If you're still using an iPhone 5S, listen up - Apple has marked the device as "obsolete" as part of its regular hardware updates.

As per the company's support site, the iPhone 5S is now considered obsolete, meaning it'll no longer receive repairs from Apple itself, or from Apple Authorized Service Providers. You'll likely still be able to get third-party repairs, however.

The iPhone 5S debuted in September 2013, arriving with a new 8 Megapixel iSight Camera, the A7 chip and the Touch ID Fingerprint sensor.

Apple called it "the most forward-thinking iPhone ever", and considering it made it almost a decade before Apple dubbed it obsolete, that's some going.

More Apple devices become 'Vintage'

Aside from obsolete, Apple also dubs devices older than five years as "vintage", which means you can expect another two years of repair servicing as long as the company or its authorized repair service providers can source the required parts.

New arrivals in this category include the iPod Touch sixth-generation and the 2015 21.5-inch iMac.

The iPod Touch arrived in 2015 with the Apple A8 chip, but even at the time, it felt like the iPhone had somewhat overtaken the product line, while the iMac design persisted right up until the arrival of the first Apple Silicon all-in-one Mac which arrived in 2021.

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Every year we get to see the best photos taken with an iPhone thanks to the iPhone Photography Awards (IPPA) and 2021 is no different. The IPPA released its winners for this year yesterday, and they're all stunning photos. But what's most noticeable is the fact that few of the winners were taken on the latest hardware. In fact, one was taken on an iPhone 5s.

Yes, an iPhone 5s. From 2013. And the resulting image is stunning. You'd definitely have believed me if I'd told you it was taken on an iPhone 12 Pro, that's for sure.

See what I mean?

I find that pretty amazing, really. In fact, very few of the winners were using anything even close to the best iPhone for photography — iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Flicking through the winners we see a few iPhone X devices. An iPhone 7 produced a stunner and some iPhone XR shots look great, too. But let's just remind ourselves of the camera that's in that iPhone 5s, for a moment.

Over to 2013 Rene Ritchie:

Oh, so the humble iPhone 5s actually has the same camera hardware as the iPhone 5. From 2012. That's nine years ago!

We've always known that iPhones have taken great photos but seeing such old cameras doing such great things, when put up against something like iPhone 12 Pro Max, is mesmerizing. Apple surely never expected an iPhone 5s to be winning photography awards in 2021 and I'm sure it'd love iPhone 12 cameras to do the same in 2029. Will they? We'll have to wait nine years to find out — but the fact that's even something we're talking about potentially happening is insane.

But I wouldn't want to bet against it!

According to documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the LAPD was able to bypass the lock screen of an iPhone 5s during the same period that the FBI was in a legal battle with Apple. The report shows that the LAPD found a "forensic cellphone expert" that was able to override the locked iPhone and gain access.

Details about how access was gained are not available, but the police department had tried numerous times to extract the data before this. From Los Angeles Times:

This report surfaces not long after a court ordered a California resident to unlock their iPhone using Touch ID, and of course, the iPhone 5c unlock that the FBI gained.

Even as Apple introduces the new iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, the company is also retiring two more products. The Apple Store is no longer selling the iPhone 5s and the first version of the iPad Air.

It's not exactly a surprise to see that Apple has decided to say good-bye to these two devices. The iPhone 5s. launched in 2013, is much less powerful than the new iPhone SE, while keeping the same 4-inch display size. The first iPad Air was also released in 2013 and was already supplanted by the newer iPad Air 2, which launched in the fall of 2014. Apple will continue to sell that tablet, starting at $399, while also selling the 9.7-inch iPad Pro for a starting price of $599 starting on March 31.

Apple apparently wants to help boost overall sales of its iPhone devices in India by cutting the price of its older iPhone 5s in that country. This was reportedly done due to slow sales of the newer and more expensive iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

The Times of India reports:

Even though the iPhone 5s is over two years old, it reportedly still takes up almost half of all iPhone sales in India:

The report says that Apple wants to concentrate its iPhone sales in the mid-range price range of between Rs 16,000 and Rs 27,000, with the idea that consumers will later get a newer model when it's time to upgrade.

After a few hard-core days of camera tests here at iMore, I wanted to share some of our 5s comparison shots for people who may be on the fence about upgrading this year.

The iPhone 5s's rear camera is pretty good for a two-year-old smartphone: It offers an 8MP back-side illuminated sensor, 1080p HD video, 720p 120fps Slo-Mo video, a TrueTone LED flash, an f/2.2 aperture. It was one of Apple's first cameras to offer automatic digital image stabilization, and it continued to improve on the low-light conditions of its predecessor. The iPhone 5s's front camera, a 1.2MP sensor with options for HD video and burst mode, is less impressive two years in, but still respectable for the occasional selfie.

But the iPhone 6s cameras both offer a huge leap forward: The 12MP rear camera is great on specs alone, offering further improved low-light conditions, a 4K video option, and both digital and (6s Plus only) optical image stabilization. The front-facing camera, too, takes a big step into big boy camera land, offering both a 5MP sensor and a "Retina flash," which lights up the pixels of the screen to help aid in the taking of dark selfies.

We've been testing the new iPhone models over the last few days alongside their older counterparts using the stock Camera app, with no post-production or extra stabilization added. In our tests, the iPhone 5s held up remarkably well against both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s cameras in certain areas: Daytime shots look similar across the entire iPhone line of the last two years, with the 6s and 6s Plus grabbing extra texture and detail in shots thanks to their bigger sensors.

(In all galleries below, sorting is as follows: top left iPhone 5s; top right iPhone 6; bottom left iPhone 6s; bottom right iPhone 6s Plus)

Macro photos, too, look about the same across all devices; Apple's fixed aperture prevents the camera from being particularly fancy in that department. (Of course, that's what third-party lens add-ons are for.)

When it comes to low-light details, however, the 6s and 6s Plus exited the tests as our clear winners. Details are sharper, there's more color in the scene, and the overall light balance is much better.

And though hard to show in these photographs, the 6s series takes markedly crisper shots when firing off a burst or attempting to snap pictures freehand in low-light conditions—for example, when shooting 15 quick-burst pictures of my cat, the 6s and 6s Plus had about 7 blur-free pictures to the 5s's 4, though the 5s did have better coloration (in part due to poor exposure tapping on my part).

When it came to the front-facing camera, there was no competition: Those 3.8 extra megapixels do a lot of work to flesh out front-facing selfies and photos, especially in lower-light conditions. And the Retina flash, while weaker than your standard TrueTone rear flash, still provided nice overall fill for the photograph.

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I didn't do a lot of rear-facing TrueTone flash testing, because frankly: I hate using the flash in most photographic situations and the more people I can convince not to use flashes on a daily basis, the better. I will note, however, that both the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus routinely took a few milliseconds longer than the 5s or 6 before snapping and saving the image. The iPhone 6 in general has a cooler-colored flash than either the 6s or 5s, while the 5s's flash is slightly dimmer than its newer counterparts.

We'll have even more photographic comparisons coming soon, including matching up the new iPhone cameras against the latest Android tech and a lowlight, late-night test across the streets of New York City. Until then: How are you liking your new iPhone 6s camera? If you don't have one yet, is this enticing you to upgrade? Let us know in the comments.

The loud speaker in your iPhone is what makes it possible for you to talk on speakerphone, play music, and hear alert notifications for text messages, phone calls, and more. If the loud speaker is defective or blown, you may experience symptoms such as no sound at all except through the earpiece, crackling audio, or intermittent audio issues. If any of that sounds like something you're experiencing, your loud speaker will most likely have to be replaced. If you're out of warranty or own an older iPhone, a DIY repair can save you some money if you aren't yet ready to purchase a new iPhone. No matter what iPhone model you have, we can walk you through how to replace the loud speaker all on your own!

• How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 5s
• How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 5c
• How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 5
• How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 4s
• How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 4
• How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 3G or 3GS

How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 5s

If you're experiencing any of the symptoms described above in your iPhone 5s and you're out of warranty, a speaker replacement is one of the easier repairs to perform. It sits right on top of the dock assembly meaning only a few screws and some adhesive stands between you and a newly functioning speaker.

How to replace the loud speaker in an iPhone 5s

How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 5c

The iPhone 5c comes apart much like the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s. Actually, they're mostly identical. Just like the iPhone 5s, the loudspeaker sits atop the dock assembly. Getting to it is super simple and the part itself will cost you far less than purchasing a new iPhone.

How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 5c

How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 5

The iPhone 5 introduced an all-new design made of solid high-quality aluminum. The position of the loudspeaker also changed from its predecessors. That's okay, though, since this change didn't make it any harder to repair. The iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c followed in its footsteps a year later. Parts and directions can vary slightly, so if you've got an iPhone 5 with a blown speaker, you'll want to follow the directions in the link below.

How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 5

How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 4s

The iPhone 4s loudspeaker sits along the bottom of your iPhone, directly on top of the dock. It's also one of the easiest repairs you could have to perform. With very few components to remove, a replacement loudspeaker is a cheap and easy job. So even if your iPhone 4s isn't your primary iPhone anymore, I can't think of any reason not to fix it and keep it around as a trusty backup phone, should the need ever arise.

How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 4s

How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 4

The iPhone 4 was released in two flavors; GSM and CDMA. What guide you'll use to replace your iPhone's speaker will depend on which one you own. Both are super simple but the actual part and procedure may vary slightly. If you have a Verizon or Sprint iPhone 4, you'll want the CDMA guide below. If you have an AT&T variant, you'll want the GSM guide. If you're outside the US, you just need to figure out whether the carrier you purchased to use your iPhone 4 with is CDMA or GSM, then use the correct guide.

• How to replace the loudspeaker in a GSM iPhone 4
• How to replace the loudspeaker in a CDMA iPhone 4

How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 3G or 3GS

The iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS may be slightly long in the tooth but that doesn't mean they don't still make great music players or iPods either at the gym or for smaller children. If the loudspeaker isn't working, a repair is super simple and will cost you less than $20.

How to replace the loudspeaker in an iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS

Questions?

Need even more DIY help? Perhaps you're experiencing another issue with your iPhone not mentioned above. We've got the guide you need in our DIY section.

Not being able to listen to music, podcasts, and other kinds of audio is a complete bummer. Not only that, if your iPhone thinks headphones are plugged in when they aren't, a broken headphone jack can mess with sound through the speaker too. Other symptoms could include crackling or audio cutting in and out sporadically. If any of this sounds like something you're experiencing, a DIY iPhone repair can not only save the day, if you're out of warranty, it'll cost a heck of a lot less than a new iPhone.

Note: The headphone jack in the iPhone 5s is actually part of the dock assembly. This means you'll be replacing the entire bottom dock assembly in order to restore functionality.

What you need to DIY replace a broken iPhone 5s headphone jack port

You'll need some tools and parts in order to repair your iPhone 5s. iMore recommends using only quality and genuine parts from a reputable supplier like iFixYouri. They have quality parts, tools, and much more for all your repair needs.

• Replacement iPhone 5s dock
• Suction cup
• 5-point security screwdriver
• Standard #000 Phillips screwdriver
• Spudger tool
• Razor blade
• iSesamo Opening tool

1. Power off your iPhone 5s

Before performing any repair on any device, always remember to power it off. Simply hold down on the Power button until you see Slide to Power off. One you're sure your iPhone 5s is turned off, proceed to the next section.

2. Remove the two security screws on both sides of the dock connector

There are two security screws that secure your device's screen to its frame, and they sit on each side of the dock connector. Use your 5-point security screwdriver to remove them. They are both the same size, so it's okay if you mix them up.

3. Remove the display assembly

1. Place your suction cup slightly above the Home button assembly and secure it to the screen.

2. Holding the iPhone in place with one hand, gently pull upwards on the suction cup until you free the bottom of the screen. Do NOT pull up all the way at this point, as the cable that runs to the Touch ID sensor is still connected. You only want to separate the screen about an inch at this point.

3. Now that you have a clear view of the cables, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to carefully remove the metal shield covering the Touch ID cable.

4. Make sure you don't lose the metal guard that covers the Touch ID connector.

5. Again, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to disconnect Touch ID.

6. You can now safely swing the display up in order to see where it is connected to the board.
7. Remove the four screws holding down the shield that covers the display cables. To do this, use your #000 screwdriver.

8. Once all four screws are removed, carefully remove the shield and set it aside.

9. Now use your spudger tool in order to remove the three cables shown in the image below. You'll need to remove the two off to the far right in order to reveal the third and final cable, which sits below them.

10. The display assembly should now be free from the body of the phone. Go ahead and set the display assembly aside.

*Note: I recommend the suction cup method here, but if you can't get a firm grip with a suction cup, you can use a razor blade or the iSesamo opening tool. Carefully work your way around the bottom of the phone between the frame and display assembly with a razor blade or the iSesamo Opening Tool until you can gently pry up the screen using the flat end of your spudger tool. We recommend using plastic razor blades if you can find them, since they won't cause damage to the finish of the iPhone's frame.

4. Disconnect the battery

1. Remove the two screws holding down the battery cable using your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

2. Gently lift the battery shield out of your iPhone 5s and carefully set it aside.

3. Use your spudger tool to carefully pry up the battery cable.

This is as far as you need to go. It isn't necessary to completely remove the battery, but it's always a good idea to disconnect it before replacing any components. This prevents any shorts from happening if the Power button accidentally gets pushed during the course of a repair.

5. Remove the loudspeaker assembly

1. Remove the three screws outlined in the photo below using your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

2. Use the flat end of your spudger tool to lift up the right portion of the loudspeaker, as shown in the photo below. Just don't attempt to completely remove it.

3. Carefully use your fingers to maneuver the loudspeaker out of your iPhone's housing, taking note of the caution areas in the photo below.

4. Carefully examine the teeth on the bottom, as one slides underneath where the Touch ID sensor connects and the other goes underneath the bottom right of the logic board. Pay close attention to the circular antenna cable and how it sits in a small groove of the speaker assembly.

6. Replace the entire dock assembly, including headphone jack

1. Disconnect the two cables shown in the photo below using your spudger tool. One cable goes to the Lightning dock itself while the other is a round antenna cable.

2. Remove the five screws shown below that are holding the Lightning dock to the casing. Use your #000 Phillips screwdriver for this.

3. Take note of the location of each screw as they are all different sizes and are not interchangeable.
4. Starting at the top right by the cable connector, slowly start peeling back the adhesive until the cable itself is free.

5. The Lightning connector itself and the headphone jack are held in with a mild foam adhesive. You will need to pry them up slightly by using a spudger or iSesamo tool in order to separate it. Not much force is needed.

6. Flip up the rubber gasket shown in the photo below as well.

7. Now use the flat end of your spudger tool or the iSesamo opening tool to carefully pry the rest of the Lightning dock from the case.

8. Take note that there are tiny metal spacer rings that sit on the screw holds in the casing. Be careful not to lose these. You can see them in the photo below.

9. The last thing you'll need to do is transfer the Touch ID connector — which is highlighted below — to the new dock assembly. It's just held on with a bit of adhesive. Just take care not to tear any part of the Touch ID connector as doing so will cause Touch ID to fail to work, and this component can not be replaced.

10. To replace the dock connector, simply line up the rubber gasket, headphone jack, and Dock connector. Remove any adhesive backing on the new assembly before doing so.
11. Once the dock connector is fitted in place, replace the 5 screws you removed earlier and replace the earpiece speaker and the two screws holding it in place.

Once you've got the Dock connector in place, try plugging in a Lightning connector to ensure that it is lined up correctly. It also is not a bad idea to plug in a pair of headphones as well to be sure that it goes in with no resistance. This way, if something is aligned improperly, you can fix it before re-assembling the rest of the device.

If everything appears to be aligned correctly with the replacement, continue on to finish re-assembling your iPhone 5s.

7. Reconnect the battery

1. Reconnect the battery cable to the logic board.

2. Replace the battery shield and the two screws you removed earlier.

8. Replace the display assembly

1. Reconnect the three cables shown in the image below, starting with the cable to the far left, which sits underneath the other two.

2. Replace the display shield using the four screws and your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

3. Re-connect the Touch ID cable to the logic board. The easiest tool to help you do this is the pointed end of the spudger tool.

4. Replace the Touch ID shield that sits over the cable.

5. Carefully line up the top of the display into the top of the frame.
6. Snap down the display until it clicks into place.

If the display doesn't want to go back down, do NOT force it. Instead, be sure that the top is lined up correctly and that you aren't snagging any cables. There should be no resistance when snapping it back into place. If there is, you aren't lining it up correctly.

9. Replace the dock connector screws

Use your 5-point security screwdriver to replace the two dock connector screws that sit on either side of the dock.

10. Test the new dock and headphone jack

Once your iPhone 5s is completely re-assembled, not only will you need to check the headphone jack but the dock functions as well. In order to do so, complete the following tests:

• Plug your iPhone 5s into a charger and ensure it charges correctly. Monitor it for overheating.
• Plug in a pair of headphones and ensure you can hear through them.
• Turn the volume up and down with headphones plugged in and unplugged.
• Test sounds both from your ringer, loudspeaker on a call, and music or some other kind of audio.
• Listen to music or some kind of audio to ensure you don't hear any bad feedback. Also twist the headphones around in the socket to be sure that doesn't cause interference or issues.

If all of the above checks out okay, give yourself a pat on the back: You successfully fixed your iPhone 5s headphone jack!

Questions?

Let us know in the comments.

If you have an iPhone 5s that's out of warranty and won't charge, it's possible the dock assembly itself needs to be replaced. Symptoms of a bad dock can include a faulty headphone jack, inability to charge, Siri being activated randomly while plugged in, or iTunes not recognizing your iPhone 5s. If you have any of these symptoms, we can walk you through replacing the dock assembly for a fraction of the cost of a new iPhone.

What you need to DIY replace an iPhone 5s dock assembly

You'll need some tools and parts in order to repair your iPhone 5s. iMore recommends using only quality and genuine parts from a reputable supplier like iFixYouri. They have quality parts, tools, and much more for all your repair needs.

• Replacement iPhone 5s dock replacement
• Suction cup
• 5-point security screwdriver
• Standard #000 Phillips screwdriver
• Spudger tool
• Razor blade
• iSesamo Opening tool (not necessary but awesome for prying up cables and getting under adhesive)

1. Power off your iPhone 5s

Before performing any repair on any device, always remember to power it off. Simply hold down on the Power button until you see Slide to Power off. One you're sure your iPhone 5s is turned off, proceed to the next section.

2. Remove the two security screws on both sides of the dock connector

There are two security screws that secure your device's screen to its frame, and they sit on each side of the dock connector. Use your 5-point security screwdriver to remove them. They are both the same size, so it's okay if you mix them up.

3. Remove the display assembly

1. Place your suction cup slightly above the Home button assembly and secure it to the screen.

2. Holding the iPhone in place with one hand, gently pull upwards on the suction cup until you free the bottom of the screen. Do NOT pull up all the way at this point, as the cable that runs to the Touch ID sensor is still connected. You only want to separate the screen about an inch at this point.

3. Now that you have a clear view of the cables, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to carefully remove the metal shield covering the Touch ID cable.

4. Make sure you don't lose the metal guard that covers the Touch ID connector.

5. Again, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to disconnect Touch ID.

6. You can now safely swing the display up in order to see where it is connected to the board.
7. Remove the four screws holding down the shield that covers the display cables. To do this, use your #000 screwdriver.

8. Once all four screws are removed, carefully remove the shield and set it aside.

9. Now use your spudger tool in order to remove the three cables shown in the image below. You'll need to remove the two off to the far right in order to reveal the third and final cable, which sits below them.

10. The display assembly should now be free from the body of the phone. Go ahead and set the display assembly aside.

*Note: I recommend the suction cup method here, but if you can't get a firm grip with a suction cup, you can use a razor blade or the iSesamo opening tool. Carefully work your way around the bottom of the phone between the frame and display assembly with a razor blade or the iSesamo Opening Tool until you can gently pry up the screen using the flat end of your spudger tool. We recommend using plastic razor blades if you can find them, since they won't cause damage to the finish of the iPhone's frame.

4. Disconnect the battery

1. Remove the two screws holding down the battery cable using your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

2. Gently lift the battery shield out of your iPhone 5s and carefully set it aside.

3. Use your spudger tool to carefully pry up the battery cable.

This is as far as you need to go. It isn't necessary to completely remove the battery, but it's always a good idea to disconnect it before replacing any components. This prevents any shorts from happening if the Power button accidentally gets pushed during the course of a repair.

5. Remove the loudspeaker assembly

1. Remove the three screws outlined in the photo below using your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

2. Use the flat end of your spudger tool to lift up the right portion of the loudspeaker, as shown in the photo below. Just don't attempt to completely remove it.

3. Carefully use your fingers to maneuver the loudspeaker out of your iPhone's housing, taking note of the caution areas in the photo below.

4. Carefully examine the teeth on the bottom, as one slides underneath where the Touch ID sensor connects and the other goes underneath the bottom right of the logic board. Pay close attention to the circular antenna cable and how it sits in a small groove of the speaker assembly.

6. Replace the Lightning dock

1. Disconnect the two cables shown in the photo below using your spudger tool. One cable goes to the Lightning dock itself while the other is a round antenna cable.

2. Remove the five screws shown below that are holding the Lightning dock to the casing. Use your #000 Phillips screwdriver for this.

3. Take note of the location of each screw as they are all different sizes and are not interchangeable.
4. Starting at the top right by the cable connector, slowly start peeling back the adhesive until the cable itself is free.

5. The Lightning connector itself and the headphone jack are held in with a mild foam adhesive. You will need to pry them up slightly by using a spudger or iSesamo tool in order to separate it. Not much force is needed.

6. Flip up the rubber gasket shown in the photo below as well.

7. Now use the flat end of your spudger tool or the iSesamo opening tool to carefully pry the rest of the Lightning dock from the case.

8. Take note that there are tiny metal spacer rings that sit on the screw holds in the casing. Be careful not to lose these. You can see them in the photo below.

9. The last thing you'll need to do is transfer the Touch ID connector — which is highlighted below — to the new dock assembly. It's just held on with a bit of adhesive. Just take care not to tear any part of the Touch ID connector as doing so will cause Touch ID to fail to work, and this component can not be replaced.

10. To replace the dock connector, simply line up the rubber gasket, headphone jack, and Dock connector. Remove any adhesive backing on the new assembly before doing so.
11. Once the dock connector is fitted in place, replace the 5 screws you removed earlier and replace the earpiece speaker and the two screws holding it in place.

Once you've got the Dock connector in place, try plugging in a Lightning connector to ensure that it is lined up correctly. It also is not a bad idea to plug in a pair of headphones as well to be sure that it goes in with no resistance. This way, if something is aligned improperly, you can fix it before re-assembling the rest of the device.

If everything appears to be aligned correctly with the replacement, continue on to finish re-assembling your iPhone 5s.

7. Reconnect the battery

1. Reconnect the battery cable to the logic board.

2. Replace the battery shield and the two screws you removed earlier.

8. Replace the display assembly

1. Reconnect the three cables shown in the image below, starting with the cable to the far left, which sits underneath the other two.

2. Replace the display shield using the four screws and your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

3. Re-connect the Touch ID cable to the logic board. The easiest tool to help you do this is the pointed end of the spudger tool.

4. Replace the Touch ID shield that sits over the cable.

5. Carefully line up the top of the display into the top of the frame.
6. Snap down the display until it clicks into place.

If the display doesn't want to go back down, do NOT force it. Instead, be sure that the top is lined up correctly and that you aren't snagging any cables. There should be no resistance when snapping it back into place. If there is, you aren't lining it up correctly.

9. Replace the dock connector screws

Use your 5-point security screwdriver to replace the two dock connector screws that sit on either side of the dock.

9. Test the new dock assembly

Once your iPhone 5s is completely re-assembled, perform the following actions to fully test the new dock assembly:

• Plug your iPhone 5s into a charger and ensure it charges correctly. Monitor it for overheating.
• Plug in a pair of headphones and ensure you can hear through them.
• Test sounds both from your ringer, loud speaker on a call, and music or some other kind of audio.

If all of the above checks out okay, you're good to go!

The Home button on your iPhone 5s provides two main functions; it serves as a way to authenticate Touch ID and more important, as a way for you to return to your Home screen, exit apps, access multitasking, and more.

If you can no longer click your Home button, or pressing it does nothing, it's possible the cable itself — or a contact on it — needs to be replaced. Here's how to do it!

What you need to know about Touch ID and Home button replacements: When the iPhone 5s was released, we quickly realized that the Touch ID sensor cable itself was tied to the logic board. And since this cable is one in the same with the Home button flex cable, replacing the cable will render Touch ID unusable. This is something you'll definitely need to keep in mind. If Home button functionality is important to you and you're okay bypassing the ability to use Touch ID in order to save some money on the cost of a new iPhone, continue on. If not, consider going to Apple or an authorized service provider for your repair.

What you need to perform a DIY Home button repair on iPhone 5s

You'll need some tools and parts in order to repair your iPhone 5s, including the replacement assembly. iMore recommends using only quality and genuine parts from a reputable supplier like iFixYouri. They have quality parts, tools, and much more for all your repair needs.

• Replacement iPhone 5s Home flex cable
• Suction cup
• 5-point security screwdriver
• Standard #000 Phillips screwdriver
• Spudger tool
• Razor blade
• iSesamo Opening tool (not necessary but awesome for prying up cables and getting under adhesive)

1. Power off your iPhone 5s

Before performing any repair on any device, always remember to power it off. Simply hold down on the Power button until you see Slide to Power off. One you're sure your iPhone 5s is turned off, proceed to the next section.

2. Remove the two security screws on both sides of the dock connector

There are two security screws that secure the screen to the frame and they sit on each side of the dock connector. Use your 5-point security screwdriver to remove them. They are both the same size so it's okay if you mix them up.

3. Remove the display display assembly

1. Place your suction cup slightly above the Home button assembly and secure it to the screen.

2. Holding the iPhone in place with one hand, gently pull upwards on the suction cup until you free the bottom of the screen but do NOT pull up all the way at this point as a cable running to the Touch ID sensor is still connected. You only want to separate the screen about an inch at this point.

3. Now that you have a clear view of the cables, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to carefully remove the metal shield covering the Touch ID cable.

4. Make sure you don't lose the metal guard that covers the Touch ID connector.

5. Again, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to disconnect Touch ID.

6. You can now safely swing the display up more in order to see where it is connected to the board.
7. Remove the four screws holding down the shield that covers the display cables. To do this, use your #000 screwdriver.

8. Once all four screws are removed, carefully remove the shield and set it aside.

9. Now use your spudger tool in order to remove the three cables shown in the image below. You'll need to remove the two off to the far right in order to reveal the third and final cable, which sits below them.

10. The display assembly should now be free from the body of the phone. Go ahead and set everything but the display assembly aside now.

Note: We used the suction cup method here but if you are not able to get a firm grip with a suction cup you can carefully work your way around the bottom of the phone between the frame and display assembly with a razor blade until you can gently pry up using the flat end of your spudger tool instead. We recommend using plastic razor blades if you can find them since they won't cause damage to the finish of the iPhone's frame.

4. Replace the Home button flex

1. Remove the top right screw holding the Touch ID cable in place using your #000 screwdriver. There is a tiny metal guard underneath, make sure you hold it in place so the cable doesn't spin or tear underneath it. Also make note of the orientation of this guard as you'll need to replace it again during re-assembly.

2. Once you've gotten the top screw out and set that and the guard aside, you can fold back part of the Touch ID cable in order to remove the two screws holding in the shield that sits above the Home button. Again, use your #000 screwdriver.

3. You can now remove the metal shield and set it aside.

4. Lastly, very carefully use your spudger tool to start prying up the Home button assembly which is held in with a bit of adhesive. Be careful doing this as it's easy to tear cables that run to the Touch ID sensor.

5. Once you've broken all the adhesive under the Home button gasket, the entire Home button assembly should lift out of the screen assembly, Touch ID still attached. If you're having issues removing the gasket, try heating up the button slightly to break the adhesive.

6. Now simply swap the new Home button flex in the old one's place. If you ordered the parts I've recommended above from eTech, the home button is already in place. If you ordered from elsewhere and got only a flex, you'll have to transfer the Home button and gasket over to the new flex. Just be careful not to tear the gasket while doing this.

5. Replace the display assembly

1. Reconnect the three cables shown in the image below, starting with the cable to the far left, which sits underneath the other two.

2. Replace the display shield using the four screws and your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

3. Re-connect the Touch ID cable to the logic board. The easiest tool to help you do this is the pointed end of the spudger tool.

4. Replace the Touch ID shield that sits over the cable.

5. Carefully line up the top of the display into the top of the frame.
6. Snap down the display until it clicks into place.

If the display doesn't want to go back down, do NOT force it. Instead, be sure that the top is lined up correctly and that you aren't snagging any cables. There should be no resistance when snapping it back into place. If there is, you aren't lining it up correctly.

6. Replace the dock connector screws

Use your 5-point security screwdriver to replace the two dock connector screws that sit on either side of the dock.

7. Test your iPhone 5s Home button

Once you've got your iPhone 5s fully assembled, you can go ahead and power it back on. After it boots up, perform the following steps to test the new Home button:

• Hold down the Home button and ensure Siri activates properly
• Double tap and triple tap to ensure those actions work
• Make sure you can enter and exit apps as you should be able to with a single tap
• Hold down the power and Home to make sure your iPhone 5s reboots correctly

If everything tests out okay, you're good to go.

Questions?

Let us know below.

If your rear iSight camera on your iPhone isn't working or you're taking photos that show obvious defects, it's possible that the camera assembly is defective or damaged. Typical symptoms of a broken or defective iSight camera include a blacked out screen, purple or blue blemishes, and lines going through the screen.

Which iPhone you have will dictate the difficulty of a DIY repair. Luckily, we've got the guides you need to get the job done from start to finish!

• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5s
• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5c
• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5
• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 4s
• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 4
• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 3G or 3GS

How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5s

The iPhone 5s camera is for some reason prone to some of the same purple haze or blemish issues that the iPhone 5 was prone to. Other symptoms of a busted iSight camera in an iPhone 5s could include the camera app freezing completely upon launching it, not being able to switch back and forth between the front-facing and rear camera, lines through images, or even blacked out images. If you have any of these symptoms, you probably need to replace the rear camera assembly. Luckily, the iPhone 5s camera actually attaches to the top of the board instead of the bottom, making it a fairly straight forward and simple repair.

• How to DIY replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5s

How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5c

While the iPhone 5c may contain almost the same exact camera as the iPhone 5, the repair process is actually quite different. Luckily, if you own an iPhone 5c, that's a good thing. Much like the iPhone 5s, the camera attaches from the top of the board, instead of the bottom like the iPhone 5. This should make swapping out a defective iPhone 5c camera pretty simple for most folks. Like any other iPhone model, symptoms of a bad rear facing camera in an iPhone 5c include lines through photos, blacked out pictures in your Photos app, blemishes that are purple or blue in color in photos, and even the Camera app itself not being able to open. If you're having any of these issues, a camera replacement is a good idea.

• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5c

How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5

The iPhone 5 has been one of the only iPhone models that seems overly prone to camera issues with many users reporting purple blemishes on photos. You can easily verify you have this issue by launching the Camera app and aiming your iPhone 5 at a white surface. If you see a purple blemish somewhere on the screen, it's a defect in the lens and will need to be replaced. Other issues could also include extreme fringing or lens flare, which could signal that the camera needs to be reseated correctly inside the housing. Regardless of the issue, we can walk you through how to replace the entire assembly on your own.

• How to replace the rear iSight camera in an iPhone 5

How to replace a broken rear camera in an iPhone 4s

The iPhone 4s rear camera is a pretty simple repair to perform. First you'll need to be sure that you are replacing the correct part. If the lens cover itself is cracked, you actually need to replace the back panel, which is even easier. However, if you're experiencing other issues such as pixelated images, lines through the screen, or the camera shutter won't open at all and freezes when you launch the Camera app, you'll need a replacement camera assembly. Luckily, that isn't that hard to replace either. Hit the links below for both guides to determine which repair you need.

• How to replace the rear camera assembly in an iPhone 4s
• How to replace the back panel and lens cover in an iPhone 4s

How to replace the rear camera in an iPhone 4

The iPhone 4 is very similar to the iPhone 4s and contains a camera assembly that is replaced almost the exact same way. Actually, the same symptoms are normally present with an iPhone 4. And just like before, if the camera is hazy or the lens cover is cracked, you'll need to replace the back cover, not the actual camera assembly itself. Hit the guides below to determine which you need to replace.

• How to replace the rear camera in a GSM or CDMA iPhone 4
• How to replace the back panel and lens cover in an iPhone 4

How to replace the rear camera in an iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS

If you've still got an iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS laying around, a replacement camera is pretty cheap nowadays. While there didn't seem to be too many complains about the iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS camera, it was possible to dislodge it or for the lens itself to break due to a bad fall. If you feel like tinkering, the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS aren't very hard to DIY repair. We can walk you step by step through a camera replacement, complete with links to parts.

• How to replace the rear camera in an iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS

Questions?

Don't have a broken camera but need to fix something else? We've got those guides, too! Check out our DIY guides for everything you'd want to know about repairing your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

If you have an iPhone 5s that doesn't produce any sound over its loudspeaker but still functions through the earpiece, it's possible that your loudspeaker is either defective or blown; other symptoms can include low volume or crackling audio.

If you're experiencing any of these issues and you're out of warranty, a DIY iPhone repair isn't terribly hard and can save you a lot of cash compared to buying a new iPhone. So if you've got a steady hand and want to attempt the repair yourself, follow along and we'll walk you through where to get quality replacement parts and how to replace your loudspeaker all on your own!

What you need to DIY replace an iPhone 5s loudspeaker

You'll need some tools and parts in order to repair your iPhone 5s. iMore recommends using only quality and genuine parts from a reputable supplier like iFixYouri. They have quality parts, tools, and much more for all your repair needs.

• Replacement iPhone 5s loud speaker
• Suction cup
• 5-point security screwdriver
• Standard #000 Phillips screwdriver
• Spudger tool
• Razor blade
• iSesamo Opening tool (not necessary but awesome for prying up cables and getting under adhesive)

1. Power off your iPhone 5s

Before performing any repair on any device, always remember to power it off. Simply hold down on the Power button until you see Slide to Power off. One you're sure your iPhone 5s is turned off, proceed to the next section.

2. Remove the two security screws on both sides of the dock connector

There are two security screws that secure the screen to the frame and they sit on each side of the dock connector. Use your 5-point security screwdriver to remove them. They are both the same size so it's okay if you mix them up.

3. Remove the display assembly

1. Place your suction cup slightly above the Home button assembly and secure it to the screen.

2. Holding the iPhone in place with one hand, gently pull upwards on the suction cup until you free the bottom of the screen but do NOT pull up all the way at this point as a cable running to the Touch ID sensor is still connected. You only want to separate the screen about an inch at this point.

3. Now that you have a clear view of the cables, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to carefully remove the metal shield covering the Touch ID cable.

4. Make sure you don't lose the metal guard that covers the Touch ID connector.

5. Again, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to disconnect Touch ID.

6. You can now safely swing the display up more in order to see where it is connected to the board.
7. Remove the four screws holding down the shield that covers the display cables. To do this, use your #000 screwdriver.

8. Once all four screws are removed, carefully remove the shield and set it aside.

9. Now use your spudger tool in order to remove the three cables shown in the image below. You'll need to remove the two off to the far right in order to reveal the third and final cable, which sits below them.

10. The display assembly should now be free from the body of the phone. Go ahead and set the display assembly aside.

Note: We used the suction cup method here but note that if you can't get a firm grip with a suction cup, you can use a razor blade or the iSesamo opening tool. Carefully work your way around the bottom of the phone between the frame and display assembly with a razor blade or the iSesamo Opening Tool until you can gently pry up using the flat end of your spudger tool. We recommend using plastic razor blades if you can find them since they won't cause damage to the finish of the iPhone's frame.

4. Disconnect the battery

1. Remove the two screws holding down the battery cable using your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

2. Gently lift the battery shield out of your iPhone 5s and carefully set it aside.

3. Use your spudger tool to carefully pry up the battery cable.

This is as far as you need to go. It isn't necessary to completely remove the battery, but it's always a good idea to disconnect it before replacing any components to prevent any shorts from happening if the Power button accidentally gets pushed during the course of a repair.

5. Replace the loud speaker assembly

1. Remove the three screws outlined in the photo below using your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

2. Use the flat end of your spudger tool to lift up the right hand portion of the loud speaker, as shown in the photo below. Just don't attempt to completely remove it.

3. Carefully use your fingers to maneuver the loud speaker out of your iPhone's housing, taking note of the caution areas in the photo below.

4. Replace the speaker assembly. Carefully examine the teeth on the bottom, as one slides underneath where Touch ID connects and the other underneath the bottom right of the logic board. Again, take care of the round cable and the groove its wire should fit in on the loud speaker.

6. Reconnect the battery

1. Reconnect the battery cable to the logic board.

2. Replace the battery shield and the two screws you removed earlier.

7. Replace the display assembly

1. Reconnect the three cables shown in the image below, starting with the cable to the far left, which sits underneath the other two.

2. Replace the display shield using the four screws and your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

3. Re-connect the Touch ID cable to the logic board. The easiest tool to help you do this is the pointed end of the spudger tool.

4. Replace the Touch ID shield that sits over the cable.

5. Carefully line up the top of the display into the top of the frame.
6. Snap down the display until it clicks into place.

If the display doesn't want to go back down, do NOT force it. Instead, be sure that the top is lined up correctly and that you aren't snagging any cables. There should be no resistance when snapping it back into place. If there is, you aren't lining it up correctly.

8. Replace the dock connector screws

Use your 5-point security screwdriver to replace the two dock connector screws that sit on either side of the dock.

9. Test the new loudspeaker

In order to test the loudspeaker, perform the following steps:

• Place a call on speakerphone
• Play music through the speakers
• Plug in headphones and make sure transferring from the loudspeaker to headphones works okay
• Turn the volume all the way up to be sure you don't hear any distortion

If all of the above checks out okay, you're good to go!

Questions?

Let us know in the comments.

Have an iPhone 5s with a busted front-facing camera? Whether you have lines through the screen when trying to take selfies or the camera just won't seem to turn around, all of these can be signs that it needs to be replaced. Luckily, since it's simply attached to the front display, replacing an iPhone 5s FaceTime camera is a relatively easy iPhone DIY repair to perform on your own. Not only can we walk you through step-by-step, we can also link you to high quality parts and tools to get the job done right!

What you need to replace an iPhone 5s front-facing camera

You'll need some tools and parts in order to repair your iPhone 5s. If you're in the United States or Canada, we highly recommend checking out eTech Parts as we've had lots of good experiences with them and know their customer service is out of this world. All the links below will route you to the direct item on eTech's site.

• Replacement front-facing camera - Buy now
• Suction cup - Buy now
• 5-point security screwdriver - Buy now
• Standard #000 Phillips screwdriver - Buy now
• Spudger tool - Buy now
• Razor blade - Buy Now
• iSesamo Opening tool (not necessary but awesome for prying up cables and getting under adhesive) - Buy Now

Power off your iPhone 5s

Before performing any repair on any device, always remember to power it off. Simply hold down on the Power button until you see Slide to Power off. One you're sure your iPhone 5s is turned off, proceed to the next section.

Remove the two security screws on both sides of the dock connector

There are two security screws that secure the screen to the frame and they sit on each side of the dock connector. Use your 5-point security screwdriver to remove them. They are both the same size so it's okay if you mix them up.

Remove the display assembly

1. Place your suction cup slightly above the Home button assembly and secure it to the screen.

2. Holding the iPhone in place with one hand, gently pull upwards on the suction cup until you free the bottom of the screen but do NOT pull up all the way at this point as a cable running to the Touch ID sensor is still connected. You only want to separate the screen about an inch at this point.

3. Now that you have a clear view of the cables, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to carefully remove the metal shield covering the Touch ID cable.

4. Make sure you don't lose the metal guard that covers the Touch ID connector.

5. Again, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to disconnect Touch ID.

6. You can now safely swing the display up more in order to see where it is connected to the board.
7. Remove the four screws holding down the shield that covers the display cables. To do this, use your #000 screwdriver.

8. Once all four screws are removed, carefully remove the shield and set it aside.

9. Now use your spudger tool in order to remove the three cables shown in the image below. You'll need to remove the two off to the far right in order to reveal the third and final cable, which sits below them.

10. The display assembly should now be free from the body of the phone. Go ahead and set everything but the display assembly aside.

Note: We used the suction cup method here but note that if you can't get a firm grip with a suction cup, you can use a razor blade or the iSesamo opening tool. Carefully work your way around the bottom of the phone between the frame and display assembly with a razor blade or the iSesamo Opening Tool until you can gently pry up using the flat end of your spudger tool. We recommend using plastic razor blades if you can find them since they won't cause damage to the finish of the iPhone's frame.

2. Remove the earpiece

1. Remove the two screws holding in the earpiece speaker and bracket using your #000 screwdriver.

2. Carefully loosen the earpiece bracket and lift it upwards. Note that there are clips on each side that you may need to bend outwards slightly in order for the bracket and earpiece to come out. Don't pull hard as you may break or bend the bracket.

3. Set the earpiece and bracket aside.

3. Replace the front-facing camera and sensor cable assembly

1. Starting on the right side of the camera cable, which is the portion that sits underneath the earpiece contacts, slowly start prying up using either a pry tool or an iSesamo Opening Tool. If you have a heat gun, you may use it for only a few seconds to heat up the adhesive on the underside of the cable, but it really isn't necessary as it's a very weak adhesive. You can turn the digitizer assembly upside down as shown in the photos in order to obtain a better angle when prying.

2. Once the adhesive is broken, the right side of the cable should be free.
3. The camera cable is still attached my a mic hole, so pry it up using your spudger tool as shown in the photo below.

4. Take care to separate the digitizer cable from the camera assembly cable.

5. Pull the camera cable lose from the digitizer assembly by peeling off the adhesive attached to the display shield.

6. Take note of any cable folds and duplicate them on the new assembly.
7. Follow these instruction in reverse in order to replace the camera assembly.

6. Replace the earpiece

1. Reposition the earpiece speaker and bracket onto the back of the display assembly.
2. Replace the two screws holding it in place using your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

7. Replace the display assembly

1. Reconnect the three cables shown in the image below, starting with the cable to the far left, which sits underneath the other two.

2. Replace the display shield using the four screws and your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

3. Re-connect the Touch ID cable to the logic board. The easiest tool to help you do this is the pointed end of the spudger tool.

4. Replace the Touch ID shield that sits over the cable.

5. Carefully line up the top of the display into the top of the frame.
6. Snap down the display until it clicks into place.

If the display doesn't want to go back down, do NOT force it. Instead, be sure that the top is lined up correctly and that you aren't snagging any cables. There should be no resistance when snapping it back into place. If there is, you aren't lining it up correctly. Also make sure the earpiece is installed correctly. If it isn't completely flush, this can cause the assembly to not lay flat in the body of your iPhone 5s.

8. Replace the dock connector screws

Use your 5-point security screwdriver to replace the two dock connector screws that sit on either side of the dock.

9. Test the new front-facing camera

After you've finished assembling your iPhone 5s, it's safe to turn it on. In order to test the new front-facing camera, I recommend you perform the following steps:

• Toggle between the front and rear facing cameras to make sure both are working and switching properly
• Take photos in both low light and bright light to be sure the camera is back to working properly
• Test the ambient light sensor — simply go in a dark room and make sure your brightness adjusts accordingly
• Test the proximity sensor — place a test call and hold your finger over the sensor to ensure the screen goes off, just as it would when it's against your face
• Test the earpiece while on a call to verify it was placed correctly and it making contact with the new camera sensor cable

If all of the above checked out okay, you're good to go!

See also:

• How to replace a cracked screen on an iPhone 5s
• All DIY repair guides

If your iPhone 5s no longer vibrates when it rings or when you receive any other kind of notification, it's possible that the vibrator assembly itself has either burnt out or is defective. In some cases, users have reported that the strength of the vibration diminishes over time. If any of these issues sound like something you're experience, a DIY repair to fix it on your own is always an option. So if you aren't covered by warranty and didn't opt for AppleCare, follow along and we'll walk you through fixing an iPhone 5s vibration assembly on your own.

What you need to DIY replace an iPhone 5s vibrator assembly

You'll need some tools and parts in order to repair your iPhone 5s. iMore recommends using only quality and genuine parts from a reputable supplier like iFixYouri. They have quality parts, tools, and much more for all your repair needs.

• Replacement iPhone 5s vibrator assembly
• Suction cup
• 5-point security screwdriver
• Standard #000 Phillips screwdriver
• Spudger tool
• Razor blade
• iSesamo Opening tool (not necessary but awesome for prying up cables and getting under adhesive)

1. Power off your iPhone 5s

Before performing any repair on any device, always remember to power it off. Simply hold down on the Power button until you see Slide to Power off. One you're sure your iPhone 5s is turned off, proceed to the next section.

2. Remove the two security screws on both sides of the dock connector

There are two security screws that secure the screen to the frame and they sit on each side of the dock connector. Use your 5-point security screwdriver to remove them. They are both the same size so it's okay if you mix them up.

3. Remove the display assembly

1. Place your suction cup slightly above the Home button assembly and secure it to the screen.

2. Holding the iPhone in place with one hand, gently pull upwards on the suction cup until you free the bottom of the screen but do NOT pull up all the way at this point as a cable running to the Touch ID sensor is still connected. You only want to separate the screen about an inch at this point.

3. Now that you have a clear view of the cables, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to carefully remove the metal shield covering the Touch ID cable.

4. Make sure you don't lose the metal guard that covers the Touch ID connector.

5. Again, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to disconnect Touch ID.

6. You can now safely swing the display up more in order to see where it is connected to the board.
7. Remove the four screws holding down the shield that covers the display cables. To do this, use your #000 screwdriver.

8. Once all four screws are removed, carefully remove the shield and set it aside.

9. Now use your spudger tool in order to remove the three cables shown in the image below. You'll need to remove the two off to the far right in order to reveal the third and final cable, which sits below them.

10. The display assembly should now be free from the body of the phone. Go ahead and set the display assembly aside.

Note: We used the suction cup method here but note that if you can't get a firm grip with a suction cup, you can use a razor blade or the iSesamo opening tool. Carefully work your way around the bottom of the phone between the frame and display assembly with a razor blade or the iSesamo Opening Tool until you can gently pry up using the flat end of your spudger tool. We recommend using plastic razor blades if you can find them since they won't cause damage to the finish of the iPhone's frame.

4. Disconnect the battery

1. Remove the two screws holding down the battery cable using your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

2. Gently lift the battery shield out of your iPhone 5s and carefully set it aside.

3. Use your spudger tool to carefully pry up the battery cable.

This is as far as you need to go. It isn't necessary to completely remove the battery, but it's always a good idea to disconnect it before replacing any components.

5. Replace the vibrator assembly

1. Remove the two screws shown in the photo below using your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

2. Carefully use tweezers or your fingers to remove the bracket covering the vibrator motor.

3. Remove the one screw in the top casing that's holding the vibrator assembly in place using your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

4. Carefully lift out the old vibrator assembly and replace it with the new one.

5. Make note of the contacts on the logic board as you'll need to make sure the vibrator assembly is correctly lined up with them.

6. Replace the one screw holding the vibrator assembly to the top of the casing. Don't screw it in all the way just yet.

7. Replace the shield that sits over the vibrator assembly and the two screws that hold it in place.

8. Tighten up all the screws, making sure the vibrator assembly is sitting as it should over the contacts.

6. Reconnect the battery

1. Reconnect the battery cable to the logic board.

2. Replace the battery shield and the two screws you removed earlier.

7. Replace the display assembly

1. Reconnect the three cables shown in the image below, starting with the cable to the far left, which sits underneath the other two.

2. Replace the display shield using the four screws and your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

3. Re-connect the Touch ID cable to the logic board. The easiest tool to help you do this is the pointed end of the spudger tool.

4. Replace the Touch ID shield that sits over the cable.

5. Carefully line up the top of the display into the top of the frame.
6. Snap down the display until it clicks into place.

If the display doesn't want to go back down, do NOT force it. Instead, be sure that the top is lined up correctly and that you aren't snagging any cables. There should be no resistance when snapping it back into place. If there is, you aren't lining it up correctly.

8. Replace the dock connector screws

Use your 5-point security screwdriver to replace the two dock connector screws that sit on either side of the dock.

9. Test the new vibrator assembly

It's now safe to turn your iPhone 5s back on. If all went well, you should see an Apple logo. Once your iPhone finishes booting up, perform the following steps to verify the vibrator assembly is now working:

• Toggle your vibration switch and make sure you feel a vibration that's strong
• Place a test call to your iPhone to make sure vibration works as it should
• Go into Settings and test different vibration patterns under the Sounds section to ensure that the vibrator is now accurately producing feedback

If all of the above checked out okay, you're good to go!

Apple's event on September 10, 2013 was unique in their history — they introduced not one but two new phones on stage that day. The first was a re-imagining of the previous year's model in a new, more colorful form. It was the past made present. The second was all about the future. It was, as Phil Schiller called it, the most forward thinking iPhone ever. It was the iPhone 5s.

The gold standard

The iPhone 5s, codenamed N51 and model number iPhone6,1, kept the same design as the previous year's iPhone 5, something that had become a hallmark of Apple's S-class phones. (The shift from uppercase S to lowercase s in the branding was likely a visual concession — 5S has a great chance of being confused for 55 than 5s does.) That meant the iPhone 5s kept the same 4-inch, 1136x640 pixel, 326ppi, 16:9 aspect ratio display, and the same in-cell technology that made the pixels look like they were fused right into the screen.

The same aluminum unibody was kept as well, with its ceramic glass inlays on the back for RF transparency and its diamond chamfered edges. And that was a problem. Apple was already dealing with a media and mindset that found the incredible advances in manufacturing used on the iPhone 5 boring. How could they change that sentiment if the design itself wasn't changing? Turns out by giving people differences that were only skin deep. By giving them a new color.

The original iPhone had been available only in aluminum and black. The iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS had black front plates but offered both black and white back plate options. The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4s had come, front and back, in black or white. The iPhone 5 was two tone, but those tones were still black and slate gray, and white and silver. The iPhone 5s added white and gold. Jokingly referred to as Kardashian, a reference to the celebrity having had her iPhone 5 re-anodized in gold earlier in the year. Apple didn't go for a deep gold, however. They went for a light, champagne gold.

While gold is the easiest colors to anodize, black remained the hardest. After dealing with scratches and chips on the black and slate gray iPhone 5, Apple switched to black and space gray on the iPhone 5s. It wasn't a big change in terms of shade, but it proved to be a giant leap when it came to resiliency.

The moonshots, however, were all on the inside. Having previously taken a crack at spinning their own processor design with the A6's Swift, Apple went all out on the Apple A7. They licensed the newer, cleaner ARMv7 instruction set and made the Cyclone, the world's first 64-bit mainstream mobile processor. That they got to 64-bit before the likes of Samsung and Qualcomm, who manufacture chips, was as impressive for technologists as it was galling for those two companies.

The Apple A7 was 28nm, dual-core, and 1.3GHz, paired with an OpenGL 3.0 capable PowerVR Series 6 (Rogue) G6430, and 1GB of DDR 3 RAM. The RAM proved to little for demands of 64-bit apps, with Safari routinely reloading even a couple or a few tabs, and background apps being jettisoned more quickly than they might otherwise have been. However, more RAM means higher power consumption, and complaints about reloading might just as easily be dwarfed by complaints of lower battery life. Apple needs to strike a balance, or come up with a new equation...

Unlike previous S-class releases, and unlike the iPad, the solid state storage limit didn't increase — 64GB remained the top of the line.

With the Apple A7 came the secure enclave, a coprocessor that handled encryption, including the brand new Touch ID fingerprint identification sensor. When a finger was placed on the Home button a capacitive ring detected it and a high resolution snapshot was triggered. That snapshot was converted to math and then destroyed. The math passed through a hardware channel to the secure enclave where it was compared again up to 5 registered prints and, if matched, triggered the release of a "yes" token to enable authorization for unlock or authentication for purchase. It was a clever solution to a real problem.

Security is always at war with convenience. Apple's numbers showed only half of their hundreds of millions of customers used a 4-digit passcode on their iPhones. Touch ID would allow people to authenticate and their iPhones — and authorize purchases on the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBooks Store — simply by placing their finger on the Home button. Less secure than a long, alphanumeric password, but much more likely to be used than even a weak passcode, in the endless war between security and convenience, it was a good compromise.

There was some initial concern as to how reliable Touch ID would be. Fingerprint sensors on competing devices had been considerably less than stellar to date. There was also a lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) spread right after launch. There were videos of people making fake fingerprints to spoof the system. There was also a problem with the method intended to improve reliability with each and every read of the fingerprint — sometimes it took a wrong turn. The FUD failed, the spoofs were understood in context, and Apple ultimately released updates to iOS 7 to fix the reliability.

Touch ID ended up doing what it was intended to do — make security easy enough that most people, most of the time, would actually use it. And according to Apple's numbers, it worked. The number of people using a passcode leapt from 41% pre-Touch ID to 83% post-Touch ID.

The Apple A7 also included the Apple M7, a motion coprocessor, a type of sensor fusion hub. Codenamed Oscar, the M7 is believed to be an NXP LPC1800 micro-controller based on an ARM Cortex M3 processor that collects and keeps a week's worth of motion data, including the built-in accelerometer, magnometer (digital compass), and gyroscope. It does this so that the Apple A7 can stay powered down and simply request motion data when and if it needs it, rather than staying powered on to collect it itself. In other words, the M7 saved us all battery life.

The image signal processor (ISP) in the Apple A7 also improved the built-in iSight camera, including allowing for 120fps slow-motion video, 30fps panorama capture, live video zoom, intelligent burst mode, dynamic local tone mapping, 2x faster focusing, autofocus matrix metering, and electronic image stabilization (EIS).

Beyond the chipset, the iPhone 5s' iSight camera is still a Sony IMX145 and Exmor-RS CMOS sensor but size has gone up from 1.4 to 1.5 microns, and aperture from f/2.4 to f/2/2. This combined for a 33% increase in light sensitivity. Apple also added a bicolor TrueTone flash that had both yellow and white elements to better match existing color temperatures.

The front FaceTime camera also got a boost, from 1.75 to 1.9 microns, with backside illumination (BSI) thrown in for good measure.

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi stayed functionally the same, though the radio changed to a Broadcom BCM43342. Near-field communications (NFC) remained missing in action (MIA). The Qualcomm MDM9615M LTE 4G radio, however, gave the iPhone 5s support for 13 bands, though it took 5 different models to get there.

Price, not surprisingly, stayed the same. The iPhone 5s launched starting at $199 on-contract for 16GB, with $299 and $399 options for 32GB and 64GB respectively.

More powerful than you think

The iPhone 5s launched on September 20, 2013 in the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the U.K. It's hard to say how many were sold that first weekend because the iPhone 5c was sold along with it and Apple doesn't break down numbers per model. Apple did say they sold 9 million iPhones combined that weekend, and some analysts have estimated the iPhone 5s accounted for about 6.75 million of those. Tim cook, via Apple:

People made fun of of the gold iPhone both after it leaked and when it was announced. Then they panicked when they couldn't get one come launch day, week, or month. Funny things, we humans are. Best of all (or worst of all, depending on your perspective), going gold worked. Apple got little to none of the negative reaction to the iPhone 5s design that they'd gotten to the iPhone 5. Scratch the surface and what do most people want? More surface. As always, Apple wasn't targeting iPhone 5 owners with the iPhone 5s — though Touch ID, iSight, and the 64-bit Apple A7 struck straight to the hearts of early adopters — but rather iPhone 4s and previous device owners looking for a more significant upgrade.

Reviews were good.

Anand Lal Shimpi for AnandTech:

Joanna Stern for ABC:

Yours truly for iMore:

From burning platforms to fire sales

Competitors based on Qualcomm processors were caught flat-footed by the Apple A7. Samsung, which both made their own chipsets and used Qualcomm (don't ask), likewise. It would take them a year to even begin to catch up. That's not to say they didn't offer unique and compelling features all their own. Samsung made waterproofing mainstream with the Galaxy S5, and their Galaxy Note series, while not reaching the same popularity in North America as it did elsewhere, kept getting better at digitizers and bigger at screen sizes.

HTC continued to release good, if strangely branded, phones like the HTC One M8. Though consistently reviewed better than Samsung their sales haven't come close to catching up. Google sold Motorola to Lenovo, though there's every indication interesting phones like the Moto X will continue. Google also announced Android L, a preview of their next generation mobile operating system. Just as Apple has been moving from their foundation of excellent interactivity into new levels of functionality, so Google has been moving from excellent functionality into new levels of interactivity.

Nokia, it's value crushed by former Microsoft executive Stephan Elop, ended up being bought by outgoing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, ostensibly to prevent Windows Phone's largest manufacturer from shifting to Android. The deal closed and Microsoft went on to ship Windows Phone 8.1 and Cortana, their Siri-like virtual assistant. They continue to have some level of traction, especially with lower cost devices in emerging markets, but like everyone else not-Apple and not-Samsung, haven't seen much increase in profitability in the rest of the market. New CEO, Satya Nadella comes from a cloud and services background, and Microsoft has been increasingly good at supporting the iPhone and iPad, so perhaps the future for them lies cross-platform?

BlackBerry, with Thorten Heins gone and former Sybase CEO, John Chen now in his place, shifted focus back towards the enterprise and doubled down on keyboards, announcing the upcoming BlackBerry Passport, a phone no one would ever mistake for just another post-iPhone slab. What and how much they can do with it, however, remains to be seen.

Seven years later

By 2013 Apple had gone from an early Project Experience Purple dream to as close to reality as technology would allow. The iPhone 5s took the physical form of the iPhone 5 and added internals that would set the platform on a course straight for the future. But what do you do when your original dreams have all been made manifest?

Why go on to better and bigger things, of course...

• History of the original iPhone
• History of iPhone 3G
• History of iPhone 3GS
• History of iPhone 4
• History of iPhone 4s
• History of iPhone 5
• History of iPhone 5c
• History of iPhone 5s

A bad battery can severely diminish how long you can go on a full charge. If you own an iPhone 5s and either didn't opt for AppleCare or just prefer doing things on your own in order to save some money, a DIY battery replacement isn't terribly difficult. Not only that, buying the battery on your own and replacing it costs a fraction of what you'll pay for an out of warranty repair. So if you've been experiencing less than stellar battery life, we can help you replace your iPhone 5s' battery in under 30 minutes!

What you need to DIY replace an iPhone 5s battery

You'll need some tools and parts in order to repair your iPhone 5s. iMore recommends using only quality and genuine parts from a reputable supplier like iFixYouri. They have quality parts, tools, and much more for all your repair needs.

• Replacement iPhone 5s battery
• Suction cup
• 5-point security screwdriver
• Standard #000 Phillips screwdriver
• Spudger tool
• Razor blade
• iSesamo Opening tool (not necessary but awesome for prying up cables and getting under adhesive)

1. Power off your iPhone 5s

Before performing any repair on any device, always remember to power it off. Simply hold down on the Power button until you see Slide to Power off. Once you're sure your iPhone 5s is turned off, proceed to the next section.

2. Remove the two security screws on both sides of the dock connector

There are two security screws that secure the screen to the frame and they sit on each side of the dock connector. Use your 5-point security screwdriver to remove them. They are both the same size so it's okay if you mix them up.

3. Remove the display assembly

1. Place your suction cup slightly above the Home button assembly and secure it to the screen.

2. Holding the iPhone in place with one hand, gently pull upwards on the suction cup until you free the bottom of the screen but do NOT pull up all the way at this point as a cable running to the Touch ID sensor is still connected. You only want to separate the screen about an inch at this point.

3. Now that you have a clear view of the cables, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to carefully remove the metal shield covering the Touch ID cable.

4. Make sure you don't lose the metal guard that covers the Touch ID connector.

5. Again, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to disconnect Touch ID.

6. You can now safely swing the display up more in order to see where it is connected to the board.
7. Remove the four screws holding down the shield that covers the display cables. To do this, use your #000 screwdriver.

8. Once all four screws are removed, carefully remove the shield and set it aside.

9. Now use your spudger tool in order to remove the three cables shown in the image below. You'll need to remove the two off to the far right in order to reveal the third and final cable, which sits below them.

10. The display assembly should now be free from the body of the phone. Go ahead and set the display assembly aside.

Note: We used the suction cup method here but note that if you can't get a firm grip with a suction cup, you can use a razor blade or the iSesamo opening tool. Carefully work your way around the bottom of the phone between the frame and display assembly with a razor blade or the iSesamo Opening Tool until you can gently pry up using the flat end of your spudger tool. We recommend using plastic razor blades if you can find them since they won't cause damage to the finish of the iPhone's frame.

4. Replace the battery

1. Remove the two screws holding down the battery cable using your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

2. Gently lift the battery shield out of your iPhone 5s and carefully set it aside.

3. Use your spudger tool to carefully pry up the battery cable.

4. Along the bottom of the battery above the dock, there is an adhesive tab. Use the pointed end of your spudger tool to unfold it.

5. Pull on the tab at both sides just enough to where you can use scissors to put a cut in the center.

6. Starting on the left side of the iPhone 5s battery, carefully start pulling the adhesive. It should start coming loose from underneath the battery. You'll hear a creaking/cracking noise. This is normal and is just the adhesive pulling up from the casing.

7. Slowly and carefully pull sideways and along the left hand side of the battery. Take care not to tear any components. At the same time, don't pull too quickly or the adhesive tab will tear, making it hard to get the rest of it out.
8. Perform the same action along the right side of the iPhone 5s battery. Take tremendous care not to snag cables or the logic board. Pull away from the logic board.
9. Keep a finger or two over the battery as it may come with the adhesive when you're done removing it.
10. Once both sides of the adhesive strip are removed, simply lift the old battery out of your iPhone 5s.
11. Your new replacement battery should have adhesive pre-installed on the back of the battery. If it doesn't, use two strips of double-sided tape that are a little shorter than the length of the battery. This will work just fine.
12. Place the new battery in your iPhone 5s.
13. Replace the battery cable on the logic board.

14. Replace the battery shield and the two screws you removed earlier.

5. Replace the display assembly

1. Reconnect the three cables shown in the image below, starting with the cable to the far left, which sits underneath the other two.

2. Replace the display shield using the four screws and your #000 Phillips screwdriver.

3. Re-connect the Touch ID cable to the logic board. The easiest tool to help you do this is the pointed end of the spudger tool.

4. Replace the Touch ID shield that sits over the cable.

5. Carefully line up the top of the display into the top of the frame.
6. Snap down the display until it clicks into place.

If the display doesn't want to go back down, do NOT force it. Instead, be sure that the top is lined up correctly and that you aren't snagging any cables. There should be no resistance when snapping it back into place. If there is, you aren't lining it up correctly.

6. Replace the dock connector screws

Use your 5-point security screwdriver to replace the two dock connector screws that sit on either side of the dock.

7. Test the new battery

After you've finished assembling your iPhone 5s, it's safe to turn it on. In order to test the new battery, perform the following steps:

• Fully charge your iPhone 5s and make sure it doesn't get any warmer than usual, as that could be a sign of a defective battery
• Monitor usage over the first few days with the replacement battery to make sure your battery life has improved

If all of the above checked out okay, you're good to go!

Questions?

Let us know below.

Walmart is heavily discounting both the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c for the next 90 days in preparation of the iPhone 6. If you're still looking for a sweet deal on a brand new Apple smartphone, look no further than the US retailer as you'll be able to pick up the premium flagship model for just $79, while the iPhone 5c can be yours for $0.97. These prices will lock purchasers in two year contracts with AT&T, Sprint, US Cellular and Verizon.

Apple hasn't yet announced the iPhone 6 but should this fire sale be anything to go by, Walmart is certainly preparing to move stock of current generation units. Which will you be picking up, if any? Let us know in the comments!

Source: Walmart, via: Engadget

Have an iPhone 5s with an earpiece that just isn't working like it should? Typical symptoms of a blown or defective earpiece include extremely low volume when a caller is talking or no sound at all. Typically if the earpiece is bad, switching to speakerphone allows you to hear the caller once again. In some cases, frequent distortion could also be a sign of a bad earpiece. If you didn't opt for AppleCare or aren't covered by warranty for some other reason, repairing your iPhone is always an option. Luckily, an earpiece replacement is a rather easy repair for iPhone 5s owners, and we can walk you through every step of the way!

What you need to DIY repair a blown earpiece in an iPhone 5s

You'll need some tools and parts in order to repair your iPhone 5s. iMore recommends using only quality and genuine parts from a reputable supplier like iFixYouri. They have quality parts, tools, and much more for all your repair needs.

• Replacement earpiece
• Suction cup
• 5-point security screwdriver
• Standard #000 Phillips screwdriver
• Spudger tool
• Razor blade
• iSesamo Opening tool (not necessary but awesome for prying up cables and getting under adhesive)

1. Power off your iPhone 5s

Before performing any repair on any device, always remember to power it off. Simply hold down on the Power button until you see Slide to Power off. One you're sure your iPhone 5s is turned off, proceed to the next section.

2. Remove the two security screws on both sides of the dock connector

There are two security screws that secure the screen to the frame and they sit on each side of the dock connector. Use your 5-point security screwdriver to remove them. They are both the same size so it's okay if you mix them up.

3. Remove the display assembly

1. Place your suction cup slightly above the Home button assembly and secure it to the screen.

2. Holding the iPhone in place with one hand, gently pull upwards on the suction cup until you free the bottom of the screen but do NOT pull up all the way at this point as a cable running to the Touch ID sensor is still connected. You only want to separate the screen about an inch at this point.

3. Now that you have a clear view of the cables, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to carefully remove the metal shield covering the Touch ID cable.

4. Make sure you don't lose the metal guard that covers the Touch ID connector.

5. Again, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to disconnect Touch ID.

6. You can now safely swing the display up more in order to see where the display is connected to the board.
7. Remove the four screws holding down the shield that covers the display cables. To do this, use your #000 screwdriver.

8. Once all four screws are removed, carefully remove the shield and set it aside.

9. Now use your spudger tool in order to remove the three cables shown in the image below.

10. The display assembly should now be free from the body of the phone. Go ahead and set everything but the display assembly aside now.

Note: We used the suction cup method here but you can also carefully insert a razor blade or opening tool into the bottom of your iPhone 5s on either side of the Home button. Carefully work your way around the bottom of the phone between the frame and display assembly until you can gently pry up using the flat end of your spudger tool instead. We recommend using plastic razor blades if you can find them since they won't cause damage to the finish of the iPhone's frame.

4. Replace the earpiece

1. Remove the two screws holding the earpiece speaker and bracket in place from the top of the assembly. For this, use your #000 screwdriver.

2. Carefully loosen the earpiece bracket and lift it upwards. Note that there are clips on each side that you may need to bend outwards slightly in order for the bracket and earpiece to come out. Don't pull hard as you may break or bend the bracket.

3. Replace the old earpiece from your iPhone 5s with the new one. Be sure to line it up correctly so that the contacts on the underside sit where they should.
4. Replace the bracket and two screws.

5. Re-assemble your iPhone 5s

Once you've gotten the new earpiece seated correctly and screwed back down, it's time to reassemble your iPhone 5s.

Take note that there are small clips that run along the top of the display that you'll need to line up in order for it to snap down correctly. You can clearly see them in the photo above. Don't force the display if it isn't snapping into the brackets along the side. Make sure you're lining up the top correctly and try again. If the top doesn't want to sit correctly, make sure the earpiece bracket is placed correctly. If the clips on the side aren't completely flush, it will cause issues with seating the screen properly. Make sure you check all these points before pushing down on the display.

6. Replace the security screws on each side of the dock connector

Now that the display is back in place, use your security screwdriver in order to replace the two screws on either side of the dock connector.

7. Test the earpiece speaker

It's now safe to turn your iPhone 5s back on. If all went well, you should see an Apple logo. Once your iPhone 5s finishes booting up completely, make sure you check the following functions since the components involved were transferred, replaced, or moved around:

• Place a test call and make sure the earpiece is now functioning properly
• Test all areas of the digitizer to make sure the display assembly was not damaged when it was removed
• While on a call, place your finger over the sensors at the top over the earpiece to verify the display turns itself off, as it should when your face is touching the display while on a call
• Toggle from earpiece to speakerphone to ensure that the call transfer properly

If all of the above checked out okay, you're good to go!

The iPhone 5s has been on the market for a while now and remains a perennial best seller around the world. The Amazon Fire Phone is brand new, just in the U.S., and only on AT&T at the moment. Both command a premium price. The iPhone has a bleeding edge 64-bit processor, a great camera, Touch ID fingerprint identity sensor, and apps from every major provider, including Apple, Google, and Amazon. The Fire Phone has even more faux-3D than iOS 7, a hardware shopping system in FireFly, a Mayday button for instant help, and last year's chipsets warmed over. So, which one should you buy?

Regionalism

The Kindle Fire phone is currently U.S. only. If you buy it in the U.S. and try to use it internationally, you'll have to give up major features like Amazon Streaming Video.

The iPhone 5s is a world phone that can work in almost any region.

Carriers

The Fire Phone is currently AT&T only. You can try to run it on other GSM networks, but see Regionalism (above).

The iPhone 5s is available on the vast majority of carriers on planet earth.

Apps

The Fire Phone has the Amazon Appstore, which doesn't include apps from Google — which some would argue are the lynchpin of Android — and of course, no apps from Apple. There are Amazon's apps, and many but not all major third-party apps.

The iPhone 5s has the Apple App Store, which includes apps from Apple, as well as all major apps from Google and Amazon, and pretty much any and all major third party apps you could want or imagine.

And more

The Fire Phone has some interesting features. The interface looks terrible, and the faux-3D will likely make anyone bothered by iOS 7 parallax run for the hills. The FireFly button, to a cynic, is just a way to get Amazon Prime whales to spend even more, but to an optimist is an interested way to compare real world and virtual world shopping and gather information. The Mayday button can get help for people not used to smartphones... but that probably isn't anyone who'd buy a Fire Phone to begin with. It's about the same price but starts at 32GB and comes with a free year of Amazon Prime, a $99 value, to subsidize the price. FireOS is an Android fork that gets none of the Google Play services and since this is a version one, it's untested. Unfortunately, the chips inside aren't cutting edge either and its hard to tell how well it will age or hold its value.

The iPhone 5s has an industry-leading 64-bit Apple A7 processor that allows for features like the Touch ID fingerprint identity scanner. It has AppleCare and Apple Genius bars for support. It starts at 16GB and there's no kickback, but it holds its resale value incredibly well. It also runs iOS, soon to be iOS 8. If Apple holds to pattern, there will also be a new iPhone 6 (or two) this fall, perhaps with bigger screens and even more advanced technology.

Bottom line

The iPhone 5s has been on the market for nearly 9 months, and in that time it has reigned as the best selling smartphone around the world. For nine months straight, in any given quarter, no phone has sold more units than the iPhone. Or so says Counterpoint Technology Research Firm. That's especially impressive when you consider that in our modern technology world, the iPhone 5s is now "old" and our attention has turned to the hotly-anticipated iPhone 6. And considering how many challengers have come along and threatened to dethrone the aging 5s, most notably the Samsung Galaxy S5, it's even more impressive.

That Samsung Galaxy S5 did come in second, though. And Samsung also snapped up the #3 and #4 positions with the Galaxy S4 and Note 3. The next two slots were occupied by the iPhone 5c and iPhone 4s. When you look at the top ten smartphones for the last quarter, globally Apple and Samsung account for all but two.

It's safe to say that in three months (or so) the #1 slot dominance of the iPhone 5s will come to an end. Of course, that's because it will be replaced by the iPhone 6, which leads to our question: what does the iPhone 6 need to grab and secure the top-selling smartphone slot for another year?

Source: Counterpoint Technology Research Firm; Via: Business Insider

I have a confession to make. Up until fairly recently, I absolutely hated the camera on iPhones. It wasn't until I got an iPhone 5s that I finally felt like I wasn't fighting the iPhone to take a good picture. That's why I'm excited about recent news that Apple hired camera talent from Nokia.

If you missed it, word got out last week that Apple hired Ari Partinen away from Nokia. Partinen's LinkedIn profile describes him as "Lumia Photography Lead" for Nokia, and the working assumption is that he's going to be doing similar work for Apple.

Make no mistake, Apple has done a lot to improve the quality of iPhone photography with the iPhone 5s. While megapixel count didn't go up over the iPhone 5, the quality of the sensor improved. The sensor, the lens aperture and the pixels on that sensor are all bigger, which lets the iPhone 5s capture more light. True Tone flash helps balance flash intensity and color balance so your flash-enabled pictures look better. There's digital image stabilization, to take some of the jitter off movement. And more.

PureView is what Nokia calls its Lumia camera technology. Lumia phones sport cameras with high megapixel-count sensors, advanced optics, technology like optical image stabilization — which is yet to make its debut on an iPhone — and many in-camera processing tricks to improve image quality.

Bottom line: Many Lumia phones take really pretty pictures. The Lumia 1020, for example, sports a staggering 41 megapixel sensor, optical image stabilization and a host of other features that make it possible to take really incredible photos.

A friend once showed me a picture of his dog he'd taken on his 1020. The photo showed the dog standing on a rock outcropping in the woods, sun streaming through the leaves behind him. I was able to zoom in until I could read the number on the license tag hanging from the dog's collar. Stunning.

Now the 1020's camera is overkill — it adds a lot of heft to the phone, bulging out the back and unbalancing it. It's the sort of feature that would never make it onto an iPhone. But it is an impressive piece of hardware.

Many other Lumia phones are also graced with really powerful cameras. Some shoot spectacularly well in low light and can handle movement better than the iPhone. And most are very well integrated into the phone, not obtrusive and bulging like that monster on the 1020. The point is that Nokia's PureView is impressive camera technology, and it's good to have a senior engineer from that group now on Apple's payroll.

What's remarkable to me is just how much our phones have reinvented the way we do photography. Sure, when we go on vacation or attend special events, some of us still sling a DSLR around our necks or bring a point and shoot digital camera. But more and more of us are using our phones exclusively to capture the important moments in our lives.

This means that cameras have become a key differentiator for people buying digital devices like cell phones and tablets (as much as we might dislike it when we see an iPad rise out of the crowd at a wedding or dance recital). It's imperative for Apple to continue to improve the cameras on iOS devices. To that end, I look forward to what Partinen and the rest of Apple's camera engineers come up with for the next generation of iPhones and iPads.

What do you think of your iPhone's camera? Do you struggle to take good pictures or does it do what you expect it to? Let me know.

Smartphone cameras are getting better and better every day. We've already put the iPhone 5s and the HTC One M8 head to head, so it's only fair we give Samsung's Galaxy S5 the same treatment. Even though the iPhone 5s is already approaching 7 months old, until Apple releases the iPhone 6, these are the options we have to choose from right now. If camera quality is a deciding factor for you when making a smartphone purchase, follow along to see how the Galaxy S5, iPhone 5s, and HTC One M8 hold up not just on paper, but in the real world!

iPhone 5s vs. Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One M8: Camera specifications

The iPhone 5s has an 8 megapixel (2448x3264) iSight camera with a pixel size of 1.5 micrometers, and an f/2.2 aperture. The HTC One M8 has not one, but two rear cameras. HTC calls it a Duo camera. The main lens sports a 4 megapixel (1520 × 2688) UltraPixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture and a pixel size of 2.0 micrometers. The secondary lens is there strictly to gather information about depth. Both the iPhone 5s and HTC One M8 feature backside illumination (BSI) which gets the wiring out of the way so the sensor can capture as much light as possible. The Samsung Galaxy S5 contains a 16 megapixel (5312x2988) camera with a pixel size of 1.12 micrometers, and an aperture of f/2.2. The S5 also features backside illumination, or BSI.

Each manufacturer has made different tradeoffs, but who made the best ones? Looking at tech specs alone I would assume the HTC One M8 would fair decently well in low light while the iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy S5 should produce clearer, crisper images in everyday situations. Not only that, they should have much less noise due to a higher resolution. That's what the specs on paper say, but what we're really interested in is how they compare in the real world.

iPhone 5s vs. Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One M8: Testing method

To keep samples consistent, I always used as close to the same settings as possible on all three devices. If a device offeres a specific feature that would make photos better overall, those are fair game. For example, all of the samples of the Galaxy S5 had picture stabilization enabled. The iPhone 5s was always in HDR Auto mode. Where appropriate on the HTC One M8 I enabled HDR. Anytime there was a setting I could use that would capture the best overall photo, I used it. My only rule for this comparison was that each camera got one chance to capture the best shot it possibly could.

iPhone 5s vs. Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One M8: Everyday and HDR photography

From left to right: iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8

For everyday and HDR photography I kept HDR mode either on or on auto in order to let the software decide when it needed to use it. Upon first comparing samples I found the iPhone 5s and the Samsung Galaxy S5 to produce truer colors. For some reason the HTC One M8 always seems to give blues a teal tint, which isn't actually what's in front of me. It also struggles in bright light where the iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy S5 run circles around it. The iPhone 5s and the Galaxy S5 tend to show saturation slightly differently but at this point it's going to be more preference. The iPhone 5s leans more towards natural tones while the Galaxy S5 seems to boost colors slightly, which some folks may actually prefer.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S5 and iPhone 5s (tie).

iPhone 5s vs. Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One M8: Low light photography

From left to right: iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8

For low light I didn't take photos in a pitch black room, but instead I looked for natural low light environments that we experience while taking photos. Not dark enough to need a flash but dark enough to challenge the camera. The HTC One M8 and the Galaxy S5 both did a better job than the iPhone 5s. The HTC One M8 produced slightly more noise in some instances but we can probably blame that on the lower resolution. All produced passable images but the M8 and Galaxy S5 produced consistently better ones than the 5s.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8 (tie)

iPhone 5s vs. Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One M8: Macro photography

From left to right: iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8

For macro photography I didn't use the zoom feature at all and focused instead on getting as close as I possibly could to objects before losing focus. I'll start by saying that in most instances all three devices produced more than passable images. There are small differences however. First, the HTC One M8 still shows it's weak spot with bright light anytime you're outdoors. In the photo of the yellow and white flowers above you can clearly see it blows out the sun in the upper left corner. The Galaxy S5 and the iPhone 5s both balance macro shots well. The main difference I found was that I could get in slightly closer to an object before losing focus with the iPhone 5s. However, the difference is so small it's pretty much negligible.

Winner: iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy S5 (tie).

iPhone 5s vs. Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One M8: Flash photography

From left to right: iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8

When I initially compared the iPhone 5s to the HTC One M8 I found that the flash in the iPhone 5s that Apple touts as true tone is more than what it seems. I found that to be true again. The HTC One M8 casted a yellowish light on subjects in most of my samples. The Samsung Galaxy S5 however kept pace with the iPhone 5s nicely. In some instances — like in the photo of the steering wheel — the S5 was harsher than the iPhone 5s but not by much. Both phones produce well balanced photos with the flash enabled.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy S5 and iPhone 5s.

iPhone 5s vs. Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One M8: Action photography

From left to right: iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8

The iPhone 5s, Galaxy S5, and the HTC One M8 all do decent jobs when capturing motion. I had a hard time stumping any of them and hardly ever got motion blur. Considering all three devices have a decent burst mode, it isn't very hard to get a useable shot in a pinch. The HTC One M8 does have a habit of producing consistently darker images though, which may bother some folks. The Galaxy S5 and the iPhone 5s produced bold shots almost every single time.

Winner: iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy S5.

iPhone 5s vs. Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One M8: Digital zoom

From left to right: iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8

To test the digital zoom feature in each camera I zoomed in as far as each phone would allow me. The HTC One M8 was the first to surrender with images becoming grainy rather fast. We can attribute this mainly to the lower resolution. The iPhone 5s and Galaxy S5 both captured usable images but the iPhone 5s let me zoom in farther and didn't really sacrifice too much image quality in order to do so.

Winner: iPhone 5s.

iPhone 5s vs. Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One M8: Panoramas

From top to bottom: iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8

When it came to capturing panoramic shots, the first thing I noticed is that the software behind the iPhone 5s almost always produces the most balanced and consistent images of the three. The HTC One again struggles in bright light, as is evident of the panoramic containing the car. The Samsung Galaxy S5 kept pace with the iPhone 5s nicely. It blew out light in a few instances but not many. The surround shot add-on for the Galaxy S5 is also super simple to use and produces just as great of shots, if not better ones, than the built-in panoramic mode. It's available as a free add-on in the Samsung apps store and for anyone with a Galaxy S5, installing it should be a no brainer.

Winner: iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy S5 (tie).

iPhone 5s vs. Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One M8: Depth of field

From top to bottom: iPhone 5s, Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One M8

Depth of focus, or bokeh for those familiar with photography terms, seems to be all the rage these days. Both the Samsung Galaxy S5 and the HTC One M8 have features specializing in this. The iPhone 5s however, does not. Of course you can download App Store apps to add blur after capturing the photo, but natively, the iPhone 5s adds some blur on its own but the effect isn't terribly noticeable most of the time. The Galaxy S5's Selective Focus feature does a decent job, when it works at least. I had a hard time getting photos that it would apply a depth of field effect to. It's the only camera test in this series I took multiple shots considering I couldn't always get what I needed. The HTC One M8's UFocus feature on the other hand is a post capture effect which makes it easy to apply in almost any image. You can also change the focus afterwards which makes it incredibly useful.

Winner: HTC One M8.

iPhone 5s vs. Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One M8: The bottom line

I still stand by my initial HTC One M8 conclusion. HTC should have spent more time building a better camera and less time on gimmicks such as UFocus and 3D effects. They're fun to use but at the end of the day, it doesn't help us capture better all around photos. Light is blown out in places where it shouldn't be and its competitors easily leave it in the dust. The low resolution also rears its ugly head anytime you want to zoom in or enlarge a photo. It makes it really hard for me to recommend it over the iPhone 5s or the Samsung Galaxy S5 based on camera merits alone.

That leaves the iPhone 5s and the Galaxy S5 and that's where it gets a little less cut and dry. The iPhone excels in areas such as panoramic, flash, and macro photography. A lot of this can be attributed to the A7 chipset and the software behind the Camera app. However, the Samsung Galaxy S5 takes some amazing photos and in low light, does an even better job than the iPhone 5s. It balances HDR and everyday photographs just as well. They both handle saturation and white balance slightly differently but they're so close, it almost comes down to personal preference. They're both exceptionally great all around cameras.

So which one should you choose? If you take a lot of indoor and low light photos, the Galaxy S5 will serve you better. For flash and macro photos, the iPhone 5s still reigns supreme. For everything in between, most folks would be happy with either device as far as the camera is concerned.

iPhone 5s vs. Galaxy S5 vs. HTC One M8: Your thoughts?

If the camera behind the smartphone is an incredibly important part of your buying decision, what device would you currently choose to own if you have your pick of the three? Would you take some of the tradeoffs the HTC One M8 makes for some of the more unique features it offers such as UFocus, or is having the best all around camera more important to you? Let me which device you'd choose — or already settled on — in the comments below!

See also:

• HTC One M8 vs iPhone 5s: Camera shootout!
• iPhone 5s vs iPhone 5c vs iPhone 5 camera shootout
• HTC One vs iPhone 5 camera shootout

The iPhone 5s and the HTC One M8 arguably have two of the best smartphone cameras on the market. Sure the iPhone is 6 months old and the HTC One is brand new, but until Apple releases an iPhone 6, these are devices we have to choose from right now. The HTC One M8 tosses conventional megapixels aside in favor of UltraPixels, which is a fancy way of saying they suck in a lot of light. The iPhone 5s' iSight camera has smaller pixels, but twice as many. Even though both of them look great on paper, how they perform in the real world is what really matters. That's why we're putting the iPhone 5s and HTC One M8 head-to-head, camera-to-camera, in a full-on, in depth, photography shootout. So, which smartphone camera reigns supreme?

iPhone 5s vs HTC One M8: Camera specifications

The iPhone 5s has an 8 megapixel (2448x3264) iSight camera with a pixel size of 1.5 micrometers, and an f/2.2 aperture. The HTC One M8 has not one, but two rear cameras. HTC calls it a Duo camera. The main lens sports a 4 megapixel (1520 × 2688) UltraPixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture and a pixel size of 2.0 micrometers. The secondary lens is there strictly to gather information about depth. Both the iPhone 5s and HTC One M8 feature backside illumination (BSI) which gets the wiring out of the way so the sensor can capture as much light as possible.

Like its predecessor, the HTC One M8 focuses less on sheer megapixel count and more on the size and quality of the pixels. Looking at specifications only, our gut tells us that means the HTC One M8, like the one before it, should take some seriously great low light photos but struggle a bit in brighter settings. It could also cause it to struggle a little while capturing motion shots. The iPhone 5s on the other hand has a higher megapixel count and a lower aperture. That should make it faster and more able to capture brighter shots without over exposing them.

iPhone 5s vs HTC One M8: Consistency

Unless otherwise specified, I used each camera in each test exactly the way they came out of the box. All settings were default. On the iPhone 5s that means I am running iOS 7.1 with Auto HDR enabled. On the HTC One M8 I am running KitKat 4.4.2 with HTC Sense 6.0. All settings are on Auto for every comparison.

I did choose a focus point when necessary. Otherwise, I let the hardware and software do all the heavy lifting.

iPhone 5s vs HTC One M8: Every day photography

From left to right: iPhone 5s, HTC One M8

From top to bottom: iPhone 5s, HTC One M8

The first thing I noticed is that the HTC One M8 occasionally has a hard time handling bright light. This is especially evident in the photos of the candle holder and the dogs on the bed. The lighting in both is blown out in the HTC One's samples. This is most likely due to the larger sensor and higher aperture on the M8. In other instances the HTC One M8 produced darker images in bright light, almost as if it overcompensated in order to not overexpose.

On the other hand, if you look at the photo of the incense jars, the M8 does a much better job of handling white balance than the iPhone 5s. The shelf looks yellow in the iPhone 5s sample while it's a better representation of real life in the HTC One's sample.

The iPhone 5s may not balance whites as well as the HTC One M8 but it's more consistent in producing images that are well lit and not over exposed. The HTC One struggles in bright settings and that's a much more noticeable problem.

Winner: iPhone 5s.

iPhone 5s vs HTC One M8: Capturing motion

From left to right: iPhone 5s, HTC One M8

From top to bottom: iPhone 5s, HTC One M8

For motion capture I didn't use any extra features on either camera and used them as they'd come out of the box stock, since with motion you typically have one chance to capture something. In almost every scenario the iPhone 5s produced clearer and more vivid images. Both suffered in lower light scenarios where motion was concerned but the iPhone 5s still faired better. I did not use burst mode on either device for the sake of consistency. It is worth noting however that the HTC One M8's burst mode can capture 12 fps while the iPhone 5s' can capture 10 fps. The difference was negligible in my experience though and the HTC One M8 still produced darker images.

When it comes to capturing motion, the iPhone 5s does a better all around job with less room for error.

Winner: iPhone 5s

iPhone 5s vs HTC One M8: Low light photography

The HTC One M8 lets you edit ISO settings in the native camera app, so changing them is fair game. I attempted to get the best possible photo from each device given the settings I had to work with. What I found interesting was that I expected the HTC One M8 to do a lot better in low light than the iPhone 5s due to the aperture and pixel size. That wasn't always the case and no matter what I did, I still had noticeable amounts of grain in both samples. The iPhone 5s was more consistent in what it produced though. It produces consistently darker images for the most part but there was less noise. I never managed to find a happy medium with ISO on the HTC One M8, which was disappointing.

Both the iPhone 5s and HTC One M8 produce passable low light images but the results can be sketchy and still show significant amounts of noise.

Winner: HTC One M8, but only by a slight margin

iPhone 5s vs HTC One M8: Flash photography

From left to right: iPhone 5s, HTC One M8

Flash photography is always hit and miss with a smartphone but in the 6 months I've been using my iPhone 5s, I've found it to be passable. The HTC One M8 is also passable and most of the time produces an image you'll be happy with — unless there's any kind of motion involved. In that instance, you'll get blur. The iPhone 5s struggles here too but not nearly as bad. The most interesting thing I discovered is that the iPhone 5s under low lighting conditions does a much better job balancing whites, which is the opposite of what I found during normal lighting conditions. Perhaps this is due to the iPhone 5s' flash and its ability to produce more natural skin tones and hues. Maybe it wasn't just marketing jargon Apple was spitting out?

The iPhone 5s produces an overall better image where flash photography is concerned.

Winner: iPhone 5s.

iPhone 5s vs HTC One M8: HDR photography

From left to right: iPhone 5s, HTC One M8

In the above samples I enabled HDR mode on both the iPhone 5s and the HTC One M8 so we were sure both devices were actively implementing it. The first thing I noticed is that the iPhone 5s does an incredibly better job balancing outdoor colors. Not only were they more vibrant and balanced, they were a more accurate representation of what was actually in front of me. Look at the photo of the berries and of the marina to see the huge difference in quality. The HTC One M8 doesn't do as good of a job balancing environments where there's a lot going on.

Winner: iPhone 5s

iPhone 5s vs HTC One M8: Macro and closeup photography

From left to right: iPhone 5s, HTC One M8

When it comes to macro photography, both the iPhone 5s and the HTC One M8 do incredibly well. I was able to get almost on top of subjects without having problems focusing. The iPhone 5s allowed me to get in a hair closer before focusing became difficult but the HTC One M8 was hot on its heels.

Both the iPhone 5s and HTC One M8 produce stellar closeups that anyone would be happy with.

Winner: Tie.

iPhone 5s vs HTC One M8: Digital zoom

From left to right: iPhone 5s, HTC One M8

Both the iPhone 5s and HTC One M8 suffer when using digital zoom to its fullest extent. For each shot above I zoomed in as far as each camera would allow me. It becomes apparent very quickly that the iPhone 5s' higher resolution works in its favor as colors remain sharper without getting the hazy effect the HTC One M8 suffers from. I was also able to zoom in further with the iPhone 5s from the same point.

If you have to use the zoom feature frequently, the iPhone 5s' will fair far better than the HTC One M8's due to its 4 MP resolution.

Winner: iPhone 5s.

iPhone 5s vs HTC One M8: Panoramas

From top to bottom: iPhone 5s, HTC One M8

I was pleasantly surprised with how well the HTC One M8 handles panoramic photos. Not only is the Camera app easy to use and more forgiving, it produced consistently good panoramas. A lot of this you can attribute to software and how the feature itself works. I expected certain areas to be blown out where bright light was present but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. The iPhone 5s also produces consistently great panoramic shots and in most cases displays more accurate colors and tones — which we've seen throughout this entire comparison so far. So no surprise there.

They're both good but if you're picky about color, you're going to prefer the iPhone 5s.

Winner: Tie.

iPhone 5s vs HTC One M8: Depth of field

From left to right: iPhone 5s, HTC One M8

From top to bottom: iPhone 5s, HTC One M8

Bokeh is a term used when you want to achieve a shallow depth of field, also known as blurring the background for those not familiar with photography terminology. The secondary rear camera on the HTC One M8 is specifically made to capture depth information. A feature built in to the camera called Ufocus lets you tap to change the focus of a photo, as well as do a plethora of other cool things. Since it's built into the camera, it's fair game for this comparison. You can tell in the bottom photo of the coffee cup that the Ufocus feature not only works, but it works extremely well. The only photo above I did not use the Ufocus feature on is the photo of the Lego keychain on the railing. Those are stock photos in order to show the depth of field difference straight off the camera.

When it comes to bokeh and other special effects, the HTC One M8's depth sensor blows the iPhone 5s out of the water. It may be a novelty, but it's a damn cool one.

If you want to learn more about the HTC One M8's Ufocus feature as well as the other special effects the depth sensor is capable of achieving, check out Android Central's coverage of the M8's camera.

• Zoes, Duo effects, and video highlights on the HTC One M8

Winner: HTC One M8

iPhone 5s vs HTC One M8: The bottom line

The HTC One M8 offers a lot of extras but it's at the sake of consistency — which is something Apple has managed to pretty much nail with the iPhone 5s. Sure the Duo camera is a neat feature, but it doesn't save the M8 from falling short during every day scenarios. Having only 4 megapixels, even if they are UltraPixels, has a seriously negative impact on resolution. Not only are the iPhone 5s' images consistently crisper and clearer, the zoom feature is actually useable. I may have been able to overlook some of that if the low light photos on the HTC One M8 were what I expected. Sadly, they weren't. In most instances both devices produced images that were so similar, the different was negligible. In comparison, the iPhone 5 really struggled in low light last year — if you can remember from our 2013 HTC One vs iPhone 5 comparison. I didn't find that to be the case with the iPhone 5s. The improvements are obvious.

HTC and Apple made very different choices this year when it comes to camera hardware. In my opinion, Apple wins this round. The iPhone 5s does a great job of balancing colors, tones, and exposure 99.9% of the time. And for people who just want to pull out their phone, snap a photo, and not have to fiddle with settings, they'll appreciate that. The HTC One M8's Duo camera does some neat tricks but I would have rather seen HTC focus on overall image quality before adding bells and whistles.

iPhone 5s vs HTC One M8: Your thoughts?

We can objectively measure specs. We can read more megapixels or bigger pixels, higher aperture or number of lens elements. We can also make subjective calls. We can say which colors or levels just look better to our eyes. But a good camera is more than the sum of its parts, and the definition of a good camera can and will vary from person to person depending on their priorities and tastes. So, if you've tried both the iPhone 5s and the HTC One M8 let me know which one you liked better and why. If you haven't, check out the photos above and give me your assessment. iPhone 5s or HTC One M8 — which camera is better for you?

See also:

• iPhone 5s vs iPhone 5c vs iPhone 5 camera shootout
• HTC One vs iPhone 5 camera shootout

The iPhone 5s launched roughly 6 months ago. It was greeted by the usual ennui over its unchanged design and un-embiggened screen, and skepticism over the real-world utility of its Touch ID fingerprint identity sensor and 64-bit Apple A7processor. The iSight camera was well received, even though some mourned the lack of optical image stabilization, and the new color option became the subject of late night jokes. Then it launch and Apple once again couldn't keep it on the shelves; it was veritable gold rush.

I published my original iPhone 5s review ten days later. Spoiler: Even though it was similar in so many ways to the iPhone 5, it was also better in many ways that really counted. Since then I've been using my iPhone almost every day, all day, for 6 months. So, has anything ended up being any better or any worse than I first experience? Has any of the hardware broken down or the software improved? Half a year later, how is the iPhone 5s holding up?

iPhone 5s anodization endurance

Even though the iPhone 5s, like every s-type iPhone, looks almost identical to the previous year's model, there are a couple of differences. Aside from the new bi-color flash element, Apple replaced the scratch-and-chip prone slate gray finish of the iPhone 5 with a new space gray finish, and added an all-new gold finish to the palette as well.

Black is the hardest color to anodize. By the spring of 2013 my slate gray iPhone 5 looked as battle-scarred as a Corellian star freighter. The slate gray, which is less charcoal and more gunmetal, has held up much, much better. Chips are less frequent and when they, or scratches, occur, theyr'e less noticeable. So, while the color might not be as close to black as some may like, the durability has been significantly improved.

The silver iPhone 5 held up exceptionally well. Scratches and chips could only be seen at certain angles and in certain lighting. The silver iPhone 5s is identical and the gold has proven to be the same as well. My gold iPhone 5s has been naked for most of its existence and, slight wear and tear aside, you'd be hard pressed to know it wasn't new from a distance.

Whether or not you like the idea of Apple sticking with a similar design two years in a row, the extra time has let them really nail the aluminum unibody finish. With the iPhone 5c bringing back the plastic and the iPhone 6 rumored to be bringing in the even tougher sapphire glass, it'll be interesting to see just how much further Apple can push device durability in the future.

iPhone 5s: Apple A7 benefits

With the Apple A7 system-on-a-chip (SoC), Apple not only got to 64-bit on mobile first, but got there far ahead of everyone else. That led to some consternation from other manufacturers and confusion from the media. For customers it led many to wonder how much, if at all, it really mattered.

Yes, the cleaner instruction sets and greater register counts enable developers to make better, faster apps. Yes, now that we've seen the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini launch with the same chips we can see how it'll also enable Apple to get their entire 2013 iOS device lineup on the same, incredibly powerful, more future-proof platform.

For the customer, however, the Apple A7 is a monster of a processor that not only drives the iPhone 5s smoothly but, by virtue of its secure enclave and image signal processor (ISP), enables things like Touch ID, Burst Mode, Auto HDR, dynamic exposure, and more.

If you remember how long it used to take for the iPhone to save HDR images, seeing the iPhone 5s do so instantly is one of the most visual, most impressive demonstrations of just how much a chipset can make a difference.

Apps that take full advantage of the A7 "Cyclone" CPU being 64-bit, like video and audio editors, are still few and far between. The games that take full advantage of the A7 GPU, specifically OpenGL ES 3.0, look great but that has no real baring on game play.

Performance, identity, photography, and everything else enabled by the A7 is something any iPhone user can appreciate, even after 6-months when it's taken completely for granted.

iPhone 5s: M7 motivator

Apple's first coprocessor, the Apple M7, is focused on motion (accelerometer, magnometer/digital compass, and gyroscope). For a long time the iPhone has known where it was in space — how fast it's moving, in what direction, and at what orientation — and could record that information every time it was woken from sleep. That was okay but left a lot of gaps. With the M7, the iPhone 5s can record that information almost all the time. That led to some initial privacy concerns but Apple had explicit permissions and an on/off toggle in place right from the start.

I wasn't certain how valuable the M7 would be. I had a dedicated fitness trackers from Nike, Fitbit, and Jawbone, so did I really need my phone?

Turns out, absolutely. Thanks to the M7 when I install a new fitness app I'm no longer starting from scratch. The M7 is already storing about a week's worth of my motion data and it can load that right into the new app. Likewise, if I switch apps, I don't start all over again. I get that week-long buffer. Decoupling recent data from individual apps not only lowers the barrier of transition but increases motivation. The minute I launch that new app instead of seeing a blank screen I see my activity for the last week and I immediately want to start moving again.

6-months later, I've come to rely on that.

iPhone 5s: Touch ID reliability

A lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) followed Apple's introduction of the Touch ID fingerprint identity sensor. Some worried it would be frustrating to use. Others that it would beam your fingerprints straight to government surveillance agencies. But Apple took their time with Touch ID and made a really smart implementation that involved a capacitively-trigged, high resolution sensor locked to a specific A7 chipset that keeps data out of RAM or any part of the accessible OS. In the 6 months since launch Touch ID has been susceptible to what every basic biometric fingerprint sensor is susceptible to — laboriously created fake fingerprints — but there have been no reports of TouchID data being compromised.

There were, however, frequent reports of TouchID becoming less and less reliable over time. A software issue, Apple fixed it in the iOS 7.1 update released earlier this month.

I've been using Touch ID constantly since launch. It worked roughly 95% of the time before the update and is the same if not better now. For those who were experiencing degradation, Touch ID is significantly better now than it was before.

When Touch ID does still fail is when any form of water or moisture has come into contact with my finger. That's a known issue with these types of sensors in general but also hopefully something that can be improved in the future.

Like I said in my iPad Air review, Touch ID is so good it now takes me several excruciating seconds to remember it doesn't exist on other devices, like the iPad, and then a few more to manually slide-to-unlock with a passcode — wait for it — like an animal.

iPhone 5s: iSight camera quality

Unlike Nokia or HTC, Apple haven't gone with big, bulging lenses or optical image stabilization systems for their iSight camera. They've gone with modest, high quality optics and backed it up with state-of-the-art image signal processing (ISP). It's what they did for every iPhone since the iPhone 4 and it's what they've done again for the iPhone 5s. It's what lets the iPhone go shot-for-shot against cameras with better hardware and more than hold their own. It's also what lets them do all the auto white balancing, focusing, sharpening, etc, all powered by the Apple A7 chipset. It's also what allows for 120fps 720p slo-mo video.

I've used slo-mo infrequently over the last 6 months, mostly as a party trick or to entertain my godkids. They love not only watching things fall down in bullet time but listening to their voices being distorted as well. It's cool. It's fun. But what's made a far bigger difference for me is the improvement in every day photography.

The iPhone 5s just captures better pictures in more situations. Burst mode means I can often get a clear bit of action or a group photo where no one is blinking. Dynamic exposure means I can get a panorama that doesn't look like Harley Quinn, lost to shadow on one side and bleached out on the other. Even the TrueTone bi-color flash on the iPhone 5s, which I try to avoid using whenever possible, really does produce better color balance in the situations where I have no other choice but to use it.

One of the biggest improvements is also one of the most recent. Thanks to iOS 7.1 and Auto HDR, I no longer have to think about the dynamic range of a scene or fuss with settings and miss the moment. I just leave it on and the pictures turn out great.

Auto HDR specifically means, 6 months later, the iPhone 5s iSight camera is even better for me than it was at launch.

iPhone 5s: Voice and data consistency

After 6 months of heavy use, iPhone 5s voice and data has been an improvement over previous generation iPhones but only slightly. Most of the time it handles dropping from LTE to 3G or even EDGE and back with utter transparency. Sometimes it drops and while it claims to remain on-network data has stopped working. Very rarely I've lost signal or not been able to return to LTE at all. Then I have to reboot to get back on the network. Again, that's not a new problem, but it's not been solved yet either.

Likewise the excessive heat and battery drain that comes from poor signal areas when the iPhone blasts the radio into the stratosphere trying to get and keep a connection. It happens far less frequently for me than with previous iPhones but it still happens, most often at airports or at conferences with big buildings and heavy congestion. It's especially bad when roaming, which I'd hoped would no longer be the case thanks to the newer generation chipsets.

These are all boundaries-of-technology issues. In normal, day-to-day usage the iPhone 5s is screaming-fast on LTE. I've been getting between 40 and 90mbps down and 15-30mbps up. When I tether I quickly forget I'm on LTE — it's quite often faster than Wi-Fi.

Voice has been fine as well. I did have an occasional issue where I couldn't hear hear the person I called for a few seconds after they answered but iOS 7.1 fixed that.

A far bigger change over the last 6 months, at least for people in the U.S., has been the new early upgrade and family rate plans pushed by T-Mobile and reacted to by Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon. Some of them are outright double-dip scams. Others can save you some real money.

• How to choose the best U.S. carrier plan for your iPhone

iPhone 5s: Battery life

iPhones keep getting thinner, keep getting more — and more powerful — features, and yet Apple keeps the line at 10 hours for battery life. It's some form of eldritch might, I'm certain. As a result, over the last 6 months, my iPhone 5s has been just as good at keeping a charge as my iPhone 5, iPhone 4s, iPhone 4, etc. before it.

It still faces the same challenges, many of which are enumerated above, and it can vary a lot depending on which apps are running and how many services are in use (GPS, Voice over IP, and others still hit the battery like a freight train). In some perfect world Apple would detect when an iPhone was draining faster than normal and either restart whatever background radio or app was causing it, next-generation OS X Mavericks battery shaming-style. But we don't live in that world yet.

On a clean install of iOS 7 or iOS 7.1 on an iPhone 5s, however, I'm still getting almost as long a charge now as I got 6 months ago. That's not a fair measure, of course, since most people won't do clean installs and the longer software is running, the more often it's been restored from backup, the greater the chance errors might pop up. That said, on a restore I'm getting very similar results, though occasional drains happen with slightly greater frequency.

Overall, you should expect great battery life on an iPhone 5s not only the day you buy it, but for months and months thereafter. If you're not getting it, there's a problem and one that can and should be addressed.

• How to troubleshoot battery life problems on the iPhone 5s

iPhone 5s: iOS 7.1 fixes and new features

iOS 7.1 arrived almost 6 months after the launch of iOS 7 and the iPhone 5s. It fixed longstanding problems like the TouchID reliability issue as well as the frequent and frustrating Home screen crashes. It also introduced new features like Auto HDR and re-introduced old ones like the Month/List combo view in Calendar.

The short version is iOS 7.1 makes the iPhone 5s better and more stable. The long version is:

• iOS 7.1 review

iPhone 5s: The bottom line... 6-months later

Overall the iPhone 5s is as good a phone now as it was when I first bought it back in September of 2013. In many appreciable ways it's even better. Some of that is thanks to bug fixes like the Home screen crash patch or the Touch ID degradation patch, but some are due to new features as well like Auto HDR and the improved iOS 7.1 interface changes.

New competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One (2014) will be launching soon but I find myself even less interested in them this year than I was their progenitors last year. That's not because I don't like or even envy some of their features. On the contrary, I love that companies less conservative and focused than Apple are trying all sorts of amazing things. It's that my phone is something I've come to depend on even more over the years. It's not my primary computing platform yet but it's getting closer all the time. Because of that, because of how important it is to me, Apple's consistency and quality have become even more important.

I can and have gotten by on other phones over the last few months, including the Nexus 5 and Lumia 1020, but it felt like just that — getting by. I don't need or want to waste time with customizations or lumps that feel like bricks in my pocket. I just want to pull my phone out, find the app I need, and do what I want to do with it easily and reliably.

And 6-months later, that's exactly where the iPhone 5s excels.

The Glacier Case for iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s by Swiss-Case is a minimalistic case that offers moderate protection without adding a ton of bulk. It's made out of a sturdy silicon and plastic combination that feels and looks high quality. But how does it hold up after a bit of day to day use? Let's find out!

I used the Glacier Case on my iPhone 5s on and off for a few weeks now and I'm pleased to report that it has held up extremely well. My iPhone is also in one piece so that's always a plus.

One of the things I like the most this style of case is that it's easy to get on and off. Simply pull at an edge and it pops right off. One thing I've always been careful of with cases like this is that they aren't too loose or too tight. Loose fitting cases and fall off during impact and tight fitting cases can cause unintended damage to the frame of the iPhone. I found the Glacier Case to be a happy compromise. I've pulled it off several times and there's not one scratch around the edges of my iPhone 5s.

When it comes to design, the Glacier Case has an extremely thing profile but manages to stand out at the same time since the cutouts on the back are unique to this specific case. You can also see the Apple logo and iPhone text on the back of your device. So if you don't like to cover those up, you're safe with the Glacier Case.

During my use period with the Glacier Case I also made sure to test out the camera flash since that seems to be an issue with some cases if light bounces back into the lens. I didn't experience any issues with or without flash in several different lighting environments. So in that aspect, the Glacier Case gets a pass.

Since the profile is so slim and minimal, you've got access to all your ports and won't have to worry about needing to take the case off in order to charge your iPhone. That's always a bonus. No one wants to have to take a case on and off every day.

The only thing I didn't care for with the Glacier Case was that I couldn't put my iPhone face down on a table. Sometimes I like to do this so it doesn't disturb others I may be sitting with and for privacy. Since the edge of the case doesn't come up around the edge of the screen, I was afraid my screen would get scratched. Not a huge deal but something to think about if you like laying yor iPhone face down on a table too.

The good

• Great design that's unique and minimal
• The rubber/silicon combo adds grip but doesn't pick up pocket lint
• Easy to put in a pocket and pull out, unlike some rubber cases
• Comes in a variety of different colors

The bad

• No bevel on the edge that wraps around the screen which means no laying it face down on a table

The bottom line

If you want a sleek case that adds very little bulk but is unique in its own right, the Glacier Case by Swiss-Case is a great option. With the vast array of available colors, there's most likely a combo to suit your personal taste.

• $29.95 - Buy Now

If you pick up a Glacier Case by Swiss-Case, be sure to let me know what you think of it in the comments!

The iPhone 5s and the Samsung Galaxy S5 are going to be two of – if not the two – hottest smartphones of 2014. Or likely until Apple launches the iPhone 6 at least. There are going to be more than a few folks due upgrades, or just generally looking for a new phone that are going to be looking at choosing between these two. Especially leading up to April 11, the global availability of the Galaxy S5.

It's not a 100% fair fight just yet, since we've had 5 months to get to know the iPhone 5s and a grand total of a couple of hours at a trade show with the Galaxy S5. So, maybe consider this round 1. There'll be much, much more – like software – to dive into when we actually get a Galaxy S5 in hand. But even from a quick early look, there are some similarities, and some big differences.

In terms of design, both Apple and Samsung went for iterative bumps with their respective flagship devices. Apple is of course in its 's' year with the iPhone which usually means nothing much in the way of design changes. Samsung has retained the overall look and feel of its recent Galaxy devices such as the Note 3 and its predecessor the Galaxy S4, while making some subtle and welcome changes to how its made.

Apple still has Samsung licked when it comes to construction, though. The iPhone is a symphony of metal and glass – and yes, a hint of plastic – while the Galaxy S5 is still a festival of plastic. It has at least addressed the issue of the horrible, nasty glossy rear covers, though. The soft touch dimpled effect back of the Galaxy S5 is very nice to hold. But plastic is still plastic, and Apple isn't the only OEM using metal in its top of the line devices. A lot of folks did want to see the same from Samsung this time round.

Both have pretty fantastic looking displays. We know Apple's Retina Display looks the business, but Samsung has also done a pretty great job with the 5.1-inch 1080p panel on the Galaxy S5. This also means a pretty noticeable size difference between the two, but the Galaxy S5 has much slimmer bezels and a flatter home button to help keep the bulkiness to a minimum.

Then we get to the fingerprint scanners. Well, Samsung calls it the Finger Scanner. Similar feature, very different execution. The Galaxy S5 has a swipe style fingerprint scanner, which in my opinion is less comfortable to use than Touch ID. Both can register multiple fingerprints, but where I think the Galaxy S5 may edge ahead is third party integration. Samsung has partnered with PayPal to allow you to use your Fingerprint to authenticate payments. As with the iPhone 5s, Samsung claims that your fingerprint is securely stored on the device, and never sent anywhere else. Just how secure it is we'll surely find out when devices are in more hands.

Camera wise, we know the iPhone 5s has an extremely good shooter. Apple has yet to be drawn into the megapixels race, instead opting for a refined 8MP shooter and improved software. Samsung on the other hand has bumped the camera up to 16MP as well as improving its software. The promise of fast auto focus and rich tone, live view HDR has so far looked promising. We're looking forward to putting it to the test out in the real world, but there's a strong possibility Android may have just found its new camera king.

Oh, and did we mention the Galaxy S5 comes in gold? And no, it doesn't look like a band aid.

The software is another story entirely, and arguably accounts for the bigger share of overall user experience. It isn't right to base a comparison of the two on a short hands-on, and on devices which are still in the pre-production phase. When we get a Galaxy S5 in hand, we'll be much better placed to evaluate further. But for now, does what you see in the Galaxy S5 tempt you to jump ship? Leave you pining for that rumored larger display iPhone? Sound off in the comments below!

• Samsung Galaxy S5 hands-on and initial review
• Galaxy S5 or iPhone 5s: Which phone should you get?
• Samsung Galaxy S5 camera and gallery walkthrough video

The Galaxy S5 has only just been announced while the iPhone 5s has been available since September 2013. However, until the iPhone 6 launches — presumably in September of 2014 — they'll be the two top phones on the market. They'll also be very different experiences, from hardware to software to services and back. Some people will know immediately which one they want. Others will be pouring over every review, watching every video, sweating every detail, second guessing every decision. If you're one of those, if you're on the fence, I'll keep this short and sweet — if you're stuck between the Galaxy S5 and the iPhone 5s, here's the one you should get...

Samsung Galaxy S5

The Samsung Galaxy S5 sports a 5.1-inch 1080p SAMOLED display at 432ppi, a 16mp rear camera, 32-bit Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16 or 32GB of flash storage (expandable via MicroSD), 802.11ac MIMO Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, LTE networking, replaceable battery, swipe-based fingerprint identity scanner, and get this — water resistance with a IP67 rating. What that means is that the Galaxy S5 is a monster. Samsung has, as usual, thrown every spec and every feature they can at the wall, and for some people that's exactly what's going to stick.

On the outside you have glass and plastic. It's available in white, black, blue, and gold. The stock backing is soft-touch, over-saturated, perforated and... not visually pleasing. However, because the backs can be removed they can also be swapped out for different patterns and treatments. So what you give up in terms of overall build quality and device density you gain in accessibility and customizability.

Android 4.4 KitKat powers the Galaxy S5 but it also includes Samsung's own TouchWiz interface and ton of Samsung's own apps and embellishments. That's great in that you get features galore from both Google and Samsung. It's not so great in that the two don't always meet elegantly in the middle.

Here's what Phil Nickinson had to say in his Samsung Galaxy S5 hands-on and initial review:

We'll know more when the Galaxy S5 hits store shelves, of course, and we'll update as appropriate. It's a Galaxy S phone, however, and just like its biggest competitor, it's so popular, so established, that we know what that means now.

Apple iPhone 5s

The Apple iPhone 5s has a 4-inch 640p in-cell ISP LCD display at 326ppi, an 8mp rear camera, 64-bit Apple A7 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16, 32, or 64GB of flash storage, 802.11n MIMO Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, LTE networking, and touch-based fingerprint identity sensor. Apple, as usual, has focused on fewer things. The iPhone 5s remains conservative in some ways, still best in class in others. And that's exactly what some people want.

Made of aluminum and glass, it's available in white and silver, white and gold, and black and gray. The manufacturing and build quality and ridiculous. But it comes at a price — there's no removable battery and no way to chance the back plate or get anything other than the limited options Apple gives you.

From our iPhone 5s review:

iOS 7 powers the iPhone 5s, which sports Apple's newly redesigned, physics and particle engine-based interface. It's a leap ahead in many ways, yet one that hasn't quite yet stuck the landing. Apple also sticks to smaller subset of features but that tends to allow them to be more consistent and coherent.

Which one should you get?

Neither Samsung nor Apple fundamentally changed their games in the last 12 months. Once again, each simply got better at implementig their existing strategies and strengths. And that's okay. But it means the decision remains essentially the same.

• If a bigger screen and the ability to customize is more important to you than running iOS and all the high quality apps and accessories that come with it, or if you simply don't like Apple, we recommend the Galaxy S4.
• If access to the iOS App Store, iTunes, and Apple Stores is more important to you than the power and flexibility that comes with Android, or you simply don't like Samsung, we recommend with the iPhone 5s.

The iPhone 6

There's one other thing to keep in mind before making a final decision: This isn't an s-year for Apple. This year they'll be launching an iPhone 6. If neither the Galaxy S5 nor the iPhone 5s are insta-buys for you, wait until the fall, check out the iPhone 6, and then make your decision. Who knows, there may even be a Galaxy Note 4 to throw into the mix by then as well!

Either way — leave a comment below and let me know, iPhone or Galaxy, which one are you going to get?

• iPhone 5s forum
• Galaxy S5 forum

Two weeks ago I wrote a ranty editorial on iMore in regards to the areas where I personally find the iPhone's features are lacking while I'm in bed catching zzzzz's. If you missed it, it's worth reading. It got a huge response and sparked an amazing community discussion. And I'm extremely glad I wrote post, as in the comments a suggestion was given by an iMore member that's proven to be a great band-aid fix for my biggest pet peeve.

Here's the quick recap:

While there was a lot of agreement with my peeve and I do think there is much room to improve this feature in a future iOS update, the following solution has worked well.

Here's the solution that iMore member Ewan Logan suggested:

There is a simple work-around for your do not disturb woes:

Not perfect, but at least you don't have to remember to turn it off in the morning.

Following Ewan's advice, I set my Do Not Disturb schedule from 1:00am to 5:45am. During the week, my alarm clock is set to go off at 5:45am. My biggest issue before was that when I manually turned on DND, I'd often forget to turn it off. This takes care of that.

As for going to sleep, I'm typically (during the week) in bed before 1:00am. And when I'm going to bed I don't forget to turn on DND, as it's part of my routine. Plug in phone to charge, swipe up on control center and tap the moon icon. And in the case I do forget to turn on DND, it will automatically kick in at 1am so the most important hours of my sleeping period go without disturbance.

That's all there is to it. Props to Ewan for the suggestion. That said, I still want Apple to fix their stuff.

Four months ago today many of us here at iMore were either waiting for our brand-new iPhone 5s to show up at our doors, or lining up to get our hands on it immediately. There was a gold rush, and the usual amount of online fuss. Most of us flat out loved the iPhone 5s, but over time it stopped being new and simply became our phone.

Then, last week, at #CESlive I went back to using an iPhone 5 on Verizon (to avoid roaming fees) and I immediately noticed the difference. First, yes, lack of Touch ID makes me feel like an animal. But the difference in low-light photography was startling. I ended up fishing out my iPhone 5s over and over again just to get the shots I'd come to take for granted. I also noticed how chipped and scratched my iPhone 5 had become, even though I'd barely used it. My iPhone 5s, however, which I've used all day, every day for the last four months is still in near-mint condition.

Battery life is okay. I want more, always, but I usually manage to last most of the day on a single charge. Once in a while my iPhone 5s will get hot and start to drain, at which point I curse the carriers, kill everything, and reboot, and that often fixes it. (Unless I'm in the U.S., of course...)

Kevin Michaluk, our fearless network leader and the guy who paid $1.5K for his gold iPhone 5s on launch day, however, has been complaining a lot about the 16GB limit he ended up with. (He likes to Instagram and video a lot.) I'm happy with my color and size choice, but obviously not everyone is.

At the same time, iOS 7, which launched the same day, hasn't really come as far and as fast as I hoped. I'm still getting way too many Sprinboard (and maybe Backboard?) crashes. iOS 7.1 is still in beta, and a host of small glitches and wacky behaviors remain to be fixed and features to be filled out.

So let me ask you this — four months later, how's your iPhone 5s (or iPhone 5c, if that's how you roll!) and iOS 7 holding up? What's making you happy, and what's making you crazy? What are your pain points, and what's pure pleasure?

The long rumored Apple and China Mobile deal is rumor no longer - the iPhone will be hitting the world's largest carrier starting January 17, 2014. Here are the relevant quotes from Xi Guohua, chairman of China Mobile, and Tim Cook, CEO of Apple:

Both the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c will be available, and on both 4G and 3G.

This is the big one. Full press release below.

Source: Apple

iPhone 5s & iPhone 5c Available for Pre-Registration Beginning December 25, 2013

BEIJING and CUPERTINO, California—December 22, 2013—Apple® and China Mobile today announced they have entered into a multi-year agreement to bring iPhone® to the world's largest mobile network. As part of the agreement, iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will be available from China Mobile's expansive network of retail stores as well as Apple retail stores across mainland China beginning on Friday, January 17, 2014. iPhone 5s, the most forward-thinking smartphone in the world and iPhone 5c, the most colorful iPhone yet, will be available for pre-registration from China Mobile's official website (www.10086.cn) and customer service hotline "10086" beginning on Wednesday, December 25, 2013.

“Apple’s iPhone is very much loved by millions of customers around the world. We know there are many China Mobile customers and potential new customers who are anxiously awaiting the incredible combination of iPhone on China Mobile’s leading network. We are delighted that iPhone on China Mobile will support our 4G/TD-LTE and 3G/TD-SCDMA networks, providing customers with high-speed mobile service,” said Xi Guohua, China Mobile Chairman.

“Apple has enormous respect for China Mobile and we are excited to begin working together. China is an extremely important market for Apple and our partnership with China Mobile presents us the opportunity to bring iPhone to the customers of the world's largest network,” said Tim Cook, Apple CEO. “iPhone customers in China are an enthusiastic and rapidly growing group, and we can’t think of a better way to welcome in the Chinese New Year than getting an iPhone into the hands of every China Mobile customer who wants one.”

China Mobile now has over 1.2 million 2G/GSM, 3G/TD-SCDMA, 4G/TD-LTE base stations and over 4.2 million Wi-Fi access points, providing broad coverage to quality networks for iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c customers. China Mobile is rolling out the world’s largest 4G network. By the end of 2013, China Mobile’s 4G services will be available in 16 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. By the end of 2014, China Mobile plans to complete the rollout of more than 500,000 4G base stations, which will cover more than 340 cities with 4G service. The collaboration between Apple and China Mobile will give a big boost to the development of China's homegrown 4G/TD-LTE technology. iPhone on China Mobile supports major cellular network standards, making a global phone a reality for China Mobile customers.

iPhone 5s redefines the best smartphone experience in the world with amazing new features all packed into a remarkable thin and light design, including the Apple-designed A7 64-bit chip, all-new 8 megapixel iSight® camera with True Tone flash and introducing Touch ID™, an innovative way to simply and securely unlock your phone with just the touch of a finger. iPhone 5c features an all new-design in five gorgeous colors and is packed with features people know and love like the beautiful 4-inch Retina® display, blazing fast performance of the A6 chip, and the 8 megapixel iSight camera—all while delivering great battery life.* iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c both offer more 4G LTE bands than any other smartphone in the world and include all-new FaceTime® HD cameras.

iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c come with iOS 7, the most significant iOS update since the original iPhone, featuring a stunning new user interface, completely redesigned with an elegant color palette, distinct, functional layers and subtle motion that make it feel more alive. iOS 7 has hundreds of great new features, including Control Center, Notification Center, improved Multitasking, AirDrop®, enhanced Photos, Safari® and Siri®.

Details of pricing and availability of iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c for China Mobile will be available at a later date.

For more information on iPhone, please visit www.apple.com/iphone.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

China Mobile is the world’s largest mobile services provider by network scale and subscriber base, serving over 760 million customers. The Company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, and was recognized on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (“DJSI”) for six consecutive years. China Mobile has recently launched a new commercial brand “and!”, literally meaning connect, and as the acronym of a new dream. a new dream aims to bring the world’s most cutting edge technology to Chinese customers in 4G era, reflecting the friendly, intimate, mutual trust, and harmonious relationship between China Mobile and its customers and the society.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Three months ago Apple, for the first time ever, released not one but two new iPhones in the same year - the forward thinking iPhone 5s and the fun and friendly iPhone 5c. Both were variants on last year's iPhone 5. The 5s kept the same design but added a monstrous new 64-bit Apple A7 chipset, Apple M7 motion coprocessor, an even better iSight camera, and the Touch ID fingerprint identity scanner. The 5c kept most of the same internals but switched to brightly colored plastic backs.

It was a smart, if often misunderstood play. The iPhone 5s was meant to continue to be the big fall blockbuster, with huge opening-day lineups, a massive spike in sales, and then a steady decline until the next model. The 5c was meant to be different. It was meant to be popular-as-in-pop-art. Less movie and more TV show, it would sit on shelves, enticing shoppers throughout the year. Easier to manufacture than the 5 or 5s, and appealing to a slightly different audience, it let Apple test the waters not only of their addressable market, but of an expanded production run.

It's a little early to determine just how successful Apple's strategy will be over the course of the year, but having used the new phones for 90 days, it's absolutely long enough to see how both phones are doing for us the consumers. Often lost among the endless marketshare, profit share, and usage share metrics are what matters most to us, the people that buy and live with the phones - how well they work for us not just on launch day, but every day.

Previously on iMore...

• Original iPhone 5s review
• Original iPhone 5c review
• iPhone buyers guide

Ally Kazmucha

I picked up both an iPhone 5s and an iPhone 5c on launch day. My daily driver since then has been the iPhone 5s, but I’ve spent some time with both. I personally don’t see a significant speed increase in the iPhone 5s over its predecessor but I don’t think we were meant to. The 64-bit processor seems to me as a way of Apple future proofing more than anything. And that’s okay. The iPhone 5s is still blazingly fast. Touch ID works great for me and it irritates me to have to type in a passcode on my iPad Air.

As for the iPhone 5c, I was very surprised by the build quality. It isn’t cheap at all and feels great in your hand. I almost actually prefer the feel of holding it to the iPhone 5s. I’ve recommended it to anyone who is new to iPhone who doesn’t need the latest and greatest and they’ve all loved it.

Both the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c are great phones. The only thing I was somewhat disappointed with was the flash on the iPhone 5s. I had high hopes that nighttime photography would be improved with the new flash. It hasn’t been and I still avoid using the flash whenever possible.

Other than that, I have no complaints and feel the iPhone 5s is exactly what I expected it to be. For me, Apple’s headliner this year was the iPad Air, not the iPhone 5s.

Peter Cohen

The iPhone 5s doesn't look remarkably different than the iPhone 5 that replaced it, but differences become apparent when I run apps on it - games, especially real bleeding-edge stuff like Infinity Blade III, run with incredible graphics quality. I've also been really impressed by the iPhone 5s's camera; much better in low light conditions, dramatically improved flash and really cool slow-motion capture. It's the first iPhone I've used that doesn't make me feel like I'm fighting to get a good picture. Also, Touch ID on the iPhone 5s has been an absolute game changer for me. Now I get frustrated using iOS devices that don't automatically unlock when I hold my thumb over the home button - so much so that Touch ID is one thing that's keeping me from pulling the trigger on a new iPad, as much as I want one.

Richard Devine

The best thing I can say about moving from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 5s is that there's nothing that would make me want to go back. Battery life is at least as good, since rarely do I struggle to get through a day on a single charge, the camera is a distinct upgrade, and arguably I'd say it holds a better data signal where I live. The last point is something I often struggled with on my old iPhone 5, so it's pleasing that things seem to be better.

It really has been the complete package. TouchID continues to amaze me, it only fails when I fail (make sure you wash your hands after eating a burger!) and my only issues are related to software. That I can live with, because Apple can fix software issues relatively easily. I said it before and I'll say it again; the iPhone 5s is still the best phone I've used this year.

Derek Kessler

I, with about 500 of my closest friends, lined up three months ago at the Cincinnati Apple Store to purchase a brand new iPhone 5s. While the process of acquiring and activating the 5s was something of a debacle for me (Hi, Verizon!), within a week everything got sorted and I walked out of the store with a new iPhone.

Coming from an iPhone 5, the 5s hasn’t proven to be an Earth-shattering update for me. The fingerprint scanner has added a new level of security to my life, for as much as I always advocated for securing devices and using strong passwords, I never ever put a PIN lock on my iPhone. But Touch ID made it too damn easy to not. It took a while to fully reprogram my brain, but now I instinctively expect all iPads and iPhones to unlock with a pause of my thumb.

The 5s camera is obviously better, especially in low-light situations. I’m not sure if it’s the fault of software or hardware or if I’m just getting old and creaky, but it seems harder for me to capture a photo without shake-induced blur than before. I’m aware of the rapid-fire auto-select option, but I tend to forget (even if I use a similar tool by default on my proper dedicated camera).

Apart from that, not much has changed from my iPhone 5 experience. The iPhone 5s is still fast, it’s still lightweight, and on most days I throw it on the charger with more than enough juice left over. Just the other day I upgraded my parents from their old 4S units to 5s iPhones (Merry Christmas!) and they were blown away by the difference in all regards (especially weight and the addition of LTE to their lives, even if it is on Sprint’s limited network).

Like the iPhone 3GS was to the 3G and the iPhone 4S was to the 4, the iPhone 5s isn’t a revolution compared to the previous generation 5. Nobody should have expected it to be such. This is how Apple works - iterating to faster, better, stronger, lighter devices. They do it across their line-up. You can trace the design lineage of a current generation MacBook Pro all the way to the old titanium-shelled PowerBook G4 of 2001. The iPhone’s lineage isn’t quite as deep, but it still exemplifies Apple’s modus operandi: iterate iterate iterate.

Joe Keller

Three months in, I'm still doing more on my iPhone 5s than I did on my 4s. These are things that I used to do on my iPad, like catch up on Twitter after a long time away or reading news. Everything is still rock-solid, and apps still open quickly, and run smoothly. Games especially run better than they did on my 4s. I'm still getting good performance out of my battery, even after a day of heavy use.

Touch ID is still a standout feature for me, and I use it every day. Even if you don't want to lock your phone with it, I would still suggest turning it on for iTunes purchasing alone. In the past three months, I've adopted a new, very complicated iTunes password, and between 1Password and Touch ID, I don't have to worry about forgetting it. The only times I'm prompted to re-enter my iTunes password now are following a complete shutdown and restart of my phone, which I do rarely. And yes, I do sometimes try to unlock my iPad by putting my thumb on the Home button, always without success.

Kevin Michaluk

Things I'm loving:

1. I like GOLDDDD!!! Seriously, I do like the champagne gold color. The color can really change depending on the light. If the sun catches it the right way, it becomes a beautiful shade of sparkling rose gold that's almost mesmerizing.
2. Touch ID. Really this is the #1 thing I love about the iPhone 5s. It angers me that my iPad Air doesn't have Touch ID. It's already habitual, so nearly every time I pick up my iPad I forget it doesn't have to have it. One thing I have noticed recently though is that it doesn't seem to work as fast or as well in cold weather (we're talking Winnipeg cold weather). I'm not sure if it's just me, or maybe this is a thing - could be when I'm trying to use the phone with frozen hands my fingerprints look different. Either way, it just doesn't seem quite as responsive in the cold.
3. The camera. It really rocks, not just for the quality of the photo but for the camera app's speed of use. Compared to other phones I'm using these days (Z30, Galaxy S4, Note 3, Lumia 920), I just find the camera focuses so much faster than on other phones. The new UI in the camera is app is really efficient and I love that square photos are now there. Also loving slo-mo. I really wish there was a countdown timer built into the app though. I get that I could just record video and do a screen grab, but sometimes you just need a quick countdown for the perfect arms-fully-extended selfie!
4. The eye candy. I'm a big fan of "moments of charm" and iOS 7 full of them. I like the particle engine UI stuff going on. And possibly the coolest and creepiest is when you go into FaceTime and the camera puts a blurry you as the background. Not quite as original, but I always like the blizzard animations in the weather app too - lord knows I see that screen often enough.
5. iOS 7 efficiency. For years I've said that BlackBerry is for people who have sh!t to do and need to get things done, while iOS is for people who have time to kill and are looking for things to do. With iOS 7, I'm finding a lot more efficiency finally coming into the OS. It almost feels like Apple has some ex-BlackBerry engineers working for them these days. Two examples: when I'm first sending a single photo as an attachment, I love that I can scroll through and select more right there; the Collections view in the photo app is not only fun, it's fast! I'd still rank BB much higher in terms of pure get it done efficiency (and multi-tasking on iOS is still too slow), but it's a big step in the right direction for iOS. I can at least use iOS 7 without wanting to throw it out a window.

Things that irk me:

1. The short power cord. Would it really kill Apple to include a longer power cord? I haven't measured it up to every other cable that comes with every other phone I own, but I'm pretty sure the iPhone cord is foot shorter than most, if not more. I mean, if they're going to go with proprietary tech (lighting rather than microUSB), at least put some length on the cable.
2. The small screen. I know this is personal preference (everybody has their own smartphone hierarchy of needs), but the iPhone's display is really, really, really feeling small these days. If you only use the iPhone and no nothing else it's fine. But if you start using a phone with a bigger display and pick up an iPhone after that, it feels like it's made for toddlers. Too dang small. Having a small screen is good for one handed typing, but after having used all sizes of phones I'm at the point where I think it's just too small now for me. I'd definitely prefer an iPhone with a bigger display.
3. The case conundrum. I'm never quite comfortable with the iPhone 5s. If I don't put a case on it, I find it incredibly slippery and I drop it and have dropped it several times now (it just flies out of my hands). It feels good in the Apple leather case that I bought for it, but then I get ticked off at night when I go to put it on the charging dock I bought from Apple which doesn't work a case inserted. And that case is a pain in the butt to take off. Of course, the Apple employee I bought it from didn't warn me that the case wouldn't work with the dock when I bought both at the same time. You'd think a company like Apple would give more thought to how their OEM accessories worked together in harmony. Instead, it's like they worked hard to figure out how to make them infuriate me.
4. Multitasking (aka switching between apps FAST). Even though it's improved on iOS 7 (at least you can close apps by swiping them away and not holding for two seconds on an app then x'ing it off), I find the whole switching between apps process to be incredibly slow. This is especially the case compared to BlackBerry 10, but just in general it's slow. iOS 7 has added a lot more gestures into the interface, but they really need to add some quicker ways to get around for power users. I get that the current system is simple and easy for people to learn. But it's just that, simple.
5. AirDrop doesn't work with my Mac. WTF?! How the hell can AirDrop exist both on Mac and on iOS, have the same name, but the iOS versions don't talk to the Mac versions. And how the heck is the average user supposed to know that?
6. It takes way too long to organize the homescreen (and why only 9 apps in a folder?!). I don't understand why Apple hasn't solved this problem yet. People install tons of apps on their iPhone, but then it gets soo messy - you just can't find things. So you organize into folders. But the process of doing this takes soo long. I dread it. I just install things. I finally bit the bullet while on a recent overseas flight and spent 3 hours getting all my apps moved around and into folders. There really should be some sort of desktop utility for this. And once I do it, it should remember it for ever and ever and ever.
7. Notifications drop down. I find it really useless. Just as I praised iOS 7 above for getting more efficient, implementations like this make me think they don't have a great philosphy and are just throwing things at iOS 7 like a bandaid to make sure it feels current. It's quicker to just jump into apps than to swipe down and keep scrolling and tapping through all of the Today/notifications content. And not having a clear all in the All section is dumb. I have scroll and tap the X and scroll and tap the X again to clear out notifications for each app. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb.

I definitely think this is the best iPhone yet and for a lot of people it will be the best smartphone for them. It's simple enough to pick up learn how to use, and the iOS 7 eye candy makes it fun to use. Just don't take that to mean it's the best smartphone full stop. There is still a lot of room for improvement.

Rene Ritchie

Up until September the only phone my mom wanted was the free Samsung flip offered her by Rogers. Then she saw "Better Together", the Apple commercial that showed how iOS 7 and the iPhone 5c looked and worked as one. Her eyes lit up. It was Warhol. She wanted one immediately. She's been using the iPhone 5c for the last 3 months and loving it. Where previously she never - not ever - texted, now she sends iMessages replete with Emoji every day. Where previously she kept her phone off except for cases of emergency, now she uses it to read iBooks - synced with her iPad - and to find things out on the web, and to take and share photos of the miraculous things she's so adapt at finding in the world around her. In short, she loves it, and as she discovers new things she can do with it, she loves it more. In that regard, it gave Apple the new audience they wanted, but it gave my mom something more - the first phone she wanted, and a device that extended her connection not only to the internet, but to her family. 3 months later, and she's not only happy with the performance, durability, and capability of the iPhone 5c, she's enamored with it.

As for me, I've been enjoying the hell out of the iPhone 5s. The A7 processor is ridiculously over powered but as I play around in 64-bit djay2 or go full on OpenGL eS 3.0 with Infinity Blade 3, I have to stop and do a reality check and remind myself it's a phone I'm holding in my hands. The new camera manages to capture even more great shots in an even wider range of circumstances, and Slo-Mo especially has been a hit with family and friends. Touch ID, as I've said before, is identity rather than security, but is so good at what it does I want it on my house. I could easily imagine myself with a 4.3-4.7-inch iPhone next year. But for this year, everything else is so good, from hardware to software to apps, I'm still reaching for my 5s exponentially more than my Nexus 5 or Lumia 1020.

iOS 7 deserves separate mention though. It's still hauntingly beautiful in some places, totally unfinished in others, and bewildering in far too many. It improves the experience in a vast array of ways, but gums it up in some really frustrating ways. It was the shortest development cycle and the most radical design change in iOS history, too factors which do not play nicely together. There's so much good here, both in concept and execution, that I"m happy to extend Apple some grace in getting it finished, but they need to move faster. It's the end of 2013 as I write this and iOS 7.1 is only in its second beta. Maybe, like the OS itself, the way in which it's updated and released needs to evolve to better match the capabilities of the digitally native world as well?

Your 3-month later review?

As always, yours is the most important voice here. If you've been using an iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c, let us know how it's been working for you. Day in, day out, month after month, what have you loved, what have you liked, and what, if anything, has let you down?

We heard from Virgin Media UK a couple of weeks ago regarding their plans to start selling the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on November 22, and now we've got the pricing to go with it. Sales will be available in-store, online and over the phone and the iPhone 5s will begin at £69 on-contract for all three models.

The iPhone 5c will cost £29 for the 16GB model, and £69 for the 32GB version. The upfront cost of the iPhone 5s is the same for the three different storage sizes, and the additional premiums are absorbed into the monthly tariff cost. Since Virgin Media is an MVNO as well, at this point neither iPhone will be able to get any 4G LTE.

For more details on the pricing for the respective iPhone models hit up the source link below. Any Virgin Media customers out there thinking of pulling the trigger?

Source: Virgin Media

Since I've gotten my iPhone 5s, I haven't taken a ton of video, but I've switched to video mode enough to know that I feel as if video quality isn't so great. After asking around and performing a quick internet search, it appears that I'm not alone either. Some people seem to have the issue, while others don't. Here are some sample shots of what I'm experiencing with low-light video...

The screenshots below are a comparison between my iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in the exact same lighting conditions, same environment. At first I thought about getting my iPhone 5s swapped but upon testing two other iPhone 5s' in the house, they seem to both produce the same issue. The iPhone 5c doesn't seem to have it, even though I have seen some sketchy results here and there. I even tried in the above photo to find a better focus point on the 5s to change the exposure, it just wouldn't budge. Apple doesn't boast improvements in video quality for the iPhone 5s, just photo. Perhaps this is why?

I can't help but feel that the larger aperture, better sensor, and 64-bit processor in the iPhone 5s would help, not hinder the quality of video, even if there weren't improvements made specifically to benefit video capture. What do you guys think?

Here's more examples of iPhone 5s photo quality compared to video, in my experience:

I'm inclined to think this is a software issue since I'm seeing the problem on quite a few iPhone 5s', not just one or two. I'll be interested to see what you guys think and if you're having issues as well, so let us know!

When Brian Klug joined me on the Vector podcast last week, I asked him if including the Apple A7 chipset in both the iPhone 5s and the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini meant the phone was way overpowered, or the tablets were way underpowered. He answered in the best way possible - that the phone was ridiculously overpowered. As part of his iPad Air review, Brian's colleague, Anand Lai Shimpi, puts some context to that ridiculousness. From AnandTech:

As John Gruber pointed out on Daring Fireball in his review, it's roughly the same amount of raw power as a 2010 MacBook Air. That's the machine I primarily ran iMore on for a year. And now that's in my phone, and in my tablet. Insane.

Pop open Wikipedia and go read Anand's whole review.

Source: AnandTech

The space gray iPhone 5s appears to have been the most popular model in the United States in the first month after launch. The silver model was the second most popular, while gold was third. Though the iPhone 5s has been difficult to find for many, the silver and gold models have faced greater supply constraints than the space gray model, contributing to its popularity. This data comes from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, by way of MacRumors:

CIRP also found that blue was the favorite iPhone 5c color, coming in at 27%, ahead of white (25%), green (21%), pink (20%), and yellow (7%). When breaking down color preference by gender, men preferred the space gray iPhone 5s to the silver or gold, while women preferred the silver model. Men generally chose the blue or white iPhone 5c, while the pink model did well amongst women.

It's highly probable that this data is somewhat skewed by that fact that many people would have purchased an iPhone 5s when they could rather than wait for their preferred color. A more accurate picture of consumer demand for these devices will undoubtedly emerge as supplies of these devices normalize.

What color iPhone 5s or 5c did you get? Was it the one you wanted? Let us know in the comments.

via MacRumors

If you're curious about the internal workings of the iPhone 5s, we've got the ultimate photo gallery for you from cracking open the iPhone 5s all the way down to what's underneath the logic board shields, including the Apple A7 chip itself. I even threw in some photos of the A6 chipset from the iPhone 5c just for comparison's sake. So click through and enjoy the iPhone 5s in all it's silicon glory!

When it comes to comparing the iPhone 5s to previous models, it's definitely an iterative design that builds upon its predecessor, the iPhone 5. Here are the most notable changes I've seen in the iPhone 5s:

• Flash component for the rear camera is now located on the volume/mute switch assembly and is completely separate from the rear facing camera assembly
• Tape added to the back side of the display assembly over the front facing camera assembly and display shield
• Earpiece speaker now has four contact points on the front facing camera assembly cable instead of the two contact points previously found in the iPhone 5
• Interconnector cables that were found in the iPhone 5 running along the top of the board are now gone, and good riddance. They broke far too often.

Apple has debuted their first iPhone 5s commercial, called Metal Mastered, and not surprisingly it focuses on gold. Based on the video originally shown off during the WWDC 2013, it uses Terminator 2-style liquid metal morphing FX to literally pour the gold iPhone out onto the screen. Here's the caption:

Typically Apple would show off new features like the improved iSight camera, Touch ID, or iOS 7, and indeed they've already made videos for all of those things, just not commercials. Like the iPhone 5c's first commercial, they seem to want to start with materials this time, specifically the new gold metallic finish.

It's far more brand-centric, and almost more fashion-centric. Is this a new direction, or simply an introduction with the rest to follow?

Somewhat delayed compared to other American carriers, but finally word has dropped that U.S. Cellular will begin offering the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c from November 8. The 5th largest carrier has been beaten to the punch by several smaller carriers, but U.S. Cellular subscribers will no doubts be delighted that the wait is almost over.

Until now, U.S. Cellular has failed to carry the iPhone, turning down an opportunity to take it on board in 2011. There's no indication at this time of pricing or plans, but it's likely not going to be too different to the big four. So, U.S. Cellular customers out there, are you excited to finally get the iPhone?

via TechCrunch

Apple has released its first magazine advertisment for the iPhone 5s. The ad, on the back of this week's issue of The New Yorker, features an iPhone 5s in gold, with the photograph of the device focused on the Touch ID sensor. The text of the ad reads:

The ad in The New Yorker is running with T-Mobile US branding alongside Apple's own, and the same ad is running in Entertainment Weekly and Sports Illustrated but with Sprint instead of T-Mobile. This is the first major advertisment for Apple's new flagship phone.

While Apple has been advertising iPhone 5c fairly heavily recently, the iPhone 5s has yet to receive similar treatment.

If you haven't upgraded to iPhone 5s yet, does the ad push you any closer?

Whether you've cracked the glass or your LCD isn't functioning correctly, replacing the entire front assembly on the iPhone 5s will knock out both problems and get you back in working order in no time. The good news is, if you've replaced the screen on an iPhone 5 before, the iPhone 5s isn't too much different.

Follow along and we'll get your iPhone 5s looking brand new again in no time!

Tools & parts

There are lots of parts suppliers out there but not all of them are created equal, especially fly by night Amazon and eBay resellers. iMore recommends using only quality and genuine parts from a reputable supplier like iFixYouri. They have quality parts, tools, and much more for all your repair needs.

Here are direct links to all the parts and tools you need to complete this particular repair:

• Replacement iPhone 5s screen
• iPhone 5s tool kit
• Razor blade (not necessary, but recommended)

Note: Some people have trouble getting the screen off with a suction cup if it is extremely spidered. This why we recommend picking up a razor blade. We will show you an alternate way of removing the display.

Power off your iPhone 5s

Before performing any repair on any device, always remember to power it off. Simply hold down on the Power button until you see Slide to Power off. One you're sure your iPhone 5s is turned off, proceed to the next section.

Remove the dock screws

There are two security screws that secure the screen to the frame and they sit on each side of the dock connector. Use your 5-point security screwdriver to remove them. They are both the same size so it's okay if you mix them up.

Remove the broken display

1. Place your suction cup slightly above the Home button assembly and secure it to the screen.

2. Holding the iPhone in place with one hand, gently pull upwards on the suction cup until you free the bottom of the screen but do NOT pull up all the way at this point as a cable running to the Touch ID sensor is still connected. You only want to separate the screen about an inch at this point.

3. Now that you have a clear view of the cables, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to carefully remove the metal shield covering the Touch ID cable.

4. Make sure you don't lose the metal guard that covers the Touch ID connector.

5. Again, use the pointed edge of your spudger tool in order to disconnect Touch ID.

6. You can now safely swing the display up more in order to see where it is connected to the board.
7. Remove the four screws holding down the shield that covers the display cables. To do this, use your #000 screwdriver.

8. Once all four screws are removed, carefully remove the shield and set it aside.

9. Now use your spudger tool in order to remove the three cables shown in the image below. You'll need to remove the two off to the far right in order to reveal the third and final cable, which sits below them.

10. The display assembly should now be free from the body of the phone. Go ahead and set everything but the display assembly aside now.

Note: We used the suction cup method here but note that if the screen is extremely spidered, you may not be able to get a firm grip with a suction cup. If that's the case, carefully work your way around the bottom of the phone between the frame and display assembly with a razor blade until you can gently pry up using the flat end of your spudger tool instead. We recommend using plastic razor blades if you can find them since they won't cause damage to the finish of the iPhone's frame.

Transfer small components

If you've ever replaced a display on an iPhone 5, you're probably already aware that screen replacement assemblies come pretty much barebones. This means you'll need to transfer the components and shields from the old assembly to the new one.

1. Remove the top right screw holding the Touch ID cable in place using your #000 screwdriver. There is a tiny metal guard underneath, make sure you hold it in place so the cable doesn't spin or tear underneath it. Also make note of the orientation of this guard as you'll need to replace it again during re-assembly.

2. Once you've gotten the top screw out and set that and the guard aside, you can fold back part of the Touch ID cable in order to remove the two screws holding in the shield that sits above the Home button. Again, use your #000 screwdriver.

3. You can now remove the metal shield and set it aside.

4. Lastly, very carefully use your spudger tool to start prying up the Home button assembly which is held in with a bit of adhesive. Be very careful doing this as it's easy to tear cables that run to the Touch ID sensor.

5. Once you've broken all the adhesive under the Home button gasket, the entire Home button assembly should lift out of the screen assembly, Touch ID still attached.

6. Now follow this section of steps in reverse order to place the Touch ID cable and Home button assembly into the new display.

1. Remove the two screws holding the earpiece speaker and bracket in place from the top of the assembly. You can also remove the one screw that sits to the right and a little below this as well. This holds the heat shield in place on the back of the screen. For this, use your #000 screwdriver.

2. Carefully loosen the earpiece bracket and lift it upwards. Note that there are clips on each side that you may need to bend outwards slightly in order for the bracket and earpiece to come out. Don't pull hard as you may break or bend the bracket.

3. Set the earpiece and bracket aside.
4. The front facing camera assembly cable is folded under where the contact sits in the frame. Carefully unfold the portion shown in the photo and pull it out of the frame gently.

5. Underneath where the earpiece sat, gently use your spudger tool to simply loosen the right side of the cable from the front of the display. Don't pull too hard as you may tear it. Just loosen it at this point. Take special care not to scratch or damage any components on the underside of the cable as this is where your proximity sensor sits.

6. Now remove the four screws that run along the side of the heat shield. They are all the same size so you can group them together.

7. Gently remove the heat shield and front facing camera assembly together. Be careful to not tear any cables while removing any adhesive or dislodging components from the old display. For this, we recommend either an opening tool the flat edge of a spudger that doesn't present a risk of accidentally tearing a cable. There is tape attaching the shield to the cables as you can see in the photo below. It is much easier to simply transfer the whole section together than separate them.

8. Once the shield and camera assembly are both free from the old assembly, follow this section of steps in reverse to transfer everything to the new assembly.

Re-assemble your iPhone

Now that you've gotten everything transferred over from the old broken display to the new one, simply follow the steps in the Remove the broken display section in reverse order to attach the new display.

Take note that there are small clips that run along the top of the display that you'll need to line up in order for it to snap down correctly. You can clearly see them in the photo above. Don't force the display if it isn't snapping into the brackets along the side. Make sure you're lining up the top correctly and try again. If the top doesn't want to sit correctly, make sure the earpiece bracket is sitting correctly as it the clips on the side aren't completely flush, it will cause issues with seating the screen properly. Make sure you check all these points before pushing down on the display.

Replace dock screws

Now that the display is back in place, use your security screwdriver in order to replace the two screws on either side of the dock connector.

Test the new screen

It's now safe to turn your iPhone 5s back on. If all went well, you should see an Apple logo. Once the iPhone 5s finishes booting up completely, make sure you check the following functions since the components involved were transferred and moved around:

• Make sure the new display doesn't have any dead pixels or ghosting issues.
• Check touch sensitivity to make sure the new digitizer doesn't have any dead spots. I do this by pulling up a keyboard and typing every letter on it.
• Place a test call and make sure the proximity sensor and earpiece are working okay.
• Launch the Camera app and flip the camera around to test the front-facing camera.
• Lastly, test Touch ID and make sure it seems to be working okay. It's a good idea to pop into settings and add a new fingerprint just to make sure the reader is doing what it should do.

If all of the above checked out okay, you're good to go!

Apple made a re-entry to the accessories market with the launch of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, one of which is the range of pretty awesome looking leather cases for the 5s. One problem – much less obvious if you got the black – is that leather attracts dirt. General dirt, grease, the stain from the inside of your jeans pocket, it's almost impossible to prevent.

Indeed, I picked up a (Product) RED leather case for my own iPhone 5s around 10 days ago, and it's already looking a little second hand. But, think about the leather seats inside a car. They get dirty, and a little tired, but they also get cared for, cleaned and treated to keep them looking their best and prolonging the usable life. The Apple iPhone 5s case isn't a cheap phone case, so it's not an unusual idea to apply the same tactics to caring for it, right?

So, if you've got any tips or tricks you've already tried to help keep your case looking its best, we want to hear from you. Personally, for light staining and general dirty marks, I find regular old baby wipes can be a useful thing to keep lying around. Especially if you've got a few leather products in your household.

So, jump into the comments below with your own experiences, tips and tricks. Or perhaps you're perfectly OK with the 'distressed' look achieved after many days in a jeans pocket? Or maybe you avoided the leather cases for this very reason? We'd love to hear from you!

I've said numerous times over the last year or so that only Apple could have made the iPhone 5 (from which both the current iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c are derived). That's earned me my fair share of raised eyebrows and heckles, largely because I've never taken the time to explain what I mean by that. Here's the explanation: No other company on earth right now could, nor likely would if they could, make a device that packs as much technology into as relatively small a frame, at such high a quality, as Apple did with the iPhone 5. And that statement can be true whether you think positioning themselves to be able to make an iPhone 5 was brilliant, or stupid. Here's why:

• How many other manufacturers are capable of spinning their own, custom silicone like the Apple A6 and Apple A7? Most just throw whatever Qualcomm's making into their phones. Yet the A6 and A7 let Apple tune power and performance explicitly for iOS 7, create the image signal processor (ISP) that lets the iSight camera outshoot rivals with much better optics, and provide the secure enclave for Touch ID.
• How many other manufacturers are capable of shrinking down a camera to fit into the ludicrously thin chassis of the iPhone 5 series? Some add unsightly camera bulges, others ship crappy cameras. Yet Apple shaved off a significant amount of the z-index from the iSight camera and actually managed to improve on the quality of images it produced.
• How many other manufacturers are capable of producing displays as advanced as the in-cell Retina? Some go OLED and even PenTile to save battery life and improve yield rates at the expense of image and color fidelity. Apple fused the touch layer with the screen to create a single component that not only kept the quality possible from LED backlit LCD with in-plane switching (IPS) but reduced glare and improved overall fidelity.
• How many other manufacturers are capable of producing aluminium unibody chassises? Or more pointedly, of producing the machines that manufacture aluminium unibody chassises to the level of precision, at the level of volume, required to perfectly match hundreds of millions of units? Apple is using cameras to best match RF windows into frames, and diamonds to polish chamfers.
• How many other manufacturers are capable of engineering 10 hours of battery life on a phone that small? Other manufacturers can't make the "mini" versions of their phones anywhere nearly as small as the iPhone 5 platform, never mind their flagship phones. Yet Apple, who - until next year - believes small, one-handed phones are of primary importance, who can't hide giant batteries beneath big displays, who won't switch to OLED but will stick to a single radio process, who won't include "sleep time" in their "full day battery" estimates, gets 10 hours out of their tiny package.

Those are just the most obvious example of how strongly held beliefs, combined with the willingness to invest early and do hard things, positioned Apple to be able to make the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5s. Those phones are the result of a lot of very complicated moving pieces put into motion over a long period of time. Those phones are non-trivial.

It's brought Apple problems, of course. Antennagate. The chipping and scratching on the slate anodization. It took a generation to fix those and other things.

And other companies do great things as well. Nokia's build quality is amazing. But they don't make their own chips. Samsung's processors are impressive. But their build quality still tends towards the creaky. HTC's panels and speakers are fantastic. But they don't make their own operating system. They each have priorities and areas of excellence. But none of then, so far, have seen the value in doing all of the pieces Apple's done, including design from the chipset on up, manufacturing from the machinery on down, and experience from the atoms to the bits. Maybe that's changing. Maybe Google buying Motorola and Microsoft buying Nokia are signs that's changing.

Integration alone isn't the same, however. Palm was integrated. BlackBerry is integrated. Both floundered. Samsung isn't, and they're doing incredibly well, at least in market share if not in overall product quality (TouchWiz is painful).

Maybe that makes everyone else smarter than Apple, better able to see what they really need to own and what they can farm out, what they need to engineer and what they can work around, what should involve effort and what shouldn't. But as it stands today, no one, not Samsung, not Nokia, not HTC, not Motorola, not BlackBerry, not anyone else in the world could have manufactured an iPhone-class device. None of them invested in as much, early enough, to have all the elements in-house and able to execute at scale, and profitably so. That last one is the kicker. Apple's doing all of the above, and still making tons of money doing it, in an industry where almost no one else is making any.

Maybe that doesn't matter. If you think the iPhone is small or otherwise sucks, it obviously doesn't matter to you. If you like the iPhone, however, you're probably pretty happy Apple went to all the trouble to make it.

On a recent trip to the Scottish Highlands, National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson decided to leave his Nikon DSLR camera at home and, instead, see what the iPhone 5s would allow him to capture. Turns out, a lot - and more than he expected. From the National Geographic's Proof:

Richardson said that what surprised him the most was that the iPhone 5s iSight photos didn't look like compromises - they just looked good.

Check out his article for more, and @jimrichardsonng on Instagram for all of his fantastic iPhone 5s photography.

Source: Proof via Phil Schiller

For a while now we've been seeing ourselves, and hearing from a lot of you about the magnometer (digital compass) in the iPhone 5s and how it's consistently presenting abnormal results, even by digital compass standards. Now I lack science powers enough to understand exactly how it's supposed to work, but ever since it launched in Android devices and the iPhone 3GS, I've never had great results with it. Frustrating, figure-8-circling, direction spinning results, yes. Great, no. But with the iPhone 5s, not great seems to have been taken to all new levels. Pun somewhat intended...

We've now done a bunch of comparisons since the the iPhone 5s launched, on iOS 7, 7.0.1, and 7.0.2, next to both the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c, and it does indeed look like the iPhone 5s is off-level by a few degrees. As to compass direction, we're hard pressed to ever get multiple devices to agree which way, exactly, north lies. Our iPhone 5s forums are filled with members reporting exactly the same problem.

The compass inaccuracies aren't new to the iPhone 5-series, of course. Like I mentioned above, the technology itself, separated out from the rest of the motion sensors on the device, seems far, far better suited for gross measures than anything that needs pin-point accuracy. So, turn-by-turn navigation while a car is moving and everything else in CoreLocation can support it, perfectly fine. Trying to figure out how to take three steps due east, almost impossible. The level, however, just seems incorrectly set and en masse.

If it's a problem with software calibration, a future update, like the forthcoming iOS 7.1 should be able to fix it. While it will never be perfect, it should at the very least be as good as other models. So here's the take away:

• Digital compasses aren't accurate enough to serve as scientific measures, period. They're convenient as far as converged devices go, and useful when combined with other sensors, but by themselves, never expect them to get you through basic training. Never.
• The iPhone 5s deviates beyond the usual inaccuracies and inconsistencies found in digital compasses, perhaps indicating it needs better calibration, or some other fix from Apple.

That said, poll time. Vote up top and give me the details in the comments below.

The iPhone 5s is the latest, greatest new handset from Apple, and while the HTC One may not be the latest Android handset on the market, by many accounts, it's still the greatest. Unlike many of its Android competitors, it has build quality to rival Apple's, including a similar penchant for aluminium, but also the very Android-like (and not very Apple-like) big screen to go with it. HTC has a reputation for pushing specs to the limit, while Apple has a reputation for pushing experience over specs. Both are fantastic, but the question is - which is the more fantastic for you?

HTC One

HTC has been pushing impressive phones back before they even pushed their own brand. They made the Treo Pro. The original Android G1. The Nexus One. And the HTC One might be the most impressive yet. Like the iPhone 5s, it's got an aluminium shell, though where the iPhone uses glass on the front and on the bottom and top of the back, HTC uses plastic around the sides. Hey, the radio signal has to get out somewhere. It's also got a gutsy camera that sacrifices megapixels for big pixels, which are far more important, and it takes sound as seriously as it does photons, with Beats audio. It's also got Sense, HTC's interface layer, which could be a pro or a con, depending on how you feel about it. Sense UI might not be the most intuitive interface, but you can get the Google Play edition in some countries if you prefer the stock experience.

From Android Central's HTC One review by Alex Dobie:

Stunning design, and some of the best build quality we've seen in an Android smartphone. Near-perfect screen with excellent colors and viewing angles. Incredibly speedy performance, completely lag-free interface and an attractive, streamlined Sense UI. Excellent audio quality from the front speakers (and bundled earbuds). The "UltraPixel" camera performs really well in low light ...

… but the the overall camera experience doesn't quite live up to HTC's hype. Certain features like "Video Highlights" could be better implemented. The wonky button setup takes some getting used to. BlinkFeed is useful but underdeveloped.

The HTC One is an exquisite piece of design and engineering. From the hardware to the software, HTC's new handset incorporates some of the very best design work in the industry. If there's something to be disappointed about, it might be the much-vaunted "UltraPixel" camera. Which is not to say it's bad per se -- in fact, it's pretty good. But it's a long way off being the silver bullet to cure all your mobile photography woes, and though its low-light performance is fantastic, it still lags behind the competition in some other areas.

In spite of this, is it HTC's best phone yet? Without question. And on balance, is it the best Android phone you can buy? For the moment, absolutely.

iPhone 5s

The iPhone 5s didn't take as many risks as the HTC One. It didn't increase the camera pixel size or aperture as much, it didn't ramp up the speakers, and it certainly didn't increase the screen size to anything nearly as big. What it did do is ramp up the insides. It has the first 64-bit mobile processor, the Apple A7, the Apple M7 motion coprocessor, a much improved 8-megapixel iSight camera, increased LTE support, and the Touch ID fingerprint identity sensor. It has the same 4-inch screen, but it also has the newly redesigned iOS 7.

From iMore's iPhone 5s review by your's truly:

The iPhone 5s is twice as fast as last year's already fast model. The improvements to the camera, including new 120fps slow motion video, are considerable. Built on top of a physics and particle engine, iOS 7 is not only a welcome redesign for Apple, but for the industry. Likewise, Touch ID works so well you'll immediately want it on everything.

Aside from the processors, camera, and Touch ID, not much has changed, unless you count new space gray and gold colors. It's still a 4-inch screen, which some people might find small, and while iOS 7 is beautiful in many ways, it's unfinished in some, and without the customization available to Android.

Apple call's the iPhone 5s their most forward-thinking iPhone ever, and on that they deliver. From iOS 7 to Touch ID to 64-bit, it's next-year's technology in your hand today. It's going to be on most carriers, in most countries in the world, and with the usual, unmatched app, accessory, and media support. Ultimately, it's the best iPhone ever. Again. If that's not what you want, Apple has nothing different to offer you. If it is, get it now.

So which one should you get?

HTC One is extreme on the outside. Big screen, big camera pixels, big sound. Apple's iPhone 5s is extreme on the inside. 64-bit processor, amazing image signal processor, huge range of LTE support. Yet neither fundamentally changes the classic iOS vs. Android question.

• If a bigger screen and the ability to customize is more important to you than running iOS and all the high quality apps and accessories that come with it, or if you simply don't like Apple, go with the HTC One.
• If access to the iOS App Store, iTunes, and Apple Stores is more important to you than the power and flexibility that comes with Android, or you simply don't like Android or HTC, go with the iPhone 5s.

That's boiling it down to ridiculously absurd levels, but that's what buying decisions are all about. If you're still not sure, here are full reviews for both phones, and the best forums in the world to ask questions and get answers. Once you've decided, leave a comment below telling me why you went the way you did!

• HTC One review
• HTC One forum
• iPhone 5s review
• iPhone 5s forum

Still undecided?

If you're still not sure what to get, head on over to your local big box or carrier show and ask to try them out. Don't settle for dummy phones, ask to use demo units, and try them out for yourself. If you think you want an iPhone, but aren't sure which model, carrier, color, or capacity, here's a lot more information to help you decide:

The biggest competition in mobile right now is Apple and Samsung, and the biggest rivalry, iPhone 5s vs. Galaxy S4. Both are enormously popular, but both are incredibly different. Integrated vs. licensed, small screen vs. big screen, design-centric vs. spec-centric, and the list goes on and on. Which one is best is a matter of endless debate, but the more important question is - which one is best for you?

Samsung Galaxy S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is the current king of standard-sized Android handsets. And that 5-inches is standard sized now tells you a lot about the state of Android handsets these days! Like the iPhone 5s, the Galaxy S4 has been accused of being more tock than tick - an iterative improvement over last year's monstrously successful Galaxy S3. But what an iteration! Better in almost every way that matters, in addition to the larger, sharper screen, it brings improved performance, a 13-megapixel camera, and the latest version of Samsung's Android presentation layer, TouchWiz.

Here's Android Central's Samsung Galaxy S4 review by Alex Dobie:

The Galaxy S4 is a speedy all-rounder which manages to deliver great performance and a big, bright screen in an ergonomic package. Widespread availability, tons of features and a fairly recent version of Android work in the S4's favor, as does its impressive 13-megapixel camera.

The TouchWiz UI remains a clumsy construction, and still lacks any kind of overarching design language. The bewildering array of settings and features and poor UX design will confuse some users. The occasional performance hiccups are disappointing to see, and the plastic chassis feels cheap.

If you're looking for an Android phone that performs well across the board, ticks every feature box you could possibly imagine and is available on just about every carrier on the planet, the Galaxy S4 is an easy recommendation. But this time around it's clear Samsung has merely stacked incremental updates -- mostly features and internal hardware -- upon its earlier flagship, rather than addressing that device's issues and rethinking what a smartphone should be in 2013. For some folks, that's fine. For others, more exciting products await elsewhere.

iPhone 5s

Like the Galaxy S4, the iPhone 5s takes last year's smash hit to an incrementally new level. It has the first 64-bit mobile processor, the Apple A7, the Apple M7 motion coprocessor, a much improved 8-megapixel iSight camera, increased LTE support, and the Touch ID fingerprint identity sensor. It has the same 4-inch screen, but it also has the newly redesigned iOS 7.

Here's iMore's iPhone 5s review by your's truly:

The iPhone 5s is twice as fast as last year's already fast model. The improvements to the camera, including new 120fps slow motion video, are considerable. Built on top of a physics and particle engine, iOS 7 is not only a welcome redesign for Apple, but for the industry. Likewise, Touch ID works so well you'll immediately want it on everything.

Aside from the processors, camera, and Touch ID, not much has changed, unless you count new space gray and gold colors. It's still a 4-inch screen, which some people might find small, and while iOS 7 is beautiful in many ways, it's unfinished in some, and without the customization available to Android.

Apple call's the iPhone 5s their most forward-thinking iPhone ever, and on that they deliver. From iOS 7 to Touch ID to 64-bit, it's next-year's technology in your hand today. It's going to be on most carriers, in most countries in the world, and with the usual, unmatched app, accessory, and media support. Ultimately, it's the best iPhone ever. Again. If that's not what you want, Apple has nothing different to offer you. If it is, get it now.

So which one should you get?

Neither Samsung nor Apple fundamentally changed the game this year. Each simply got better at playing their existing strategies. And that's okay. But it means the decision remains essentially the same.

• If a bigger screen and the ability to customize is more important to you than running iOS and all the high quality apps and accessories that come with it, or if you simply don't like Apple, go with the Galaxy S4.
• If access to the iOS App Store, iTunes, and Apple Stores is more important to you than the power and flexibility that comes with Android, or you simply don't like Samsung, go with the iPhone 5s.

That's boiling it down to ridiculously absurd levels, but that's what buying decisions are all about. If you're still not sure, here are full reviews for both phones, and the best forums in the world to ask questions and get answers. Once you've decided, leave a comment below telling me why you went the way you did!

• Samsung Galaxy S4 review
• Samsung Galaxy S4 forum
• iPhone 5s review
• iPhone 5s forum

Still undecided?

If you're still not sure what to get, head on over to your local big box or carrier show and ask to try them out. Don't settle for dummy phones, ask to use demo units, and try them out for yourself. If you think you want an iPhone, but aren't sure which model, carrier, color, or capacity, here's a lot more information to help you decide:

Apple has always prided themselves on the little things. The final touches and accents that really give the iPhone the amazing build quality and aesthetic we have come to love. Interestingly enough, Apple seems to have skimped on some of that polish in regards to the iPhone 5s.

If you own an iPhone 5s, flip it over in your hand and take a look at the back, particularly the camera and flash. The iPhone 5 has nice little accent rings around the camera hold and the flash. These are completely missing in the iPhone 5s on all models. It's one of those things that aren't necessary but adds an extra something to the overall design. It also makes me wonder if that could make the iPhone 5s more or less susceptible to dust and debris sneaking its way into the camera lens over time. Perhaps making it flush was intentional to prevent that from happening?

Further, if you take a look at the dock and headphone jack area, Apple matched the aluminum color of the iPhone 5 to the dock screws, Lightning connector, and headphone jack. This isn't the case with the Space Gray iPhone 5s. All the screws are silver this time around. The silver version of the iPhone 5s looks virtually the same as the silver version of the iPhone 5 form the bottom view but it's noticeable on the Space Gray model of the iPhone 5s. The gold version of the iPhone 5s does however have color matched accents. Why go through the trouble of only color matching one model and skimping on another?

Sure, I'm nitpicking over things that in the grand scheme of things don't really make a difference when it comes to how the iPhone 5s works or feels in your hand. Well, except maybe the camera lens difference. We'll see over time if it causes issues in relation to dust in the camera. It's something I saw pretty regularly on the iPhone 5 so hopefully this is Apple's attempt at remedying that.

I think this bothers me because it's the first time I've seen Apple not be thoroughly consistent across the board when it comes to hardware design, especially when it comes to the iPhone in particular. Apple prides themselves on design aesthetic quite possibly more than anything else, so why make little yet glaring omissions on just one model of the iPhone 5s? Let alone their top selling variant. They color matched all the accents on the slate model last year, so why not this year?

If you bought the Space Gray iPhone 5s, does it bother you that your iPhone didn't receive the same color matching treatment that the other two models received? More importantly, would it bother you if weird design decisions like this make their way into other product lines as well?

Every tick has its tock. Every leap forward in design, a follow up in performance, and optics, and special features. Every new iPhone, its S-class successor. That was the story of the iPhone 3GS in 2009 with its speed doubling, video recording, and voice control. Of the iPhone 4S in 2011, with its dual-cores, 1080p, and Siri. And its the story of the iPhone 5s in 2013, with its 64-bits, 120 frames-per-second, and its fingerprint ID sensor. It's the story of taking what is and making it into what's next. Of recognizing most revolutions don't happen during the span of a single keynote, but rather as the result of steady, steadfast innovation, iteration, and improvement.

The iPhone 5s is the new flagship phone from Apple. Like the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4S, the iPhone 5s retains not only the same name, but the same design and many of the same features as its most immediate predecessor. Unlike any iPhone before it, however, the iPhone 5s doesn't get to be all new, all by itself. Not this year. This year it has to share the stage - and the shelves - with the far more colorful, arguably more fun, iPhone 5c. In a time when competition has never been stronger, the iPhone 5s is facing it even from Apple. Yet being the top-of-the-line iPhone has never been about total cost or popular appeal. It's been about being the top-of-the-line iPhone. It's been about giving us what Apple calls their most forward-thinking iPhone ever, in our hands, now, today. But now, today, is it forward thinking enough?

iPhone evolution

Every iPhone stands on the shoulders of the iPhones that came before it. As the old saying goes - can't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been. This is where the iPhone has been, and along with everything Apple is packing into the iPhone 5s, it's as good a sign as any of where they're going.

• iPhone 5 review (September 2012)
• iPhone 4S review (October 2011)
• iPhone 4 Review (June 2010)
• iPhone 3GS review (June 2009)
• iPhone 3G review (June 2008)

iPhone 5s packaging

The iPhone 5s comes in the same style of box Apple's been using since they introduced the product. The boxes are all white, but the color of the phone - black or white - and the two white trims - silver or gold - are reflected by the image on top.

Inside are the usual accompaniments; a Lightning cable and AC adapter, a pair of EarPods and Apple's booklets.

iPhone 5s design and the gold standard

The 2013 iPhone 5s looks almost identical to the 2012 iPhone 5. What external differences there are come down to the new True Tone flash, and Touch ID's inclusion in the Home button. There's now an oval on the back to make room for the dual LED, one white the other yellow, and the rounded rectangle icon on the Home button is gone so that nothing obstructs the fingerprint sensor.

Otherwise, the 4-inch, 1136x640 pixel, 16:9 aspect ratio, 326ppi LED backlit, in-plane switching (IPS), in-cell display remains as gorgeous as ever, presenting text and images as though they're painted into the glass. (If you were hoping for a bigger screen, next year might prove more interesting for you. Likewise, the manufacturing, from lightly textured aluminium unibody with diamond polished chamfered edges to photo-matched glass inserts, remains as perfectly assembled as ever, thin and light to the point where it seems almost unreal.

Keeping the same design for two years running is nothing new to Apple. The 2011 iPhone 4S looked almost identical to the 2010 iPhone 4, and the 2009 iPhone 3GS looked almost identical to the 2008 iPhone 3G.

It's what Apple does. It's what a lot of companies do. It offers huge advantages to the company in terms of product management and manufacturing, and huge advantages to the consumer in terms of accessory compatibility. But, boring. That's the accusation anyway, and the perception. And perception is reality.

It was also the accusation and perception last year, when Apple rebuilt the iPhone 5 from very nearly the atom on up, just to be told it was unimaginative and uninspired. A taller 4-inch screen didn't matter. Faster LTE networking didn't matter. More advanced Lightning connectors not only didn't matter, but infuriated some people. The new, custom processor, the improved camera, none of them mattered to people who were looking for a bigger, more superficial change.

So, facing another S-year, and unprecedented competition, what could Apple do? Give people just exactly the kind of superficial change they'd been demanding.

The original iPhone was aluminum and black, much like all professional level Macs have been aluminum and only aluminum for over a decade. Subsequent iPhones have been black and white, with various polycarbonate, stainless steel, glass, and aluminum materials and treatments thrown in both for design and function. Color, until this year, was reserved for the even more mainstream, more pop-culture iPod line. And while Apple didn't take the iPhone 5s to the same multi-chromatic levels they took its mid-tier sibling, the iPhone 5c, they expand its palette, by just one, and for the first time ever.

Enter gold.

One of the easiest colors to manufacture, Gold has also been the most popular aftermarket color for the iPhone 5. In North America it was glitzy, in Asia, a symbol of prosperity. It also fit with Apple's existing metallic theme for their high-end products.

Not a deep gold, mind you, but a pale one more reminiscent of champagne and set against the same white faceplate and back RF windows that were used last year, and are still used this year, for the silver finish. Because last year's black model proved so susceptible to scratches and chips, Apple also ditched the very hard to anodize slate color for a much easier "space gray" finish. (That's apparently the politically correct - and decidedly more sci-fi - term for gunmetal gray.)

And if you think Steve Jobs would never have done these finishes, boy do I have some gold iPods, and Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power iMacs to show you...

I have a silver iPhone 5, and I used the space gray iPhone 5s briefly before switching to the gold one, which I'll be using going forward. They all look great, and the space gray especially looks and feels more resilient than the slate model last year.

So, Apple gets to keep their two-year design cycle, focus on the internal improvements they'd be focusing on anyway, and people who want to show off that they have the latest, greatest iPhone get a glamorous new gold color that lets them do just that.

Apple A7 64-bit performance and battery life

The Apple A7 system-on-a-chip (SoC) is at the heart of every iPhone 5s. Apple says the A7 is twice as fast at both general purpose and graphics processing as its predecessor, the A6, yet it remains roughly the same size. More interestingly, the A7 is 64-bit - the first 64-bit processor crafted for a consumer smartphone - and it supports OpenGL ES 3.0.

Apple began designing their own chipsets in 2010, licensing the ARM Cortex A8 for the Apple A4. In 2013, Apple switched from licensing a chip to licensing an instructions set architecture (ISA), ARMv7, so they could create their own custom chip, the Apple A6. The CPU was codenamed Swift. It was a 32nm CMOS dual-core Apple processor clocked up to 1.3GHz and they paired it with a triple-core PowerVR SGX543MP3 GPU and 1GB of DDR2 RAM.

Now, with the iPhone 5s, Apple has created their second generation custom CPU, this time codenamed Cyclone. Anandtech sleuthed out the name and deduced many of its likely details. Cyclone is 28nm now, still dual-core and 1.3GHz, but based on the new 64-bit ARMv8 ISA. It's paired with an OpenGL 3.0 capable PowerVR Series 6 (Rogue) graphics processor, potentially the G6430, and 1GB of DDR 3 RAM.

Here are the usual benchmarks, just to put some numbers to the hyperbole. In order, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5 results on Geekbench (CPU), SunSpider (JavaScript), and GFXBench (GPU):

Like capacitive touch screens in a world that's resistive, and Retina displays when all eyes are on standard, 64-bit looks great on a slide, on a website, on a smart sign, and on a box. It sounds advanced. It sounds better than. It sounds leading if not bleeding edge. In a time when superficial public opinion is leaning away from Apple-as-innovator, innovative-sounding messaging could not be any more important.

It can also be confusing, however. Mass media has mostly been told - and passed along - the most obvious consumer-facing benefits of the bit-space, like the ability to address more than 4GB of RAM, and to work on much larger image and video files. It's easy to imagine a future where more powerful iPads and Apple TVs - both of which share the same processor architecture and operating system as the iPhone - can benefit from those capabilities, not to mention the Mac on ARM project at Apple that we might see the fruits of one day. It's harder to see an iPhone with 6 or 8GB of RAM any time soon.

Luckily the Apple A7 comes with several other advantages as well. First, the 64-bit ARMv8 instruction set is just flat out more efficient than the old 32-bit ARMv7 one was, and that efficiency helps. Second, the A7 is providing twice the general-purpose and twice the floating point registers as the A6 processor. Which was plenty fast already. The ability to chew through registers in particular is also a net positive. Registers are the memory units inside CPUs. They're what hold the bits being operated on at the moment. The more bits that can be held at once, the more operations that can be performed at once. And just like keeping bits in RAM is faster than moving them back and forth from physical storage, keeping them in registers is faster than going out to RAM or storage to get them.

Apple has already transitioned iOS 7. That includes native, 64-bit kernel, libraries, and drivers, built-in apps. They also made it as easy as possible for developers to compile for both 32- and 64-bit in Xcode, and will load both 32- and 64-bit frameworks on-device so the transition will be transparent and painless for customers as well.

Likewise, Apple claims the A7 GPU is also twice as fast as the A6. It's arguable whether or not Apple "gets games", and what they do with next-generation iPads, Apple TVs, and future devices remains to be seen. However, while "Console quality" is a term that gets thrown around a lot, 64-bit and OpenGL ES 3.0, shows Apple putting their tech where their mouth is.

It's hard to really appreciate speed until you go back to something that isn't as fast. Be it broadband vs. dialup, LTE vs. 3G, SSD vs. HDD, or a processor that's twice as fast vs. one that now feels twice as slow. But the difference, one you might never have noticed before, becomes instantly apparent. iOS 7 will be pushing the limits of modern smartphone hardware. Increasing those limits will not only make iOS 7 perceptibly better, but it will make the kind of apps iOS 7 can run perceptibly better as well.

All this power does come at a price, of course, and that price is also power. To help mitigate against higher battery demands, Apple has added a bigger battery to the iPhone 5s. 1570 mAh compared to 1440 mAh in last year's iPhone 5. I've only been using it for a week, and alternating between it and the iPhone 5c I've also been reviewing, but based on my use-case battery life has been roughly the same. I take it off the charger at about the same time in the morning, and plug it back in at about the same time at night. If I leave it off the charger at night, I wake up to find standby drain that's slightly higher than what I had on the iPhone 5, but only slightly.

We'll spend some more time testing it, and we'll update with our findings going forward, but I wouldn't expect anything less than any other iPhone has provided in the last few years, and indeed Apple's battery life estimates remain among the most conservative and reliable in the industry for that very reason. That said, aberrations occur, so:

• How to fix battery life issues with iOS 7, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5c

Apple M7 motion coprocessor

The Apple M7 motion coprocessor is Robin to the A7's Batman. Watson to its Sherlock. Chewbacca to its Han Solo. You get the idea. It's something that helps take some of the busy work off the hero's back. It's the sidekick. Codenamed Oscar, Chipworks believes the M7 is Apple's branding for an NXP LPC1800 micro-controller based on an ARM Cortex M3 processor. On the iPhone 5s it does exactly what that branding implies - it collects and keeps all motion data, including the built-in accelerometer, magnometer (digital compass), and gyroscope.

That means, at any given point in time, the M7 coprocessor knows how your iPhone 5s is moving (or not moving), which direction it's facing, and what its orientation is in 3D space. By extension, the system and apps can extrapolate some motion data about you as well. For example, with the M7, when you park and get out of your car, the location of your vehicle could be noted and maps could be switched from driving to walking directions. When you put your iPhone down on the bedside table for the night, network checks could be slowed down so even more power is conserved.

Previously, the main A-series processor would have had to stay awake, or wake up, to do all this, destroying battery life, or it would simply record activity only when it was awake, leaving huge gaps in the motion timeline.

To access all of this data, Apple is providing an updated CoreMotion API to developers. It contextually identifies different activity states, such as stationary, walking, running, and driving, and provides access to a week of historical data immediately. So, instead of a plethora of motion-oriented apps all wanting to stay active in the background to record their own data, each one will simply wake when you want it to, pull the data from the M7 coprocessor, and present it to you just-in-time. And when you get a new app, you don't start from scratch. You get everything already stored on the M7.

That's a far, far more efficient way of handling health, fitness, utility, and novelty apps on both the hardware and software level. Developers can also, if needed, tie into aGPS/GLONASS to add location data to the mix. It's not as power friendly as pure M7 motion data, but it can help create full-blown athletic fitness apps.

Google's Moto X, by contrast, has two coprocessors, a natural language core and a contextual awareness core. That lets it, for example, listen for you to say "Okay Google Now". I'd love it if Apple added a dedicated Siri coprocessor to handle on-device voice parsing and predictive analytics, but Apple decided to focus on the sensor fusion hub this time.

So, could M7 also be used to prevent certain activities, for example, to lock out things like messaging when it detects you're in a car? Possibly but problematically. How would it know if you were driving or merely a passenger? Behind the wheel or at the back of the bus or train? And if it allowed for a manual override to handle those exceptions, what's to stop a negligent driver from using it to continue on their negligent way?

Distracted driving of all kinds is a lethal problem. M7-based lockout, by itself and as presently implemented, however, doesn't seem like a realistic solution. We'll have to see if things like iOS in the Car offer any better alternatives.

Just like GPS/GLONASS apps have to ask your permission to use your location data, M7 apps have to ask your permission to use your motion data. if you change your mind later, you can either re-enable or disable access in Settings > Privacy > Motion Activity.

M7 is only storing that your iPhone is moving and how vigorously, in which direction, and its orientation, and reportedly only for 7 days. If an app or agency were to gain access to that information, they might be able to tell your iPhone had been left still for a long period of time, or had been jostled about at certain time, or moved along a specific path for whatever duration. It's no more or less information than anyone could have gotten before the M7, its just continuous rather than periodic. If that's a concern, don't grant access.

I've bought and used the Nike Fuelband and Jawbone Up and Fitbit and they've always been just one more thing to charge, to carry, and to try not to lose. I already have my iPhone with almost everywhere I go, so why not let it serve as the central hub for quantified-life-style health and fitness services. Instead of a Nike or Jawbone or Fitbit band, I can simply have an app. It also sets the stage for a wider array of motion-related apps in the future. That's beyond exciting.

iPhone 5s Touch ID fingerprint identification sensor

The Home button is incredibly important on a mainstream computing device like the iPhone. Not only is it an easy, physically reassuring way to wake the system, it's an escape hatch that can anybody can use at any time to return to a known state - the Home screen - no matter how frustrated, lost, or confused they feel. It's a safety net. A security blanket. Which is why it makes perfect sense for Apple to use the Home button to introduce their new biometric fingerprint identity sensor, Touch ID.

According to Apple, roughly half of their hundreds of millions of iPhone customers don't use a passcode - a simple 4 digit combination lock - much less a password - a long, strong alphanumeric, potentially pseudo-random string, to secure their devices. That's a problem. It leaves the device open to everything from pranks to snooping, and makes them a better target for thieves,

Yet it's understandable. Entering passwords on mobile has improved over the years, yet mobile keyboards, especially virtual ones, still absolutely suck when it comes to reliably, consistently, precisely entering long, pseudo-random strings. It sucks so much that many people continue to leave passcodes turned off, and keep their iTunes passwords simple and easy to enter. And that's not good for anybody.

With Touch ID, however, you can authenticate and unlock your iPhone, and authorize purchases on the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore with, literally, the touch of your finger. It's less secure than a strong password, but much more likely to be used than even a weak passcode. In the perpetual battle between security and convenience, where many people opt for the ultimate convenience of no security at all, Touch ID aims to do for authentication and authorization what iCloud did for backup and restore - make it easy enough that most people, regardless of whether or not they're tech savvy, will actually use it.

The Touch ID implementation itself looks clever. A highly scratch-resistant sapphire glass lens protects the assembly and focuses the sensor, while a color-matched steel ring surrounds it, waiting to detect your finger. When that's triggered, the capacitive Touch ID sensor activates and takes what's effectively a high-resolution snapshot of your fingerprint. The sensor is orientation independent, and can read a fingerprint in 360 degrees, which makes it fairly robust. A mathematical representations of the snapshot is compared against the mathematical representation of the fingerprint that's stored in the secure enclave on the Apple A7 chipset, and depending on whether or not the characteristics in the arches, loops, or whorls match, a "yes" or "no" token is returned to the system.

If the token is "yes", you're instantly authenticated and your iPhone 5s will unlock or your iTunes purchase will be authorized. Touch ID will also add incremental data from the authenticated snapshot to improve the quality of the existing fingerprint record.

If the token is "no", iOS will shake its interface head at you and make you try again, force a passcode entry, or if you're not you, keep whomever it is locked out of your stuff and your account. (I love, love, love that the interface head-shake from OS X is used in iOS for this. Such a great, charming, communicative metaphor.)

The Touch ID sensor is wafer thin, measuring only 170 microns. However, it can take 550ppi scans, which allows for a good level of detail analysis. It's also capacitive and reads the fingerprint at a sub-dermal level. That means it's not reading the dead skin on the top of your finger, but the new, living skin beneath the surface. That really doesn't mean anything beyond it having the ability to take good scans, however. Half of YouTube is currently filled with people scanning - and using - everything from their nipples to other parts of their anatomy, to animal paws to CSI-style molds to you name it, with Touch ID. If it's capacitive and has an identifiable pattern, chances are it will work. However, it will still be locked to that nipple or paw or mold.

You train Touch ID by holding a finger repeatedly against the Home button, and every time you use it it gets better at recognizing that finger. I had a little trouble with it at first. Your iPhone will buzz when it wants you to tap, and I couldn't get the timing or rhythm right. I wasn't expecting it, so I got skittish and removed to early, then didn't stay long enough, then too long. Then I failed to properly scan one edge when Touch ID prompted me to do the extended coverage pass. Clearly, first times are awkward and never easy. Subsequent training sessions have all gone off without a hitch.

You can also train Touch ID to recognize up to 5 fingers. Either up to 5 of yours, on either hand, or up to 5 of yours, your family members, friends, colleagues, etc. (You can also train more than one finger in each of the 5 slots, if you really want to go to the time and effort, but that's dodgy at the moment and might disappear in a future update.) Multiple fingers, however, are important for environments where an administrator is managing a large number of devices for Enterprise, or in a household where several people might need access to the same device.

Once that's done, you can select in Settings whether you want to enable Touch ID for Passcode unlock, for iTunes and App Store (and iBookstore) purchases, or both. The system won't let you set up Touch ID unless a passcode is set, and set to be required immediately for unlock. (No sense having a biometric door if it's left unlocked.) It'll also make you authenticate via passcode before it'll allow any purchases inside the store. It might seem like a hassle, but it's nothing compared to how often iTunes asked for passwords before Touch ID.

If you reboot your phone, you'll have to enter your passcode to unlock, and to re-enable Touch ID, or your Apple ID to re-enable iTunes purchases. If an unregistered finger is used, Touch ID will return a "no" token. After 5 unsuccessful attempts, you'll have to enter your passcode to unlock and re-enable Touch ID, or your Apple ID to re-enable iTunes purchases. If more than 48 hours have passed since you last used Touch ID, you'll have to enter your passcode to unlock, and re-enable it.

You can use a strong password instead of a 4-digit passcode for added security. However, you can't require the system ask for your passcode or password and Touch ID. In other words, Touch ID can be used to substitute factors (something you are vs. something you know), but it can't be used as part of a multi-factor authentication system (something you are + something you know). Multi-factor authentication is desirable - sometimes mandatory - in government and enterprise.

Because the Apple A7 chipset has built-in support for authentication, the process is lightning fast. Because it's happening in hardware rather than entering the software or online services space, a mathematical representation is being stored rather than the actual fingerprint image data, and only a token is being released, the system looks to be reasonably secure. However, every system is secure until it isn't, so only time can really tell.

Any physical security system can be attacked physically. According to Apple, there's a 1 in 50,000 chance for a random fingerprint match. You can also be overpowered - or legally compelled to - have your finger forced onto the Touch ID sensor. You can be asleep or rendered concussively or chemically unconscious and have your finger placed onto the sensor. You can have fingerprints lifted from the objects you use, scanned and printed at high resolution, and used to spoof the sensor.

Likewise, any informational security system can be attacked informationally. There's a 1 in 10,000 chance for a passcode to randomly match. You can also have your passcode spied on, seduced, intimidated, or otherwise tricked out of you. The single best way to get someone's password is still to ask them for it. No security system is absolutely secure, or you couldn't get into it either. It's all about degrees.

There's also the matter of privacy and identity. Privacy is the single biggest issue of our time, and identity is the next big digital land-grab. Everyone wants to not only know who we are, but be able to prove it. Facebook and Google do it by demanding we broadcast our real names to the world lest we risk being locked out of our own accounts. Apple is doing it with fingerprints, which are intimately more personal, though far less public. And while that may have some advantages, it also has consequences. Using your fingerprint to authenticate and authorize a transaction means it's your fingerprint on that transaction. Sure, fingerprints can be spoofed like passcodes or passwords can be circumvented, but: "I must have left my phone on the table, someone else did [insert potentially embarrassing or illegal thing here]!"

Of course, no one has to use Touch ID. You can opt to still use an old-school passcode or password, or - but please don't - nothing. Some people might not care about that at all, of course. Convenience trumping privacy, and security trumping freedom be damned. Those who are already taping over webcams and microphones will likely want to put an opaque sticker over Touch ID as well.

For most of us, however, Touch ID has a better security-to-convenience ratio than either a 4-digit numeric password or 63-character pseudo-random password. Personally, I read everything I could find, tried to understand it as best as possible, and came to the most informed decision I could. I'm using Touch ID. A lot. And I hope to see it on the iPad line soon, and hopefully one day, the Mac.

Because it really does just work. Occasionally, it misses the first read due to angle or moisture, but 95+% of the time it works so well you forget it exists. That can be momentarily frustrating, for example, if you idly leave your finger on the Home button and unlock before reading your Lock screen notifications, but you can just pull down Notification Center proper. It can also be incredibly frustrating when you reach for an iPad, wait, and then realize you have to enter a passcode. Like an animal.

That's the problem with the future when it works this well. You can't go back.

iPhone 5s iSight camera

Apple's goal when it comes to mobile photography is apparent. They're not interested in the biggest glass or widest range of features. They want to help you take the best photographs you can, any time, and under any conditions you need to take them. If something magical happens, they don't ever want you to miss out on capturing it. They don't want you to have to fret with settings or search for features and miss out entirely, or, if you manage to capture it, be disappointed that it turned out too dark or too blurry, or too soon or too late.

That means they leave a considerable amount of bullet points off the list, but so far it's been difficult if not impossible to argue with the choices they've made. The iPhone 5s iSight camera continues down that path. It makes very specific compromises, given the size, and more specifically the depth, of the device, and yet increases the scope of Apple's "everyday photos" mantra considerably.

Better balance, better exposure, better sharpness, better low-light, less color distortion, less motion blur, and less chance you miss your shot by mere moments.

For general photography, the iPhone 5s camera performs excellently, as expected. It's the same 8 megapixel count as last year's iPhone 5, but the new image signal processor (ISP) in the Apple A7 chipset manages to balance tone and saturation better, and produce truer color. The shutter speed is also impressive. Where before you'd take the picture then wait to see how high you could count before the animation finished and your photo was saved, now you take a picture, the screen flashes, and it's saved. It's so fast I sometimes don't even realize it's happened and I end up taking the shot again. Much of that is thanks to iOS 7's new interface, but part of it is the A7 chipset. For example, it makes focus faster. Apple claims 2x. It's hard to measure, but it's appreciable. That whole chain from "I want to take a photo" to the photo being taken, that race-to-shoot, feels better every step along the way.

From left to right, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5:

In addition to the auto white balance, auto exposure, and face detection features previously introduced, the A7 ISP now creates a dynamic local tone map to better balance highlights and shadows. It's not quite the same as high dynamic range (HDR) - there's still a dedicated mode just for that - but it does provide for images that are less likely to be swampy or blown out. The iPhone 5s camera also does autofocus matrix metering, which means it measures 15 focus zones to make sure it gets the best exposure possible.

From left to right, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5:

Instead of more megapixels, Apple once again focused on better pixels. They increased the size from 1.4 to 1.5 microns, and aperture from f/2.4 to f/2/2. that won't make a huge difference in almost no light (there's a flash for that, see below). But in dimly lit rooms, twilight, and other, common situations, the difference is notable.

Apple has also added electronic image stabilization (EIS) as well. It's not the same as the optical image stabilization (OIS) system some competing phones have been using for a while now. OIS is a hardware solution that stabilizes the lens itself. It does a good job minimizing noise and the effects of your hands shaking, but is still subject to blur when something moves in the scene.

EIS, on the other hand, is a software solution that takes four photos with shorter exposures, selects the sharpest areas of each one, and then combines them into a single, final photo. In theory, this should accomplish pretty much the same thing as OIS, and could conceivably do a better job with slight motion in the scene. However, I tend to like the idea of better capture up front. In a perfect world, we'd have both.

From left to right, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5:

The iPhone 5s' new, dual LED True Tone flash isn't any brighter than the previous single LED. To go brighter, Apple would need to go to technology like Xenon. However, since mobile flash photography stinks no matter the quality of the tiny elements, Apple's trying to go as good a job as they can to help you best capture moments that couldn't be captured without a flash.

The challenge is, even in extreme low light, what light there is can be one of several different types, from twilight to incandescent, tungsten to florescent, and combinations in between. Some are colder, with more of a blue or white cast to them. Some are warmer with more of a yellow or orange cast. A Standard LED flash can't match that range, so Apple has included two. True Tone has a white element for the cooler/blue end of the spectrum, and a yellow element, for the warmer/yellow end. When fired, they can intelligently adjust intensity and color temperature to any one of over a a thousand combinations in order to best match the scene being shot. That allows for better, more natural looking flash photos.

From left to right, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5:

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For panoramas, the A7 allows for faster, 30fps captures, and more importantly, for dynamic exposure that adjusts to changes in lighting continuously from beginning to end. The results are excellent.

From top to bottom, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5:

Apple's version of improving action photography is called Burst Mode, and it's so very typically Apple. With iOS 7 you can hold your finger down on the shutter button and take bursts of photos. On the iPhone 5s with the A7, it will not only burst at 10 frames per second, but the ISP will automatically, in real time, analyze all those photos and select the best shots. From there, the iOS 7 Camera Roll will present you with those selections, including major action moments if any, but also let you drill down into the entire series if you really want to.

So, whether you're trying to get that perfect shot of snowboard acrobatics, or simply that one crisp moment amid the chaos of children, the odds are suddenly in your favor. You get the advantage of multiple shots, without any of the unmanageable overhead.

Though not exclusive to the iPhone 5s, iOS 7 also adds a new square camera mode, and new, subtle live filters: Mono, Tonal, Noir, Fade, Chrome, Process, Transfer, and Instant.

Video recording remains the same 1080p 30fps as previous years, which is fine. Mobile 4K/2160p is starting to appear but is by no means common yet. You can digitally zoom up to 3x while shooting video, but digital zoom is as terrible for movies as it is for still, so I'll stick with sneaker zoom whenever possible. The better addition here is slow motion mode. You access it by swiping to the left of Photo, and past Video, until you get to Slo Mo.

Then, instead of the usual 1080p 30fps, you get 720p 120fps. That's 4x speed, meaning crystal clear 4x slow motion. It would be nice if there was an option for 1080p 60fps as well, but I won't be overly greedy. Yet.

Once you're done, iOS 7 gives you an excellent, intuitive interface to not only clip, but to set slow motion in and out points. Once set, you can save and share it via the usual sheet.

Importing it onto your computer is more of a challenge. If you just pull off the raw video it'll still be 120fps but you'll lose the metadata in and out points you set on iOS. OS X Mavericks will likely address this later this fall, perhaps by keeping and letting you use the iOS metadata. Until then, you can import the full 120fps video into apps like Final Cut Pro X and reset the in and out points using standard tools

Overall it's incredibly easy to use, and a lot of fun. I imagine we'll see a ton of jumping pets, colliding kids, and Reservoir Dogs reenactments, and perhaps some clever bullet time too. At least from me.

iPhone 5s FaceTime HD camera

The iPhone 5s also has a bigger, better FaceTime HD camera on the front. The pixel size has increased to 1.9 microns from 1.75 on the iPhone 5, and Apple's changed to a back illuminated sensor (BSI), which allows it to capture more light.

In daylight, once again, the differences aren't as obvious. However, the iPhone 5s, like the iPone 5c, shows a better range of tons. From left to right, top to bottom: iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPod touch 6.

In low-light the difference is more obvious. From left to right, top to bottom: iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPod touch 6.

When it comes to video, good lighting once again shows how well even the older FaceTime HD cameras show up. Low-light, however, shows where the iPhone 5s ISP really shines, correcting color to a level beyond what even the identically specced iPhone 5c can match.

Unless you take a ton of selfies, or make a ton of FaceTime video calls in low-light - hey, judgement free zone! - it's not a major difference. But, added together it's part of what makes an overall better package.

iPhone 5s LTE and radios

The iPhone 5 brought with it Long Term Evolution (LTE), a cellular networking technology so fast it rivaled many home broadband connections. It was a long time coming, Apple not one to jump on the early, power hungry, battery destroying chipset bandwagons. Their implementation was a pretty good one too, including 3 models, one compatible with CDMA in the U.S. This year, Apple is once again staying conservative in the radio space, not yet embracing LTE Advanced, or Voice over LTE (VoLTE) - though most carriers haven't yet embraced them either - but increasing the overall quantity of LTE bands they support. To do it, Apple's shipping 5 models of iPhone 5s:

• A1533 (GSM): UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25)
• A1533 (CDMA): CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25)
• A1453: CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26)
• A1457: UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20)
• A1530: UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20); TD-LTE (Bands 38, 39, 40)

As with the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c, however, the bands are not enough. Apple won't enable a carrier for LTE unless they have a deal in place. That means an unlocked iPhone 5s can still only be used on a carrier that already offers the iPhone 5s.

Apple keeps an updated list of the countries and carriers with official iPhone 5s LTE support.

• Supported LTE countries

Ally Kazmucha tested the iPhone 5s on AT&T in the Indiana, and I tested it on Rogers in Montreal. Since it's using pretty much the same generation of LTE as the iPhone 5, results on SpeedTest.net are similar, though upload is better on some carriers. On AT&T, from left to right, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5.

On Rogers, from left to right, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 5.

Ally found that the iPhone 5s was slightly more reliable when it came to holding an LTE than the iPhone 5. I found that to be true as well. It would get onto LTE faster, when available, and in some places stayed fine on LTE when the iPhone 5 seemed stuck on 3G.

For people in places where the iPhone 5 didn't support LTE, but the new bands on the iPhone 5s do, then the difference will be far more pronounced - you'll now get LTE where before you got none.

However, the old caveats remain true. LTE still doesn't support simultaneous voice and data, and Apple still chooses not to sacrifice battery life and sully their architecture just to open a second radio channel for Verizon and Sprint in the U.S. That means, just like with the iPhone 5, GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S., and most carriers around the world, will drop data to the still fast HSPA+ when you're on a call, and Verizon and Sprint, which don't support HSPA+ and whose legacy EVDO Rev. A networks also don't support simultaneous voice and data, will simply drop data entirely. (Wi-Fi will still work fine.)

Given that Apple included new, faster, better 802.11ac Wi-Fi not only in the 2013 MacBook Air but also in their new AirPort routers and Time Capsules, I was hoping they'd see fit to include it in the iPhone 5s as well. No such luck.

Despite the advancements of the Lightning cable, the NAND flash storage in the iPhone still tops out well before USB3 speeds, meaning tethered connections aren't getting any faster any time soon. (iOS devices don't use PCI architecture so can't use the much faster Thunderbolt connector Apple ships on Macs.) That leaves Wi-Fi. Both for transferring larger files, and for race-to-sleep (powering down quickly to save battery life), 802.11ac makes a lot of sense on mobile, and Apple's competitors are already pushing ahead with it. Unlike on OS X, however, where Apple's quick to support new networking technologies, the iPhone only just got 802.11n over 5GHz last year, so it appears Apple's conservative radio tendencies extend to Wi-Fi as well.

Bluetooth didn't get an update either, but in this case it's understandable. Eschewing their usual conservatism, Apple introduced Bluetooth 4.0 Low-Energy (LE)) way back in 2011 with the iPhone 4S. And it;s is still best in class. However, BT LE peripherals have come a long way in the last couple of years. Now, you can tap-to-setup an Apple TV, and in the near-future, work with iBeacons for everything from indoor navigation to guided tours, commerce, and more.

iPhone 5s and iOS 7

The iPhone 5s ships with iOS 7, the latest generation of Apple's UNIX-based mobile operating system. While it's clearly not matched to the palette the way the iPhone 5c was, but there's still plenty of cosmetic fun to be had. Sadly, none of the new dynamic wallpapers are exactly the right hue, saturation, or balance for the silver, gold, or space gray iPhones. Since no one but Apple can generate dynamic wallpapers yet, it would have been nice to get a proper set of those included. The still wallpapers, however, include several new selections that pair fantastically well.

In addition to all the new featured tied to the Apple A7, M7, Touch ID, and iSight camera, covered above, iOS 7 includes a complete interface and experience redesign, based in part on a new physics and particle engine, layers of blur and transparency, and starker, more mature text, icons, and control. There are also new services for Siri, a new Today screen for Notification Center, and an entirely new Control Center that allows quick access to Settings toggles, media controls, LED-flash based flashlight, calculator, timer, and camera.

Multitasking has been significantly improved, with a new card-based visualization and just-in-time background access for every app, and AirDrop, while not yet compatible with the OS X feature of the same name, lets you easily share items over peer-to-peer Wi-Fi. Safari is redesigned as well, with a new rolodex interface for tabs, a much cleaner browsing experience, and smarter bookmarks, including the ability to pull all the links from your Twitter feed.

FaceTime audio could do for voice calls what iMessage did for SMS - allow us to communicate without the huge carrier bills that sometimes come with it. And a along with the many new conveniences, there are also a host of new security features to go with them.

For an in depth look at all of that, and more, check out our full iOS 7 review.

• Complete iOS 7 review

iPhone 5s and apps

The iPhone 5s ships with over a score of built-in apps, including Messages, Calendar, Photos, Camera, Weather, Clock, Maps, Videos, Notes, Reminders, Stocks, Game Center, Newsstand, iTunes Store, App Store, Passbook, Compass, Settings, Contacts, Calculator, Voice Memos, and FaceTime. Apple also provides numerous free apps on the App Store, including iBooks, Podcasts, iTunes U, Find my iPhone, Find my Friends, Apple Store, Remote, Trailers, AirPort Utility, and the now free-with-a-new-device iLife and iWork suites of iMovie and iPhoto (GarageBand remains at $4.99), and Keynote, Pages, and Numbers.

Google provides a set of great, free apps for their most popular services as well, including Google Search (with Google Now), Google Maps, Google+, Gmail, Google Drive, YouTube, Google Voice, Hangouts, Chrome, and many, many more. Same with Microsoft with Bing, SkyDrive, PhotoSynth, Office Mobile for Office 365, Kinectimals, and more. Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, and pretty much everyone you can think of are on the App Store as well. Even BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) is coming soon. No other platform enjoys as wide ranging app support.

There are also hundreds of thousands of iPhone apps available, and the iPhone 5s is compatible with all of them, including ones that take specific advantage of 64-bit, OpenGL 3.0, and the M7 motion co-processor. Since the iPhone 5s just launched, there aren't too many iPhone 5s-specific apps yet, but that'll change quickly, and there could be other, additional advantages over the coming weeks and months.

• Best apps for new iPhone 5s owners
• Best games for new iPhone 5s owners
• More best apps for iPhone 5s

iPhone 5s services and support

iCloud comes free with every Apple device. On the iPhone 5s it lets you wireless backup your data to Apple's servers, and wirelessly restore it if you ever need to re-install iOS or you switch devices. iCloud also lets you re-download anything you've bought on iTunes, the App Store, or the iBookstore, including music, movies, TV shows, apps, games, and iBooks. Photo Stream keeps recent photos both safe and ubiquitously available, as does Documents in the Cloud with files, and there's even an online version of the iWork suite coming soon to iCloud. There's a free version of the currently U.S.-only iTunes Radio service, as well as the paid iTunes Match music locker service. If you want additional iCloud storage, it's expensive but you can buy it.

Apple Stores, especially when combined with iCloud, whether extended by AppleCare+ or not, provide remarkable customer support for iPhone 5s owners. Apple specialists can help you test a phone to make sure it's what you want, help you set it up, teach you how to use it, and if anything goes wrong, help you fix it. It's a feature not always included on competitive checklists but anyone who's ever needed to avail themselves of it knows just how important a feature it is.

• Apple System Status
• Apple Retail locations

iPhone 5s and accessories

Thanks to its nearly identical casing, the iPhone 5s is broadly compatible with existing iPhone 5 cases with the exception of those that obstruct the Touch ID lens (i.e. cover it with non-capacitive, non-transparent material). That's if you use Touch ID. Otherwise, your choice should be close to limitless.

Apple has also decided to launch their own iPhone 5s case. Nowhere nearly as colorful as the iPhone 5c cases, they come in yellow, sickly beige, pale blue, golden brown, black, and (RED). That (RED) benefits the Product (RED) charity and is exclusive to Apple stores. Made out of leather, the texture is visible but fine, adding depth to the sheen, and providing more warmth and grip than the cold metal and glass of the iPhone 5s proper allows. They're also solid, have a microfiber interior, and a lip that rises up above the screen to better protect your iPhone's finish back and front. The headphone cutout might be a bit tight, and the volume and sleep/wake covers are way too squishy for some tastes.

• $39 - Buy now

There's also a dock. White. Plastic. Charges over Lightning cable. In other worlds, the archetypal iPhone dock.

• $29 - Buy now

Because the iPhone 5s fits almost all the iPhone 5 cases and docks ever made, however, there's an incredible amount of choice and you should definitely look around before settling on Apple's. All other accessories, from charges to Bluetooth, car kits to toys, cables to adapters, protective films to stylus pens, should also all work fine with the iPhone 5c, include, of course, the Apple TV.

• iMore store iPhone 5s accessories
• Amazon iPhone 5c cases

iPhone 5s pricing and availability

The iPhone 5c comes in three capacities, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. On contract, with full subsidy, they'll typically run you $199, $299, and $399 in the U.S. Off contract, full price, that's $649, $749, and $849.

Although Apple is currently selling them faster than they can produce them, the iPhone 5s is theoretically available in the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the U.K. from Apple, carriers, and authorized resellers. Additional countries and carriers will launch in the coming weeks and months.

iPhone 5s buyers guide

The iPhone isn't the only great phone on the market anymore. It might be one of the best, and still my default recommendation for the vast majority of people, but that still leaves a lot of room for a lot of other people. Should the iPhone 5s be your first leap into smartphones? Into phones? Are there alternatives from Samsung, Motorola, HTC, Nokia/Microsoft, or BlackBerry you might want to consider instead? If you have an iPhone already, should you upgrade? From an iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4? From an iPhone 4s or iPhone 5? Should you consider the iPhone 5c instead?

If you do decide the iPhone 5s is the phone for you, what color should you get? What capacity and on which carrier? There a lot of factors to be weighed and decisions to be made. The 2013 iMore iPhone buyers guide can help:

• Read the 2013 iPhone buyers guide

If you have specific questions:

iPhone 5s bottom line

Apple calls the iPhone 5s the most forward-thinking iPhone ever. Tock to the iPhone 5 tick, like previous S-class updates, that promise of the future is counterbalanced by an incredible amount of performance, optics, and special new features delivered right here in the present. When the iPhone 3GS launched with VGA video, I enjoyed the clever implementation even as I wanted more. Now I have 1080p and 120fps slow-motion in the palm of my hand. When the iPhone 4S launched, I enjoyed using Siri even as I dreamt of JARVIS. Siri still has far to go, but every year since it's done more, and better. Now, with the iPhone 5s, I'm scratching in djay 2 and slashing in Infinity Blade III while imaging how far Apple can take 64-bit and OpenGL ES 3.0 on mobile and over AirPlay. And I'm buying them both with a fingerprint, even as I dream of everything else I'll eventually be able to buy with biometrics, and soon.

The iPhone 5 was a fantastic upgrade that never got the recognition it deserved. iPhone 5s builds on that foundation, and thanks to both iOS 7 on the inside and some gilding on the outside, perception is better reflecting reality than it has in years. It doesn't have the 41-megapixel lens of the Lumia 1020, the physical keyboard of the BlackBerry Q10, the double-sized battery of the Motorola MAXX variants, or the 5-inch screen of the Samsung Galaxy S4. The iPhone 5s makes a lot of tradeoffs that, while good for most of the people most of the time, won't be good for everyone, every time. That means there could be other phones by other manufacturers that better suit some needs. There may even be another phone by Apple.

The iPhone 5c is Apple's other new iPhone this year, and it's positioned as a mid-tear, brightly colored, pop-art alternative. It's a great phone. It's a fun phone. And it's also a phone that frees Apple up to really push the pedal to the even-more-premium metal with iPhone 5s. Having a safety means they will ultimately be able to push more boundaries.

Sure, some will be swayed to the iPhone 5c. Others will hold out for the promise of a bigger screened iPhone 6 next year. But if you want iOS, along with top-of-the-line performance, optics that are among the best-in-class, and want to literally reach out and touch the future, now, today - you'll get the iPhone 5s.

Ally Kazmucha, Richard Devine, Peter Cohen, Georgia, Anthony, Joe Keller, and Nick Arnott contributed photography, videography, research, testing, and/or large amounts of time and effort to this review.

The iFruit; a parody of the iPhone used by one of the lead characters in the smash hit video game, Grand Theft Auto V, can now be yours for real. OK, so not exactly, but you can make your iPhone 5 or iPhone 5s look just like one with a new skin available to buy in the U.S. and UK.

The skin is supplied by MobileFun, and at just 1mm thick promises not to impede use of your iPhone with any popular case. The vinyl layer essentially sticks to the back of your iPhone, 'replacing' the Apple logo and iPhone text with the iFruit branding seen within the game. It's a bit of fun, especially if you're big into the game. Pricing wise we're looking at $12.99/£9.99

Take a look at the iFruit skin at either of the links below. What do you think to it? Too much, or the perfect GTA V accessory?

Source: MobileFun(US), MobileFun(UK)

Prior to the launch of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c we learned that customers picking one up to run on the O2 network wouldn't get access to 4G LTE immediately. This was most likely down to Apple's certification process, but thankfully all that is now behind us, as the O2 UK Twitter account proudly tells us:

If you've already picked up your new iPhone on one of O2's 4G tariffs, you'll be good to go, as well as having enjoyed a slight discount on your first months bill. If you haven't make the switch yet, hit up the O2 iPhone support page for all the information you need.

• Three vs O2 vs EE vs Vodafone: Which UK iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c carrier should you get?

Source: O2 (Twitter), O2 iPhone support