Terunga, Good point, the iPhone (without a contract) is more expensive than the iPad. But making electronics small enough to fit into an iPhone is more challenging than fitting electronics into an iPad.
Thank you for your kind words. I hope you do consider the iPhone 5s when it’s time to move on to a new phone.
Thank you Carolyn,
Will sure get it free there!!
Excellent. Enjoy BBM on your iPhone, Dare!
Thanks for the review! I have been on the fence about whether or not I should upgrade my 4S to IOS7, or to upgrade the phone altogether to the 5S. I’ve also considered the 5C because of price. It sounds like upgrading to IOS7 might just cause me some issues that I won’t like, so perhaps I will stay at IOS6 for now. Still not sure on whether or not I will upgrade – you make some great product points that might just have me upgrading though.
Hi Carol, If you’re not a heavy user of your iPhone 4S, you should be fine updating to iOS 7. If you are a heavy user then the reasons for upgrading to a new phone become more compelling.
Between the 5c and 5s, choosing the 5s is your best bet if you can afford the extra $100. The 5s is the latest technology that will take you farther into the future. I like the colors and design of the 5c but someday the 5c may be struggling with an iOS update when the 5s would be able to update more easily.
Hi Carolyn,
Thank you very much for your personal iPhone Odyssey. It is very interesting and I thought I should add our experience to your blog, while following your outline. If this is too long, feel free to delete it, or at least tell me so…
Our iPhone5s Story
We didn’t need/want the 5s either, at least thats what my husband said. Perhaps this was a devious plan of his, but we were just going to stop by the Apple store shortly after launch “since we were driving by” with no expectation of purchase since “they probably wont be in stock”. Well, before I know it we’re waiting in a short line with chits in hand, reserving 2 Grey/Black 5s phones for purchase on the spot from a very chatty Apple rep., a 32G for him and a 64G (for me!). We had to inactivate the old phones to activate the new ones right then, so it felt like a whirlwind experience.
Our thinking was that we’d waited to the point of obsolescence on our first gen. iPhones which made them almost worthless. This time we would actually partially pay for our new phones by trading in each iPhone 4s. We discovered that the trade in RIGHT NOW paid for 2/3’s of new iPhone with equal memory capacity. I even got $5 for my original iPhone which was just sitting in a box anyway. The longer you wait, the less value for the trade-in, of course. Also, I take many photos on my phone that are useful both personally and professionally, and my husband is interested in aviation software that needs a higher resolution display. I went for 64G since my current 4s was already up to 30G+.
Regarding features in your review.
Neither of us have actually noticed the Larger Screen except for the inconvenience that it didn’t fit in our previous carrying cases. Maybe its like getting a new TV- you don’t notice the larger size until try to use the smaller one again. We both like to wear our phones, and cases with clips seem to be disappearing. Frankly, neither of us understands how people can function with the phone in a purse or bag. I lived two weeks with it like that waiting for a case to arrive, and I missed all kinds of calls and messages.
We both have found the Touch ID unreliable. Both of us have had the experience that it worked well at first, but then worked less well. It’s really annoying to have the ID fail over and over and then finally be forced to enter the passcode manually. My husband has been doing a lot of sanding with his hands and wondered if fingerprints actually change over time. We both tried deleting the all the fingerprints and re-entering fresh ones with the same result: the Touch ID performance degraded over time.
I agree with your feelings with the camera- it seems very good.
I have a concern with Battery Life that made me wonder if something is wrong with my 5s. When playing MyGuy with the Viggle app during football games, the 5s heats up and the battery runs down before halftime. I have to plug it into power to keep playing. This did not happen with my 4s. I hope this is something that Apple can fix with iOS7 because I don’t know how I would fix this other than returning the 5s. It also seems to heat up with my pedometer app, or any app that needs constant updates. This will be a problem for our navigation app on our sailboat, not to mention the GPS accuracy problem you mention.
BTW- my know-it-all husband says no navigation apps use the compass, only GPS, so you should not worry about navigation with the 5s.
Lightening Cables. We were very dismayed by the price of new cables required by the 5s upgrade. I am curious which Lightning Cables you purchased, since it’s difficult to get them for a reasonable price. I have heard that the price is high because Apple has a proprietary chip in the cable that must be licensed by other cable manufacturers. There is a lot of angst on the internet shopping sites about cheaper cables that are unreliable. Is this true?
Thanks again,
Ann Nunziata
Hi Ann, Thanks for your amazing comment! No such thing as a comment that’s too long at The Wonder of Tech, your thoughtful insights are greatly appreciated. :-bd
Loved your iPhone odyssey! Yes, I can relate to walking into an Apple store with no intention of buying anything and walking out with a major tech investment. (See, The iPad Mini: You May Not Want It…Until You Hold It) I do wonder whether your husband had a hidden agenda but good for him if he did!
Very cool that you got a good trade-in value for your old phones, that makes upgrading an easier choice. You’re very wise to get more space on your phone as the storage on your phone isn’t expandable. But be sure to check out Flickr – The Solution to Your Photo Storage Issues to find out how to get 1 terabyte of free storage space for your photos.
I completely agree with you about not hearing my phone when it’s in my purse. My solution is the Pebble watch. My wrist vibrates even before my phone sounds its ringtone when I get a call. See, Pebble Watch – A Smartwatch with Potential. I don’t know how people get by without a Pebble watch!
I’m sorry to hear about your difficulties with Touch ID. That’s bad when you have been spoiled by the convenience of Touch ID and then lose the ability to use it. I have only had it not work when my fingers were wet, such as when I’ve been exercising or have just washed my hands. Perhaps a visit to the friendly rep at the Apple store is in order?
Thanks for sharing your husband’s input on the effects of the compass app inaccuracies. I have updated the article to be more specific about the navigation limitations of the compass app.
Great question about the Lightning cables. We’ve had Lightning cables in our house for about a year now, starting with my twins’ iPod Touch Lightning cables. We have had issues with Lightning cables being unreliable, even ones from Apple.
I have found a solution for my Lightning cable issues. Stay tuned to The Wonder of Tech tomorrow for a full review of my solution!
Thanks again, Anna, for taking the time to share your and your husband’s iPhone 5s experience with us!
Hi Carolyn- Thanks for your helpful response- I will check out the links you’ve provided. I wrote to Viggle about my iPhone 5s battery issue with their app., and they wrote back almost immediately with this reference to an article posted by CBS news. I don’t think Viggle quite answered my question about THEIR apps performance since I wasn’t having trouble with normal iPhone usage, but this article may help others since it reviews things to shut off to conserve battery power
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505143_162-57609526/reclaim-some-of-your-ios7-iphones-battery-life/
Hi Ann, I did some research and couldn’t find any other mentions of the Viggle app or My Guy causing battery issues. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a problem with it for others, and you’re certainly having an issue.
My suggestion for you is to delete the app and reinstall it to see if that solves your problem. Make sure to sync your phone before deleting the app to make sure your data is saved.
Slow motion video seems like an awesome feature 😀 I am guessing there will be improvements in the future versions.
The gamer in me is glad that devices such as iPhone are able to process demanding games, but I still prefer Laptop for gaming over any other device (primary reason is the screen size itself. A lot of games are just better with larger screens :D)
Anyways, thanks for the review, Carolyn 🙂 Glad you like iPhone 5s!
Hi Jeevan, Yes, gamers have their personal preferences for which screen is best for gaming. Some swear by TV screens and spend their time on the PlayStation, XBox and Wii. Others like the camaraderie of multiple player online games (MMOG) on their computer screens. Still others like the portability of playing games on mobile devices. How wonderful that we have so many choices these days!
Good point, some day, probably soon, the slow motion video capabilities of the 5s will seem outdated, as well as plenty of other features of the phone. Tech advancements march on! :-bd
i bought the Iphone 5s phone about 10 days ago…..still enjoying my new phone 🙂
Hi Bob, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Thanks for sharing your experiences with the iPhone 5s. It’s very helpful to hear from a fan of the iPhone 5s! 🙂
Hi Carolyn – This is an awesome review and it is nice to hear some personal experiences and how you moved over to the latest smartphone out there. But why not Samsung S4 🙂 You know I am a droid person 🙂
My wife has the iPhone 5 and she loves it, and of course, made me buy enough of those adaptors to keep at home, at work, in the car etc…
The pics looks great, and I can clearly make out the difference and the better quality with the 5S. I have read only good reviews of the same, and am sure it is a great device.
Have fun
Hi Praveen, Thank you. Yes, the S4 is a great phone and I enjoyed using it when I tested it for review. But I still prefer using an iPhone, even with its smaller screen. Personal preference is why having a wide variety of phones on the market is so very important!
Yes, the difference between the cameras is quite dramatic. The improved camera alone may be enough reason for many to upgrade.
391 app Carolyn! I’m still stuck on how many apps you have. My goodness, I’m not surprised it was having a hard time keeping up. I still haven’t upgraded my phone to the IOS 7 yet only because I don’t have the time right now to play with it but I did get all my photos and videos over to Flickr for when I do. That much is done at least.
Thanks for sharing your experience because you would know better than anyone about it’s use.
Happy Halloween Carolyn!
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, Yes, I really should be paring down my apps. I certainly can’t claim to be using all of them!
I’m so glad you uploaded your photos to Flickr, Adrienne. That’s a great way to clear out your phone and back up your photos. Well done! :-bd
Hello Carolyn !
This is an excellent review of a good smartphone . The processor and memory specifications of Iphone 5S are really impressive . Infact , with respect to specs , IPhone 5S is way better than Samsung galaxy Note 3 phone . It would be interesting to see what Samsung comes up with in a reply to IPhone 5S . Thanks for sharing this awesome review with us .
-Pramod
Hi Pramod, Thank you for your kind words. A phone that’s a good fit for some people might not be a good fit for others. Both the iPhone 5s and the Note 3 have impressive features and specs that will appeal to a broad audience. The key is to find the phone that works best for you!
Battery & camera were enough for me to upgrade; I’m impressed with both.
Now I will have to try the slo-mo camera.
Hope all is well; I’m off to play in a golf tournament this Fri….imagine that, huh?
Hi Bill, I thought of you when I wrote this review. I knew you were eligible for an upgrade from your 4s and I was hoping you’d consider the 5s.
Perhaps you can use the slow motion video for your next hole in one? Now that would be very cool! :-bd
Hi Carolyn, I would say yes since I have grown interest on iPhone s5 from this review. I am a great fan of photo shooting and with such a device it will be my delight to own it. Another thing that has impressed me is the battery. There more phones which you use for 7 hours or less and the battery dies calling you recharge again and repeat it everyday. This is a good review. ~ Anetta
Hi Anetta, Yes, you’ll enjoy this phone with its camera and longer battery life. I was at a conference yesterday using my 5s all day without access to a power supply and my 5s took me through the day. I would have been stuck with a dead phone if I still had my 4S!
This is a wonderful, detailed review of the iphone 5s. It promises to be awesome but I can only wish for it cos of inadequate funds.
Thanks for posting this!
God bless
Hi Mary Susan, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! I’m so glad you like this review of the iPhone 5s. Yes, even the price with a contract is costly. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
Hi Carolyn
This is a nice review and the right time. My iPhone 3S has seen better days. I went away for a while over a year ago , so put off upgrading and put a prepaid chip in my phone. Now I am still there a year later. Now my phone is really slooooooooow. So it is time to upgrade
I have been impressed with the size of the samsungs, so was interested to hear what you had to say. But I am also going towards Mac for my next computer, so perhaps best to stay with apple and enjoy the full ecosystem :>
cheers
ashley
Hi Ashley, Yes, if you’re still using an iPhone 3GS your phone is probably struggling, even though you’re on iOS 6 and can’t update to iOS 7. If you’re getting a Mac then the iPhone will probably be a better fit because of the integration between the Macs and iPhones.
If you stick with a PC, then you should see if you can try a friend’s phone who has a Samsung and one who has an iPhone 5s as well. Hands on is the very best way to test a phone.
Hi Carolyn
I was convinced that I would upgrade to the 5S but I haven’t so far.
Your review has given me some food for thought though.
At the moment, I’ve decided to stick with my 4S and go for a sim only 1 month contract.
That’s cut my bill by £30 per month and still allows me to upgrade pretty much straight away should I feel the desire.
I may just wait until the iPhone 6 comes out instead though. Thanks for a great review.
Hi Tim, Yes, if you’re content with your 4S, then no need to spend money on a new phone. But how great to save £30 per month with a new plan!
I was tempted to wait for the 6 too, especially since I place such a high value on larger screens and the 6 is rumored to be coming with a larger screen. But when my 4S seemed to be straining with iOS 7, I realized that it was time to upgrade for me. Everyone needs to decide which is best for them!
Frankly saying, I don’t really like the iPhones any longer.
After the demise of Steve Jobs, they lack the creative touch and there is absolutely nothing new in the newer versions.
I would prefer an Android or a Windows phone rather than going for an iPhone.
Hi Arbaz, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Yes, the iPhone isn’t for everyone and I can certainly understand how you and others may become tired of the form factor of the iPhone after all of these years. The good news is that you have plenty of Android and Windows Phone options to choose from! :-bd
Hi Carolyn,
Actually I do not have an iPhone, but I plan to have one. I think this article is useful for me as a guide for me to choose the best iPhone. Since you made it with complete explanation :-bd
Thanks for the review. It’s very worth reading 🙂
Hi Nanda, I’m so glad my review was helpful to you. I hope you enjoy your new iPhone!
Just got this new phone and got it in white. Great post. I just used your instructions to add additional fingers to open the phone. Thanks for the tutorial and tips.
Hi Steven, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Congratulations on your new phone. I’m so glad this article was helpful to you. Thanks for letting us know. Enjoy!
Hi Carolyn,
Excellent review once again and more than I anticipated 🙂
I was very interested to know about Touch ID and its security aspect. In the video you have embedded, it claims it’s encrypted, and accessible only by Touch ID sensor and saves no clues anywhere including Apple servers.
However it worries me a bit about application developers as they are capable to communicate with Touch ID sensor and someone familiar with cryptography might already working on decryption techniques too. Problem is, fingerprints are unique 🙂 BTW any word from Apple on this Carolyn? The risk cannot be ignored. Isn’t it?
Seems iPhone 5s is quite efficient when it comes to power with a powerful processor inside. I have 1750mAh battery in my GNex and it can last at most a day with heavy usage. BTW how much time does it take to charge the battery Carolyn?
Hope most apps will be optimized for larger screen soon. No one needs those black borders 🙂
You have a GREAT weekend dear!
Cheers…
Hi Mayura, Excellent points. Right now, Touch ID isn’t open to app developers. I don’t know if Apple will ever make Touch ID available to third parties. You’re right, fingerprints are unique and not changeable while passcodes can always be changed.
You put me on a mission, Mayura. First I had to drain my iPhone 5s battery, which wasn’t a small feat. You would be surprised at how long the battery lasted at 1% charge! Anyway, I recharged the phone from a dead battery in 2 1/4 hours. Remember though that our current here in the US is, well, a bit wimpy. If I were charging the phone in the UK, I probably could do it in about 15 seconds. 😉
More and more apps are being optimized for the larger screens of the 5 and 5s. I am at the point where I really don’t notice it much anymore!
You have a super weekend too, Mayura!
Wow… That’s very kind of you Carolyn 🙂
I didn’t mean to put you on a mission at all. Just asking. Anyway, now you did it and know it. Good experiment though 🙂 May be you can mention in this post too, eh? 😉
The reason I asked about charging time is that mine take around 2 hours (1750 mAh). But over time it’s extending and now it takes nearly 3 hours. I’m hunting for a new charger and read a lot of reviews (OEM + others) lately. Found a charger and user reviews claim it can charge the device within an hour. I’m impressed!
However as I dig in I found this article ~ http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-apple-is.html. Loads of information in there and thought you would love to read it too 🙂
Really? 15 seconds?! That’s really surprising Carolyn 🙂 Gosh… 15 seconds is no time and who wouldn’t love that? Even 15 mins is surprising.
Thank you so much for taking trouble and time to answer my comment dear 🙂 I really do appreciate it, especially as you are rely on your smartphone!
Have a lovely day there Carolyn!
Cheers…