Despite rumors that Apple is set to launch the next generation iPhone, iPhone 6, in the next few months, the current line-up of the 5S and 5C continues to do extremely well in most markets across the world.
This is impressive considering that Apple has not introduced price drops into the equation, unlike Samsung, which has made the Galaxy S5 extremely affordable.
Design
The iPhone 5C is a much more affordable version of the iPhone 5S. In order to make this possible, the former comes with a plastic make for much of the device whereas the iPhone 5S relies upon aluminum for its frame. Even with the use of such premium materials, the iPhone 5S is an extremely light device at just 112 g. It is surprising, considering that the iPhone 5C weighs 132 g despite using plastic, although the plastic used in this phone is unlike the plastic found in devices like the Galaxy S4.
Display
Apple offers no changes to the display, which remains the same 4 inch display as seen in the predecessor. Even though it may not offer the full HD resolution found in some high-end smartphones featuring the Android OS, the retina display does a very good job of providing accurate colors, coupled with a pixel density so high that it is almost impossible to spot the pixels with the naked eye.
The major cost-cutting occurs in the memory, where the iPhone 5S offers up to 64 GB as the maximum internal memory, while the iPhone 5C provides only 32 GB at most. Further, the minimum memory capacity has also been reduced to just 8 GB on this device, while the iPhone 5S starts at 16 GB.
Processor
Like in every new version of the iPhone that has come out since the original in 2007, performance has almost doubled on the iPhone 5S. This is despite the phone using a dual core 1.3 GHz processor whereas most android phones rely upon quad core processors rated at almost twice the clock speed. The iPhone 5S uses the latest A7 chip whereas the slightly less expensive iPhone 5C comes with the A6 chip from the predecessor. Despite this, the iPhone 5C is capable of running the latest operating systems including the OS 8.
Camera
At a glance, the 8 megapixel camera on both these devices is capable of shooting similar quality pictures, but Apple has made some crucial changes to the iPhone 5C camera to reduce the overall price of the phone. One of the features that goes out of the window is the dual LED flash, which has been replaced by a single LED flash. The sensor size is also smaller compared to the iPhone 5S camera sensor. All these changes primarily make a difference in terms of night photography, while the difference is barely noticeable in other conditions.
The iPhone 5S continues to reign supreme in the smartphone segment with a price of $700 for the base version, while the iPhone 5C is available for around $500.
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