The iPhone 5S running iOS 7 has been in use for a few days. It is a really slick piece of kit, partly due to iOS 7 and partly due to its hardware.

In no particular order, the Apple way is simple. If you have a contact listed in your address book, it is simple to do a FaceTime Audio or Video call. There is no setting up, no different app to find, it is just one app and works. If for example you call somebody where reception is dreadful but the iPhone is connected to wifi, then FaceTime Audio is a superb way of calling that person without fear of signal loss.

The integration of iMessages into the Message app in another simple solution. You don’t have to decide which way to send a text message, the phone decides for you. And it lets you know simply by the change in text colour. Blue for an iMessage and green for a SMS text.

Photo sharing and backup to your mac is also idiot proof. Photostream backs up your last 1,000 photos, and then on your mac in iPhoto each month has its own event with photos saved to it whilst your iPhone is on wifi. Create shared photostream albums and as soon as you add a new photo, the other person or people you are sharing the photo album with will receive that photo. A great way for friends and grandparents etc to share with ease. And the camera has one of the best auto modes on a phone. Simple but effective. I just wish it did a 16:9 resolution to match the phone’s wide screen.

Siri is out of beta and it shows. More refined and useful, like a personal assistant. Apple Maps is vastly improved but is still 3 seconds late on turn by turn navigation versus the map. But now background sync and multitasking is implemented into iOS 7, Google Maps works just fine even with turn by turn. And that is the story with iOS 7. Background sync and multitasking makes everything work really well.

And then there is control centre swiping from the bottom up. This is much better than swiping from the top down. And this is another example of simplicity and something done correctly.

Flow and experience. I do not understand what it is, but when you use an iPhone it provides a satisfying experience. Scrolling is ultra smooth too.

Some of your might say Apple is too controlling in its eco system. So what. Do you really think Google or Microsoft is really any different. In fact, all the eco systems are being tightened up and slowly closed.

But, the iPhone is not for everyone. Watching films on a 6 inch screen is a lot easier than a 4 inch screen as are other tasks. That is why the new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will be ideal for some people for different reasons. It is also a bespoke and well thought out device.

And ironically but the iPhone and Note 3 cost an arm and a leg, yet are the best in their class.

The new iPhone 5S has had many comments that it is more of the same. It has had comments that it has hardly been improved over the 5. Actually, the iPhone 5 was a great phone and the improvements to the 5S are actually more substantial than meets the eye.

Lets take the camera. It has more camera modes and can process 10 full resolution burst shots per second. In fact you can take 100 photos, and the new A7 processor in real time is able to tell you which one is the best shot or sequence of motion shots to keep. The panoramic mode can now adjust light exposure as you take your shot as shown below.

The 5S boasts better low light. Here is a shot from the 5S and below that the same shot but using the Sony QX10 attached to the iPhone 5S.

and now same scene but using the Sony QX10 lens.

So which low light photo do you prefer?

Obviously there is a lot more features and benefits with the iPhone 5S and I will try and cover these off with some more thoughts over the next few days.