新款iPhone是大跨越还是小碎步

    至于相机，苹果也有所改进。它还是800万像素，但苹果称更大的处理器和光圈能在光线昏暗的环境中拍出更出色的照片。这方面我并没发现有很大提升，但在细节上确实更丰富了。当我用5S的双色闪光灯——带有两个LED而非一个——拍照时，效果确实更出色了：肤色更自然，色彩还原也更准确。闪光灯确实打开了，不过照片却不那么“显旧”了。

    至于iPhone 4和4S的机主，由于新机型上iOS 7所带来的流畅体验，升级到5S会感到明显的提升。对他们来说，入手新机是明摆着的事。但iPhone 5的机主则可以等到2014年再说，因为5S不会让他们感到性能有大幅升级。不过随着iOS 7不断完善，开发者利用A7芯片升级软件后，这种情况就会有所改观。

    为iPhone 5C推出售价为99美元的五款明艳的糖果色彩壳和六款同样色彩鲜艳的硅胶套，苹果的目标似乎很清楚：一方面维持豪华手机品牌的地位，另一方面也要吸引那些可支配收入比较有限的年轻消费者及市场。

    跟自己那穿着高档玻璃和铝合金外衣的兄弟相比，5C就是“不依不饶地走塑料路线”。简言之，这就是塑料背壳的iPhone 5。尽管我自己不怎么喜欢苹果选的这些颜色，但5C握在手中的感觉还是很舒服的。这些边角有一定弧度，光滑喷漆的塑料外壳要比5S硬邦邦的边角更符合人体工学。而用钢材强化的塑料框架也意味着它非常坚实——不管你怎么用劲，这台手机的材料都绝不会弯折。同样地，坚实的塑料按键按起来也令人满意。换言之，5C可能确实塑料感很强，但却绝不让人觉得廉价。

    不过，它还是让人觉得不那么高端。不仅是因为它的塑料用材，还因为它和去年那款手机在配置上几乎完全一样。它还是A6的处理器，还是那颗800万像素的镜头。让5C比老款要显得好些的地方在于，它的前置摄像头要稍微好点，电池续航时间也更长了。这个电池能让用户的通话时间增加一到两个小时，跟5S差不多。

    5C的应用不像5S那样做了大幅升级，但它毕竟也用上了iOS 7。这两者之间的最大差别在运行《无尽之剑3》（Infinity Blade III）这样的游戏时表现得最明显，这款游戏靠5S的处理器才能跑得酣畅淋漓。在5C上它运行得也不错，但在5S上动作更流畅，视觉效果也更锐利。

    5C是一部性能出色的手机——只不过它算不上“全新款”而已。这可能就是为什么5S在美国缺货，而5C还是很容易买到的原因。苹果要迎合两种完全不同的市场需求，这宗想法没错。但就算是这样，“5S年”还是让人觉得只是小修小补的过渡期而已。而明年，随着可能将采用全新设计的iPhone 6的问世，苹果新推出的高端、“实惠”两手抓的市场两分法应该会变得有意思得多。（财富中文网）

    译者：清远  

    As for the camera, Apple has slightly improved that, too. It's still 8 megapixels, but the company says the slightly larger sensor and aperture should make for better-looking low-light shots. I didn't notice a major improvement on that front, but I saw somewhat more detail in stills. When I used the 5S's new two-tone flash -- two LEDs instead of one -- the results were more dramatic: Skin appeared more natural, colors more accurate. That a flash was used is obvious, but the results were less "washed out."

    For iPhone 4 and 4S owners, upgrading to the 5S will seem like a huge improvement given that iOS7 on the new model is a smooth experience. For them, upgrading is a no-brainer. iPhone 5 users, however, can afford to wait until 2014. The 5S doesn't currently offer a huge improvement in performance that users can feel, but that will likely change as iOS7 evolves and developers update their software to take advantage of that A7 chip.

    Starting at $99 in five bright, candy-colored shades and six equally vibrant silicone cases, Apple's goal with the iPhone 5C seems obvious: retain its reputation as an arbiter of luxe gadgets yet appeal to the younger set and markets with generally smaller disposable incomes.

    Unlike its high-brow glass and aluminum sibling, the 5C is "unapologetically plastic." Put simply, it's an iPhone 5 with a plastic black. And while I don't personally care for most of the color options Apple opted for, the 5C is a pleasure in hand. Curved at the edges, the smooth, lacquered plastic is more ergonomic than the harder edges of the 5S. A steel-reinforced frame also means it feels extremely solid -- there's no flexing of materials anywhere on the device, no matter how hard you grip. Likewise, the firm plastic buttons all click satisfyingly. In other words, plastic the 5C may be, but it doesn't feel cheap.

    Still, it does feel decidedly less premium, not just because of the plastic but because it also shares just about all of the same features with last year's model, from the A6 processor to the 8 megapixel camera. Where the 5C edges out its older sibling is in its slightly better front-facing camera and longer-lasting battery. The latter should net users another one to two hours of talk time, or roughly the same as what I saw on the 5S.

    Apps don't quite zip like they do on Apple's flagship smartphone, but the 5C generally runs iOS7 well. The biggest difference may be with games like Infinity Blade III, which takes advantage of the 5S's processor. On the 5C, the game runs well enough, but on the 5S, the action is smoother and things look sharper.

    The iPhone 5C is a perfectly capable device -- it's just not a new one. This is likely why in the U.S., the 5S is backordered while the 5C remains easy-to-find. Apple has the right idea in catering to two different markets. But even so, the year of the iPhone 5S still feels like an interim period of incremental upgrades. Next year, with the iPhone 6, presumably with an all-new design, Apple's new dichotomy of high-end vs. "budget" should become much more interesting.