Apple iPhone 5S vs Apple iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S4

Now that Apple has announced the iPhone 5S, it’s time for a side-by-side for comparison against the previous iPhone 5 and the de facto Android flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S4.

The first question is, is it an upgrade over the iPhone 5? The answer is yes, specifically in the processor, the camera, and Touch ID. Apple’s “S” releases are normally minor updates. So this is actually significant. Apple obviously is feeling the competitive pressure.

The next question is how does it fare against the Galaxy S4? By the numbers you would see that Galaxy S4 would win. But most numbers don’t matter much (e.g. processor speed, and megapixel count) without context. So I won’t even go into the 64-bit (although really that is significant). Numbers are nothing compared to the experience.

I’d say you can’t go wrong with either iPhone 5S or Samsung Galaxy S4. Personally, I’d go for the iPhone 5S due to four reasons: design (understated elegance), the size (I like my phones small and light), the camera (True Tone flash, 2.2/f aperture and 15% larger sensor) and Touch ID (definitely more secure than Android’s rather gimmicky face unlock).

Apple iPhone 5S Apple iPhone 5 Samsung Galaxy S4
Size 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm
Weight 112 g 112 g 130 g
Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100
LTE LTE LTE
Display LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors Super AMOLED HD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
640 x 1136 pixels, 4 inches (326 ppi) 640 x 1136 pixels, 4 inches (326 ppi) 1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.0 inches (441 ppi)
Processor unspecified processor, unspecified GPU, Apple A7 chipset, 64-bit unspecified processor, unspecified GPU, Apple A6 chipset Quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7, PowerVR SGX 544MP3 GPU
RAM unspecified unspecified 1/2 GB RAM
Internal Storage 16/32/64 GB 16/32/64 GB 16/32/64 GB
External Storage No External Memory No External Memory Up to 64GB
Data Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band
Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP v4.0 with A2DP v4.0 with A2DP
NFC none none yes
Operating System iOS 7 iOS 6 Android v4.2 Jelly Bean
Camera 8 megapixel AF with True Tone dual-LED flash and f/2.2 aperture lens, 15-percent larger sensor, 10fps burst 8 megapixel AF, f/2.4 aperture lens 13 megapixel AF, f/2.2 aperture lens
Video 1080p at 30fps, LED video light 1080p at 30fps, LED video light 1080p at 30fps, LED video light
Apps About 900K from the Apple App Store About 900K from the Apple App Store About 1M from Google Play + access to non-market apps
Battery Standard battery, Li-Po Standard battery, Li-Po Standard battery, Li-Ion 2600 mAh
Standby Up to 270 h (3G) Up to 225 h (3G) Up to 370 h (3G)
Talk-time Up to 10 h (3G) Up to 8 h (3G) Up to 117 h (3G)