Okay, I wanted the Gold iPhone 5s so badly. But sometimes we just have to bow to faith. I can't get myself a gold one at launch, instead the Space Gray version was offered to me. After much consideration, I decided to just take it. And now I want to share some of my thoughts of this phone here... I'm not going to review deep down into the specs and etc, you can get all these else where. I'm just an ordinary user who is looking for a ordinary smartphone that can meet my requirement, and my requirement is fairly simple: a phone that's convenient to use in one hand, fast and fluent, don't crash or hang for no reason, doesn't need me to worry too much about it and just get all the job I throw to it done.
Why iPhone 5s... well, I had a great experience using iPhone 5 with iOS 6 last year, and I have given the phone to my girlfriend. Then I've been using Xperia SP until I started to fed up with Android once again, and I'm so eagerly want to dive back to the gated garden wall. Obviously, iPhone 5s is the only choice for "upgrade" and iPhone 5c is essentially the same as iPhone 5. Anyway, here I am, with my Space Gray 32GB iPhone 5s and its sexy RED leather case from Apple... and let my sharing begins!
First, let's talk about hardware. 5s is identical with 5 from the outside, and since I like the 5 pretty much, of course I enjoy holding 5s in my hand. Aluminium and glass, it just feels solid and premium in hand. Particularly, I like the size of the phone which is extremely comfortable to operate with one hand, and the earphone jack is at the bottom, the only logical place to have the earphone pluck in. I'd always dislike the existence of the home button, but this time around, I'm glad that it's there, because deep down lies the Touch ID sensor. I must say the sensor is freakingly accurate and useful. Unlocking phone with thumb print versus with passcode... I would say thumb print is a little faster, but not really something to wow about. The best part is you don't need to key in passcode or your Apple ID password over and over again and all these are simply replaced by a touch of your finger. Pretty cool, but yet practical. I certainly want to see this to be implemented in the future for mobile payment purpose. Previously the 5 can last me more than half a day under heavy usage and a day under normal usage, the 5s betters that by giving close to full day under heavy usage and almost a day and a half under normal usage.
Now, let's talk about the grey area between hardware and software. 5s comes with the industry leading 64 bit A7 processor, first of its kind. There are tons of articles about how good a 64 bit processor can be, but does it really live up to the hype? Running iOS 7 between 5 and 5s, you can easily notice that it's smoother on the 5s. Apple native apps are all 64 bit supporting by now, and all of them are running nicely with no issue under iOS 7. Third party apps however, is a different story. Some apps have updated to support iOS 7, while some are not. Those haven't will actually causing problem once in a while... those already updated to iOS 7 but still in 32 bit, it still need some time in order to make full use of the processor. And the M7 chip... looking forward to see how developer can make full use of it too.
Another feature that Apple talks about is the camera. Well, it is obvious that the camera in 5s is better than the 5, especially under low light condition. Not to forget as well on all the new feature such as larger sensor, faster aperture, dual LED flash, burst shot, slow-mo video, live photo filters and improved panorama shots. One thing I like about iPhone's camera, is that it is all auto, and the result is satisfying for most of the time. It's so easy, you just need to swipe to get into the camera app and start snapping. For me, this is how a camera should be for smartphone. I find it no point to actually allow the smartphone camera to have the ability to do all sorts of setting for ISO, aperture and shutter speed... I can use a pro camera when I want to have full control, smartphone camera is just not for serious shooting, it should be fun and simple! Image quality wise, no comment as I didn't really care about comparing to other phone, it's just a camera from a smartphone, what do you expect from them?
After running iOS 7 for some time, I find it to be a really nice upgrade from iOS 6. A big step forward for iOS user I would say. I still don't really like some of the new icons as they are too flat, anyway I can live with that. Overall I like the new font, and the new implementation of gestures in controlling the software is simply amazing. I wonder why all these gestures are added only until today... Apple claimed that iOS is the most advanced mobile OS in the world, for me, I think that claim is a little too much. It may not be the most advance in the world, but it is actually the best OS so far for mobile gadget, at least for me.
Okay, I have covered most of the user experience of running 5s. Is it the ultimate phone to own by everyone? No. Is it the perfect phone to date? Hmm, yes and no. I would really prefer if Apple can stuck a 4.5" screen and make it as slim and sexy like the 5s, and they can use a screen with lower power consumption (IGZO screen has been rumoured for so long...) to prolong the battery life further. Optical stabilisation would be added advantage, and if they can get more developer to dive into the 64 bit ecosystem, iPhone or iOS to be precise, will get to the top of the world in no time. For those who really prefer to slap a large plastic over your face, you know who you should look to. Those who want to use only pirated software or not willing to pay for quality apps, please continue to stay in your open playground. Other than that, I can't seems to find a reason not to love the iPhone 5s.
To sum it all up, in terms of specs, indeed the 5s is the most forward thinking phone in the industry as of now. Apple doesn't throw in 10 bits of features into the smartphone just to find them as a gimmick in the end and none of them to be useful, they certainly done enough research and engineering to come up with a solution that "it just works". iPhone 5s can really be the future of smartphone, but still, it is not there... yet. When developer started to flood in and support the 64 bit OS, when apps are optimized for iOS 7, when all the tiny bugs have been ironed out by Apple... the iPhone 5s will undoubtedly become the future of smartphone.
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