iPhone 5s photo comparison: Gold, Silver, and Space Gray!

By Allyson Kazmucha
last updated

The iPhone 5s comes in three color variants; Gold, Silver, and Space Gray. We've managed to get our hands on all three models and the first order of business was to take tons of photos of all of them in all their aluminium glory. Whether you're still waiting for your iPhone 5s to arrive or just can't decide on which color to go with, we've got tons of photos to help you decide, including tons of the hard to find gold edition!

Once you've checked out all the images in the gallery, be sure to let us know in the comments what iPhone 5s you went with. You can also check out our other iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c photo galleries via the links below.

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Allyson Kazmucha
Allyson Kazmucha

iMore senior editor from 2011 to 2015.

55 Comments
  • Man they look preeeettty..... I got the 64GB Space Gray, ordered online from Apple. I went to look at the ATT store today to see a few in person, and they told me they have the 64GB Space Gray in stock...doh!
  • I think everyone just about had the Space Grey one. Not too many golds or white available.
  • I'm really disappointed they got rid of black. I wish they would've made a Vadar black edition instead of space grey. Only one I am considering is the silver.
  • They need this version with special Vador ring and sound tones! They made the C3PO edition.... only reason I would get the gold and yes I would pre-load it with C3PO sounds... :)
  • If I were buying one for myself, I would likely go with the Space Gray or Silver. The hands on time I got to spend with on to cover for my site was the Gold and I have to say it looked as good as I was hoping it to.
  • Seems everyone wants space gray or gold. So I'm in the minority here. Silver for me. Sent from the iMore App
  • I can't wait to get my hands on the gold 5s! Sent from the iMore App
  • Ordered the Gold one!
  • I was just at the Apple Store, and the Gold is 1000x more subtle than your photos here. I was afraid to buy the gold online without trying it first, so I ordered silver. I don't regret my decision, but the gold is very very subtle in person.
  • Agreed. Same situation here.
  • I wonder if there are Space Gray and Gold MacBook Airs in Apple's future.
    They've already nailed the Silver thing. Except for the chamfers.
  • Did they doctor that picture because I've seen one in person (and ordered one) and it's not nearly that color so it's odd that they chose to pick such an inaccurate photo to show us what the different colors look like.
  • The gold was extremely hard to photograph. The way you hold it and the lighting environment matters a great deal. I used natural daylight light bulbs and still had trouble producing consistent photos. The finish looks completely different depending on lighting to be honest. Sent from the iMore App
  • Interesting. Here's the shot I snapped with my 4S at the Apple Store today.
    http://i.imgur.com/p2r6afv.jpg
  • Keep in mind the Apple store is all white walls, very bright lighting etc. Put that phone under tungsten or incandescent lighting, it will look different. Sent from the iMore App
  • So is the phone going to look more like your pics in real life or the pics from jmush? If it looks more like jmush then you need to get some better lighting or use a 5s to take the pictures... LOL
  • No. I'm saying what the phone looks like is greatly going to depend on lighting. Outside, inside, under different kinds of lighting, different colored walls that light is bouncing off of - it will look different. It's almost an iridescent type finish. I had good lighting and a very good camera. If I moved 3 feet and the light hit the gold iPhone a different way, it looked different. That is the way it looked under controlled lighting in a room with walls that weren't sterile white like they are in an Apple Store. I would say that what it looks like in the Apple Store is not exactly what you'll see in your home or under yellowish lighting. I did very minimal editing and never did anything that changed the color of the phones. Most editing was cleaning up dust on the devices or on the tables to be honest. That was about it.
  • I saw an early shot of the 5c on the site. It looked odd; as if a mix of tungsten and fluorescent was hitting it - not nice. Your shot of the 5s looks fine; that silk finish looks directional and tricky. Getting the text and logo to look even will be a pain. Perhaps a light tent? I do not envy you that job.
  • It's hard to say until we start seeing lots of gold iPhones out and about. I ultimately went with Silver because some hands-on 5S videos made the gold really gaudy and some looked really nice. I didn't want to purchase a phone whose level of classiness could shift based on what room I was in.
  • Yes. Correct. And that's why Apple is calling it the "Champagne" version. Gold is ugly, it's loud and tacky/cheap looking - I saw the champagne one in person and oh boy, it's beautiful. Very subtle, but classy. I ordered the space grey version, but can completely see why the champagne version is popular.
  • I.
    Want.
    Liquidmetal.
    Next.
    Year.
  • Nice gallery. For the life of me I don't understand the craving for the gold model though. It's hideously tacky-looking.
  • Gold, Gold, it's all about the Gold..... Ordered via Apple online at 8 AM Friday, and it was already pushed out to October for shipment.
  • The gold kind of looks like urine.
  • Dear Friend,
    Try & Consume more water everyday, it turns in to silver which in