Apple pie expands with 5C, 5S: Here's a dip in it

On the inside, 5C is really an iPhone 5, with minor upgrades. And you shouldn't buy a 5S if you own the iPhone 5

Apple smartphones have always carried a premium. While Samsung has managed to shake Apple with its big-screen smartphones priced competitively, many still pledge their allegiance to Apple.

Come November 1, Apple will launch the new smartphones in India. While many e-commerce sites like eBay are selling the new smartphones at high prices, the official prices are yet to be revealed.

Why choose an iPhone 5C?
Current price on e-commerce

sites: Rs 36,300
Apple's serious about pushing the new iPhone 5C and though it is being touted as a cheaper device (compared to the 5S), the company is making no such claims. Instead, the firm is marketing it as a 'colourful' iPhone, hence the 'C' in its name. The handset is available in white, yellow, pink, blue and green.

On the inside, 5C is really an iPhone 5, with minor upgrades. For instance, you can get faster LTE speeds and the front-facing FaceTime camera is better but otherwise the 5C has the same A6 processor, iPhone 5's design (with a plastic body this time), same four-inch Retina display and battery life. The 5C doesn't boast the same camera as Apple's new flagship iPhone 5S handset, sticking instead with the eight-megapixel (mp) camera just as on iPhone 5. Though most users will find nothing much to complain about an eight-mp camera, this though is one area where Apple needs to up its game if it wants to match rivals such as the Nokia Lumia 1020 and please the budding generation of amateur photographers. There's also Siri, Apple's voice assistant on 5C, who often misunderstands your voice instructions and throws up some genuinely funny answers.

Overall, it seems like Apple is marketing the 5C for new iPhone owners who would like a vibrant-looking iPhone at a not-so-premium price that allows multitasking and smooth transitions between apps.

Why choose an iPhone 5S?
Price on e-commerce sites: Rs 54,600
With the new Apple 5S, the company has moved away from offering just monochromatic colors on its smartphones. With the new iOS 7 operating system, 5S comes across as desirable. Its competitor Samsung Galaxy S4 outweighs the 5S by 20g since it boasts a larger screen measuring five inches from corner to corner versus the four-inch display on 5S.

Apple had acquired a security system firm called AuthenTec, and has developed a fingerprint reader for 5S users that works more accurately than similar examples we have seen on other smartphones and laptops. It can easily recognise a fingerprint from different angles and store a number of different fingerprints. The scanner is hidden underneath the home button. Called Touch ID, it can be initiated by resting your finger on the button. During tests, we found that using Touch ID unlocks the devices quicker than entering a four-digit password. Touch ID can also be used to authorise an App store or iTunes purchase.

What impressed us was a new f2.2 aperture lens on 5S, slow motion video at an astonishing 120 frames a second and automatic burst photographs at 10 frames a second. Don't make the mistake of undermining the eight-mp camera. It takes beautiful pictures. The flash comprises two LEDs, dubbed True Tone. With a warm and cool light, it ensures the colour temperature of your pictures remains balanced.

The core of the 5S is the new A7 dual-core processor said to perform twice as efficiently as the older A6 chip due to the 64-bit architecture.

If you own the iPhone 5, should you be getting ready to pay for a 5S? Probably not, since you have an acceptable smartphone with an acceptable processing power and a recently upgraded operating system. The big change is the new iOS 7.

Our take: Mobile technology is evolving way too fast. We recommend you find a few features in a smartphone you see yourself using the most and are willing to put up with for a few years. That should be the device for you.