True to form, Apple announced at a press event today the arrival of the iPhone 5s and 5c. I’ll keep this one short, so you can get down to the business of deciding whether or not you are buying one!
What this means for you:
The 5c is Apple’s rumored budget phone. Priced (with 2 year contract) at $99 for a 16GB model, and $199 for the 32GB, this model replaces the metal with plastic, and comes in five bright colors. Aside from that and the fact that it ships with iOS 7, it’s functionally the same hardware as the iPhone 5 released last year. If you’ve been on the fence until now about buying an iPhone because of the price, this may hit your sweet spot, assuming you don’t mind the 2-year commitment.
The 5s features a faster processor; early tests show a 30% speed increase but Apple claims up to 2X faster performance. It also comes with a fingerprint scanner to unlock the device, and a new, low-power chip that is designed specifically to work with fitness apps (hinting at the imminent arrival of an “iWatch”), and an improved camera. This one is priced at the expected $199/$299 price point (with 2-year contract, of course!) and is available in Gold, Silver and “Space Gray”. This will be a tougher sale for a lot of people, especially since rumors are flying that the iPhone 6 may be released in early Spring 2014 as opposed to the usual timeframe of late Summer, early Fall. The 5s isn’t a huge leap forward from the 5 in terms of hardware specs, so don’t buy one expecting a big performance increase.
If you are holding on to an older model iPhone 3 or 4, the 5s would be a nice step up. If you are budget conscious, or considering a new phone for your pre-teen or teenager, the 5c may be a great choice to hook up your kids without breaking the bank.
