10 years ago, Apple announced the iconic iPhone and big disappointment

Apple will likely unveil the iPhone 15 series at its upcoming September event, which could be exciting, but the new iPhone launch is unlike previous years. Today’s users can only expect Apple to bring incremental upgrades or late features like USB-C ports.

Things were very different just 10 years ago. Back in 2013, the iPhone 5 had been on the market for a year and rumors were swirling about exciting new developments that everyone would be witnessing at the company’s event that year. In the end, this was a landmark year for the iPhone line, both for the good and the bad. Apple announced the revolutionary iPhone 5s with a lot of firsts in the smartphone industry, but it also launched the iPhone 5c. So they tried to roll out an iPhone to a lot of people and then an iPhone to no one.

Pre-launch: Summary of iPhone 5s and 5c rumors

Rumors before the launch of a new technology product are nothing new and certainly not when it comes to iPhones. A flurry of rumors about the features that will be on the next iPhones have been released, but not without reason. Apple made certain decisions in the year leading up to the release, which, in retrospect, provided important insight into what the company was up to. One of the most important of these was Apple’s acquisition of biometrics and security technology company AuthenTec a year earlier. This coupled with Apple publicly stating that the upcoming iOS 7 will be heavily focused on security, led people to believe that the new iPhones would have a fingerprint sensor. There are even leaked images of the iPhone 5s with a ring-like border around the home button, further reinforcing this claim.

Elsewhere, other sources claim that the new iPhone will receive a new A7 processor and an improved camera system. Even a new gold color is expected to be introduced alongside the standard black and white models. While most of the excitement is focused on the iPhone 5s, several sites claim that a more affordable iPhone 5c will also be released and come in a variety of colors.

iPhone 5s: ‘S’ is for special

When the iPhone 5s was announced, nearly every rumor turned out to be true. It delivers completely upgraded hardware that goes beyond not only previous iPhones but also competitors. The upgraded A7 SoC is the first 64-bit processor to be housed inside a smartphone. Apple also introduced the M7 “motion coprocessor” for dedicated motion processing for the phone’s accelerometer and gyroscope data.

The inclusion of a new fingerprint authentication sensor also came true when Touch ID first appeared. The “ring” seen in the leaked image actually activated the sensor embedded in the home button. It also did more than expected, as Apple showed it could not only unlock iPhones, but also be used to authenticate App Store and iTunes purchases.

The iPhone 5s also brings an improved camera brand with a larger aperture and dual LED flash for better low-light photography. Many other design elements are the same as the iPhone 5, such as the 4-inch screen, materials, button placement, and even size. But the innovation inside made the iPhone 5s one of the biggest innovations in iPhone history.

iPhone 5c: ‘C’ is for (anti-)climate

On the other hand, we have the more affordable iPhone 5c, which despite Apple’s good intentions, failed to please many people. Sure, it’s a budget phone, but it’s also cheap, thanks in part to its polycarbonate body and lack of some key features of the iPhone 5s. The initial variant has 8GB of memory and doesn’t have the revolutionary A7 processor, doesn’t have Touch ID, and doesn’t have the improved camera system. The phone is essentially an iPhone 5 with LTE and improved battery life.

The availability of fun colors like green, blue, pink, and yellow helped increase the appeal somewhat, but overall, at $549, the iPhone 5c is priced too close to the $649 iPhone 5s. despite lacking most important key features. The company’s new strategy of launching a new, more affordable phone instead of cutting the price of last year’s high-end smartphone doesn’t seem to be as effective as expected.

Although both iPhones sold a total of about 9 million units in their first week of launch (a record at the time), it was widely reported that the 5s sold three times as much as the 5c. The story surrounding the cheaper phone led to disappointment. Despite being an affordable iPhone, the 5c is still more expensive than Android competitors like Google’s Nexus 5 and OnePlus One. Furthermore, inventory problems at the time meant that fewer iPhone 5s phones were available on the market than iPhone 5c. The 5s regularly sells out while the 5c remains on shelves and online stores, clearly showing what consumers want more.

iPhone 15 and later: Innovation and affordability

After the poor reception of the iPhone 5c, Apple abandoned any plans to launch another “affordable” iPhone next year. But the iPhone brand was big enough even in 2013 to weather the iPhone 5c debacle and even the Bendgate debacle of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. In the years that followed, Apple tried to avoid problems like the iPhone 4’s “misplaced antenna” and brought iterative yet innovative updates to future iPhones. like the notch and Dynamic Island or significant upgrades to the camera, processor, display and touch features. .

The company even tried its hand at an affordable iPhone but executed it better in the form of the iPhone SE (2020) and then the iPhone SE 3 (2022). There’s even an iPhone SE 4 leak that could suggest Apple will refresh the SE line with a much more premium model this time around. With the iPhone 5c, it’s nice to see Apple try something new, even if it doesn’t work.