Apple unveiled the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C smartphones during a special media event, and in what follows we’re going to see how Apple’s high-end 2013 handset does against its main Android rivals in a raw specs battle.
The iPhone 5S is Apple’s next flagship device, which means it will compete in stores against flagships from various Android device makers.
While the specs battle doesn’t tell the entire story in such phones battles, we’ll only compare hardware between the iPhone 5S and various Android devices.
We picked one flagship device from Samsung, LG, HTC, Motorola and Sony for this particular battle – we’re looking at the Galaxy S4, LG G2, HTC One, Moto X and Xperia Z1, respectively.
In what follows, you’ll be able to see how the devices compare, at least on paper, when it comes to specs.
| iPhone 5S | Galaxy S4 | LG G2 | HTC One | Moto X | Xperia Z1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maker | Apple | Samsung | LG | HTC | Sony | |
| Size (mm) | 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 | 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 | 138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9 | 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3 | 129.3 x 65.3 x 10.4 | 144 x 74 x 8.5 |
| Weight (g) | 112 | 130 | 143 | 143 | 130 | 170 |
| Display | 4-inch | 5-inch | 5.2-inch | 4.7-inch | 4.7-inch | 5-inch |
| Type | LCD | Super AMOLED | LCD | LCD | AMOLED | TFT |
| Resolution | 1136 x 640 | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | 1280 x 720 | 1920 x 1080 |
| CPU | A7 64-bit; M7 motion coprocessor | Snapdragon 600 / Exynos 5 Octa | Snapdragon 800 | Snapdragon 600 | X8 System | Snapdragon 800 |
| PPI | 326 | 441 | 424 | 469 | 312 | 441 |
| RAM | N/A | 2GB | 2GB | 2GB | 2GB | 2GB |
| Storage | 16/32/64GB | 16/32/64GB | 16/32GB | 32/64GB | 16/32GB | 16GB |
| MicroSD | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Camera | 8MP | 13MP | 13MP | 4MP | 10MP | 20.7MP |
| Second camera | 1.2MP | 2MP | 2.1MP | 2.1MP | 2MP | 2MP |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 a/b/g/n | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac |
| Bluetooth | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| LTE | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| NFC | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | N/A | 2600mAh | 3000mAh | 2300mAh | 2200mAh | 3000mAh |
| Battery standby | 250 hours | 370 hours | N/A | 480 hours | 576 hours | 880 hours |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| OS | iOS 7 | Android 4.2.2 | Android 4.2.2 | Android 4.2.2 | Android 4.2.2 | Android 4.3 |
| Price (w/contract) | Starts at $199 | Starts at $199 | Starts at $199 | Starts at $199 | Starts at $199 | N/A |
As you can see in the table above, the iPhone 5S is the smallest and lightest of the bunch and sports two unique features, a fingerprint scanner and a 64-bit processor (coupled with a motion coprocessor).
However, the Android contenders come with some unique features of their own such as the Moto X’s contextual awareness and always-on features, the LG G2’s button placement and optical image stabilization features or the Xperia Z1’s waterproof features, 20.7-megapixel camera and advanced camera features. Not to mention that they all seem to beat the iPhone 5S in most categories, when strictly comparing specs.
Every Android handset beats the iPhone when it comes to screen (size, resolution and ppi) and battery standby. It’s likely that the iPhone 5S doesn’t have a battery bigger than the battery of the Moto X, even if it offers 25 hours of additional standby time when compared to the iPhone 5.
You’ll notice that some iPhone 5S specs have not been mentioned by Apple yet including RAM and the aforementioned battery capacity, which is something the company has always failed to mention with new smartphones in previous years.
When it comes to camera, it would seem that all the Android players are again ready to beat the iPhone 5S, but we won’t draw a conclusion just yet. In addition to counting megapixels, we’ll also going to have to look at actual camera features and camera samples to see who’s the real winner. In that regard, the HTC One and the Xperia Z1 are expected to put up a more than decent fight – and yes, there may be other handsets running a different OS that may have better camera powers.
When it comes to wireless connectivity options, you’ll notice that the iPhone 5S does not offer support for 802.11 ac Wi-Fi, nor does it have a NFC chip inside – everyone else has such features. However, Apple said on stage that its device will pack better LTE support than any other smartphone.
Starting prices for the U.S. market are similar for all these smartphones, but we’re only looking at on-contract prices. The full price of the iPhone 5S starts at $649 for the 16GB version.
Finally, we’re going to remind you that Apple doesn’t race in the specs game played by other handset makers – a policy that Motorola has also adopted for its Moto X – so comparing only the specs between iOS 7 and Android devices will not always tell the whole story.
With all that in mind, we’re going to let you draw the conclusion: who’s the winner for you and why? What’s your favorite?