Another year, another iPhone release, or so it seems. Apple is back once again with its series update bringing us both the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C. What could possibly be different from the 5,  one may be asking themselves, but to be honest, there’s not a whole lot.

The iPhone 5 has widely been seen as the biggest innovation that Apple had made in recent history, offering a phone with a much larger screen and load of new features. The latest slew of phones each have their respective upsides, but at the same time, fans may question dropping the money to upgrade.

From an appearance standpoint, there will be some immediate features that will stand out. With the iPhone 5S, buyers will immediately notice that the home button has a solid reflective ring, depending on which color you will choose. One new option for the iPhone fans will be the new color added to the tried and true black and white, as well as a shimmering gold color scheme. The 5C offers those with a  more colorful personality to choose a phone that fits them, with the option to choose the backcolor of their phone from a small variety of 5 colors.

The downside of this color variety is the loss of a metal back for a plastic cover with a metal reinforced frame. The change in material also allowed for a drastic price drop on the 5C while the 5S still sits at a hefty price. A change that some will only notice when under the view of the microscope is the weight and thickness of the 5C. While the 5S will be the same thickness, height and weight of the 5, the 5C is larger in almost every way, both thicker by .05 of an inch, longer by .03 of an inch, and weighs roughly .7 ounces more. While it isn’t a drastic change, it just shows the lack of attention Apple showed the 5C.

Internally, major overhauls have been made, at least on the 5S. Apple took their time with the 5S it seems, adding a new A7-64-bit microprocessor, an upgrade from the 5’s A6 core processor. This update is targeted to improve reaction time from searches and app processes. The 5C however, did not receive this new technology and is still running on the 5’s A6 processor. The 5S also receives the M7 coprocessor which will improve the phones motion sensing ability, while the 5C also misses out on the new technology. Outside of this new hardware, the 5S and 5C are still on different terms when the camera features come up.

While they both offer the same amount of megapixels, the 5S does offer three new features the 5C does not. The 5S offers a new burst mode camera feature allowing for rapid picture taking. Another new feature is the slo-mo video recording ability allowing one to slow down some cherished moments. Probably the biggest and most welcomed technological advance is the Fingerprint Identity Sensor. It is just as it sounds, the phone will protect itself from theft by recognizing your finger prints when unlocking the phone, a feature that only goes to the 5S.

App wise, the 5S and the 5C are almost neck and neck. All new iPhone owners will receive their phones outfitted with the sleek and stylish operating system, iOS 7. The complete system overhaul that launched on September 18 is complementary to the phone, stating that it’s been tirelessly tweaked and tailored to the newest iPhones, with new features such as the Control center, a revamped iCloud, and an overall fresh and vibrant look. The control center is a new pull up bar in which users will swipe up from the bottom, which will then pull up task bars which allow you to access options such as Bluetooth, Wifi, Orientation Lock, Airplane Mode, Screen Brightness, Music, Camera, Calculator, Camera and new built in Flashlight app, all in one easily accessible place. This is probably the crowning jewel for the new iPhones, although the update is offered to all iPhones made from 2011 and later.

These new iPhones offer the always advancing tech community a new outlet for discussion, but despite what seems to be a lack of attention, these phones are still top tier competitors. Thanks to all the new upgrades for the 5S, it does earn itself the more expensive price tag, with the 16gb model offered at $199, the 32gb model at $299 and the 64gb offered at $399. The 5C is priced much lower, with the 16gb model being offered at a very low $99 and the 32gb model offered for $199. These new phones are offered on several cell phone service providers such as Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile respectively. These phones can be purchased online at Apple.com and also in-store at Apple locations as well as respective service provider stores.