Wesley's Tool-Box

The biggest change in the iPhone 6 series is undoubtedly the physical size, and it is of interest to most of the people who are considering a purchase. I had the chance to compare an iPhone 5 with both an iPhone 6 and 6 Plus at an Apple Store and took this picture to give those of you who are upgrading within 2 years some ideas of scale.

Although the 4.7" iPhone 6 is certainly bigger than the 4.0" iPhone 5, it is not considerably so. When I held both in my hands, the 6 felt like a 5 with a case that's a bit thick around the sides. Because the 6 is also thinner (0.7mm) while adding only a slight bit of weight (17g), it doesn't feel too big or heavy, either. If you want to largely retain the portability that iPhone series provided, iPhone 6 carries on the theme somewhat okay.

As for the 5.5" iPhone 6 Plus, it feels like an another class of device, rather than being an iPhone. Observe the following picture.


iPhone 4S represents the general size of all the old iPhones going back to the 1st generation. iPhone 5S represents all the 5 series (5, 5C, 5S). These two classes of iPhones are not really all that different in dimensions. However, the iPhone 6 Plus is substantially large enough that it's something that's occupying a class between the old iPhones and the iPad mini. iPhone 6 Plus is to iPad mini what iPad mini is to iPad.

Over the past 30 days of using the iPhone 5S, I've written several reviews of the phone on various aspects, as one of the first person to use it in Korea. I believe all the major points have been covered, and since the phone has been officially released in Korea last Friday, Here's a quick summary and link to each of the aspects that I took a look at.

1. Exterior [Click to Read]
Almost identical to iPhone 5 except the home button, flash, and colour.
The packaging box is smaller due to smaller charger.

2. Network Compatibility [Click to Read]
Unlocked iPhone 5S bought overseas will fully work in Korea, including LTE.

3. "Wideband" LTE Compatibility [Click to Read]
Yes, it's compatible.

4. Camera Speed [Click to Read]
At least twice as fast as iPhone 5. Slo-mo and burst modes work well.

5. Camera Quality [Click to Read]
Smoother photos, improved low light performance, and more natural flash.

6. Biometric Feature [Click to Read]
Convenient, fast, and moderately secure. Works with several body parts.

7. Motion Coprocessor [Click to Read]
Tracks your movement well without battery penalty. Great for fitness apps.

8. Performance Tests [Click to Read]
Twice as fast as iPhone 5 in CPU and GPU tests. LTE speeds remain the same.

9. Sensor Issues [Problems in iOS 7.0.2] [Fixed in iOS 7.0.3]
Accelerometer had calibration problems, but it was fixed in iOS 7.0.3.
Other sensors worked fine within margin of error.

10. Battery Performance [Click to Read]
Lasts slightly longer and charges slightly faster than iPhone 5.

Even with excellent performance, lackluster battery life will tarnish the usability of a phone. It's thus natural to see if iPhone 5S has made any improvements with battery usage from the previous generation. Apple has targeted it to be at least as good as iPhone 5, so I wanted to see how the two really compares in real life use.

The official capacities are 5.45Wh (3.8V 1440mAh) for iPhone 5 and 5.92Wh (3.8V 1560mAh) for iPhone 5S, an 8.6% difference. So 5S could use a little more power and still stay even. The iPhone 5 I have has seen use for about two months, while iPhone 5S has been with me for a month. So both have relatively fresh batteries close to these original capacities.

With these in mind and full charge, I started using the two devices, which were running iOS 7.0.3 now, in the same manner throughout the day. This meant opening the same app and taking the same actions at the same time. It's an interesting experience, and because apparent responsiveness of the two devices are similar at casual use, it wasn't too difficult to carry out.

To even the playfield further, push notifications, push data and automatic app updates were disabled, while screen brightness was fixed to 33%, which is good for indoor use. WiFi and Bluetooth were both enabled, but not used, so LTE was responsible for data. Other settings like GPS and visual effects were kept on by default. So how did the draining of the battery turn out?

Apple had a big product release day just a few hours ago, with new OS X, iPads, and Macs coming out. While it was left out of the announcement, iOS 7 also had a new point release just after the presentation at Cupertino ended. iOS 7.0.3 lists a lot of changes and fixes, and among them is a mention that the accelerometer calibration was fixed. I personally checked on this issue earlier. What better way to verify the fix than actually seeing it for myself?

As you can see, the problematic horizontal tilt measurement of iPhone 5S is now in agreement with the other iPhones. I can also hold the device up and see that it's reporting fairly accurately. Same can be said for the other measurements, which you can see if you decide to keep reading below.

It seems Apple didn't make an independent patch for this problem and instead lumped it together with other fixes since it wasn't a critical one. At least it came out just a month after the first release and before the release in Korea, so I'm glad the Korean users wouldn't have to be concerned from the get-go.

There has been some talk about the sensor (accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass) readings of iPhone 5S being inaccurate, and since those are handled by M7, some are blaming the chip for the problem. I can't verify this claim, but I have multiple iPhones, so I can tell you if iPhone 5S strays far from the norm.

First of all, the compass seems to be doing fine. As you can see here, 5S is getting the same reading as 5, and not far from 4S's. As I moved these devices around, the readings from 4S, 5, and 5S were basically within 5 degrees of each other. 3GS was the actual standout, giving noticeably different readings from the rest of the devices. This could be due to the device's old age.

I should note that putting two phones close to each other, as some people have done to show the differences, is not a good idea. The phones affect each other's magnetic readings from the electromagnetic noise that they generate, making both units' compass deviate. It's akin to putting a magnet next to a real compass. This is why I gave the phones a bit of room. I would disregard any reports of compass error that show the photos of phones being right next to each other.

But what about the measurement of tilt as detected by gyroscopes and accelerometers? Let's take a look at those, too.