Apple is gearing up for the release of its latest high-end smartphone, the iPhone 5S. Designed to be a major improvement over the iPhone 5, the iPhone 5S is instead Apple’s worst phone yet. The iPhone 5S offers limited improvements over the iPhone 5 and fails to bring users up-to-date with the latest smartphone industry advancements that have taken place over the last two years.
Why is the iPhone 5S Apple’s worst phone yet? Here are six reasons ranked according to their importance:
1) Screen size remains the same
Back in 2008, the iPhone’s screen size was the largest and most vivid in all the smartphone industry. Over the past two years, Android and Windows Phones have jumped over the iPhone’s screen size by leaps and bounds. When you hold an iPhone next to almost any Android or Windows Phone made over the last year and a half, you’ll notice how comparatively small that screen size is.
Other high end smartphones in 2013: 5 inch+ screens with full HD (1920x1080p) resolutions
iPhone 5S: Exact same screen size as the iPhone 5 (4 inches) with 1136×640 resolution
2) No battery life improvement
Battery life is a problem that plagues the entire smartphone industry. Today, a smartphone is considered to have a good battery life if it lasts from morning to night with average use without needing to recharge. With the iPhone 5S, Apple didn’t improve the battery life – in fact, they worsened it. The 64 bit processor will use more power than its predecessor in exchange for a minimal performance boost. If you were disappointed with the battery life in your iPhone 5 or iPhone 4, prepare for worse battery life with your iPhone 5S.
3) Still no microSD slot and no phones larger than 64GB
Today, people use their phones to store just about everything – from pictures to songs to dozens of apps. All of this data takes up space. A lot of it. Which is why many phone users choose to install microSD slots when their internal storage fills up. Unfortunately, Apple has never felt the need to add a microSD slot to its devices, nor has it bothered to build a phone larger than 64GB. While Apple’s competitors feature 128GB or more of storage space, Apple continues to max out at 64GB.
4) There’s no need for a 64 bit smartphone processor
You want to know how many mobile apps use 64 bit processing? None of them. Smartphone users don’t need 64 bit processing at this point in time because today’s smartphone processors are doing a good enough job as it is. The 64 bit processor which Apple has trumpeted will only worsen battery life while providing no discernible performance upgrade.
5) Still has 1GB of RAM
1GB of RAM doesn’t cut it for today’s apps and games. 2013 smartphones tend to feature 2GB of RAM while high-end models like the Note 3 feature 3GB of RAM. RAM tends to have more of a discernible impact on performance than processing power, which is why 1GB of RAM on the iPhone 5S is simply unacceptable.
6) It lacks innovation
Apple is one of the world’s most powerful companies and it has made some truly revolutionary products. However, all of Apple’s great products have used innovation to get them ahead of the competition. In fact, with the iPod and iPad, among other products, Apple was able to create a product that was so revolutionary that it basically spawned an entire industry in itself.
The iPhone 5S is Apple’s worst phone yet because it lacks innovation. Yes, I understand that it’s the iPhone 5S and not an iPhone 6, but that’s no excuse for adding few innovative features. If a fingerprint sensor is the only noticeable difference between a phone and its predecessor, then it appears Apple’s trajectory of creating award-winning innovative features may be in decline.
Conclusion
Basically, the iPhone 5S is an aesthetic upgrade that features very few meaningful changes. Apple, however, has advertised the iPhone 5S like it’s the biggest technological innovation ever created by the company. If the iPhone 5S was released in early 2012, it would have been an average phone for the time. As it stands now, most 2013 smartphones are miles beyond it.
I’m sure some of you disagree with me. Let me know why you like the iPhone 5S (or hate it) by dropping me a line in the comments section below.
