The Only Evidence You’ll Ever Need To Prove That The iPhone 5S is a great phone

by Michael Sitver · September 23

A recent reader disagreed with my use of AllthingsD’s Walt Mossberg and the New York Times’s David Pogue’s reviews as evidence of its excellence. I later tested it, and agreed with the press assessment, but his words stuck.

He tweeted that he thought they were “practically on Apple’s payroll” (see the tweet embedded below). So I started tweeting him quotes from other reviewers who thought the same things. The resulting list, I found to be compelling evidence that the iPhone 5S is a solid phone.

This is the only list you’ll need, to prove that the iPhone 5S is a quality choice as a smartphone. Bookmark this, and send it to all your Android-loving friends.

@appstoremike Mossberg and Pogue are practically on Apple’s payroll. Let’s be honest–iOS7 looks like Android and Windows Phone had a baby.

— Jeff Fluckiger (@fluckiger) September 22, 2013

You can make the claim that two reviewers are biased in their opinion, but you can’t deny that ten major reviewers are all partial. So here goes. What the tech world had to say about the 5S:

Reminder: The iPhone 5S isn’t right for everyone. We’re not saying that. We’re saying it’s a great phone, which is true.

Engadget: “more than meets the eye”
Anandtech: “the iPhone 5s won’t disappoint”
Techcrunch: “best smartphone available”
New York Times: “The iPhone is no longer the only smartphone that will keep you delighted for the length of your two-year contract — but it’s still among the few that will.”
Wall Street Journal/ AllThingsD: “the new iPhone 5S is a delight. Its hardware and software make it the best smartphone on the market.”
CNET:”better than the S4 and any other recent Android phone we’ve tested, making the 5S a theoretical paper champion for gaming.”
Daily Mail: “the best smartphone on the market”
Popular Mechanics: “the iPhone 5s is appealing”
The Verge: “maybe the best smartphone ever made
Forbes: “another beautiful piece of engineering from Apple, and a worthy container for your life’s content.”
Time Magazine: “the iPhone 5s is a meaningful advance on the iPhone 5, and comfortably ahead of any phone that doesn’t have a picture of a piece of fruit on its backside.
Me (might as well sneak in here): “After testing this phone for around 30 minutes, putting it through its paces, I’m confident that I’ve made the right choice, and I’m really impressed.”

Even blogs dedicated to Android had nice things to say about the 5S. Here’s a bonus takeaway:

Android Authority noted that if you don’t mind Apple’s closed nature, “it’s a pretty nice phone really”.

Pricing:

Don’t let anyone convince you the iPhone is expensive anymore. The Note III is $100 more expensive on and off contract, and the Lumia 1020, Galaxy S4, and HTC One are identically priced. Here’s a good pricing chart: http://cnet.co/1gQKQ5G

Benchmarking

Benchmarking may not always be a true indication of a phone’s performance, but if your friends are still arguing with the consensus of 11 notable, impartial tech reviewers, you can point them to these charts. Each pretty much tells the story.