GADGET DESIGNER Apple's iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C handsets have been on the market since last September, which means that we've managed to spend a couple of months with both of the devices to find out which one really is best.
Design
The iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C are world's apart in design. The iPhone 5S carries over the iPhone 5's two-tone aluminium design, while the iPhone 5C does away with this in favour of a fully plastic chassis.
Although we immediately warmed to the design of the iPhone 5C because the phone was something new and different from Apple, the iPhone 5S undoubtedly is the more premium of the two. It's the smaller of the two, also, measuring just 7.6mm thick. As with the iPhone 5, this means that the iPhone 5S sits comfortably in hand despite its angular shape.
One downside of the iPhone 5S design, however, is that Apple's aluminium casing is prone to scratches and chips.
Some have argued that the plastic casing of the iPhone 5C makes it look cheap. As we pointed out in our iPhone 5C review, however, the handset feels surprisingly tough, with the smooth plastic feeling more expensive than cheap. That said, we did find it hard to grip at times due to the slick plastic, although the handset's chunkier 8.9mm casing didn't make it feel bulky.
The iPhone 5C is available in blue, green, pink, yellow and white, while the iPhone 5S is available in white, gold and space grey.
While some will prefer the plastic casing of the iPhone 5C to aluminium, the iPhone 5S has an additional design feature which we think puts it ahead in this category - its Touch ID sensor.
This is a reworked Home key, and allows users to unlock the device using their fingerprint. Although it's temperamental at times, we think that this feature nudges the iPhone 5S to victory in design.
Winner: iPhone 5S
Display
While they are world's apart in design, the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C both have the same 4in 640x1136 resolution display with a pixel density of 326ppi.
Of course, while it's impossible to pick a winner in this category, it's worth noting that the screen on both the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C remains one of the best smartphone displays on the market, producing crystal-clear images and sharply defined text.
Winner: Draw
Performance
There are only a few major differences between the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, but performance is one of them.
The iPhone 5S features Apple's 64bit A7 chip, which is paired with the firm's M7 coprocessor for more accurate movement detection. The iPhone 5C, on the other hand, features Apple's previous generation A6 processor that made its debut in the iPhone 5.
While there are no major performance differences between the two in real-world testing, the iPhone 5S is the more powerful of the two compared to its cheaper sibling in gaming, opening apps, and loading webpages. We also found everything was a little bit smoother on the iPhone 5S, with the iPhone 5C stuttering occasionally.
Winner: iPhone 5S
Software
Both the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C run Apple's latest iOS 7 mobile operating system.
Of course, the software remains nearly identical on both devices. There are a few slight differences, with the iPhone 5S boasting the ability to buy apps, and of course unlock the device using the built-in Touch ID sensor. The iPhone 5S camera app also comes with a built-in slow-motion video recording mode, a feature that's missing on the cheaper iPhone 5C.
As we mentioned, iOS 7 is also slightly smoother on the iPhone 5C, with apps opening a fraction quicker, webpages loading more smoothly, and gameplay being more impressive.
Beyond that, however, you'll find the same, minimalist iOS 7 user interface and features on both the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. Although Apple's latest mobile operating system received a fair bit of criticism at launch and we still have our gripes with the reworked user interface, we have warmed to iOS 7. The new user interface feels fresh, and new features such as the Control Center and the redesigned Safari web browser are welcome.
Winner: iPhone 5S
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