iPhone 5S vs Samsung Galaxy S4 specs, features: Price might win out for some

The iPhone 5S(Apple)

It was a big day for Apple yesterday with the unveiling of its next generation of iPhones, the iPhone 5S and the iPhone C,  but how does it size up to its rival the Samsung Galaxy S4.

There's no denying that the new iPhone 5S in its sleek silver, gold and 'space grey' colour options trumps the S4 with its much cheaper looking glossy plastic casing.  

The iPhone 5S promises to be an altogether faster and more powerful phone than its predecessor with its A7 chip with 64-bit architecture and M7 motion co-processor, although it's not certain what RAM it will have, probably 1GB.

It also features an 8-megapixel iSight camera  with /2.2 aperture, a Sapphire crystal lens cover and True Tone flash.  

The display is four inches, with a 1136x640 resolution and 326 ppi, and it's also running on the new iOS7, the first major overhaul of the iPhone operating system.  

It's a lightweight 112g and a 1,434mAh battery. There was a lot of excitement ahead of the unveiling about the new Touch ID fingerprint technology and whether it would open up a whole new world of easier, more secure phone shopping, but it's limited to unlocking the phone and iTunes purchases.

But really it's the iOS 7 processor that makes the big difference with this phone, making the apps more accessible, and the device is being priced up to $750.

The Samsung Galaxy S4, by comparison, has great hardware, with its a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 1.9Ghz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and Adreno 320 GPU.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is also a great device for watching movies, streaming and browsing with its 5-inch 1080p HD 1920x1080 Super Amoled touchscreen.

It's never won any brownie points for the plastic casing, that extra inch of screen over the iPhone 5S does make it so much more comfortable from a viewing perspective, perfect for people who really do live their lives on their phones.

While the iPhone 5S will start spluttering at around the 10-hour mark, the Galaxy S4's 2600mAh battery should give users a whole day's usage.

Know Your Mobile's Richard Goodwin said in his review of the Galaxy S4 that users could expect a full day with heavy usage from a single charge - including streaming movies, browsing, calls, emails and downloading large data files.

Retailing at around the $500, this is a great value yet powerful phone, a really complete package for those wondering if the high price tag that comes with the iPhone is justified when they get near good enough with the Samsung Galaxy 4S.