iPhone 5S in the flesh, first impressions

We managed to snag an iPhone 5S from Hong Kong during the first day of its global release. While the champagne gold color quickly ran out of stock (and was selling for close to 70k in the gray market), the we still got the 32GB space gray variant. Check out our initial review after the break.

Managing our expectations, we didn’t put much attention to the device while unboxing it. We knew it will look like the iPhone 5 and we were not disappointed with the stark similarities (insert sarcasm here).

Yes — the iPhone 5S is almost identical to the year-old iPhone 5, except for two minor physical dissimilarities.

First is the slightly elongated dual-LED light at the back of the phone, just beside the camera and a small pin-hole for the noise-canceling mic.

Second is the fingerprint scanner embedded into the physical home button. The old one has a perfectly concave but shallow button with a small, squarish mark with rounded corners at the center; the new one has a ridge around the flat, depressed circular area where the Touch ID sensor is incorporated.

The rest seemed exactly the same, at least from what we initially observed. Of course, there’s also the new color variants that’s been introduced. The rest of the improvements are all covered inside the same aluminum enclosure.

Apple iPhone 5S specs:
4.0-inch IPS LCD display @ 640×1136 pixels, 326ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 2
Apple A7 1.3GHz dual-core processor
PowerVR SGX544MP4 quad-core graphics
16GB, 32GB, 64GB internal storage
1GB RAM
DC-HSDPA 42Mbps, LTE 100Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, dual-band
Bluetooth 4.0
8MP iSight camera, LED flash
1080p video recording
1.2MP HD front-facing camera, 720p @ 30fps
GPS w/ aGPS support, GLONASS
iOS 7
112 grams (weight)
123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm (dimensions)

We believe Apple really intended to change the colors of the new iPhone 5S so consumers will be able to distinguish them from the older iPhone 5. This is partly the reason why that champagne gold variant is so rare and in demand that it commanded street prices of up to Php70k.

During the unboxing and activation, we have to insert and use a nano SIM. The process is almost the same as the previous models except for the part where it asks for a finger print scan. The configuration required several runs of the scan and once completed, it also asks for a PIN password just in case the biometric sensor does not work.

This gives you the option to input the PIN codes every time you unlock the device or just press down a finger on the home button for automatic unlock. Same goes when purchasing an app in the iTunes Store. (And no, we did not try that nipple scanner!)

The biometric sensor scans your print very fast and has high accuracy rate based on our initial tests. The iPhone 5S comes with iOS 7 pre-installed out of the box (there is a 7.0.1 update for security and bug fixes). We were already familiar the new UI since it’s release last week. As such, we actually did not notice any significant performance difference between the 5 and the 5S. We might spot some one we do our full review though.

Check back with us in a few more days for the full review of the iPhone 5S. We won’t actually see official release of this unit until December and gray market prices are thru the roof.

You can also check our initial review of the iPhone 5C here.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

114 Comments

Karl Mac says:

11 years ago

Waiting…. waiting… here comes the bashers….
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wew says:

11 years ago

70k for champagne gold?no way bibili na lng ako ng kahit anong kulay ng iphone 5s na nasa 50k lng tas papapalitan ko ng kulay i(nakalimutqn ko ung nagooffer nitong service pero meron)lang libo lang naman ang magagastos dun eh at kung ayaw mo ng gold eh pwede rin
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silent b0bjay says:

11 years ago

70k! puff and pass
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scylar says:

11 years ago

i like apple and all that but with that price even though its a “premium device” as one of the poster above says, it may have some very few features but is it really worth the upgrade? its down right highway robbery in broad daylight IMHO. ive got an iphone5 so i can say its a no freakin way unless they upgrade the hardware some more
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mdm782010 says:

11 years ago

isa talaga sa branding ng Apple yung mahal na presyo kahit na wala nman bago sa devices nila.
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innovator says:

11 years ago

70k for that device? woaah! too overpriced when there is little innovation. this is a joke right?
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abuzalzal says:

11 years ago

I just love how Apple coins these fancy terms like ”Retina Display” ”Space Grey”or ”Lightning Cable” when it’s just an ordinary IPS panel, a charcoal grey variant and a cable with a chip imbeded inside just as so will discourage you from buying a third – party brand.

Yet these blind lemmings think it’s something special like there’s no other one like it.
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someone says:

11 years ago

Apple has and will always price their products more than the competing brands. It’s a fact and people should just deal with it.

If you can’t, or will not, pay the price that they command then you’re free to purchase from other brands that you feel is a much practical choice for you.

I am not jealous of those who can afford to buy an apple product. But I irritated by those who purchase one but do not know how to utilize it’s potential.

An android based smartphone with a dual core CPU, 512MB of RAM is enough for me. It can handle tasks like wifi (instead of bluetooth) file sharing, sms scheduling and other tasks I need on a smart phone.

The only Apple product I bought was a 2nd hand Ipod Nano. It was priced just right, battery life was ideal, and it’s easy to use.
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Iyan Sommerset says:

11 years ago

70k for something that won’t be visible anyway after you inevitably slap it into a protective case.

Yeah, I didn’t think so.
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simultaneous says:

11 years ago

F*ck Apple! I can buy 2 note 3 for me and for you! Apple lovers are silent haters!! Hahahaha!! You can’t bash on android fanboys because you know that your apple doesn’t have innovation at all hahaha!!
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mang kanor says:

11 years ago

1.. 2.. 3… Nye!!! 70k nyo mukha nyo.. kung sobrang yaman mo, sige lang.. dami ka namang pera eh.. pero kung ikaw ung tipong di magpapadala sa mga magulang ng ilang buwan para lang bumili ng iphone, tumigil ka.. mas mahalaga ang kakainin ng mga magulang mo kesa sa phone na overpriced..
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Weh says:

11 years ago

I rest my case

http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/23/apple-sells-9-million-new-iphones/
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deuts says:

11 years ago

Does Apple really make premium products?

http://deuts.net/archives/2013/does-apple-really-make-premium-products.html
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james says:

11 years ago

it looks like an android..with the processor from samsung ang IPS screen from samsung..if you hate samsung you should be hating apple made by samsung nyahaha
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diorarat says:

11 years ago

I think many of the readers seriously underrate the iPhone 5s. The 5s certainly is a worthy buy in terms of hardware.

#1 Im not quite sure how the new architecture works in the a7 chip works but it certainly is fast. Anandtech and cnet already did a number test using different benchmark and the new a7 always came out on top compared to the snapdragon and exynos. In the end it’s not about who has the biggest gun but rather who has the bigger firepower
#2 same could be said for the gpu of the 5s. It’s more powerful than anything released as of now using a new type of structure. Test shows that it is even more powerful than that found on the iPad4, and I think it’s fair to say that the ipad4 currently has one of the most powerful gpu on a tablet or a smartphone before the 5s.
#3 the camera is innovative in a way that it mimics the UltraPixel camera found in the htc one but not to the extremes. It strikes a balance between low light and sharpness. I think this is a more worthwhile improvement to mention more than the two toned flash it sports.

Overall it still looks like the old iphone5 but it definitely is one of the most powerful mobile phone in the market today. I like my android better than this still because of functionality reasons, but i think apple deserves more credit this time instead of mindless and illogical bashing.
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abuzalzal says:

11 years ago

I Love Iphone 5S!!! The Best smartphone in the world!!!
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jcnjcjcnjc says:

11 years ago

One thing i like about apple is their marketing strategies. Yes nicely design phones n os but market it as “got to have it” device. Like you can do everything with a good brand suv but people want that BMW X5 or lexus. Or you can travel with tumi or samsonite bags but some need to have LV or Hermis bag. So i think it is true that those practical, techie or just wise enough not to spend too much on a phone that you will just use 1 or 2 yrs will not buy iphone. I wonder how many non iphone users are in those 9 million who buy the first weekend, and how many are black market resallers?
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Name: says:

11 years ago

I don’t really get it when people bash Apple for having “only” 2 cores tapos i-cocompare pa sa hardware ng flagship ng Samsung na Quad Core or Octa Core pa when in fact, it really boils down on how the OS takes advantage of the hardware. And iPhone is for non-Techies? please! its a matter of choice, I’m the kind of guy who likes to keep himself updated in gadgets, I use both an Android device and an iOS device, they each have it pros and cons but ultimately I prefer iOS, somehow kasi, it just feels a lot more natural when operating an iOS device its like everything is so simple and yet it does all sorts of complicated stuff but I still have my needs that only Android can deliver like USB OTG, downloading apps, USB file transfers, I just find that doing some sort of tweaks in Android from time to time is really a waste of time and stressful but I still love my Android device. Innovation does not only come from who has the bigger screen or who has the touch ID, innovation can also be measured on how the OS and the hardware makes it easier for us to do things that we normally do with our smartphones or have something new to do with our smartphones
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wew says:

11 years ago

wooo maniwala kami sainyu di nyu tinry ung nipple?hahaha kung ako itatry ko din for fun tska para makita ko kung accurate ba talaga lol
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asdasdas says:

11 years ago

ang daming tambay dito na naglalaway sa iphone.. to all fellow iphone owners, mag-ingat tayo sa iphone natin.. as you can see, ang dami dito hindi maka-afford.. siguradong magnanakaw eto ng mga iphone!
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TuxedoMask says:

11 years ago

nauubusan na ng innovation ang apple.. at habang tumatagal nawawala ang excitement sa mga mga bagong release na unit nila, di tulad ng dati.. pero sa ngaun good buy pa rin iphone 5s. “Iphone” eh.. pero kung papipiliin ako, iphone 5s or note 3.. note 3 ako, preference ko lng..
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eco says:

11 years ago

To all iOS & android owners, discover great free apps and get rewarded with gift cards. Just enter the site from your iDevice or Androids http://m.freemyapps.com/share/email/f4c771e4

No gimmick so far I’ve earned US$40 gift check since March this year, try it there’s nothing to loose.
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tmcr7 says:

11 years ago

70k for a gold plated phone that’s made in China which you will scrap next year as soon as the iPhone6 is released. :)) Ito ang katunayan na di nabibili ang common sense. :))
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boybato says:

11 years ago

i bought a samsung duos last may. came september, di na gumagana yong kanyang wi-fi. so i had it checked sa samsung store i bought it. they tried to “re-program” it but still it didn’t solve the problem. then they told me that the chip inside the unit will have to be replaced. it was replaced naman.

good thing i have my reliable iphone na kahit ilang bagsak na eh super tibay pa rin naman. unlike don sa samsung duos ko na never ko namang nabagsak pero hayun, after a few months pa lang eh may sira na.
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Kat says:

11 years ago

@Simultaneous: “Your carelessness make your phone broke” Lousy statement. :) Why did my carelessness made my iPhone broke when it fell? To think it’s made of glass and my Samsung phone is plastic it should have not broke.

“why don’t you watch some videos regarding the durability of apple and samsung?” I’m talking based on my experience. So I presume your ranting is based on Youtube. LOL! :)

@Bajigjig: OMG! What a statement. Nothing else to say! Bwahaha! :)
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Kabayan says:

11 years ago

Sarap mag basa nang mga comment ah… Android this.. IOS that… I bet mga taga android dito hindi alam na kinopya nang Google ang iOS from Apple… and that must be the reason why they’re bitter whenever Apple updates iOS.
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Whambam says:

11 years ago

Kelan release nito sa pinas?
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Ronald says:

11 years ago

Now available at Lazada. http://www.lazada.com.ph/apple-iphone-5s-16gb-gold-85138.html
- Reply