The iPhone 5s has generated a huge amount of excitement, and boasts many exciting and unique new features – particularly the addition of a fingerprint sensor. So, what do the first iPhone 5S reviewers have to say? Apple just lifted the embargo on iPhone 5S reviews, and a group of prominent journalists was given early access to the device – and overwhelmingly, almost all agree that the iPhone 5S is the new smartphone to beat.
Here’s what the first round of reviews had to say!
Jim Dalrymple, The Loop:
A fingerprint sensor could be one of those cool features that everyone talks about, but nobody ends up using in their day-to-day lives because it’s too much of a hassle. I’ll be honest, heading into the event, I was wondering if Apple’s implementation of the sensor would be good enough to actually make it useful. Not just for a demo to make people gasp and clap, but could I use it every day.
The answer is unequivocally yes.
[…] The iPhone 5s is a brilliant phone with some great new features that help you in work and play. The fingerprint sensor, camera, and improved speed and architecture, make the 5s my favorite iPhone to date.
Walt Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal:
After a week of testing the iPhone 5S, I like it and can recommend it for anyone looking for a premium, advanced smartphone. If you are an iPhone fan with any model older than the iPhone 5, the new 5S will be a big step up. If you own an iPhone 5, there’s less of a case for upgrading, unless you want the fingerprint reader and improved camera.
Myriam Joire, Engadget:
Is the 5s the best iPhone ever made? Yes, though that shouldn’t come as a surprise. Apple took a good product and made it better through hardware upgrades, new features and a completely revamped operating system. In what would otherwise be considered a mundane update to the iPhone 5, Apple somehow managed to appeal to both the geek (64-bit support, M7 coprocessor, Touch ID) and the average Joe (a fresh, colorful iOS 7), all while laying the groundwork for the company’s future.
Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch:
With the iPhone 5s, Apple once again wins the right to claim the title of best smartphone available. The hardware may resemble its predecessor in many key ways, as with the 4-inch Retina display, but it improves dramatically in areas like the camera where it makes the most difference to every day users, and in the addition of the fingerprint sensor, which is already a feature I miss when I switch back to older generation devices or the iPhone 5c. And thanks to the 64-bit A7 processor, this phone, more than any iPhone before it, is likely to be the device that grows more appealing as the software ecosystem catches up, which is great news for buyers looking for something that isn’t so easily replaced by the next big thing that comes along.
Anand Shimpi,AnandTech
As a refreshed design, the iPhone 5s carries over all of the innovations we saw in the 5 last year. The iPhone 5s features the same Lightning connector that debuted on the iPhone 5, and has since been extended to the iPad lineup as well as the new iPods.
As with all other S-upgrades, the biggest changes to the iPhone 5s are beneath the aluminum and glass exterior. The 5s’ flagship feature? Apple’s new A7 SoC. The A7 is the world’s first 64-bit smartphone SoC, and the first 64-bit mobile SoC shipping in a product (Intel’s Bay Trail is 64-bit but it won’t ship as such, and has yet to ship regardless). In addition to the new 64-bit SoC Apple upgraded both cameras in the iPhone 5s and added a brand new fingerprint sensor called Touch ID. Of course the iPhone 5s is one of the first new iPhones to ship with iOS 7 from the factory.
The iPhone 5s also breaks with tradition in a couple of ways. The 5s is the first iPhone in recent history to not be offered up for pre-order. Apple expects demand for the iPhone 5s to severely outstrip supply, and as a result won’t be accepting pre-orders on the 5s.
Scott Stein, CNET:
The iPhone 5S feels like a “pro” phone more than ever, the iPhone equivalent of the MacBook Pro. Its features don’t feel as immediately consumer-understandable. For many, the iPhone 5C will do just fine. The biggest wished-for features — a MacBook Air-level battery life improvement and an even larger screen — aren’t on either new iPhone yet.
If you’re deep in the Apple ecosystem, the 5S could be the first step toward some new directions. Its improved speed, graphics, and elements of battery efficiency make it a better phone than the iPhone 5, in case you’ve waited to upgrade.
But if you already have an iPhone 5, I’d say it’s not a bad year to just wait.
Stuart Miles, Pocket-lint:
What Apple has created here is a phone that is as exciting as it is dull. Apple has made it look effortless which is no simple task, but in doing so, by making it look too easy, you can sometime miss the beauty and power in your hand.
If you want a phone that just works, then this is a very good place to start. But we can’t help but feel Apple started here a year ago and while the rest of the smartphone world moves on, Apple is chugging forward at a different pace. Some might argue that much of Android of Windows Phone 8 offers up gimmicky features, but those are the devices delivering larger screens, higher resolutions and power in the here and now.
And so it will come down to personal preference. The iPhone 5S is without gimmicks and it’s a nod to the future. There’s a lot to admire about that.
And there you have it – the response from respected journalists from all across the internet is overwhelmingly positive. Apple has outdone itself once again, producing a device that’s as much a pleasure to use as it is to look at! Now, if only we could make Friday come sooner so many of us can finally get our hands on the iPhone 5S ourselves!
