Launched today, the new iPhone 5S has the same 4-inch screen and overall design as the iPhone 5 (which is discontinued) but has a completely new feature set.
- Find out what we make of it in our hands on iPhone 5S review.
In addition to the white and black (space grey) variants, there is also a new gold and white version.
New is that the iPhone 5s includes dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi (and you get the Bluetooth 4.0 also found in the old iPhone 5).
- Read up on the 10 things you need to know about the new iPhone 5S.
iPhoto, iMovie, Pages, Numbers and Keynote are now available as free downloads with the purchase of iPhone 5s.
iPhone 5S processor and graphics
There's a 64-bit Apple A7 chip on board with more than a billion transistors (32-bit and 64-bit apps are supported) That's an incredible 56 times as fast as the original iPhone.
The first-of-its-kind chip packs twice as many transistors in a piece of silicon roughly the same size as the A6 - 102mm squared.
iOS 7 will obviously support the 64-bit chip, too. A native 64-bit kernel, libraries and drivers are all part of the package.
The graphics, featuring OpenGL ES 3.0, are also twice as fast and Apple was keen to demonstrate the gaming prowess of the handset with Infinity Blade 3.
iPhone 5S battery life and LTE
As for battery life, the iPhone 5S will allow for 10 hours of 3G talk time, and 10 hours of LTE browsing. Indeed, the iPhone 5S is better at mobile browsing on LTE than on 3G - 10 hours versus eight. Now that's a leap forward.
Although you won't be able to tell them apart, Apple is making four slightly different models available globally to circumvent the global differences in LTE bands. These are A1533, A1453, A1457 and A1530. See http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/ for more on these models.
iPhone 5S camera
The camera is a case of same resolution, bigger sensor with the 8 megapixel device featuring a f/2.2 five element Apple designed lens. Video is 1080p, while there's 120fps 720p slow motion, too, plus a burst mode.
It can capture a 28MP panorama that adjusts exposure as a user pans their camera. There's also a new True Tone flash that variably adjusts color and intensity for more than 1,000 combinations. Flesh will appear more natural - no more washed out profile pics?
The sensor includes a 15% larger active area, and pixels (taking the bigger is better route) amount to 1.5 microns.
The long-rumored dual-flash is indeed part of the iPhone 5S' camera package. Auto-image stabilization is on the way.
iPhone 5S Touch ID
Apple has also introduced a new fingerprint reader on the home button of the iPhone 5S. It scans sub-epidermal skin layers, scans at 500ppi and is, incredibly just 170 microns thick.
Thanks to the ring around the home button, it knows your finger is there and you don't have to tell it to scan. It can even scan your print at whatever angle you press the button at. It's also integrated with iOS 7.
All fingerprint information is encrypted and stored securely in the ominously named Secure Enclave inside the A7 chip
Touch ID can also be used as a secure way to purchase from the iTunes Store, App Store or iBooks Store.
iPhone 5S M7
There's also the M7 chip, a motion co-processor that continually measures motion data featuring an accelerometer and gyroscope. So think better and more precise fitness apps.
Developers can access new CoreMotion APIs that take advantage of M7 to create even better fitness and activity apps than we have already. Apple claims it goes "well beyond what other mobile devices offer", although we remain to be convinced of that.
The M7 will save battery life for pedometer or other fitness apps that use the accelerometer all day.
iPhone 5S release date and price
The iPhone 5S release date is September 20 and you can pre-order from September 13. US pricing is set at $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for 32GB and $399 for 64GB.
These are on two-year contracts.
The UK iPhone 5S SIM-free price is set at £549, £629 and £709, while Australians will pay $869, $999 and $1,129.
Apple also released the iPhone 5C, which is essentially an iPhone 5 reworked inside a plastic case at a budget price point.
Here are our earlier iPhone 5S rumours:
Apple's past 'S' models have featured the same shell as the core model, though with different features and slightly different tech specs. Once again, it seems that will be the case for the 5S.
The iPhone 5S isn't expected to differentiate itself from the iPhone 5 too drastically, though a better camera and slightly faster processor will surely be part of the package.
One analyst has claimed Apple could use the iPhone 5S to increase its margin for iPhones as a result of falling profitability.
One thing is for sure, with the release of such super handsets as the Samsung Galaxy S4, Sony Xperia Z and HTC One, the next iPhone will have to seriously up its game.
Apple will no doubt be feeling the pressure to get its next phone out on the market as soon as possible. But is it really as important a product as some suggest?
iPhone 5S release date
At least we know when the iPhone 5S is coming now - the official Apple invite has dropped and we're going to definitely (well, almost definitely) see the new iPhone on September 10.
A new iPhone from Apple will almost certainly be the 5S, with many analysts believing we won't see an iPhone 6 until 2014 (although, of course, not everybody agrees with this!).
The iPhone 5S release date is apparently pegged just days later, on September 20, as retailers have begun clearing stock and refusing staff holiday on that date. Rival Samsung introduced the third generation Samsung Galaxy Note 3 just days earlier at IFA 2013.
To get you in the mood for the Apple event check out our spoof trailer, full of the sort of thrills and spills we've come to expect from the Cupertino-base firm.
The iPhone 5S will have iOS 7
iOS 7 will launch on September 18 for older handsets, two days before we're expecting the iPhone 5S itself. It'll be available as a free download for iPhone 4, 4S and 5 and iPad 2 and up.
iOS 7 is the biggest overhaul to Apple's mobile operating system since its inception back in 2007. It's likely to give the iPhone brand the major reboot it needs to bring it up to speed with Android, which many believe has now outstripped the Apple OS.
It's got an all new design, with flatter and redesigned icons, along with new features like the Control Center that lives throughout the phone and an improved browser. It's all fancy. You should check it out when it lands.
iPhone 5S display
The iPhone 5S (or perhaps the iPhone 6 next year) will include a Super HD screen display and camera according to new reports in December 2012.
The China Times says a 'Touch On Display' panel is being developed by Taiwanese supplier Innolux with 10 point multi-touch and a 0.5mm thickness. Apparently the site spoke to sources inside Apple's supply chain.
It's been reported that the handset would have a Retina+ Sharp IGZO display, which would have a 1080p Full HD resolution. It's also been widely reported that Apple could introduce two handset sizes as it seeks to compete with the plethora of Android devices now on the market.
Rumours in late May 2013 pointed to the iPhone 5S having double the screen resolution of the iPhone 5 - raising the pixel count to 1.5 million and making the bezel extremely thin.
This would be a vast improvement over the 727,040 pixels found in the current iPhone 5 Retina display, which stands at 640 x 1,136 resolution and 326 pixels per inch.
iPhone 5S casing
According to further rumours, the iPhone 5S might not be the only Apple handset we see this year - rumours abound about cheaper, plastic iPhones. Some analysts believe that the new iPhone will come in multiple sizes, though we're not so sure.
It's highly possible that different iPhone 5S colours will be announced - not least because of this shot from BGR that shows different coloured SIM trays, plus the invite to the launch event (seen further up) has lots of colours going on.
We're in no doubt that the iPhone 5S will simply use the iPhone 5 shell, especially given Apple's penchant for doing this with the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4S.
The casing has been leaked multiple times, with each showing the new phone coming with the same case with only minor changes to the buttons to improve stability.
The internal components have also been upgraded to make things a little more efficient when it comes to space within the casing, meaning that Apple is certainly looking at beefing up the specs of some of the internals - a better battery and updated camera seem nailed on.
Phones Review suggests that a dual-SIM iPhone 5S could be released, hot on the heels of a rumoured Samsung Galaxy S4. More parts appeared in photos shown by BGR towards the end of January 2013.
A less convincing report suggests the square which has adorned every Apple home button since the start of time is going to disappear on the iPhone 5S, while the upgrades over the iPhone 5 will be kept to a minimum with a slight camera boost, newer A7 processor and a dual flash. Hmm...
Plus the 5S will have "more than two colour options" according to Macotakara via MacRumors. Win.
iPhone 5S camera
In January 2013 iLounge received information that indicated the handset would sport the same design as the iPhone 5 with the key difference being a beefier camera and larger flash on the back.
That's hardly ground breaking from Apple, with the touted 13MP camera on the 5S hardly bucking the trend considering the Sony Xperia Z already has this and we'd expect the Samsung Galaxy S4 to offer up something similar.
New rumours from January 2013 pointed towards the iPhone 5S having a 13MP camera as well.
More importantly, there are now multiple 'shots' (read: possibly made up) of the iPhone 5S coming with a dual LED flash. Adding credence to these rumours is the fact that the larger flash has been spotted both inside and out of the iPhone 5S, and does make a lot of sense given the need for better illumination.
iPhone 5S NFC and finger scanning
Rumours have abounded for years that the iPhone will incorporate NFC at some stage, but this has proved unfounded. Indeed, Apple decided to incorporate Passbook into the iPhone 5 and iOS 6 as a way to provide a similar, if different, feature.
Now, according to the often-wrong China Times, Apple is rumoured to be equipping the 5S with NFC in addition to a fingerprint scanner for added security. We're really not sure about this one, though rumours of fingerprint scanners and NFC support in Apple's devices trace back to last July when Apple bought mobile security firm AuthenTec for $356 million (UK£238 million, UA$346 million).
PayPal's chief information security officer, Michael Barrett, may have further dropped a bit hint during a recent keynote speech. "There is going to be a fingerprint enabled phone on the market later this year," he said. "Not just one, multiple."
The scanner itself could be baked right into the home button, although that's a lot of tech for Apple to fit into a pretty small space, although rumours suggest Apple will ditch the concave design of its home button for a convex offering to allow a little extra space for the scanner.
Could this be in the new iPhone?
Fingerprint scanning on the iPhone 5S received another hat tip from Aussie leaker Sonny Dickson, who claimed to have nabbed a picture of the scanner component for the handset - although we're not totally sold on the idea.
There's also images of the supposed retail box for the iPhone 5S floating around which seem to suggest a silver ring around that famous home button - space for a scanner perhaps?
iPhone 5S battery
We all expect things to get a little better with every new iteration of the iPhone, and it seems the battery is one of those going to get a little spec bump.
In a 'leaked photo', which is apparently from October of last year, the new iPhone prototype showed a 5.92Whr battery, up from the 5.45Whr option in the 5. Big jump, exciting times...well, not so much.
Apple always mentions the battery during its new product presentations and how it's improved the battery life of said device, so you can safely assume the Cupertino firm will have done some work on the power pack in the iPhone 5S.
The shiny new iOS 7 software which will almost certainly be running on the iPhone 5S will probably have some new power saving techniques of its own, allowing everything to run more efficiently and thus make the handset last longer.
We found the iPhone 5 generally struggled to see out more than a day on one charge, so we're hoping Apple can work some battery magic on the iPhone 5S which will see it sail into day two without revisiting a charger.
Other iPhone 5S technology
According to CP Tech, Apple filed a patent application last month for Wireless Power Utilization, a wireless charging system with near-field magnetic resonance (NFMR). That means we may well get wireless charging in an iPhone at last - but the Cupertino firm could well hold off until the iPhone 6 to introduce it.
Meanwhile, a further Apple patent seems to imply that future iPhones will be able to adjust volume as you move them away from your ear.