iPhone 5s vs Galaxy S4: What to buy
During the launch event for the iphone 5s, Apple CEO, Apple
CEO Tim Cook told the crowd that “we don’t pack in feature after feature.” That
was obviously a dig at Samsung, whose Galaxy S4 will be competing head to
head starting Sept. 20. Not sure which smartphone to buy? You will make up your
mind by the end of this article.
The iPhone 5s is all about enhancing an already great phone,
from a faster A7 processor and beefed-up camera to a new fingerprint sensor. On
the other hand, the Galaxy S4 pushes the envelope with a cornucopia of features
and some impressive specs of its own. Here’s how the two flagship smartphones
stack up in multiple categories.
Why do Apple releases generate so much hype?
Design
Apple knows how to make more beautiful and solidly built
smartphones than Samsung, and that doesn’t change with the iPhone 5s. Now
available in three color options: space gray, gold and silver, the 5s is just
as light (3.9 ounces) and thin (.3 inches) as before while packing a lot more
power. The gold version looks classy without being ostentatious. The edges still
look great and have a premium vibe.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S4 is an uninspired plastic slab. Yes,
it’s light for having a larger 5-inch display, but the S4 doesn’t have a
top-tier look or feel like the iPhone 5s. What we do like about the S4 is that
the back is removable, allowing you to access the memory card slot and replace
the battery. Samsung mixes a physical home button with capacitive keys beneath
the screen, which works but doesn't feel unified.
iPhone 5s. The iPhone 5 had a better design, and now you get
more color options with the 5s.
There’s something that feels dated about the iPhone 5s’
4-inch screen. At 1136 x 640 pixels, Apple’s device has a much lower resolution
than the S4’s 1920 x 1080 pixels.
The S4 also has a full inch on the iPhone at 5 versus 4
inches. That’s a lot more room for watching videos, surfing the Web and playing
games.
On the plus side for iPhone fans, assuming Apple choose the
same panel for the 5s, it should be brighter than the S4. Just like the iPhone
5, we expect this screen to be much easier to read outdoors.
Apple also leads when it comes to design, with its sharp
features; stainless steel rims. Apple has a new addition; finger print
detection security feature.
Galaxy S4’s bigger and sharper screen in the Samsung outweighs
the iPhone 5’s brighter LCD.
Cameras
The iPhone has always had one of the best smartphone
cameras, and Apple is hoping to keep that primacy. While the 5s still
bears an 8-megapixel camera, Apple’s new f/2.2 aperture sensor is 15 percent
larger than the previous one, it can therefore capture wider frames, and a
redesigned flash can blend its two LED lights to preserve a scene’s natural
color balance. Apple has paired the hardware with a series of software
features, adding things like a 28-megapixel panorama creator and a “burst mode”
that captures a series of pictures and picks the best one. Apple may not be
emphasizing camera quality quite as heavily as competitors. Samsung Galaxy S4
has 13-megapixel camera.
