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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tfouto - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
This article is utterly ridiculous. It trashes cheap android phones, and praises the new iPhone 5c which is a 100% copy of lumia 620. Of course there no mention of it...yik3000 - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
There are different kind of plastic my friend. The apple plastic is in a different league when it compares to the Samsung plastic. Speaking from a Note II owner.GauravDas - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
While I understand that different plastics can have completely different look and feel, the plastic on 5C looks like your typical glossy slippery ones. I really hope that the in-hand feel is good.yik3000 - Wednesday, September 11, 2013 - link
By just looking at the picture, i will predict its the same feeling when you holding the old white Macbook, they are almost acrylic like, which i liked.cmikeh2 - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
The HTC Windows Phone 8X had a polycarbonate (plastic) body. Here's what Brian had to say about that: "As I stated before my concluding thoughts about the HTC 8X are very positive. HTC really brought everything it had to offer with this device and it shows in person. The design and use of neon colors is striking, and the shape and material choices definitely make for a great in-hand feel." Also if you go to any of the articles by Brian or Anand about any of the Lumia phones and you will see high praise for the build quality despite being plastic. Polycarbonates encompass a huge amount of textures and quality and you cannot simply equivocate two polycarbonates just because they're both "plastic."ioconnor - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
People still care about Apple?!Please move on to other non-apple subjects and leave Apples to wannabes.
jasonelmore - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
This phone is great but it's not cheap enough. Needs to be about $100 less, or 99cents with a 2 year contract.The Von Matrices - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
I don't understand the concern over build quality if you're just going to put a case on it anyway. If you ask me, the best solution is to make a phone as thin and light as possible even if it does flex slighly and then sell a specially designed case that you can use with the phone to make the it more rigid, maybe even with a metal chassis. It would satisfy both the people who want a thin and light phone and the people who are willing to sacrifice tin and light to have a rigid, more durable phone.kyuu - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
Not everyone puts cases on their phone. I don't put one on mine (Lumia 920).Zok - Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - link
Reminds me of sour Jelly Bellies. :)