Forward-thinking. It's ironic that Apple's marketing slogan for the iPhone 5s invites us to look ahead to the future when, from the outside, the device looks like a carbon copy of last year's model, the iPhone 5. But just like any other odd-year iPhone -- the "S" version, if you will -- the 5s plays the Transformers card by offering more than meets the eye, with a few key improvements on the inside.
Though it's easy to dismiss this handset as iterative, the 5s is the first smartphone with full 64-bit support and a capacitive fingerprint sensor, and it also ships with a fresh, revamped version of iOS. This might not matter to folks who were content with the status quo, but it matters a lot to Apple -- and to the company's future as well -- especially if the company wants to fend off an increasingly fierce pack of competitors. But is a "forward-thinking" phone worth the investment today?
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| iphone 5sLast year's iPhone 5 reveal was a showy affair meant to highlight Apple's new industrial design and taller screen (if you recall, the company went so far as to raise the phone onto a pedestal, accompanied by a generous helping of sparkling lights). There was no spectacle made of the 5s this year, since the flagship looks virtually the same as its predecessor. Basically, if you fell in love with the iPhone 5's aluminum chassis and chamfered edges, you're in for more of the same here. (Time will tell if this also means that the 5s is just as susceptible to dings and scratches as the iPhone 5; Apple tells us this year's selection of colors are more "metallic," and that will help them wear better. We'll see.) Unless you're a hardcore Apple fan who's taken the time to memorize all the minor differences separating the iPhone 5 and 5s, you're likely to mistake the two at first glance. Not only is every button and port in the same place, but the phone's measurements remain unchanged as well: at 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm (4.87 x 2.31 x 0.3 inches). It even weighs the same, at 112g (3.95 ounces). Likewise, the 5s also features a 4-inch, 1,136 x 640 Retina display with a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch, a brightness rating of 500 nits and an 800:1 contrast ratio. Again, more of the same. Clearly, Apple's still satisfied with the resolution and screen size, though we wonder if the company will have a change of heart with next year's flagship. Apple iPhone 5s Specifications
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