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The new iPhones have arrived, and it turns out that a lot of the rumours were actually true: there is an iPhone 5c, there is an A7 processor and there is a fingerprint sensor.
(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)
To look at, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of difference between the now-defunct iPhone 5 and the iPhone 5s apart from the colours. But that’s because a lot of the differences have been packed in under the hood.
While the screen technology is the same (in fact, it’s even the same screen on the “low-end” iPhone 5c), it’s the A7 processor in the 5s that makes the biggest difference. Apple is claiming that this 64-bit processor is twice as fast as the A6 in the old iPhone 5 (and in the 5c).
There have also been some camera tweaks, with Apple increasing the pixel size of the image sensor and making the flash a dual-element number that can adjust colour temperature for different lighting conditions, but at the end of the day, it’s still an 8-megapixel camera.
That leaves the fingerprint sensor on the 5s, which can detect your fingerprint with a surprising degree of accuracy — currently, you can use it for unlocking the phone and approving iTunes purchases. More applications are bound to be on the way.
At the time of writing, we were still waiting for carriers to release pricing information for individual plans, so the carrier availability refers on to those telcos specifically mentioned by Apple. Both devices will be in store on 20 September.
| iPhone 5s | iPhone 5c | iPhone 5 | |
| Operating system | iOS 7 | iOS 7 | iOS 6 |
| Display | 4-inch IPS LCD; 1136×640 pixels; 326ppi | 4-inch IPS LCD; 1136×640 pixels; 326ppi | 4-inch IPS LCD; 1136×640 pixels; 326ppi |
| Price | AU$869 for 16GB; AU$999 for 32GB; AU$1129 for 64GB | AU$739 for 16GB; AU$869 for 32GB | No longer sold |
| Carrier | Telstra, Optus, Vodafone | Telstra, Optus, Vodafone | Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, Virgin |
| 4G | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Camera | 8-megapixel, 1080p, front facing, dual-element flash | 8-megapixel, 720p, front facing | 8-megapixel, 720p, front facing |
| Processor | Proprietary A7 CPU (64-bit) | Proprietary A6 CPU (32-bit) | Proprietary A6 CPU (32-bit) |
| Memory | 16GB, 32GB, 64GB | 16GB, 32GB | 16GB, 32GB, 64GB |
| Battery | Talk time up to 10 hours on 3G; embedded | Talk time up to 10 hours on 3G; embedded | Talk time up to 8 hours on 3G; embedded |
| NFC | No | No | No |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes | No | No |
| Dedicated fitness tracking | Yes | No | No |
| Weight and thickness | 7.6mm; 112g | 8.97mm; 132g | 7.6mm; 112g |
| Colours | Grey, gold, silver | Blue, green, pink, yellow, white | Black, white |
