“The iPhone 5S and 5C arrived last month to a record-smashing first weekend of sales – 9 million were sold, with the iPhone 5S proving more popular than the less-expensive 5C. I was among those waiting in line for the new iPhone before dawn on Sept. 20 — specifically the top-end 5S model,” Michael deAgonia writes for Computerworld. “As a technology writer, getting the more expensive 5S made sense for me. But is the new iPhone 5S worth it for the less tech-centric?”
“It took a little while for me to get used to Touch ID, as I’ve been swiping to unlock my phone for years. Now all I do is hold a thumb or finger on the Home button while Touch ID invisibly reads my fingerprint. After depressing the Home button to turn on the display, the print is recognized, the Lock Screen is automatically bypassed, and the Home screen icons swoop into view. Compared to swiping the screen to unlock and entering a passcode, Touch ID feels like telepathy,” deAgonia writes. “If Touch ID is the most obvious change externally, the biggest change internally is the new A7 processor. It’s a dual-core chip that’s up to twice as fast as the A6 used in the iPhone 5, according to Apple. And it’s 64-bit, which means it works very well in combination with iOS 7, which is now a 64-bit OS. (The built-in apps in iOS 7 are also 64-bit.)”
“Even without 64-bit apps, performance gains are noticeable in daily use, even in simple things like browsing the operating system. There’s a fluid smoothness to the way apps launch, emails are deleted and animations are displayed that’s not as obvious when using iOS 7 on older devices,” deAgonia writes. “Clearly, the iPhone 5S is an improvement over the iPhone 5 in every facet. Now that I’ve used an iPhone with Touch ID I can’t imagine not having it. After growing accustomed to the picture quality taken by the 5S, I’d rather use its camera (with dual-tone flash and slow-motion video). After a year with the reliable iPhone 5, I prefer the iPhone 5S because the 5S improves an already great experience.”
Much more in the full review here.
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