Latest News:  iPhone 5s

The Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have already arrived in the US and other select markets. While there are no Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet, many are expecting the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to reach us in November 2014, so we still have time to decide which Apple iPhone to get. Following the iPhone lineup in the US, we estimate that for Malaysia there will be the Apple iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. For this comparison we'll see which Apple iPhone you should get as we compare the Apple iPhone 6 vs the Apple iPhone 6 Plus vs the Apple iPhone 5S vs the Apple iPhone 5C. Check out our detailed analysis in this article.

While the iOS site for Malaysia has the operating system still in Coming Soon, Apple have already made their latest iOS 8 update available for download. The update is available to all Apple iPhone 4S and above users, iPad 2 and above users, all iPad mini users and those with a 5th generation iPod Touch. All you need to do is go to Settings > General > Software Updates. The update is almost 1GB but requires some free space (about 5.7GB for the iPhone) to update properly, so be sure to have a good amount of space available on your device. Like all updates be sure to back up all your important stuff and make sure you have enough battery life before you update.

While the Apple iPhone 6 and Apple iPhone 6 Plus have yet to arrive in Malaysia, and won't be for another month or so, the Apple iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C have both received a price cut at the Malaysia Apple Store. The 16GB version Apple iPhone 5S now starts from RM1999 (previously it was RM2399), while the 32GB version will be priced at RM2199. An 8GB Apple iPhone 5C on the other hand will be priced from RM1499, with no 16GB or 32GB version available at the Malaysia Apple Store. Colours remain the same though, with the iPhone 5S coming in silver, gold and space gray while the iPhone 5C comes in vlue, green, pink, yellow and white. We expect the pricing at Malaysian telcos to go down even further soon, perhaps even for FREE for the Apple iPhone 5S (the iPhone 5C is already free). We also expect the higher-end 16GB and 32GB Apple iPhone 5C and 64GB Apple iPhone 5S smartphones in stock to either get a quick sale or disappear off the shelves quietly.

Celcom recently announced several new offers and deals for the Apple iPhone 5S. The first deal allows you to get 2 Apple iPhone 5s smartphones with the first smartphone from RM388 and the second from RM1188. This deal is valid until 31 August 2014 or while stocks last but it is only applicable to loyal Celcom subscribers who have been using Celcom for more than 24 months with a monthly spending amount of at least RM50. They also have to have a good payment record for the most recent 3 months and you will have to sign up for a new number. The contract is 24 months for this deal but for more details check out the tables and links in this article.

Previously Maxis had a trade in program where you could trade in certain smartphones for the Apple iPhone 5s. With the impending release of the next Apple iPhone, Maxis are stepping it up by now accepting all smartphones. A minimum RM200 discount will be given for any smartphone traded in at any Maxis Centre or Maxis Exclusive Partner store in Malaysia. Higher-end or more valuable smartphones get better discounts. As before, this will be done on the Maxis iValue postpaid plan and you will have to sign up for a 24-month contract. Again, all you need to do is bring in the trade-in smartphone itself. Check out the table and links in this article for more details.

As if preparing early for the coming of the Apple iPhone 6, Maxis have opened up a trade-in program for the Apple iPhone 5s. You will need to have an iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, Samsung Galaxy S3 or Galaxy Note 2 you're not using though, as these 4 smartphones are the only ones Maxis will accept for the trade-in. The trade-in period is from now till 31 July 2014 (which sort of makes us think we could see the iPhone 6 sooner than earlier expected). You will have to sign up for a Maxis iValue plan under a 24 month contract though. Loyal Maxis users who have been with Maxis longer than 1 year won't have to pay the advance payment. Maxis won't require you to bring the box, charger or accessories when you trade-in your old smartphone but you'll have to go to a Maxis Center or Maxis Exclusive Partner shop to do the trade-in. Check out the details in the table and links in this article.

The Apple Malaysia store will be holding a special Red Friday one-day shopping event on 10 January 2014 (this Friday). So far Apple hasn't said what discounts are available or how much but they have said that purchases over RM250 will get free shipping. The one-day sale should start as the clock ticks over to 12.01am at midnight on Thursday. You can however expect 2 things, 1) things will go fast, so if you have the opportunity (and more importantly money) then get it quick, and 2) expect the Apple Malaysia store to get slow as users flood the site. We're guessing the Apple iPad Air, iPad mini with Retina Display, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, Apple TV, iPod nano, iPod Touch, Macbook Air, iMac and MacBook Pro will be the ones to get the discounts as the links for these products have been changed to red just like the text of the advertisement. Accessories that may get the same treatment include those for the iPhone 5S, iPad mini and iPad Air.

The Apple iPhone 5S has been out in the market for quite some time. Bringing about a fairly big hardware upgrade over the previous Apple iPhone 5 with the 64-bit A7 processor and chipset along with a number of other upgrades, benchmarks of the iPhone 5S have been quite good in terms of performance. However, it has taken some time for complete battery benchmarks to be done. These battery benchmarks have since been done and the short answer is that the iPhone 5S is a bit more energy efficient than the iPhone 5 with a 5 hour or so battery life compared to the previous version. Bear in mind that this is on really heavy usage and that usuallyt, on normal usage, most users can expect about 10 hours or so worth of battery time on a single charge. This still isn't good enough to take out the battery life champion nor some of the other smartphones in the same price range but it does offer some measure of improvement over the previous iPhone.

Right after they made the 24-carat gold plated Apple iPad Air and Apple iPad mini with Retina Display, Goldgenie have come out with a 24-carat gold plated Apple iPhone 5S almost completely covered in Swarovski Crystals. This new bling covered version is called the Apple iPhone 5S Supernova with the 16GB versions costing RM20225. While it isn't the first time someone has come out with a crystal covered smartphone the sheer number of crystals on the Goldgenie Apple iPhone 5S Supernova is almost too much, but if you like a shiny disco ball smartphone then this is perfect for you. You can get the 32GB version for another RM500 or so and the 64GB for another RM1000 or so. As usual, Goldgenie will also include a nicely laquered Cherry Oak wooden box to put the bling encrusted gold Supernova Apple iPhone. Check out the pics for yourself in the article.

The Apple iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C are finally fully available within Malaysia both on the Malaysian Apple Store as well as for most of the telcos in Malaysia. This includes Celcom, DiGi and Maxis for now. For a complete customizable comparison based on price, etc, check out our Technave.com:

• Apple iPhone 5S plan comparison tool
• Apple iPhone 5C plan comparison tool

For those looking to check out the individual telco Apple iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C plans check out the Celcom, DiGi and Maxis telco plans in this article.