iPhone 5S

Pros

• Touch ID works perfectly
• Excellent performance
• Great all-round camera
• Very light and comfortable in one hand

Cons

• Battery life could be better
• 4-inch screen too small for some
• Extra storage cost

Key Features: 4-inch Retina display; Fingerprint unlocking; 8MP Camera; True-Tone LED flash; A7 Dual-core processor; Aluminium body Manufacturer: Apple

We reviewed the iPhone 5S when it first came out. This is an update to that review based on daily use for months.

Living with the iPhone 5S

The iPhone 5S is one of the best phones to be launched in the past year, although the screen size seems snitquated now the standard has moved to around 5-inches. The 4-inch screen is still excellent though - bright, colourful and responsive. It's very fast too. We've not experienced any detrimental slowdown in the months we've been using it. The iPhone 5S has an aluminium body that feels premium and solid, yet manages to remain incredibly light.

I commute a lot and have no problem holding it for long periods of time. I've even reverted back to reading books on my phone, something I haven’t done for years. Would i prefer a bigger screen? Sometimes, but the smaller size of the iPhone makes it extremely pocketable and really easy to use on the go. A good case helps too. While I was initially dubious over Apple’s leather one I’ve grown accustomed to it. It does tend to patina quickly – something I like as I have a bit of a vintage leather fetish, but it won’t be to everyone’s taste.

iPhone 5S video review

What has surprised me most about the iPhone 5S is that I have not missed 5-inch phones much at all. I struggle juggling bigger phones while on a train or bus so it's been a bit of a relief stepping down in screen size. That changed a bit since I lived with the 5.5-inch LG G3. That phone looks like a tablet compared to the iPhone 5S but manages to remain easy to use because of clever ergonomic design. Other competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8 aren't quite as slick to use.

There’s is not much to say about the iPhone 5S’s performance here other than thats it’s blisteringly fast and very reliable. I’ve not experienced any issues with apps misbehaving other than the Google Maps hanging occasionally. It's annoying but may be as much down to the app as to the phone.

Apple’s iOS has its limitations, you can't customise to anywhere near the levels of an Android phone, but the fact that it just keeps working well is a godsend to those too busy to learn every little foible of their phone. I’ve not experienced the slow-down effects that tend to occur on Androids after lots of apps and updates have been installed - the iPhone 5S is rock solid.

iOS 7 is a wonderfully simple operating system and while some don't like the new design, I've been delighted by it. The ‘Today’ notification isn’t something I’ve taken to much, but the multitasking menu and the Control Centre are great. In fact the lack of these features is one of the reasons I picked Android over iOS in the past. The Control Centre is still missing a quick access button to the full settings menu, which is particularly annoying when wanting to switch or connect to Wi-Fi networks.

It’s the Apple app store that makes iOS a great platform. As a mobile gamer the depth and breadth of titles is fantastic – Limbo, for example is a great little game that you can’t get anywhere else. Generally the apps are still of higher quality and depth than you can get anywhere else.

Cameras have become so important on mobiles that there are now some, like the Nokia Lumia 1020 and Samsung Galaxy Zoom, which are more camera than phone. I’ve found that the iPhone 5S’s camera to be solid, but not as exceptional as some others. It is perfectly suited for snapping and reacts quickly, which is what I want from a phone camera, but there’s not as much detail as you can get from the Galaxy S5 or LG G3.

On the flip side the 5S’s camera works well in lower-lit conditions. The multi-tonal flash provides some far softer and more realistically lit shots in pubs and restaurants when compared to the harsh white light of most LED or Xenon flashes. The 120fps slo-mo video is also great. I wasn't that fussed when I first used it but it quickly makes videos looks more polished and special. Fantastic slow shots of my nephews and nieces jumping on a trampoline made me view it in a new light. The front camera also works well for video-chat as long as there's decent ambient light.

The iPhone 5S lacks a microSD card slot for memory expansion, but you can get it in 16/32/64GB versions. The catch is the extra storage is pricey – too pricey – each increment costs an extra £80 on top of the £549 base price. It all depends on your storage needs, but if you don’t carry a load of movies or music with you 16GB (of which 13.6GB is usable) should be adequate, but for many the 32GB model will be optimal and I haven’t managed to fill 32GB yet.

One of the most talked about features of the iPhone 5S, and my personal favourite, is Touch ID. This is a fingerprint scanner located in the home button of the phone that lets you unlock it without requiring a PIN or password. It works brilliantly and I already find it irritating to use any phone with a PIN or gesture lock now. It may be a luxury, but I’m in no doubt that this feature, or one very like it, will be in every phone will have in a few years. It just makes using your phone on the move so much easier.



After a few weeks of use I had a bit of an issue with call quality – essentially my voice appeared distant to the person on the other end. The issue resolved itself after a short while but it was irritating while it lasted. It was not isolated either, a quick hunt on the internet showed a few users had the same problem. This is no longer a problem but we do sometimes find that call quality on the iPhone 5S is poor in low reception areas.

In terms of stamina the iPhone 5S is good but not outstanding. If used sparingly you will get two full days of use without a charge, but play games or use intensive apps for a few hours and you will need to recharge it overnight. The good thing about the battery is that it charges very quickly and is predictable – the 5S never suddenly drops a load of charge while it’s been sitting in my pocket.

On a day to day basis the iPhone 5S does everything I want it to do, and does the things I do most, better than any other phone I’ve used. It’s not gimmicky and other than the lack of widgets and customisations there’s not much I miss from using bigger Android phones. If, as expected, Apple does up the screen size in the iPhone 6 I’ll be interested to see whether I’ll enjoy the experience quite as much.