Hands on with the new iPhone 5C
by Brian Klug on September 10, 2013 3:21 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- Mobile
- iPhone
- iPhone 5C
We just spent some time going hands on with the two new iPhones that Apple announced in their town hall event which just wrapped up. The iPhone 5C comes in as an entirely new device and inherits the slot the iPhone 5 would've occupied had it been kept around. It's probably the most interesting to go hands-on with since it's Apple's first all plastic phone since the 3G and 3GS.
I'm impressed with how the 5C ends up feeling in the hand. The hard coated surface manages to not feel slippery but still have a certain heft and solidness to it. What's interesting about the 5C is really the way its rounded corners all seem to have the same radius, which gives it a very unified feeling in the hand. The front, edge, and sides all share that same rounded profile. It still retains the same overall profile as the iPhone 5 as well. Buttons on the 5C are clicky and responsive, and also have that same hard coated feeling without feeling cheap. That's really the important thing about the 5C, it had to be solid while still being made out of polymer, something OEMs in the Android space still haven't quite nailed down.
The internal metal structure also helped the 5C feel rigid, the back side doesn't deform or press in like I've felt on a number of other all polymer phones. It's clear that Apple had its mechanicals nailed down for the 5C design to make sure it was rigid even if it was still polymer.
iOS 7 looks right at home on the 5C as well, with matching wallpaper colors and styling out of the box. Obviously Apple thought about its color palette and designed the 5C around some of the vibrant tones in iOS 7, and it really matches and looks great on the device. The 5C comes in white, pink, yellow, blue, and green colors.
With the 5C Apple also has some complimentary colored cases which look great on the 5C and contrast nicely with the colors.
The rounded cutout portions of the cases look great and still show off the color underneath. Inside is a suede material that won't scratch the phone if dirt gets trapped in-between. The cases are also a polymer material.
The 5C might not be the flagship for Apple, but it's arguably the more interesting of the two devices since it's Apple's next attempt at a polymer device.
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Impulses - Wednesday, September 11, 2013 - link
Meh, the RDF is surely pervasive but polycarbonate became pretty common over a year ago when HTC and Nokia were touting it... And HTC hardly has much marketing muscle. That being said, glossy finish = yuck, regardless of how solid it feels.tfouto - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
I cant understand how not a mention of lumias 620 phones are in this article. Pure joke...darwinosx - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
Not as much of a joke as you saying that as if it had relevance.jimbo2779 - Wednesday, September 11, 2013 - link
If you don't think the 5C looks just like a 620 from the front then you are the joke.GrimR. - Wednesday, September 11, 2013 - link
You're right, actually. It looks very much like the 620 from the side; it was my first thought too.But what did we expect honestly? This is Apple's worst idea in years.
tfouto - Wednesday, September 11, 2013 - link
Relevance=ignore the fact this phone is 100% copy of lumia 620?I don't agree with it. If this fact is not relevant to you then clearly you are biased apple fanboy, who simply cannot see facts...
kyuu - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
The blue and white are okay, but the pastel green, red (more like salmon to my eye), and yellow (urine yellow?) are really not attractive at all, IMO.Those hole-y cases are especially heinous.
PC Perv - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
Samsung's plastic is plasticky and cheap-feeling.Motorola's plastic seems of higher quality than the plastic used by some of the Korean handset makers.
Apple's plastic is downright amazing and premium-feeling.
All those assertions without any proof or even an attempt to prove. What matters is your feelings.
I feel for you.
nerd1 - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
It's funny this 4 inch phone is actually HEAVIER than 5 inch galaxy s4. And it costs the same too.CharonPDX - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
Um, yeah? Not everyone WANTS a larger screen (or, for me, a physically larger phone.) I think the iPhone case size is just about perfect. Add .1 to .2 inches width at most. Sure, make the bezel smaller, and make the screen a full 16:9 to make it taller, that's all fine. But don't make the phone itself much wider than an iPhone. Even the HTC One is ever so slightly too wide to fit my hand comfortably - and I have larger-than-average hands. (Pissed me off, I liked the HTC One overall, but just doesn't fit my hand well.)