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?
Reader comments
Had an iPhone 5s since launch? Tell me how it's holding up for you!
I got my 5s on Christmas. I know it's not launch day but I did have an issue where I dropped my phone and the battery shortened and lost all of its standby time. What's weird was it had an Otterbox Defender on and the phone worked fine when it was in use. But I got a replacement haha
Love y new iPhone 5s although it has crashing issues. Battery life better dan be4 I even bought a 50 dollar case dat charges my fone on the go like a back up battery so I'm gewd throughout da day but other than dat it is stable and reliable love my phone die hard fan!!!
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I bought my space grey 32 gb att iPhone on launch day, and love it. I do have a few issues, (1) it randomly restarts, but its not a full restart since I can use the touch id to unlock it. Every 5 minutes or so the Camera app turns OFF HDR, I have plenty of space on my iPhone but it still turns off HDR. The camera app when shooting in Slow mo sometimes locks up and I have to reboot, which I almost miss out on what I wanted to shoot in the first place.
Great except the video and pano options are useless if it even remotely shady or dark. Not good. Also it crashes sometimes. Other than that I love my gold 64 G 5s !!!
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A little dissatisfied with the battery life. Noticed no difference compared to my iphone 4. Other than that the phone is perfect. I absolutely love my phone.
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Great. It is awesome
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Working great! Battery lasts a day but drains quickly... Also, I've tried several different cases including the Apple leather. Currently sporting an Otterbox defender. 32 gig very happy with that size. Best phone.
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I love my 5s. My battery is ok. I use my phone a lot during the day and i get about 13 hrs of battery life. I get some springboard issues but I expect that with all the changes Apple made to IOS.
I've had the gold 64GB on Verizon since launch and it doesn't have a scratch. I don't like using cases so I'm just careful. I still love iOS 7 and 5S. I might buy a 5C and use it as a dev phone for my app and betas.
Not sure why there has been no mention of the known 'RATTLE' issue with all iPhone 5s devices? When shaking or tapping the device there is an annoyingly loud rattle noise which, if recording audio or video can degrade and contaminate the captured content. In summary, there is a large body of evidence and a support community of real users which have noticed this feature-inhibiting design fault. Apple's answer is the noise comes from inside the device as part of the design of the new camera components. Many users, though, believe the noise can be stopped if pressing lightly on the power button on top whilst shaking or tapping the device. Despite calls for exchanges, Apple continue to refute this as a non-fault issue, and a consequence of the camera design. Before purchasing, prospective buyers are advised to test the device to ensure there is no rattle-type issue. Initial theories suggest this design flaw may be caused by a problem with early production runs. The solution, therefore, is to wait until a new production run is released and then test the device before purchasing.
Went from my iPhone 5 to Android before the 5S was launched. Missed too much of the security and support of Apple, not to mention the integration with my MBP and iPad Mini. Bought a 5S at full price and have not been disappointed. I'm especially impressed with the improved quality of the camera. I often use it for professional photo and graphics projects - the difference between the 5 and 5S camera & flash is huge. I have no issues with the 5S so far - I love it! And I plan to get the next version IF it's a larger screen.
I have 32gb space Gray 5s. My wife has the silver/white one. Both are holding up great. Even after being dropped accidental a couple of times!
Best phone I have used. The touch id is an amazing feature. Wish my ipad air had it too!!!
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My 64 gb silver 5S is in fantastic condition. I have a lightweight Luvvitt clear case on it. Like many, I'm hoping for a significantly more stable ios 7.1. I'd like to see airdrop enabled between ios and osx. I'd also like to see an ios version of Preview to enable iCloud syncing and annotating of pdf's. There are third party solutions but I'd love to see an apple-native answer.
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Mine is fine but I so wish I'd gone Space Grey instead of Silver.
I have had my iphone5s for less that a month and I somewhat disappointed. I have dropped calls and I am Verizon user for eight years. The Security (thumbprint) works off and on and the sound quality is sometimes muffled. I have the 32Gb and I'm an app user, but noticed that that data plan is drained almost within two weeks. There are two iphone users using this plan so we are adjusting the plan every so often. I always use the WiFi wherever there's a Wifi signal.
Love most everything about my 5S, with the exception of the new home button. I understand the fingerprint reader is a new technology, but along with it have come some changes that make the home button feel different, almost cheap. It has an audible "click" when I press it, too.
It's not the end of the world, but it's definitely noticeable & worth mentioning.
My silver iPhone 5s is fast, takes good pics, has pretty lousy recognition of my fingers, and regularly has apps crash (scanner apps, Mailbox, Gmail), and occasional crashes in other apps. But I still like it better than prior Android phones. The only phone I've like better was my Pre2 and Pre3.
That being said, 7.1 is really needed for stability!
Not perfect, but I'm loving iOS 7. Random reboots here and there, and a few app crashes, but it's faster smoother, and so much more refined and feature packed, than iOS 6. Control center is so awesome and clean, and splitting notifications into 3 parts was great. The flat look, and over all speed is great, a little more stability is needed. Hopefully 7.1 will deliver more.
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I love it got a 32GB Space Grey. This is the best one I've owned. Simply because it's the first one I've owned without needing to slap a tank case on it. I wanted for once to enjoy the beauty of the iPhone. So this time around I got Applecare + and put a nice clear case on. I love the freedom and with my OCD the phone is still in pristine condition.
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I ordered my 5s the same day it got available in the uk. Silver. It's nice. Battery is according to apple better. Well it's the same old same old. Touch ID is really fun; I love the camera - the new flash makes pictures look really nice. Front camera is really good. Had a 4s before so there is major improvement for me. Charges really fast. Overall I like it a lot and I would recommend it to everyone. It's also resistant. Dropped mine on the street without having a cover atm. I have a little scratch next to the speaker - my 4s would've had the back cracked from something like that. This one tho has just that little scratch so I would say it's projected and constructed better ?!
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I waited and just got a refurb 16GB space gray for $99. Can’t complain at that price, but my solution has been to move my biggest space culprits, music and pictures, to Google Music and Flickr. I no longer keep photos or music on my phone, and I still get to use all my favorite apps even Instagram and videos. All this for a great price, too.
My battery has been draining quiet fast in the past couple of weeks, but I love it. iOS 7 need improving though, such as making it easier to tweet/facebook. Maybe look into the cydia apps and add some of them into iOS 7. Then no need to Jailbreak.
I have had my iPhone 5S since launch. I love the amaaaazing camera and hd video. The speed and retina screen are absolutely the best around. I have had a few random crashes but not so much it frustrates me. I wish I could have afforded a 64 gb but I'm just happy to have one :) Battery life is awesome, lasts all day and then some. However, taking it to new networks outside my home area causes it to take a day to figure it out, and settle into good battery life. Overall, I wouldn't trade if for anything else!
I have a 32 gig 5s on Verizon. My only complaint is that some of the people that I call say that my voice quality is poor. This is still the case after following the suggestions of the Genius bar staff and getting a different phone. I am not sure what else to do. On the up side, Touch ID is fantastic. I wish that it were available on my iPad 4.
My iPhone 5s (Space Gray 32GB) is great for the most part. Touch ID is cool, annoying, and useless all at once to me. I hope Apple will make more use of Touch ID in the future. Like being able to input passwords in Safari and other Apps. Plus increase the Require Passcode time with Touch ID enable. I prefer the old home button. The phone's random freezing and restarts are killing me. On the software side of things iOS7 is still feels too Barebone, really buggy, with an inconsistent UI feel. iOS7 feels more like an official beta for everyone to use. Apps still feel disconnected from one another. Control Center is welcome but feels more like turning on light you have no control at all. Apple where our quick reply, and please separate speak to text from Siri. Siri still pretty useless.
32GB Silver for me. Its working fine with the exception of TouchID. TouchID is VERY hit or miss for me on my iPhone. I've erased and re-scanned my fingerprints a couple different times. Always ends up the same way. Works maybe 50% of the time.
Read the comments with some interest. Real mixed bag.
I've still got a 4 (running iOS 7.0.4) here, and while its not the most sparky thing going, it runs the apps I need fine, while hardware seems okay. I've been looking at both the 5 models and really haven't been overwhelmed with lust for either. In fact, "Meh" seems to cover it.
My Plan runs out in February, I've just negotiated a drop in it's price which will go to month-to-month then and then I'm just as liable to wait to see what the iPhone 6 has to offer. Not dead keen to do it, but I gotta say the newest OS and 5" screen on most Androids appeals - and that's something Apple has to address.
I do love this phone, being the first iPhone I ever owned. I do NOT plan on going back to Android. I love the consistency, and all my family and friends have an iPhone... makes it easy to help them and know exactly what they are seeing, etc.
I do love Apple products. My wife and I are aging somewhat and I've always built my own PCs but I've decided our next new PCs will be apple because of the simplicity, etc.
I did get an iPhone with the thought in mind that they are rock solid reliable and always just work, but I do have some concerns with my 5s that my wife doesn't have with her 5. (Both running latest iOS 7). I, as I stated above in this forum, have a LOT of crashes to the apple logo which has caused me to miss many photo opportunities and stop audio recordings.
My most serious oddity is I lost wifi and all cell data. I turned airplane mode off and back on, etc. I finally had to do a full powerdown of the phone and back on. It worked then. I do have some concern with all these anomalies. I'm sure they will be worked out. Surely the Apple hierarchy has experienced the same and will resolove them.
I must admit that my wife has never had a forced reboot or had to turn off her iPhone 5 in a year of ownership and I hope the 5s gets to that point. I was sold when they said "64-bit" but I'll just count the anomalies to grown pains and hopefully resolved soon.
I had the Treos, Blackberrys, etc., and really glad to be with Apple finally. I am somewhat older and do hope the option for a larger screen will be available as that is much easier on aging eyes.
To be honest, I remain as happy with my iPhone 5s as I was the day I got it. It still amazes me how light it really is and thin. I love it's performance, and the fact the battery does get through the day. Something my iPhone 4 was increasingly struggling to do, which even at three years old still looked new.
iOS 7, I prefer it's look and feel; it takes the best of the older iOS' while looking fresh and towards the future.
My only annoyance being I wish that, now keychain is iCloud-based, is that touchID worked for all passwords stored on iCloud... Especially given that most of my passwords are 16 character alpha-numerical. Come on apple, make my experience a perfect one.
Not yet a user of the 5S, my phone 5 sporadically cuts off the connection from the cel tower, states no service ????
Touch ID doesn't always work and photos/videos can't get sent to PC folder via USB. Other than that, pure awesome. Looking very much forward to iOS 7.1.
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I have a 5s for work, moto droid razr for personal use. 5s is far superior, except in texting. I love swype. Apple, please buy that company!
5s since launch week, very happy with colour & capacity. Phone's great, TouchID not so much - if it worked as often as it crashed springboard, I could live with it; as it is I gave up trying to use it when I started having to rescan my fingerprints weekly :(
Some says their 5S last 24hours?! Even they use a lot apps ? My 5S only last like 5Hours... Why ._.?
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I am proud and happy using the device it's like a fire inferno fast and dealt ghost of luxury
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Had mine since almost day 1.
TouchID works great. Home button feels slightly loose now and power button is sinking into phone.
Spring and backboard still crash a lot as do many apps. Getting a bit fed up with it. I understand the enormity of iOS 7 change but still. 7.1 needs to be much better and soon
I bought a white/silver 32 GB 5S on preorder through Verizon. It came in about 5 days after launch day. Physically it is near perfect. I have kept it in an iBattz Refuel case since day one. As for iOS 7, each update has fixed most bugs I was running into. Like Rene, I would love to see more BiteSMS like functions to iMessage and SMS. Control Center has taken care of most of my gripes that I would have once run to Inteliscreen X for. I would still like the ability to switch to LTE on and off without going through settings but more so for my iPad.
I have had my space grey 16gb from the day it launched in my country. Had to go through 2 replacements(display pixelation issue) on warranty as there is no 30 days return policy in India. Took me a month to hold on to real retina screen. Sounds odd isn't it. It is. The iPhone 5s and 5c still I'm stores have this display pixelation issue which not many would notice. I had to struggle with the service guys to first understand what issue it was. Nevertheless, apple gives you these refurbished ones during warranty replacements, which I am quite happy with right now.
Ppl having trouble with touch ID should setup the same finger twice at least. After doing this my touch ID success rate is like 99.9%
I haven't had any issues in terms of battery life. I have wifi on at home and 3G outside. It does the job fine for a day of moderate usage.
Definitely not happy with ios7 though. After seeing 7.1 betas I still feel it looks unpolished. It is slowly becoming obvious that iOS 7 is the vista for apple.
I have had several apple and android devices & the thing that apple was know for - "it just works!!!" Hmm not any more...
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Haven't had the phone since launch but I recently converted from the HTC One (been with Android since the HTC Hero) KitKat pissed me off so I jumped ship when the 5s was zero down on tmobile on Black Friday. Only problem I have had is I am on my second phone. First one I had the glass on the screen seemed to be separating from the LCD panel so that any screen press resulted in a click. Quick trip to my local apple store fixed that. Really digging this phone. I don't think I can ever go back to a phone without touch id. Glad I switched.
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space grey with 32 gb, jailbroken lol... jailbreak works just perfect. i can watch video in background, get so many tweaks apple didn't offer, make my life easier :)
I am loving it! The only problem is when I am hammering the phone it will crash and restart but not all the time.
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I've had a 32 gb space grey 5s here in Australia, first iphone after a few android phones. I'm extremely happy with it, I've had maybe 2 reboots in that time and I have maybe a couple of app crashes a week, still more stable than my previous galaxy 2 just to put it in perspective. Maybe it's just more stable on our networks here in Australia. But it would still be good to see 7.1 bring some stability improvements.
Upgraded from a 4s, its wonderful. Its the first time I got up super early to "Line up" for a phone. Huge differences from my 4s. Loving the Touch ID - wished my iPad Mini had it. 4 months later, I am still very happy with my 5s.
I bought my space grey 64gb Verizon model on launch day. So far the hardware hardware has been great save the touch id issues. IOS7 has been decent except for multiple bluetooth LE issues. I'm a cycling junkie and the iPhone has issues with multiple BT sensors and it is driving some of the large fitness developers nuts. Hopefully this will be fixed in 7.1.
Verizon on the other hand is getting worse and worse. When I first switched to verizon 2 years ago, the service was incredible. Now I am lucky when I can force a 3G connection so I can actually load a web page.
I lucked into a 16Gb AT&T gold 5S. I have been buying black iPhones since the 3g, but I had the opportunity to buy a gold 5s on day 1 so I grabbed it.
I didn't think I would care about the color, but I love the gold, although I have it in a case so it isn't obvious to most people.
The hardware has been great--and I love the fingerprint sensor much more than I imagined I would.
iOS 7 is a mixed bag for me. I like the features, and the look is nice. But it is buggier than I would have expected. Occasionally a bit laggy (a first for iOS for me), and some visual glitches.
Overall I am very happy, but want the bugs cleaned up from iOS 7.
Complete, utter failure of touch ID has stained my otherwise spotless experience. I've been through three phones and am a frequent contributor to the 935-post-long, 65,345 reader "touch ID erratic" thread in the Apple community forums. I'm HOPING that Apple fixes this problem with 7.1 or 7.1.1. It's definitely a software bug, and as near as I can make out, a failed security routine that nukesbthebcache when your fingerprints come close but not close wnoiyghbtknsuitbthebalgorhythm.
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Holding up well, not noticing much difference from 5. Had to turn off TouchID because causing it to reboot phone periodically.
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I can't lie, having spent 6 months with a nexus 4 I couldn't wait to get back to iOS. I find iOS 7 fluid, responsive and intelligent in ways Google wasn't. They each have their perks and drawbacks, but I just prefer Apple and their superior hardware to Google. I will say that the ONE thing above all others I want addressed is the non-sensical way iOS7 makes you go through 3 sets of flaming hoops to dial a contact from a message thread. That idea had to have been made my a 7 year old, and I can't believe it got through beta without people going bonkers.
My first iPhone. Got in line at 5 am to but it. Love it. Won't, can't go back. All friends and family on iOS. Came from android. I love that we all who have iOS are in the same page. My only concern is I get a LOT of springboard crashes. I get ready to take like a photo of an animal and I open from camera on lock screen and there is a reboot. It's fast but I've missed some pictures because if this. I have the 5s and my wife the 5 with latest iOS. She has never had this happen. I love the phone and I'm sure this will be resolved. It just seems like a fine tuned space aged device and all others seem just thrown together. Very glad I came over.
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I wish they'd add the Moto x feature where you lift the phone and it orbs notifications/time without touching or unlocking. Could that work with the M7 for a future update?
I disabled touch ID. It's nice but I like swiping right into messages. It's a little uncomfortable to hold your thumb on the home button and then get 'try again' in cold weather or 10% of the time.. Also, I don't care much about locking the thing. I'd like them to have more options with touch. Like having it work for purchases but not unlocking. All and all happy tho.
Got my 5s in black launch weekend.
It loves to spontaneously reset.
A couple of freezes from time to time.
The touch ID gets a little forgetful every now & again.
Other than that.... It's bigger than my 4s.
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Sold it a few days ago, but it was in perfect condition. I always kept it in a case.
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Just got my 2nd replacement phone. First one was replaced because of a bad gyroscope and the 2nd one started getting kernel panics (reboots) when charging. That was a space gray 32 GB AT&T.
I'm really enjoying the touch ID. I get a little annoyed when I power the phone off and have to go through the password for iTunes and to reactivate the touchID for the phone. But it's all for safety.
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I bought the Space Gray 16GB on Tmobile on launch day. I must say that I love my iPhone 5S. the touch ID (even tho I wish it were more deeply integrated for other uses), iOS 7 and it's features/UI are great. I must admit I have dropped it a lil, so few dings, but overall still holding up great. I do wish I had purchased a 32GB (which I'll eventually prob swap it for one), & it would be nice if the battery lasted longer, but my Mophie Air case has handled that issue.
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I just can't see myself using another phone. The 5s has the speed and the reliability that I need not to mention it mesh's perfectly with my iPad, Apple TV, and Mac Mini. We are all just one big happy family. Its said every year but I don't really see how Apple can top this one. I know that a larger display comes into mind but to me the 4in is just right its not crossing into Phablet territory but it is not too small either. If it were possible to keep the elegance and beauty while making it shatter, break, and scratch proof then it would be the perfect phone.
I couldn't be happier. Touch iD works almost every time, battery life is better than my previous 5 and all of the updates installed without a hitch. I can only ever remember 1springboard reset. Never had a hard reset. I am crazy happy.
(Otterbox and Find my iPhone saved the day when I lost my phone at a coin car wash too!)
I have iPhone 5s 64Gb Gold. I'm not happy with the battery life. I even turned off background refresh and I still can't get through a work day without charging. I definitely will be getting a Mophie Space Pack when it comes out.
let's face it, the only acceptable battery life will be battery life that doesn't ever require charging.
I bought the 64GB space gray on launch day. It has been a great phone. Love the speed and camera. The only negative is the occasional reboots. I have not been able to narrow down what is the cause since I am often doing different things when it occurs. Battery life has been acceptable.
Touch ID has been disappointing. On fourth version of fingerprints. Otherwise its all good.
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It is the best damn computing device I have ever owned - period. The things that really need improving have already been addressed here - for issue that go beyond whining about colors, flatness, blah blah blah, they will, as always, continue to be improved on.
- Space-Gray, 64GB, with Rogue AL Element Case -
I bought the Gold 16GB 5s and it's my very first iPhone after happily using Android for a number of years; I have had many iPads in the past though. The smaller size and camera features as a father got me to switch.
So far I'm happy but I am starting to have Touch ID issues with recognition. I have redone all the fingerprints in settings but occasionally it still gets wonky. I find that cleaning the home button with an anti-static cloth helps the issue temporarily, so I fear the issue is more hardware than software.
I have no issues with battery life, even in LTE areas it has been supurb for myself. The gold finish has held up well, I have a tiny scratch on the Apple logo on the back but that's all despite using it without a case. I do have a screen protector for the front though.
The camera has been fantastic. 10fps burst is just impressive in its execution. I find the camera tends to have trouble containing highlights in bright sunlight, I think that's a combo of the larger sensor and brighter lens, however it's still no where near as bad as the HTC One in this area and turning on HDR generally fixes this. Low light is impressive, often bringing up details the naked eye can't see.
Video on the other hand is dissapointing, the picture is abnormally dark and no autofocus during recording is a little baffling in my eyes. Video autofocus is a standard feature in most other phones I've used recently. Slow-Mo is kinda cool to show off occasionally.
iOS 7 is interesting. I haven't had the many crashes on my iPhone as I have on my iPad Air so that doesn't bother me as much. The notification center is a mess coming from Android, which seems to execute it far better in my eyes. Overall though, I haven't minded the changeover.
I got a 64GB space grey 5s. I didn't have it from launch day but I've had it for a month now as an upgrade from a 5. I know a lot of people keep saying it's not much of an upgrade between 5 and 5s but for me I could immediately tell the difference and I have done my own speed tests and the 5s beats the 5 silly.
The camera is awesome with the low lightening effects; it blows the 5 out of the water. Also slo-mo is awesome.
I love the effect of the M7 co-processor. My battery is marginally better. I consider myself a power user (with my 443 apps, over 200 of which I use at least once a week), but so far I've not been able to use up the battery in my usual 14hr day away from a charger (though I take a potable battery around with me). I leave apps that track my motion on all day and still have juice at the end of the day.
Obviously LTE/4G is fabulous. Faster than my wifi network at home.
I love the exterior as well though I love it too much to risk it being scratched so I got the LifeProof case which is the one I believe iPhones deserve (and I've got no vested interest).
I think the iPhone 5s is the complete package. Yes I do get the blue screen of death at times but these glitches are few and far between. Can't wait for 7.1
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Loving mine...no issues really. It has done the random restart a few times (twice if I'm remembering right), but that's nothing I can't live with.
I'm not exactly sure how my Gold iPhone 5s is doing since I returned it and went back to my 5.
The 5s is a great device but as an Apple skeptic then my biggest fear was that Apple would once again ignore updating software/hardware issues and leave it up to the apologists to make excuses for why things work the way they do. And I was right:
1) iOS 7 maturity: all this talk of the amazing redesigned futuristic new OS is still the buggy mess it was on day one. Notification stuff is still cumbersome, battery optimization never happened, maps still is problematic and Siri still isn't "her".
2) Slo-Mo: As a photographer and parent then I loved this feature. Unfortunately, it is handled completely wrong in iMovie so all my slomo clips never were used in a bigger production. And overall, my 5s friends quit using it once the novelty passed.
3) Better camera: I don't think I'm being a snob in saying, "Yes, it's better. No, it still looks like a phone picture." A better camera is not the same as a great camera. The 5s is an improvement but it still can't handle lowlight and suffers from more misfires due to the focus system and forcing the high speed shutter.
4) Touch ID: an amazing feature but... I don't work for SHIELD so a 1hr timer has always been enough. And honestly, where are all these apps that will implement the feature?
5) Gold: I thought gold was dumb. Then I bought one and loved it. Then I put a case on and it became a white iPhone again. I still think Gold is great but I don't miss it one bit.
Anyway, I'm glad I stuck with my 5 because so far this wasn't the upgrade that will really redefine the market. That requires a bigger screen, and my subsidized phone is ready.
Hey iMore. I bought the 32G space grey 5s on launch day. I have had zero issues with the hardware. The fingerprint reader works about 95% of the time on the first try and 100% on the second try. I do have occasional crashes with springboard and backboard but hopefully that will stabilize with 7.1. Can't wait to integrate the iBeacon stuff and make mobile payments. Still the best phone on the market!
5S 64 GB silver in Apple RED case since one week after launch. The hardware is totally flawless, can't complain about one single thing, TouchID works all the time for me. While I would personally love if they would still offer a 3.5" model with the old screen ratio, I see that there might not be enough people who share that preference. For me the 4" screen does nothing except making buttons harder to reach. But this is something I know since getting the iPhone 5 previously and that is what I still bought, because there is no better phone.
iOS 7 though is still a disappointment and the updates don't come fast enough. I like the Mail.app improvements, but most other stock-software got worse. Calendar and Notes are a disaster, Safari got a lot harder to use, and there are now simply too many touch sensitive areas for such a small screen. In iOS 1 through 6 I never brought anything up unintentionally, now I get all kids of weirdness all the time (e.g. trying to scroll to the top of a page in Safari initiates Notification Center, trying to open Notification Center from the home screen I get Spotlight, the lock screen is an even bigger mess). And for the first time since owning iPhones (every model) I need glasses to operate my phone. (And yes, I have activated the respective accessibility settings like bold fonts, bigger fonts and higher contrast). I still hope they will improve it, but at this pace, this might take a long time. Usability is OK on the iPad Air though.
No crashes on the iPhone 5S, but frequent Springboard restarts on the iPad Air.
Mine still looks great; fingerprint is cool, but I work from home and don't usually have a password anyway, so I turned that off. Major difference for me as an avid iphoneographer is the minimum focusing distance changed significantly from the 5 to the 5s. I can't get as close as I used to be able to. Other than that, I'm extremely satisfied, though I still find app switching in iOS 7 to be unsettlingly different at times.
Moved up from an iPhone 4s. This is my best iPhone yet. Clear sound, great photos and I absolutely love Touch ID. Battery life seems a little bit less than the older phone, but that could be due to adding new iOS features that eat it up. Never a problem where I'm dead by the end of the day.
LTE speed used to be great in my area using my iPad, but I think AT&T throttled everyone. Neither my iPad or iPhone get the kind of speed I used to see around Central Florida.
I still love my 32GB Gold iPhone 5s - which I ordered at 2am the moment it was available :) Touch ID function only works about half the time, though Touch ID purchasing through the App store mysteriously never fails. Battery life is kind of disappointing but after decreasing screen brightness, turning off bluetooth, etc it lasts much longer. Good phone but I'm excited to see what Apple has lined up next!
I had to get my original 5s replaced because of a problem where the ring around the home button wasn't reading consistently. It seemed like parts of the ring would work but other parts wouldn't so when I would go to use it wouldn't recognize that my thumb was touching it in order to trigger the fingerprint recognition. iPhone 5s #2 was great until I dropped it, on my phone which due to gravity and physics aiding me was a natural soccer kick style motion across asphalt. Surprisingly I have no major noticeable damage on the screen or the backside. It's all on the edges with very noticeable and not surprising gashes.
For a bit I was having a lot of failed finger print readings, but since the last time I deleted my finger print readings and entered them back in it's been very reliable. I only set up my thumbs and I do 2 slots per thumb. Leaves me one slot to set up my wife just in case my thumbs get blown off.
Other than that I always wish I would get the 32 or 64 GB phone, but I can't justify the money. Maybe next time…
I bought the Space Grey 32GB on Sprint, I'm happy with the hardware capabilities and I've only used half the storage on it which is mostly pictures and music and it's ported everything over from my 5 so I'm pretty good with space, but I know if I went wild and never deleted anything I would've filled it up a while ago so I know when the 6 comes out I definitely have to get a 64GB. I want my iPhone to feel like my laptop that had 500GB of space on it, I never gave a second thought about how much space I was using on that and I want to feel the same way with my iPhone I love taking tons of photos and videos and I love downloading music and apps. Photo and file management still needs a revamp! I really would like a 4.5in (AND NO BIGGER) screen for the 6 but honestly I don't feel the 4in screen on my 5S is small or cramped. My biggest complaint, which I'm not even that upset over is iOS 7. I like the direction they went with it but there is way more bugs and force closing in the software then I ever noticed in iOS 6 also I feel the software isn't as fast as it can be and that it could utilize the power in 64bit chip in the A7 a lot better. While it's nowhere near the annoyance I had with my EVO 4G and 3D, I expect more from Apple. I know that this is biggest change to iOS since 2007 so I'm a little forgiving and I'm also confident that iOS 7.1 will quell probably every single issue and any updates beyond that will bit incremental sweets on top of the cake. It's just been 4 months and it's taking a little to long where my patience is being tested.
I got my 64 5S a few days after launch. Still loving it can't put it down.
I have no major complaints. Waiting for the iOS 7 update I like the changes that may be coming.
I haven't has the numerous crashes and resprings that I here about. Close to perfect.
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Just actually did the first real inspection if my phone since getting it on launch day. Actually has to cradle it with kid gloves for three days until I could get my hands on an Apple black case. To my surprise, it is virtually pristine! Only the tiniest specs around the lighting cable slot. It's actually pretty amazing!
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All i need is:
MUCH FASTER TRANSITIONS
Yes this would help a lot!
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Agreed. I am constantly pressing he same icon twice because the animation simply wasn't done by the time I saw the app and tried to open it.
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Achievable via Jailbreak can even slow them down and make them even more crappy.
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I got a 16gb space grey about a week after launch. I haven't really had that many problems with it. Maybe half a dozen total springboard crashes over that time. Although I'm fairly meticulous about cleaning out my running apps...I still think the crashing is a memory related issue.
Overall I very much enjoy iOS 7. I switched over from a Lumia Windows 8 Phone for the iPhone and I'm very happy. I absolutely adored the minimalistic look and feel of iOS 7. The springboard crashes are irritating when they take down Core Audio with them, but otherwise I can give Apple the benefit of the doubt.
I segregate my usage across my devices. My iPhone is essentially my communications / organizations device. My iPad Mini is my content consumption / social media device. And my MacBook Pro is my content creation device (web application development). So...I probably don't use my phone as heavily as many other do which might account for my lack of issues with the device.
Space Grey iPhone 5s 32GB since launch. Works great! No real complaints. Every now and again the fingerprint reader is a little off, but I think that is more situational, like if my hand is sweaty or really cold. iOS 7 is fantastic with the exception of three things:
Springboard crashes. This is well documented, and quick to recover, but still annoying.
Exiting an app takes you back to folder view (if app was in a folder). Hitting the home button should just take you back to the base level of iOS.
And finally, AirDrop needs to work with the Mac, and it's dumb that it doesn't.
Aside from those grievances, it's great and I wouldn't trade it for any other phone currently on the market.
AirDrop needs to work.
Every time I try to share something via airdrop, I have to "turn it back on" on both devices I'm trying to share between. Frustrating for what should be simple and easy to use (and one of the best features of iOS 7).
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Same here.
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I got my silver 32GB 5s a few days after launch day and I love it! iOS 7 is a great step forward for me. I love the new camera updates - low light is much better than iPhone 5. The slow motion is amazing and I have had no problems there.
A downside is there have been more frequent crashes I had on my iPhone 4.
Also, this might be unique to me, but I really don't like the feel of the home button clicks. Compared to others like the 5c or 5 for example, the 5s home click feels 'cheap'. I realize something needed to change there because of the touch ID but I still prefer the feel of the other home buttons.
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I seem to be having some touchscreen issues but other than that all good especially now that I'm jailbroken
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I had the 5 in white and my wife had my old 4S. From the moment I saw the 5C I knew I had to have one. Colour at last!!
Don't get me wrong, I loved my 5. It was a brilliant phone with more power than I ever need but I've never been overly fond of the glass and aluminium look, and I found that the aluminium digs into my fingers after a while, making it painful to hold.
I ordered the blue 5c and it was delivered on launch day at 3pm. And it's gorgeous. Even better in person than on Apple's website. I love the colour and the soft corners. It's extremely comfortable to hold and feels nicely smooth and solid.
It doesn't feel like plastic; it feels more like porcelain. Or like a polished stone. Very rigid. And a bit slippery. I've dropped it a few times already but there has been no damage at all. It's very rigid inside.
For me it's like a Bondi blue iMac. Apple finally introduced one of its hallmark features to the iPhone - colour. What took so long???
Plus I find it nice and understated. Colourful but not pompous and business like, like the 5/5S.
As for iOS 7, a lot of 5S owners complain about rebooting. But it's been rock solid for me, and for my wife. And it's been rock solid on my iPad 4. So I can only assume it's an issue related to the newer hardware, maybe the A7.
I was really excited about iOS 7 when announced and I must say that it doesn't disappoint. It's the best version of iOS yet and extremely well designed. Just an absolute pleasure to use and it feels so much more mature. iOS 6 looks like a toy in comparison.
And don't even compare it to Android. It makes Android look like real rubbish! Was it designed by someone at Fisher Price? Lol!
Well done to Jony Ive and the whole team at Apple. I love my 5C; it's the best iPhone I've ever had.
Rene ... I was a long time bb user and off of your coverage made the switch. I've gone from the 4s to the 5 and then the 5 s. Love them all. Even tried going back to a full time bb and lasted 2 days only. I still got some love for em, but, for me the iPhone 5s is the perfect device! Ummm... For now :-)
Mine is still like brand new. no scratches. Doign great. Just that there are still some bugs with iOS 7.0 though not as bad as the buggy version in iPad. Apart from that an amazing phone. And yeah I have iPhone 5S Gold 32GB.
Bought a white 64GB At&t 5s on launch day. Love it! I did have a really small scratch on the metal back of the phone when I bought it, only noticeable in the right lightning conditions. Other than that, there's the typical "micro" scratches on the screen that disappear when the screen turns on.
Front screen makes snappy sounds when pressing down.
Bezel marked up.
Apps crash frequently.
iOS reboots itself upon opening some of the apps such as iMessage or Mail.
All this even after restore.
This iPhone is terribly not well crafted.
Does what it's supposed to do, makes calls and receives them. I hope they change the fruity theme for OS 8 this year. If not then I'll just try an Android phone. I heard you can customize the crap out of it.
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I picked up a 64gb, black (what the heck is 'space gray' anyway?) iPhone 5s and it is absolutely great!!
I haven't seen any battery issues, trouble with the fingerprint reader or any other hardware problems. iOS 7, however, is a little challenging. I love the new look and feel as I navigate through the device as I use it, but there are a few things I hope get some attention soon:
Text links - I like buttons. They provide a larger active area which to touch. Apps like Mail, Music and Messages use just text, which result in my having to make several attempts to click.
Springboard crashes - yes, I has dem.
Scrubbing in Music/Podcasts - As with the small text links above, the tiny sliver used in these two apps that allow one to scrub forward or backward in your audio is way to small. There has got to be a better way.
Love the site!
I'm still pretty happy overall. The camera is amazing and the gold color is still pretty fly. Touch ID to unlock still doesn't work enough - it can be annoying. Using it for app purchases seems to work fine though and that's pretty awesome. iOS 7 is way too buggy though. I'm now accustomed to random reboots and while they're quick, it's not what I expect from an iPhone.
I ordered mine online at 00:01 on day of release.. Waited longer then those who walked to the shops lunch time the next day an bought one... (Won't do that again!)
I've also experienced the random crashing, but I use my phone for approximately 23:59 hours a day.
Must admit, I'm glad I paid the premium for the 64GB .. Even if I now have signed up to match, an barely store anything "locally" anymore :-)
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Mine is great but has crashed a good few times.hopefully 7.will fix it. Only thing I'm not really happy with is battery, standbye time is great though.typing this on my nexus . I more ios app keeps telling me to log in . The Android app works better ha
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I love the phone, but I cannot tell you how much I am hoping for the 7.1 update to fix the multitude of crashes I have. I've never owned an iPhone with an iOS that crashes so constantly. I can't say it crashes too often, but it does crash on average once a day, regardless of the app I am using: Safari, Podcasts, Photos, random 3rd-party apps, doesn't matter.
Other than that, I love it. It hasn't gotten overwhelmingly annoying but annoying enough to notice.
Woke up one morning, and the screen was grey. I know some call it the white screen of death, but it was grey. It had been charging like always. It did the power button and home button reset. Nothing just the grey screen. I plugged it into the MacBook Pro, and did the same thing. I got the pop up stating recovery mode in iTunes. Tried to reset it, and it went as far as the Apple logo, and error 40. Tried several times, and still error 40. I charge through a surge protector, and no indication of a surge. I am wondering if sometime during the night while charging, the dreaded ESD fried it. I will send it in to Apple, but that can take weeks, and I need a phone now. Other than that, and the crazy AT&T voice mail problems, it has been a fantastic phone.
ive sent phones to apple....it has never taken weeks....send on monday, they receive tuesday, diagnose & repair or replace tuesday/wednesday, send back thursday, i receive friday....or monday
Thanks, I was told that. I am just curious what happened.
I'm highly skeptical of your accounts. There is no way you are sending anything on Monday and they are receiving it tuesday and checking it on the same day. Just not going to happen.
2 times....ive sent my iPhone 5 last year 2 times....due to a bad software update that broke my home button, then the 2nd update broke my battery levels.....both times they attempted a fix then opted to replace....so dunno what experience you have had, but i got mine back same week within 5 days both times
Mine has been amazing. There's one niggle with the fingerprint reader... sometimes it is too fast. e.g. When I actually wanted to swipe up for camera on the lock screen. (I never use the top button to switch the thing on anymore). I do think iOS 7 is still a bit buggy with more crashes than on any previous version I can remember.... but, it reboots so fast that it doesn't even matter that much!
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Yeah, I think both Springboard, and maybe Backboard, are way to crashy in iOS 7 still. I hope they nail that down in iOS 7.1.
This and Maps are my biggest complaints. Apple is neglecting to fix anything on Maps in Albuquerque, NM. Horrible!
OMG...I totally agree with you on the Maps issue. I'm working in Albuquerque & it irritates me that Maps refers me to Google Maps when it can't find something, which seems to be more often than not.
It's great except I hate how white iPhones get randomly discoloration on the outermost edge that look like tiny nicks. Mine has one right under the Home button and it drives me mad. :(
I'm loving it. Having upgraded from the 4 the difference was obviously huge. I don't take many photos but when i do they are at show/gigs which are always pretty dark so the low light camera features are great. It can be a bit temperamental if there is another light source in the room as to the quality you'll get, sometimes it'll be a little washed out but at least you can see what the picture is of much more so than any other smartphone camera I have seen.
Despite initial reservation I love iOS 7. It looks great, the extra features integrated seamlessly to the way I use the phone (though Airdrop has been used little, Mac OS support needs to be added along the line) to the point that if I use a device with iOS 6 it looks and feels old.
Every so often I find both my phone and my iPad restarting randomly, even when it's not being used. Both devices are new (new iPad mini retina) so I assume it's iOS 7 but hey, it's never really bothered me to the point I've felt it is worsening my experience.
I adore Touch ID although my success rate with it is less than I would have hoped. It works most of the time but quite often I'll find that it simply isn't registering my finger or thumb (not that it doesn't recognise it but won't even try to scan it) and I am having to unlock with my loooong password before it works again. Similarly I know this is an issue that Apple can't help but if it's wet it really won't scan anything correctly, and living in London where it's been raining a lot recently it has been a pain. Again especially having to enter that looooong password just to quickly reply to a text whilst I walk somewhere.
Over all though I am more than happy with it. Looking forward to where both hardware and the OS go int he future.
I would say if your touch id isn't working more than half you may need to rescan your fingerprint. You can also reset your setting to if that would help. I did mine where my finger got a good base read on the middle of my finger and then I would slightly move it after that. Hope that helps. That's what I did and my touch id is working great.
Oh it's definitely working more than half of the time. Probable 80%+. I when I originally set it up and re-scanned a few times until I got the hang of the phone scanning and recoginising everything, so there is no issue there. It's just occasionally it doesn't sense a finger at all which is weird. And then the wet thing, which there is nothing that can be done about that for now
I ordered my 64GB space gray 5S online from Apple the minute it became available. Fantastic. I still have occasional crashing issues, but overall I'm enjoying it immensely.
Bought a slate grey 64 g Verizon on launch day with the Apple leather case. Still works great and it's the best phone I've ever had even though I tried the Moto X briefly. Camera caused me to stick with the 5s.
The finish on my space grey 5S has definitely worn better than my black 5.
However my home and power buttons feel kind of janky now. The home button kind of crunches on some presses, and the home button sometimes feels like it's popped out a little too far.
This is a minor issue for all apple devices. You just might need to re-calibrate your home button which is very easy.
> Open any stock > Press and hold your power button until “slide to power off” >press and hold your Home button.
Read more about it and in detail here http://bit.ly/1f4zAmy
Great phone (5s) & features, & still really liking iOS 7, but battery is woeful. Even set up as a new phone & with all the battery-sapping stuff off, I still struggle to get anything more than 10-12 hours of average use out of it. I lose 30% battery life with it on standby (with Do Not Disturb on) overnight.
That's sounds like a defective battery because with my setup having everything on I get usually 24 hours standby with about 6-7 hours total usage and I also have DnD on and only lost between 3-6% overnight so definitely take that to apple.
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Same here...1-4% is the most I have lost overnight with DnD on.
Same here
I bought the space grey 64gb on lunch day n I most say it's doing great! Besides some skuffs from on the metal edges from dropping it on the sidewalk ( with no case on n there barely noticeable.) but it still looks n runs wonderfully.
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