iPhone 5s

By  Wii Shanklin

Gizmag reviews Apple's iPhone 5s, the latest iterative 'S-series' update out of Cupertino

Apple has settled into a pattern. While most smartphone makers try to blow our minds once a year with eye-catching new designs, shapes, and sizes, Apple has stuck to its guns: a redesigned iPhone one year, an almost identical-looking iPhone with upgraded internals the next. Is the latest iterative update, the iPhone 5s, worth jumping on? Or is this the year to hold off, or maybe test the Android waters? Let Gizmag try to answer, as we put the new iPhone 5s through the paces.

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Same old, same old

The iPhone 5s is very familiar-looking. If you were hoping for a radical redesign, or something that feels completely different from the iPhone 5, then you're going to be severely disappointed. The 5s' weight and dimensions are identical to its predecessor. And except for its home button, dual-LED flash, and slightly different colors (apparently the gold model is all the rage), it looks identical too. Yep, the 5s is an "s"-series iPhone through-and-through.

Fortunately for Apple, the iPhone 5's look and feel have made a lot of people very happy, so the 5s isn't likely to give many people fits either. Like its predecessor, it's made of anodized aluminum. It's very light (112 g), very thin (7.6 mm), and comfortable in just about any size of hand. It disappears in your pocket more than any high-end phone on the market.
The iPhone 5s isn't the biggest, flashiest, or even the most stunning smartphone around. You could even argue that the iPhone is starting to look pretty boring next to some of its competitors. But it's still a gorgeous, extremely well-built phone. It's hard to get too nit-picky with that.

Too small, or just right?

The screen is also unchanged from the iPhone 5. The 5s' screen quality is still excellent, and isn't cause for any concern. Though high end android phones have jumped into 1080p land during the last year, Apple is standing strong with its 326 pixels per inch Retina Display. And we don't have a problem with that. Everything is plenty sharp, colors are as accurate as ever, and the simpler visual design of iOS7 really stands out on it.

The iPhone's screen size, however, is another matter. Apple likes to fashion itself as a company that follows its own values above all else, not letting market trends or its competitors influence its decisions. It's admirable enough, and probably accurate, given the company's recent stay-the-course, come hell or high water attitude.
But screen size is one area where Apple has fallen behind. Way behind. It's not that there's anything terribly wrong with the iPhone 5s' four-inch display. We're sure that many customers with smaller hands appreciate having a smartphone that's both small and high-end. But the smartphone market has changed. Many customers have shown that they love bigger screens, and rival like samsung have been happy to capitalize on that shift in taste. Apple hasn't (yet) responded to that.

The iPhone 5s' screen is very small for a 2013 smartphone. I'd go so far as to call it the phone's biggest deficiency. Now, of course, not everyone wants a huge smartphone or a phablet, and Apple's sales figures prove that. But for the many customers that do want a 5" screen, Apple doesn't seem too worried about you. Customers' tastes may have changed, but Apple is still sticking to its four-inch screen guns.
Is Apple showing remarkable steadiness in the face of pressure, or pig-headed stubbornness that gives its competitors an unnecessary opening? We'll leave that one up to you. But either way, we wouldn't be surprised to see a bigger screen on Apple's 2014 iPhone (likely the iPhone 6). At some point, that turning tide has to play a role.
One advantage of the smaller screen is that it's easier to reach across the screen with one finger than on, say, the Galaxy 4. It makes one-handed tap-typing a little easier too, though a Swype-like trace keyboard would have helped out even more (we're left scratching our heads as to why Apple hasn't added that yet).

That fingerprint sensor

Touch ID is the iPhone 5s' fingerprint sensor, and it's also its killer feature. Living beneath the phone's sapphire home button is a biometric sensor that will learn your fingerprint(s), and let you use it to unlock your iPhone and authorize iTunes and App Store purchases.
Touch ID is classic Apple. It's a brilliant marriage of advanced technology and consumer-centric simplicity. Set a passcode for your phone, train your iPhone 5s to learn your fingerprint (it coaches you to hold your finger on the sensor multiple times), and you'll be able to unlock your phone with a short hold of that finger over the home button. You can train it to learn up to five fingers for yourself or trusted friends or family, and you can also edit and delete trusted prints. Anyone who isn't on the VIP finger list will be out of luck, as they'll need your passcode to get in.

In our testing, Touch ID worked as advertised ... with a few exceptions. The big problem was after I went swimming. Touch ID doesn't respond to wet fingers, which wasn't a surprise at all. But if your fingers get dry and ashy after coming out of the water, it also won't work. A little lotion solved this problem (can't say that phrase has ever popped up in a Gizmag review), but it reminded us that there are times when the feature doesn't always "just work."
The rest of the time, though, Touch ID was the perfect balance of smartphone security and convenience. The cutting-edge technology fades into the background, resisting the temptation to show itself off. Touch ID gives you passcode security without the hassle of entering a passcode.
... just don't expect perfection. And if you're a swimmer, live in a dry climate (I tick both of those boxes), or are just partial to long baths, you might want to lower those expectations even further.

64 bits

The iPhone 5s is extremely fast. In Geekbench 3, it scored a 2,533 (the Galaxy S4 "only" scored 1,851). And the experience of using it matches those insane benchmark results. Everything is zippy, responsive, and immediate. Like a lot of recent high-end phones, there's no reason whatsoever to hesitate about its performance.
The biggest item of note here is Apple's shift to 64-bit architecture in the iPhone 5s' A7 system-on-a-chip. What does this mean for you right now? Probably very little, if anything. It gives Apple a weapon against the claims that it's no longer innovating, and it lays the groundwork for mobile computing that behaves a lot more like desktop computing. It means that iPhones and iPads with 4 GB of RAM could be coming down the road (the Galaxy note 3 is already inching closer, with 3 GB).
But in regular, day-to-day use today? The iPhone 5s takes the speedy, nothing-to-worry about performance of the iPhone 5, and kicks it up yet another notch.

Camera

The iPhone 5s has an excellent camera, easily among the best you can find on a smartphone. In our testing, low-lit shots were improved over the iPhone 5, while well-lit shots looked as good as ever.
Flash photography got a boost with Apple's dual LED flash (branded as "True Tone"), though our testing didn't necessarily reveal any breakthroughs there. The biggest difference we can tell is that flash photos look more saturated than they would on other phones. This helps, and it's a welcome change. We just didn't find it to be an extremely significant upgrade.
What's that? Want some samples? Okay then ...
Here's a simple shot in direct sunlight:

Here's the same setting in crappy lighting, with the True Tone flash on:

... and this is the same setting without the flash, under low artificial lighting:

You can check out this review's image gallery for a few more samples.

iOS 7

Despite its inconsistency, Touch ID is our favorite part of the iPhone 5s. But our second favorite part? That would be iOS 7, with its fresh coat of "flat design" paint.
User interfaces are always one of the most subjective parts of a smartphone experience, but we like the new look and feel of iOS. It's simpler, it's more to-the-point, and it does away with the frou-frou skeumorphism (heavy reliance on shadows, reflections, and real-world objects) from the iOSes of old. iOS 7 makes sense as a 2013 mobile operating system.
There are, of course, other non-cosmetic upgrades in the new edition of iOS. Command Center is a long overdue improvement, finally putting Apple's software on par with Android and jailbroken iPhones by giving it a quick-access settings menu. Improved multitasking (you now get live card-based previews) and AirDrop file sharing round out some of the highlights.

Battery life

If a smartphone has terrible battery life, no other feature is going to matter. But the iPhone 5s gives you nothing to worry about there. It showed us solid uptimes, in the same ballpark as – though slightly better than – the iPhone 5.
We ran a test where we streamed videos continuously, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on, and brightness at 75 percent. In this somewhat-scientific test, the 5s chugged along for six hours and 15 minutes before conking out. That's the best showing we've seen from a smartphone since we started doing that particular test (and no, we haven't put Motorola's battery beast of a smartphone, the Drid Maxx, through that test).
During more typical use, we don't think you'll have anything to be concerned about. The iPhone 5s' battery should easily last a full day with lighter to moderate use.

Wrap-up

We can see the iPhone 5s from two opposing points of view. On one hand, you could easily argue that it's the best overall smartphone out there. It's constructed like a piece of jewelry, it might be the fastest phone in stores right now, and the fingerprint sensor is a breakthrough feature. The 5s delivers a streamlined, rock-solid, fool-proof experience.
On the other hand, you could argue that the iPhone is now the most conservative kid on the block. There's nothing risky about the 5s, and there's nothing that departs much from Apple's successful formula. When you're as profitable as Apple is, "more of the same" is probably a good thing. But the 5s also feels like a very safe update. The most solid phone out there? Could be. But the most exciting phone out there? Not likely.

Which side of that fence you fall on will probably be determined by where you're coming from. If you own an iPhone 5, there's little reason to upgrade. Sure, Touch ID is a handy feature, but really, are you going to plunk down for a new phone just to have better and easier security? The camera is better, but not by such a longshot that it's a selling feature. The 5s is faster, but the iPhone 5 is still plenty zippy for most uses.
If you're coming from an older iPhone (4S or before), then this is going to be a much bigger upgrade. You get a bigger screen, a lighter and thinner build, and upgrades in just about every other area. If you're still on one of those older phones and you're comfortable in the iOS ecosystem, then, by all means, get the 5s. You won't regret it.

If you're coming from a high-end Android phone with a large screen, then the 5s gets a lot harder to recommend. After spending time with a spacious (4.7" to 5") display, switching to the iPhone's four-incher isn't easy. Its screen looks pretty piddly next to its high-end Android competition. Those big screens aren't for everyone, but neither are smaller screens like the iPhone's. You'll need to figure out where your sweet spot is.
So the iPhone 5s is either the best phone on the block, or the most predictable. Or both. Maybe it's like a Rorschach test or a work of abstract art, and your opinion about it says as much about you as it does the phone itself.
Either way, the iPhone 5s is one of the easiest phones of 2013 to recommend. It might have the least wrong with it of any smartphone out there. It isn't revolutionary, but it is the best iPhone yet. And for many, many customers, that will be enough.

Nikon D7100 vs. Canon 70D

By Simon Crisp

Nikon D7100 vs. Canon 70D

When the Canon EOS 70D was announced, it wasn't just as a replacement for the aging 60D, it was also as a direct response to Nikon's D7100. Both cameras use APS-C sensors and are aimed squarely at enthusiasts with better build quality and more features than entry-level models. Let's take a look at how the two cameras stack up against each other.

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Size / Weight

Both cameras are exactly what you'd expect for enthusiast-focused DSLRs. While larger and heavier than entry-level DSLRs, they'll be a lot more comfortable to carry around than professional models. There's so little to call between the two in terms of size or weight, that it's going to be more about how they feel in your hands.

Megapixel Count

With 24.1 megapixels, the Nikon D7100 has the advantage over the Canon 70D. However, its 20.2 megapixel count is more than enough for most photographers, unless they are planning on printing their images very large or cropping heavily.

Autofocus

At first glance the Nikon D7100 appears to have the edge with a 51 point focus system, with 15 cross-type. But the Canon isn't far behind as all of its 19 focus points are cross-type. Then there's the little matter of its Dual Pixel CMOS AF, this makes the 70D much faster and smoother when shooting video with autofocus, and even improves focus speed when shooting stills in live view.

FPS Burst Rate

Both cameras are capable of more than respectable continuous burst rates. The Canon is the slightly quicker of the two with its seven frames per second, but the Nikon isn't far behind with six frames per second.

ISO Range

While the Canon 70D has the wider ISO range, covering 100-12,800 to the Nikon's 100-6,400, you really need to ask yourself whether your will be using the higher settings anyway. Yes it can be handy to know you can get a shot in dark conditions, but once you get past a certain ISO level, images are always going to suffer from noise levels and loss of colors.

Viewfinder / LCD

When you look through the optical viewfinder of the Nikon D7100 you are going to see the exact framing of the image you are taking thanks to its 100 percent coverage. Meanwhile, the Canon 70D has 98 percent coverage, meaning your resulting photograph will always be that little bit wider than what you see in the viewfinder.
While the LCD monitor of the 70D is smaller and has a lower resolution than that of the D7100 (3 inches with 1040K dots compared with 3.2 inches and 1229K dots) it more than makes up for this. Its vari-angle ability means it can be easier to compose shots in awkward positions, and it's also a touchscreen, which gives users a different way to navigate menus and take shots.

Storage Media / File Types

SD memory cards are the storage media of choice for both cameras and both are UHS-I compliant, meaning they can work with faster cards. However, the Nikon has the ability to take two cards while the Canon only has one slot. This can be useful not just to know you've got extra storage at your disposal, but to backup shots on the second card, or to shoot RAW files on one and JPEG on the other, or even stills to one and video to the other.
Both cameras shoot both JPEG and RAW stills, but the Canon 70D has the option of shooting different size RAW files which could be useful if you want to reduce storage size and don't mind giving up a little in image quality.

Construction

Though you're not going to be using them to hammer in any nails, both cameras are well constructed and feel a lot more sturdy than entry-level DSLRs in your hands. The Nikon features magnesium alloy covers while the Canon opts for aluminum and polycarbonate.
Nikon says the D7100 offers a level of weather and dust sealing equivalent to that of the professional Nikon D800, which means it can be safely used in a range of weather conditions. Canon is typically a little more coy about the weather sealing of the 70D.

Video Modes

On paper the D7100 and 70D are both capable of shooting Full HD video (1080p) at 30/25/24 fps and 720p at 60/50 fps. However, if you're going to be using autofocus when recording video it's worth remembering the Dual Pixel CMOS AF of the Canon as it should vastly improve resulting footage.

Wireless Options

More and more cameras are gaining wireless capabilities, for things like copying images to smartphones or tablets and remote shooting, and this pair are no exception. Where they differ is that the Canon has all of this wireless goodness built-in, while the Nikon requires an optional WU-1a wireless adapter. In addition to the extra cost, this also means you have to plug in the adapter whenever you want to use the wireless functions.

Kit Lens

The Nikon D7100 is frequently bundled with a 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens, while the 70D can come with a 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. While both lenses offer image stabilization, and variable aperture, the Canon has the advantage with its extra focal length reach making it more versatile.

Lens Mount

The cameras each take the lenses you'd expect from their respective manufacturers with the D7100 using the standard Nikon F-mount and the Canon the EF mount.

Price

Both cameras come in at US$1,200 body only, with the kit lenses raising the Nikon to $1,600 and the Canon to $1,550.

Wrap-up

While we recommend that prospective buyers shoot these cameras them side by side, this spec comparison provides a good starting point for those in the market for an enthusiast-level DSLR. Nikon and Canon seem to be taking these models in different directions compared to their predecessors (the Nikon D7000 and Canon 60D).
Nikon is sticking to what it does best, with the D7100 it's produced a quality DSLR which is designed to make it easy to take quality images. For photography purists it arguably has a slight advantage over the 70D because of its higher resolution and better autofocus system.
However, taking photos is only part of what modern DSLRs are called upon for, and the Canon 70D is a more all-round multi-media device. For many people the improved video focusing and built-in wireless capabilities for sharing images will instantly make a compelling argument in favor of the 70D.

Sony and Panasonic working on 300 GB optical discs

A recent optical disc archive system from Sony

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Technology giants Sony and Panasonic are joining forces to create a single optical disc with 300 GB of capacity by 2015. Both companies have developed their own high capacity optical disc technology in the past, and the joint venture will aim to create a new format to target large amounts of storage for corporations, though it could be introduced into the consumer market as well.
Very little is known about the technology at this stage, but the development is a show of continued faith in optical media for both companies. In September 2012, Sony built a file-based optical disc archive system. These discs (pictured above) are used by top professionals who shoot HD video coverage, which requires large amounts of storage. In July of this year, Panasonic launched the LB-DM9 series of optical disc storage devices. It uses a dedicated magazine that's just 20.8mm thick and houses 12 100 GB discs.
Though it's not clear if the new optical disc technology from the two companies will keep your data secure for 1,000 years like M-DISC the new technology sounds exciting, and may come as welcome news to businesses which aren't completely convinced about cloud storage or the lifespan of hard drives or SSDs.