iPhone 5S

VERDICT

The best iPhone yet, featuring a great camera and the TouchID fingerprint sensor. The high price will put many off, but you'll find a lot of joy in this phone whether you're an iPhone fan or if you've been sitting on the fence. It's more than just an iterative update.

PROS:

Powerful core
Touch ID is a real step up
Excellent camera

CONS:

Expensive
No screen tech change
Battery suspect

Remember the days when phones were small? The iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plustake pride of place in Apple's lineup these days, but the 2013 iPhone 5S is still on sale for £379 (US$450, AU$749) and above, so we thought we'd take another look and see how it stands up now we're all the way around to 2016.

When 2014's models, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus , hit the scene the iPhone 5S was still reasonably fresh, so it was understandable that despite the leaps the newer handsets made, the iPhone 5S was still a good choice if you wanted an excellent Apple handset.

However now that the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus have launched, does the iPhone 5S have more of a struggle to prove that it is still relevant?

When it was first unveiled, the iPhone 5S looked a lot like the iPhone 5 , even though it went much further under the hood. We'd been there before with the iPhone 'S' conundrum: a new phone comes along, taking the shell of the previous model, adds some new bits and pieces, and then claims to be an entirely new phone - and we've just seen it again with the iPhone 6S.

Which it was, of course. But also wasn't. Well, mostly was. It's the kind of move that only Apple can pull off with any kind of conviction: the notion that it can take the same chassis, have a little tinker, throw in a new CPU, slightly better battery and camera, and call it an all-conquering device.

There's a new flagship on the block. Read our iPhone 6S review

The jump from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 5S was nowhere near as significant as the leap to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus - Apple's handsets changed notably inside and out at that point, and their release should give you serious pause if you're looking at buying an iPhone 5S right now.

iPhone 5S

The 5S was an expensive smartphone, even on monthly plans, although thankfully the price has fallen as the handset has gotten older.

You'll still be looking at around £20 a month to get one without an upfront fee, but Apple has dropped its SIM-free prices for a second time following the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus releases. The 16GB model is now £379 (US$450, AU$749), while the 32GB version will set you back £419 (US$499, AU$829). The 64GB variant has vanished as an option.

This means if you want a larger capacity iPhone, you'll want to either look for second hand models of the iPhone 5S, or make the leap to the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6 Plus or iPhone 6S Plus, all of which go up to 64GB in size and in the case of the 6S / 6S Plus go up to 128GB.

iPhone 5S review

For its time though, the 5S was a big jump forward, and it's still in credit now: whether it's the Touch ID home button (which is excellent, more on that later), the jump in CPU power over its predecessor, the fact the camera was, once again, improved, or the new iOS 9 software it's now running, the iPhone 5S saw Apple attempting to bring as much as it could to the party without having to redesign the whole concept all over again.

There are many that think releasing the same design twice is cheeky, and there are others who realise that sometimes there's no need for change. It's easy to fall into the former camp, and while Apple will happily point out it's not forcing anyone to buy its phones, it's acutely aware the competition is now scarily strong and it needed to bring its best to stay relevant.

Design

The iPhone 5S represented the pinnacle of that particular iPhone design for Apple, before it went thinner and more rounded with the iPhone 6; it was certainly very difficult to tell the 5S apart from its predecessor, the iPhone 5.

Perhaps that's less of an issue now that the iPhone is becoming something of a commodity, a device that is so oft-used by the middle-aged generation that it no longer carries the lustre that the exclusivity of the earlier models emanated.

That's not necessarily a bad thing either; just because it's not an 'exclusive' design that doesn't make the iPhone 5S any less premium. The danger is that it's starting to look a bit old-fashioned up against the handsets from 2014 and 2015.

That said, it's still a stunning phone to hold in the hand, coming with the all-aluminium-and-glass chassis. There's no doubt Apple had a look at the way the iPhone 5 range (well, black and white) chipped so badly around the edges.

iPhone 5S review

But that same issue was apparent already in my iPhone sample within a week, so it looks like you're going to quickly need to stuff your new iPhone 5S in a case the second you release it from its box, lest you leave it in a pocket or bag with change and keys and it comes out looking like it's gone a few rounds with a randy cheese grater.

iPhone 5S review

The new colours, introduced with the 5S, which include champagne and space grey are a little odd, but at least promise to show up the scuffs a little less prominently.

The way the iPhone 5S feels in the hand is something impressive though, coming with the low, low weight of 112g and dimensions of 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm.

It's still got that almost too-light feeling, that the premium metal finish is somehow diminished through the lack of heft, but it's a long way from feeling cheap.

iPhones 5S review

Compared to something like the Galaxy S5 or LG G3 , the iPhone 5S is miles ahead when it comes to design, although less so than the HTC One M9 or One Mini 2 which have repeated the aluminium-clad trick.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge demonstrate that Samsung has got its design mojo back, and both handsets give the iPhone 5S a run for its money in the looks department.

It's got a slightly sharper edge than other models on the market, which can make it a little uncomfortable when being pressed to the ear. But I'm not going to quibble too much there lest it makes me seem a little wimpy.

iPhone 5S review

There were only a couple of real design differences compared to the iPhone 5, and one of them really is minuscule: the camera module is flanked by a dual-LED flash, which I'll talk more about later (it's a really rather nifty piece of technology, trust me).

The other was a lot more substantial and impressive: the home button got a redesign which has been carried over to the newer handsets of today.

Yes, it doesn't sound like much, but consider how iconic the Apple home button has been over the past half-decade, and you'll see why I'm holding the change in such high esteem. The visual effect is impressive, taking the square off the button and putting a fancy silver ring around the key.

iPhone 5S review

The effect isn't only aesthetic either, as this area serves as the Touch ID fingerprint scanner, now well established in Apple's iPhone range. It's good to know that even on this older handset you've got the benefits that Touch ID brings.

Having bought two separate biometric security firms , Apple was likely to do something like this, but the implementation and visual effect is really something that Apple does well, and has done so here too.

Beyond that, the iPhone 5S is identical to the 5, even down to the rattle in the power button. We're still a little confused as to why a device with such a high build quality has a slightly loose part with it, but shake the iPhone 5S gently and you'll feel the key moving around.

iPhone 5S review

It's not a big deal, but every so often you'll note the motion, and it does detract somewhat.

Thankfully the rest of the phone is built impeccably. The round volume keys are easy to hit. the switch to enable volume on or off has the same sturdy feel that I've come to enjoy, and the headphone port is still welded to the bottom of the phone.

The Lightning connection port is here as well, along with the stereo speakers on the bottom of the phone. I wish these were placed somewhere else, as when cupping the phone in landscape mode it's far too easy to cover these with palms or digits, and there's not really any way to shift around them.

iPhones 5S review

You can always use headphones, but that kind of negates the point of the speakers for gaming completely.

The right hand side hasn't been left completely alone on the 5S, with Apple choosing this surface as the location for the SIM card tray - the iPhone 5S was one of the first handsets to rock the tiny nanoSIM technology.

iPhone 5S review

The iPhone 5 and 5S design was such a hit that you can still get a bunch of cases for the phone, including a variety of styles and shapes direct from the Apple Store on the web.

But beyond that I'm still impressed with the design of the iPhone 5S. It's hard not to be, as if there's one thing that Apple gets totally right it's the way it assembles its devices.

The metal and glass combination does feel a little fragile, and I'd recommend a case (perhaps a third-party option) to protect the aluminium, but the design is something that at least helps mitigate the higher price.

Of course, good as the design is, it's now up against the iPhone 6S / iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S Plus / iPhone 6 Plus: sleeker, thinner, and rocking much larger screens. Whether or not these changes are for the better is up to you - you might be really attached to a phone screen that you can get your thumb comfortably across.

The iPhone 5S uses the same Retina display as found in the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5C: a four-inch screen with a resolution of 1136 x 640, making it still-sharp at 326ppi.

It's difficult to recommend the display compared to the rest of the smartphone world, as there are definitely better screens out there. The iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus , not to mention the even newer iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus , offer higher resolutions, and larger displays, and the Plus models boast a higher ppi. Whether this is enough for you with the competition being so far ahead is something I'll leave you to work out.

The four-inch size of the screen is good enough though, as while I might be a fan of the larger screen for movies and internet browsing on the Samsung Galaxy S6 orHTC One M9 , the iPhone 5S is a good phone for people that hate the idea of being forced to live with a bigger screen they don't want.

It's not perfect though, as despite what Apple would have you believe, the screen is just a tad too large to operate easily with one hand.

iPhone 5S review

With a small amount of shifting you can get the thumb all the way across, but given you have to jiggle the phone in the palm a little bit to do so, it kind of feels redundant.

In terms of the clarity of the iPhone 5S' display, I'd say it's excellent in terms of colour reproduction and general effect, but there are better displays to choose from - the Sony Xperia Z5 is worth looking at, for example.

iPhone 5S review

The sharpness is great, the colour reproduction still industry leading, but the brightness can be a little erratic for some low-contrast movies and isn't big enough for speedy typing. HD movies still look acceptable on the device, but I've seen a much more jaw-dropping effect on rival devices, such as the LG G3 and its successor, the LG G4 .

I like that Apple is leading the charge to stop screen sizes going too far in the wrong direction, but there could be something more that's done here.

iPhone 5S review

Even a display with a thinner bezel would have impressed (although scaling apps might have been a problem, with is something Apple is so proud of) but I still think in the face of fierce Android opposition the iPhone 5S display could be better.

One big change on the iPhone 5S was the fact it arrived with iOS 7 . This was clearly the flagship device for the new operating system, and it showed off the UI redesign superbly.

Now we're all the way up to iOS 9 and beyond, bringing a few new refinements and extra features, without really altering the aesthetic established by the iOS 7 overhaul.

Right now, the latest iPhone 5S software rests at iOS 9.2.1, with the recent addition of new emojis. The Health app is now here, and the HealthKit framework, offering the chance to track your fitness and health (and even your caffeine intake) as well as connect to more devices within the home.

It also finally opens up things like the keyboard, which means you're able to customise your phone in
ways you couldn't before.

iOS 9: 50 tips and tricks

Unfortunately Apple Pay , a new way of paying for goods and services in store and online, is not going to work on the iPhone 5S because it lacks NFC, but pair with a new Apple Watch and you're laughing all the way to the bank (until you see your balance anyway).

Apple Watch

The colours on offer are fun, fresh and most importantly distinctive, giving a real unique feel to iOS 7, iOS 8 and iOS 9 that other platforms might not have. Photos, Safari and Music have all changed a great deal in the last couple of years, as well as a host of other apps too, and while some have labelled them 'childish', they're clearly indicative of the new style Apple is looking to create.

What I do find frustrating in iOS is the dependence it has on the Settings menu, with various app controls all housed here instead of within the apps themselves.

It's annoying if you're in the Facebook app for example and want to adjust the notification settings. You have to exit the app and navigate to the setting menu instead.

Look beyond the UI though and you'll see that the iPhone 5S is much easier to use than the phones that came before it, which is impressive for a phone that was already market-leading in its simplicity. The software is almost identical to that running on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Dragging upwards from pretty much anywhere on the phone will open the Control Center, giving access to the music player, brightness, quick apps such as a timer, torch and calculator, as well as allowing you to switch on and off elements like the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Yes, it's a notion that's been part of Android for a number of years, but it's been done in a way that feels a lot more solid and intuitive, never changing with notifications so you can easily trust that when you need a torch you can get to it easily.

iPhone 5S review

That said, the torch was an odd area of the Control Center. Whenever lifting up the tab to access said function, you'd always need to wait a second or two before being able to hit any of the quick app icons. It's not a huge problem, but one that quickly got tiring. It's like the whole drawer needs a second to boot up.

I also found an odd glitch here too: the music controls don't work over Bluetooth headphones, nor on the lock screen. This was fixed with a reboot, and hasn't happened for a while, but it didn't give me massive confidence in the device.

There's also the recently added notification area, accessed by dragging downwards. Thankfully unlike the Control Center, this can be customised: you don't need to have to look at stocks or your upcoming meetings or lack of social engagements if you don't want to, but there's always information on the weather there, which is nice when you realise you'll need a coat.

This is also the place where you'll get any missed notifications, be it a call, message or that jacket on eBay you were looking to buy when someone's outbid you on it.

iPhone 5S review

It was a bit of a wasteland, but Apple has changed that with the iOS 8 and iOS 9 updates, adding more intuitive interactions, and live widgets that update with key information - plus the ability to directly reply to messages there too.

Both of these areas are nicely designed too, with translucency that allows you to see very vaguely through to the rest of the phone. This gives the whole handset an air of completeness. It feels like a phone that's able to connect within itself and not fall apart when a new app rolls into town.

Since iOS 7.1 the phone and messaging buttons have been toned down in colour somewhat, meaning less neon green and a more pleasing look to the eye, and the multitasking in the latest version of the software works much better than it used to.

The double-tap action now sees the screen you're viewing shown in a deck of cards - cards showing all the other apps running in the background. You can quickly swipe between them to find the one you're after, or swipe up to close an app.

iPhone 5S review

The iOS 8 and iOS 9 releases we've seen since the iPhone 5S first appeared have only added to the quality of the phone (and blurred the distinction between iOS and Android even more).

Maps, Notes and Photos have received significant upgrades as Apple looks to keep pace with Google, although it feels like some other native apps, such as Mail, are being neglected.

The Low Power Mode introduced with iOS 9 should give you a few extra minutes of battery power when it's at a low level, and Siri and Spotlight have been upgraded too, so you get smarter assistance and results for your searches based on previous behaviour.

Apple's personal assistant is now proactive, being able to make suggestions of its own, such as appointments you might want to add to your calendar.

iPhone 5S review

Not forgetting the brand new News app introduced with iOS 9, Apple's attempt to get publishers on its own platform rather than the wilds of the web.

There are signs that Apple is opening up iOS, with extensions now available for Photos and Safari, and those third-party keyboards we mentioned earlier; but it feels like the OS is due another major overhaul, which we'll perhaps see this year.

We're all the way up to iOS 9 now, or more specifically iOS 9.2.1. The highlights include improvements to Apple Maps, which now has public transport information in certain locations, plus an overhaul to Siri's functionality.

Apple's personal assistant is now proactive, being able to make suggestions of its own, such as appointments you might want to add to your calendar.

There's also a new News app, which works a bit like Flipboard, giving you a personalised feed of sources and stories you might be interested in. Plus iOS 9 improves the efficiency of devices and tweaks the keyboard to, among other things, make it easier to tell whether caps lock is on or not.

Now we're getting onto something that's really rather special: the Touch ID sensor on the iPhone 5S. You'll find it on the new iPad Air 2 , and obviously the most recent iPhones, and it gives them a whole new level of functionality - it's much harder to enter a passcode on two-handed devices.

Touch ID is a system that came as something of a surprise with the iPhone 5S, as when the device launched in September 2013, fingerprint scanning was relatively written off as being something that was just too cumbersome to implement.

Just look back at the Motorola Atrix with its back-mounted sensor... that didn't work at all.

Well, that's not true with the Touch ID sensor on iPhone. It's phenomenal in the way it works, making it possible to have a phone that is as secure as having a passcode, but without the irritation of having to enter it a million times a day.

iPhone 5S review

Press the home button and let your finger rest there, and the phone just opens itself up. It's hard to explain just how cool the motion feels.

Yes, it's not 'properly' secure - there's still a passcode right there for those that don't want to use the fingerprint scanner, and if someone reads that over your shoulder they'll still be able to steal your phone and get in.

This should explain the insanity that some are peddling, such as how robbers will be cutting off fingers or forcing users to unlock the phone. Firstly, the sensor is capacitive and therefore needs an actual, alive, finger to use it.

Secondly: this isn't a way of securing national secrets. If someone is that desperate to get into your phone, there are myriad ways. But if you want to avoid pecking out a passcode time and time again, this is a brilliant method of doing it.

iPhone 5S review

Moreover, you can use Touch ID to replace your iTunes password. This is an excellent way of not having to pop in your special word over and over again when you're buying items or downloading certain apps. It might only save a few seconds, but more importantly than that, it's just so goshdarn cool that I can't help but love to do it.

And on the point of security, Apple may have pushed that element further than it needed to - but that should give consumers decent peace of mind.

The Touch ID sensor communicates directly with the stored fingerprint on the A7 chip, and not even the rest of the phone can see it.

This means your fingerprint won't get backed up to iCloud and accidentally shared with the world. But you won't be able to use different digits to open other apps, which would have been awesome from the lock screen.

iPhone 5S review

Imagine being able to press a single digit to the phone to unlock it... okay, that's here now. But then press a different finger and open the music player, and a third will take you straight to your Pocket reader.

It would be an amazing way to do things and show that the iPhone is more built around the user - however, I suspect that Apple is erring on the side of security here, and that's not a bad thing at all.

The system was opened up to third-party developers with iOS 8, so every app can take advantage of the Touch ID functionality - Dropbox is one that's done so.

iPhone 5S review

In terms of setting up your finger recognition, there's nothing to it: press your digit up and down on the sensor and the phone will buzz every time it learns your fingerprint. And not only that, but you're then asked to show the edges of your finger to get a larger image of the print, giving more accuracy.

I never really found a problem with the accuracy of the iPhone 5S' Touch ID sensor, but it appears that some people did. Apple reckons it's managed to improve that somewhat with successive iOS releases, meaning it won't 'forget' your fingerprint as easily as before.

In practice you can turn your finger or thumb any way you like on the button and it will still register just the same - there are some mis-scans, but on the whole it's really rather excellent and accurate. It's not 100% accurate all the time, which can grate.

But compare it to the same trick Samsung has tried to employ on its Galaxy phones, which need a swipe, and you'll see how hard it is to implement a system that's even this good - plus the iPhone 6/6S and 6 Plus/6S Plus upgrades feel even more accurate, and come with Apple Pay to boot.

Apple imbued the iPhone 5S with not one, but two, chips that it thinks made the 5S one of the powerful phones on the market in 2013. A lot has changed since its launch, and there's now a raft of newer handsets packing in more power - but the 5S is no slouch.

It's almost insane to think of the power running under the hood here, and there's no doubt that it gave things a real performance boost over the iPhone 5 - that said, it's not realised the potential of that chip in the way other phone manufacturers have, although it's still impressive when it comes to graphics reproduction and similar tasks.

A7 Chip

The A7 chip from Apple inside the iPhone 5S is worth noting: not only did it bring a huge boost in power, it offered 64-bit computing inside an iPhone for the first time too.

To most people in 2013 that label meant nothing more than suggesting their phone was as powerful as a Nintendo 64 - in reality, it was a pretty important move for the company.

iPhone 5S review

Simply put, a 64-bit chip allows for more powerful processing and a greater amount of power to be plugged through the phone for most tasks. It can also work with a greater amount of RAM.

It didn't really mean much to the consumer when the iPhone 5S launched, but 64-bit is the industry standard now. There are some noticeable elements that take advantage, with the camera being much faster and able to handle so much more smoothly. And I'm willing to bet the Touch ID sensor is going to need a hefty whack of power to enable such tight security on the phone.

Thanks to that future-proofing 64-bit technology, you can pick up an iPhone 5S safe in the knowledge that all the latest apps and games are still going to work with it... and the iPhone was already a slick and fast beast before the processor upgrade.

iPhone 5S review

It was partly a marketing exercise, and partly Apple future-proofing itself, enabling its phones to add in new layers of security and providing developers with the tools to make even better apps. That future-proofing means the iPhone 5S is still a decent-value proposition in 2016.

M7

There's another cheeky little chip under the hood that sits alongside the A7 main unit: the M7 chip, which is there to make the iPhone 5S a rival to trackers from the likes of Jawbone and Fitbit.

It enables the main CPU to snooze while it tracks the motion of the phone, through the accelerometer, gyrometer and compass.

This means that it will know when you're jogging or when you're in the car, and can take that information and store it without needing to drain the battery by having the main CPU chugging away.

It can even retrofit the data to apps that you download at a later date, meaning any M7-enabled app that uses the new CoreMotion API will be able to give you information on recent training.

It will also seamlessly slip from walking to driving navigation on Apple Maps, which is a nifty extra, taking another hassle out of life, and especially useful for keeping drivers safe behind the wheel.

We're seeing the benefit of what's on offer with the M7 chip now that Apple has released the Health app. It's a comprehensive record of your activity and a place to store important health data, and it ties in with all the top fitness apps and wearables.

As with the Health app, other apps are able to plug into the M7 chip just as easily as the M8 and M9 upgrades in the newest iPhones.

This is where iPhones are expected to shine, and the iPhone 5S really rather does, even two-and-a-bit years down the line. Apple decided to push harder with the camera sensor in this handset, trying to create something squarely between theHTC One M8 and Samsung Galaxy S5 - two of its main competitors in 2013 - and beat both.

It mostly pulled it off too, although the other two flagships of that year were also really decent snappers, and in many ways were also class-leading - for instance, there's no background de-focus here with the iPhone 5S.

Let's dial it back a little and explain: Samsung is all about staying true to the 'megapixel wars' and wants to cram as many as it can in there, which is why it has such a complex sensor. It can't function as well in low light, but get the shot composition right and you're going to get some really nice snaps.

iPhone 5S review

The approach HTC took with the One M8 was almost the opposite: it enabled you to get some really great low light shots thanks to the improved Ultrapixel camera. It only sports a 4MP sensor, but with much larger pixels which let in more light.

This means better night time performance and a faster shutter, and with this camera you get a wider gamut of shots to take away with you, although you probably won't want to blow them up for the wall. (HTC has since rejoined the megapixel wars with the HTC One M9 .)

The iPhone 5S, as I said, falls in between these camps, coming with an 8MP sensor and pixels 75% the size of the HTC One M8's offering. The result is a strong blend between sharpness and low light ability, where the iPhone straddles the categories without being market leading in either back when it first appeared.

iPhones 5S review

That said, the updated camera interface, combined with the A7's ability to easily combine three snaps to make the best picture it can, mean this is a truly awesome camera phone.

The UI of recent updates enables you to simply slide between modes, be it panorama, a new 'square' mode for social networks, the standard photo, video at 1080p or the all new Slow-mo mode, which can capture 120 frames per second at 720p resolution and gives you the option to choose when the slow down and speed up happens.

There's also a new timelapse mode now, which lets you use the iPhone 5S to capture videos over a very long period of time. A timer and exposure control have also been added to the Camera app since the handset first went on sale.

The CPU is at its best here, with the shutter speed really great, the burst mode working well (simply activated by pressing the shutter button for any length of time) and giving seemingly unlimited shots. The iPhone can also intelligently work out the best shot and the suggestions usually get it pretty bang on, where other handsets with the same functionality can't every time.

iPhone 5S review

Apple was pretty late to the burst mode game, but it's implemented it in a way that really works rather well. At least the ability to lock focus is on board, as well as locking exposure - these are closer to pro-photographer moves, and allow for some interesting shot composition.

The UI is a something of a bugbear though, despite looking so flashy. The options to enable HDR mode, turn the flash on and off or change to the front facing camera don't always want to come on when you tap, which makes it hard to use the camera when you're trying to take an arty shot in lower light that doesn't need the flash.

Auto HDR mode, ushered in with iOS 7.1, is another cool feature. This will fire up automatically when light levels are going a bit all over the place and will give you a much richer (if slower to snap) picture without you needing to mess about with the settings.

Clever work from Apple - it's up there with the real-time HDR introduced with theSamsung Galaxy S5 .

iPhone 5S review

This leads me nicely onto the other big change over the iPhone 5, with the flash getting something of an update thanks to an increase to dual LED. This is nothing new in smartphones, but Apple's been smart here as well, thanks to bringing a white and amber option into play.

What this allows the iPhone 5S to do is analyse the scene with a primary flash and then mix the amber and white colours together to reproduce colours more accurately and stop everything looking so washed out.

It's actually a more impressive feature than I thought it might be when it comes to colour rendition, but I can't say it made me want to use the flash any more than normal. As per usual, it got turned off pretty soon and didn't come back on again, which is partly due to the impressive low light performance.

To summarise: the iPhone 5S camera beats its predecessors by some distance, thanks to its simplicity of use and the great modes on offer (there's even an area that allows you to choose a filter before you start snapping, with real time previews so you can check each one out.)

That's actually something that I found a little odd: when you pull a filtered photo from your iPhone 5S onto your computer, the filter has been removed. However, share it through Airdrop or in the Mail app and it will display with Chrome or Mono or whatever filter you went for.

However, that's a terribly minor niggle compared to the hugely impressive camera, which I urge you to try with a little more depth should you get the chance. I would like to see Apple enable 16:9 photos at some point soon, as the UI doesn't lend itself to the 4:3 options that come out.

I understand Apple is trying to stay close to more professional photography, but most phones make full use of the screen, and it would be great if Apple followed suit.

And what of the iPhone 6 , iPhone 6 Plus , iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus cameras? Is the extra expense justified in the extra photo quality? Well, the 2014 phones feature some subtle upgrades that leave your pictures looking better than ever, while the 2015 pair ups the number of megapixels.

The iPhone 5S can still hold its own in the photography department, but real enthusiasts should consider one of the latest models; particularly the two Plus models, which offer optical stabilisation.

iPhone 5S review