News & Reviews:   Apple iPhone 5

Updated (11-10-2013):-

While the official announcement from Apple yesterday outed the Malaysia release date for the Apple iPhone 5S and 5C as 1 November 2013, a look at the Apple Malaysia site reveals another date. When you scroll down to the Shop online option the date you can start ordering online at the Malaysian Apple store is 31 October 2013. This means if you're looking to get the Gold Apple iPhone 5S then you should be prepared for a midnight rush on 30 October 2013. Looking back at the wording of the announcement and it specifically says "by 1 November 2013" which means that 31 October 2013 also works as it is before the 1 November 2013 deadline.

Updated (11-10-2013):-

While the official announcement from Apple yesterday outed the Malaysia release date for the Apple iPhone 5S and 5C as 1 November 2013, a look at the Apple Malaysia site reveals another date. When you scroll down to the Shop online option the date you can start ordering online at the Malaysian Apple store is 31 October 2013. This means if you're looking to get the Gold Apple iPhone 5S then you should be prepared for a midnight rush on 30 October 2013. Looking back at the wording of the announcement and it specifically says "by 1 November 2013" which means that 31 October 2013 also works as it is before the 1 November 2013 deadline.

As mentioned in our Apple iPhone 5S report, the other device to be officially announced is the plastic backplated Apple iPhone 5C. Effectively replacing the Apple iPhone 5, the Apple iPhone 5C has nearly the same hardware and tech specs, including the same dual-core A6 processor and chipset, 4-inch Retina display (1136 x 640) and 8MP iSight camera. The only major hardware differences include a bigger battery, a new FaceTime HD 1.2MP front camera and the aforementioned colourful plastic backplates which come in blue, green, pink, yellow and white (sorry, no black yet). At 9mm and 132g the iPhone 5C is thicker and heavier than the iPhone 5. Other tech specs and features include 100Mbps LTE connectivity, WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. While it packs in an 8MP iSight camera it probably isn't the same as the one on the Apple iPhone 5S as it has an f/2.4 aperture and only one LED flash.

The Apple iPhone 5S was officially announced recently and culminates after tons of leaked reports, tech specs, features, images and videos already showed up. Strangely enough, most of the leaks are correct and include a massive hardware upgrade such as a new 64-bit A7 chipset and processor along with a fingerprint sensor backed Home button with sapphire crystal. Some new things were revealed though and this includes an 8MP camera sensor that takes larger pixel shots, showing that Apple have also jumped onto the UtraPixel bandwagon. In terms of design, the rumoured gold and grey chassis are true but the overall design remains nearly the same as the Apple iPhone 5. Check out our analysis of the Apple iPhone 5S here.

Too many cooks spoil the broth, but too many leaks spoil the anticipation especially where the supposedly low-cost Apple iPhone 5C is concerned. After how many pics of seeing the plastic backsides of the iPhone 5C some more substantial information has leaked in the form of tech specs. This comes from insider information and while it is just as unofficial as all the other leaks it is a bit different from the rest, so it is a bit more refreshing. Tech specs for the Apple iPhone 5C from said insider includes:

• A dual-core processor and chipset
• 4-inch display (1136 x 640)
• 1GB RAM
• 16/32/64GB storage
• 8MP rear camera + 1.2MP front camera
• 124.2 x 58.4 x 7.6mm | 106g
• Supports iOS 7 + Siri

Now we've all seen images of the Apple iPhone 5S in champagne gold but it appears that it may have other colour features in the form of a gunmetal casing. While we don't have an actual gunmetal chassis to show you, we do have leaked pics of a gunmetal coloured SIM tray. When inserted into a white Apple iPhone 5S casing it really shows a difference. Gunmetal is generally grey in colour and sometimes comes in brushed metal. We have no idea if this is still aluminum or a different type of metal but with the leaked images of the champagne gold Apple iPhone 5S a gunmetal version is also just as likely. As usual, no details just yet on a release date for Malaysia or pricing but all eyes are looking towards September (we're guessing if no announcement comes next month, all eyes will move on to October and so forth ;).

We've seen any number of colourful plastic backcasings for the upcoming low-cost Apple iPhone 5C and we've also seen it in white. However, we've never seen it black, until now. Recently leaked images show the glossy black Apple iPhone 5C and it looks way better than any of the other colours. No idea why it took so long for it to surface but it should offer an interesting option when or if the Apple iPhone 5C gets released. Again, no news on availability in Malaysia although many are guessing it will probably be after the 10 September announcement. Pricing is rumoured to be not so low-cost as initially expected (around $400 ~ $500 or RM1317 ~ RM1646) but it is still better than the upcoming Apple iPhone 5S which is rumoured to cost $650 (RM2139). For now, check out the pics.

The next Apple iPhone will undoubtedly be the Apple iPhone 5S but even then a whole truckload of rumours and leaked pics have fueled predictions about the features that may come with Apple's next version of the iPhone. So far, everyone is saying it will come on 10 September 2013 with release dates for Malaysia and other countries expected around October but this isn't a feature. Compiling these features into one post, the features that have been circulating the most and may appear for the Apple iPhone 5S include:

• 1.5GHz Apple A7 Chip + 1GB LPDDR3-1333 RAM
• 12MP f/2.0 aperture camera + dual LED flash
• Fingerprint scanner behind Sapphire glass Home key
• Champagne Gold body
• 128GB storage
• NFC

According to insider information, the next Apple iPhone, which should be the Apple iPhone 5S, is coming soon on 10 September 2013. This fits with previous release dates which also happened around this time period and while the rumour circulating is about the iPhone 5S release, it will also mark the final release of other related devices and products like perhaps iOS 7 (which is already in beta 5) and the supposedly low-cost Apple iPhone 5C. While these are the more definite announcements that are likely to happen on that date, bear in mind that the Apple iPad 5 could also make an appearance as backplate housing for the tablet has surfaced. The Apple iPad mini with Retina Display on the other hand is still slated for around 2014 though.

We've seen any number of leaked Apple iPhone 5C back housing videos, which is the rumoured low-cost Apple iPhone otherwise known as the Apple iPhone Lite. However, most of them have been just with the plastic backplate or casing. A new video of the Apple iPhone 5C has made an appearance on Youku, China's version of Youtube, this time with the front panel as well. Placed side by side with the Apple iPhone 5, the video shows that the front panel may also be mostly plastic while the bottom part looks a lot like the Apple iPod Touch. So far no news on tech specs but many are speculating that it may be a cut down version of the Apple iPhone 5. No news on pricing or availability in Malaysia just yet but it is expected it to be much lower priced than the normal Apple iPhone smartphones and is aimed at students and emerging markets. Check out the video for yourself.