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iPhone 5S leak shows minor hardware upgrades only

The latest iPhone 5S images line the upcoming smartphone up against the iPhone 5, revealing the two devices will only be different internally.

Showing the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5 side-by-side, the images compare the LCD screen and digitizer of the two devices.

The images, which come courtesy of FanaticFone, claim to be “the first in the world” to compare the digitizer and LCD screen assembly of the two smartphones.

As the pictures below showcase, the two phones do not differ in dimensions, looking identical from the front as did the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. The LCD screen is the exactly the same in both models, with the bezel sizes also unchanged.

Of course, we can’t tell whether the iPhone 5S will get a screen resolution increase, but seeing as the iPhone 5 already has a Retina display, it probably won’t.

It is tipped to upgrade to an IGZO panel from Sharp, which is designed for saving energy while retaining a high pixel density.

As for the digitizer, the iPhone 5S’ flex cable is much longer, suggesting that the internal hardware of the upcoming flagship will differ from the iPhone 5.

iPhone 5S Rumours

Tipped to launch on 18 September alongside the budget iPhone 5C, the iPhone 5S is expected to include a fingerprint reader. This could explain why the bottom of the iPhone 5S is different to the current flagship as seen in the images below.

The iPhone 5S is strongly rumoured to gain a 13-megapixel rear facing camera with dual-LED flash and f/2.0 lens, which would mean the next iPhone could rival the Samsung Galaxy S4 in terms of camera specs.

Expect the iPhone 5S to gain a 5.92Whr unit battery, boosting its battery power above the iPhone 5’s 5.45Whr unit. Although this isn’t much of an upgrade, when potentially combined with an IGZO screen this could mean a much longer battery life in the next iPhone.

Next, read our iPhone 4 vs iPhone 4S comparison.

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