2013 was a fantastic year for smartphones. Smartphones, specifically the flagship devices from manufacturers, raised the bar high in terms of build quality, polish, specifications, user experience and software. Here are my Top 5 picks of 2013, in no particular order, keeping in mind these are ones available from official channels in Malaysia (so no Nexus 5 or Oppo 5, etc).
iPhone 5s
Apple clearly isn’t swayed by trends, and despite the mobile industry moving towards bigger, bulkier phones, the Cupertino company stubbornly stuck to the now puny 4-inch form factor for its latest flagship iPhone 5s. The new iPhone 5s, however, has its own tricks up its metallic sleeve. It has the distinction of being the first ever smartphone with a 64-bit processor, proven by industry benchmarks to be the fastest, most powerful processor to date.
While some may view 64-bit as a marketing gimmick, it ensures Apple is ahead, at least in terms of processing power, for the coming years. Another surprise was the inclusion of the M7 motion co-processor that collects sensor data from integrated accelerometers, gyroscopes and compasses, thus offloads these tasks from the main CPU. With the iPhone 5s, Apple also introduced Touch ID, fingerprint sensing technology, also an industry first.
The iPhone 5s is undeniably Apple’s best, and features build quality that’s second to none. Coupled with its latest generation operating system iOS 7, Apple has done enough to keep fans happy, and the competition on its toes.
Continued next page > Samsung Note 3
