<P> Most reviewers recommended the iPhone 5S over the iPhone 5C which was released at the same time . The 5C retained almost the same hardware as the discontinued iPhone 5 , while the iPhone 5S featured substantially improved performance / features thanks to its new 64 - bit A7 processor , as well as extra storage space , all for a relatively small additional upfront cost over the iPhone 5C ( US $650 versus US $550 in March 2014 ) . This was especially the case when iOS 8 was released and both iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C were moved to the mid and low end of the iPhone range , respectively ; the iPhone 5S still had 16 or 32 GB storage available while the iPhone 5C had to make do with 8 GB storage with only 4.9 GB available to the user after installing iOS 8 . Furthermore , the 5C 's polycarbonate exterior received a mixed reception and was seen as a cost - cutting downgrade compared to the iPhone 5 's aluminum / glass case ; the 5S retained the latter design and looked even more premium due its additional gold finish . </P>
<P> Most reviewers recommended the iPhone 5S over the iPhone 5C which was released at the same time . The 5C retained almost the same hardware as the discontinued iPhone 5 , while the iPhone 5S featured substantially improved performance / features thanks to its new 64 - bit A7 processor , as well as extra storage space , all for a relatively small additional upfront cost over the iPhone 5C ( US $650 versus US $550 in March 2014 ) . This was especially the case when iOS 8 was released and both iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C were moved to the mid and low end of the iPhone range , respectively ; the iPhone 5S still had 16 or 32 GB storage available while the iPhone 5C had to make do with 8 GB storage with only 4.9 GB available to the user after installing iOS 8 . Furthermore , the 5C 's polycarbonate exterior received a mixed reception and was seen as a cost - cutting downgrade compared to the iPhone 5 's aluminum / glass case ; the 5S retained the latter design and looked even more premium due its additional gold finish . </P>
iphone 5s price when it first came out
iphone 5s price when it first came out
$650
$650