First iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c Teardowns Show Touch ID Home Button, Nearly Identical Internal Layouts - MacRumors
Skip to Content

First iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c Teardowns Show Touch ID Home Button, Nearly Identical Internal Layouts

Australian iPhone repair firm iExperts has already gotten its hands on the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models (via TUAW), working to perform teardowns of the two devices to examine their internals. While the company has yet to start digging into the chips on the main logic board, it has been able to reveal a few details about the devices.

iphone_5_5s_5c_open

Left to right: iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c

Unsurprisingly, the internal layouts of the new devices are consistent with that seen in leaked part photos and generally in line with that of the iPhone 5. Battery capacities have increased from 5.45 Whr in the iPhone 5 to 5.92 Whr in the iPhone 5s and 5.73 Whr in the iPhone 5c. That iPhone 5s number is slightly different than what appeared in regulatory documents last week but is consistent with what we saw on a December 2012 prototype, albeit with a newer part number on the battery.

A direct comparison of the logic boards from the three devices also shows how Apple has slightly narrowed the boards on the new devices compared to the iPhone 5, making room for a slightly larger battery.

iphone_5_5s_5c_logic_boards

Left to right: iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c

Other tidbits discovered during the teardown include a metal clip holding in the new cable providing a connection for the Touch ID sensor in the home button, as well as a new coating on the power button believed to be designed to increase durability.

iphone_5s_touch_id_flex

iPhone 5s home button flex cable with integrated Touch ID sensor

More information from the new iPhones is undoubtedly forthcoming, with the teardown experts at iFixit also drawing upon their own extensive experience to delve into the details on the various components.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple HomeView lineup feature1

Apple Announces 'HomeView' Smart Home Hub

Tuesday October 13, 2026 6:00 am PDT by
Apple today announced the "HomeView," an all-new kind of smart home hub featuring a 7-inch Liquid Retina display and Siri AI. Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiak said: Apple HomeView is designed to be shared by everyone in the home yet feel completely personal to each user. It recognizes your face to shift from a household screen to your own experience,...
Apple TV 4K 4th Generation feature4

New Apple TV 4K Announced With A19 Chip, Updated Siri Remote, More

Tuesday October 13, 2026 6:08 am PDT by
Apple today announced the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K, with key features including an A19 chip, Siri AI support, an updated Siri Remote that has Find My support with Precision Finding, built in far-field microphones, support for surround sound with four HomePods in front and rear pairs, and more. The A19 chip in the new Apple TV 4K delivers up to 50% faster CPU performance and up to twice...
iOS 26 Home Feature

RIP, homeOS

Tuesday October 13, 2026 9:39 am PDT by
MacRumors was first to reveal the name "HomeView" last week, after discovering a trademark filing from a secretive shell company that we correctly suspected was linked to Apple. Apple was likely behind a "homeOS" trademark filing as well, but the company ultimately decided to stick with generic "HomeView software" naming, just like it refers to the HomePod's operating system as "HomePod...

Top Rated Comments

SockRolid Avatar
171 months ago
Which, let's all say it together, just sucks for what's supposed to be a top of the line smartphone. It may run fine this year, but I imagine it will have a shorter lifespan than most.

They really needed to boost the RAM this time around.
LOL. The number and quality of technical issues that haters can whine about has diminished.
Hasn't it longofest?

Remember the "Your wife will love the dual core Tegra processor" days?
When you could copy and paste Samsung's latest CPU GHz and pretend to brag about it.
When the entire mobile computing world was 32-bit.

No, those days are over. The haters (mostly Android apologists) only have 2 rants left:

1) "Not enough RAM."

This means zero to the average consumer. Less of a selling point than "Your wife will love..."
But high performance from just 1GB of RAM means "good engineering" to geeks.
Not coffee-shop geeks who think that learning multitouch gestures makes them technical.
Engineering geeks who read Anandtech. And understand it. All of it.

Here. Test yourself: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7335/the-iphone-5s-review
(If you're the TLDR type, just skip to the Geekbench scores.)

2) Screen is too small.

If the screen were too small, would iPhone dominate sales in the US?
Or is it that Americans have better eyesight than people in other countries?
Nope. iPhone owns the US market. Apple is the largest smartphone vendor here.
Screen size is irrelevant. Read it and weep:

http://www.i4u.com/2013/09/55660/kantar-apple-iphone-holds-434-us-market-share (http://www.i4u.com/2013/09/55660/kantar-apple-iphone-holds-434-us-market-share)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/benedictevans/2013/01/12/apples-market-share-might-be-too-high-not-too-low/ (http://www.forbes.com/sites/benedictevans/2013/01/12/apples-market-share-might-be-too-high-not-too-low/)
http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/06/apples-iphone-holds-40-share-of-us-smartphone-market (http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/06/apples-iphone-holds-40-share-of-us-smartphone-market)
http://news.yahoo.com/iphone-u-market-share-continues-grow-even-without-223039381.html (http://news.yahoo.com/iphone-u-market-share-continues-grow-even-without-223039381.html)

Most haters have given up on tech spec-rants. The 64-bit A7 has ended all of that.
Good for you for keeping the faith though. It just wouldn't be MacRumors without mindless trolls.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
840quadra Avatar
171 months ago
A bit rushed?

Not exactly the quality of photos and info we are used to seeing from iFixit . Neat to see the items, but looking forward to the detail reviews and info that iFixit can gather for us!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
171 months ago
I'm looking forward to reading these reviews. The new phone looks good.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sedrick Avatar
171 months ago

2) Screen is too small.

If the screen were too small, would iPhone dominate sales in the US?

My personal belief is that the iPhone dominates sales in spite of the smaller screen, not because of it. Important distinction.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
longofest Avatar
171 months ago
Any word how much RAM the 5S has?

1gb, same as 5. (source: anandtech)

Several of the reviews have said it has 1GB of ram

1GB LPDDR3 (http://www.anandtech.com/show/7335/the-iphone-5s-review)

Which, let's all say it together, just sucks for what's supposed to be a top of the line smartphone. It may run fine this year, but I imagine it will have a shorter lifespan than most.

They really needed to boost the RAM this time around.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
croooow Avatar
171 months ago
I'm looking forward to reading these reviews. The new phone looks good.

Really?:rolleyes:
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
Oops, Apple's Website Just Hinted at iPad Mini 8
Oops, Apple's Website Just Hinted at iPad Mini 8
2 hours ago
OLED MacBook Pro Won't Get M7 Chips Until Late 2027
OLED MacBook Pro Won't Get M7 Chips Until Late 2027
4 hours ago
Apple Pledged $25 Million to Trump's White House Ballroom
Apple Pledged $25 Million to Trump's White House Ballroom
5 hours ago
Touchscreen MacBook Pro Could Launch on November 6
Touchscreen MacBook Pro Could Launch on November 6
7 hours ago
New Withings Users Must Pay $99/Year for Apple Health Syncing
New Withings Users Must Pay $99/Year for Apple Health Syncing
7 hours ago
Meta and Apple Bring Muse Spark Open AI Model to Mac Studio
Meta and Apple Bring Muse Spark Open AI Model to Mac Studio
8 hours ago
iPad Mini 8: Apple Has Tested Both 60Hz and 120Hz ProMotion Displays
iPad Mini 8: Apple Has Tested Both 60Hz and 120Hz ProMotion Displays
9 hours ago
Apple TV 4K 2022 vs. 2026 Buyer's Guide: All Differences Compared
Apple TV 4K 2022 vs. 2026 Buyer's Guide: All Differences Compared
10 hours ago
Apple CEO John Ternus on Early Foldables: 'Kind of Cheap and Crappy'
Apple CEO John Ternus on Early Foldables: 'Kind of Cheap and Crappy'
11 hours ago
Greg Joswiak Says Apple Isn't Focused on Making AI for 'Lunatic Fringe'
Greg Joswiak Says Apple Isn't Focused on Making AI for 'Lunatic Fringe'
11 hours ago
Amazon Offers $120 Discount on AirPods Max 2, $50 Off AirPods Pro 3
Amazon Offers $120 Discount on AirPods Max 2, $50 Off AirPods Pro 3
12 hours ago
Apple CEO John Ternus Featured on Cover of TIME Magazine: 'New Era'
Apple CEO John Ternus Featured on Cover of TIME Magazine: 'New Era'
13 hours ago
Apple Announces Deadline to 'Get Ready' to Pre-Order the iPhone Duo
Apple Announces Deadline to 'Get Ready' to Pre-Order the iPhone Duo
13 hours ago
MKBHD is 'Not Convinced' About Apple's New HomeView, Here's Why
MKBHD is 'Not Convinced' About Apple's New HomeView, Here's Why
13 hours ago
Apple's Wall-Mounted HomeView Ships Without a Power Adapter
Apple's Wall-Mounted HomeView Ships Without a Power Adapter
14 hours ago
Rare Apple-1 With Steve Jobs Letter Sells for $1.15 Million
Rare Apple-1 With Steve Jobs Letter Sells for $1.15 Million
14 hours ago
Apple Now Inviting Media to October 28 'Launch Experience'
Apple Now Inviting Media to October 28 'Launch Experience'
15 hours ago
iPhone Duo's A20 Pro Chip Benchmarked Ahead of Launch
iPhone Duo's A20 Pro Chip Benchmarked Ahead of Launch
1 day ago
10 HomeView Features You Might Have Missed
10 HomeView Features You Might Have Missed
1 day ago
Apple Becomes Second Company to Close Above $5 Trillion
Apple Becomes Second Company to Close Above $5 Trillion
1 day ago
Which Apple Home Devices Get Siri AI, and When
Which Apple Home Devices Get Siri AI, and When
1 day ago
Apple's Long-Delayed HomeView Was Already Being Tested in 2024
Apple's Long-Delayed HomeView Was Already Being Tested in 2024
1 day ago
Apple Intelligence Coming to China in December With iOS 27.3
Apple Intelligence Coming to China in December With iOS 27.3
1 day ago
Apple Invites App Updated With Two New Features
Apple Invites App Updated With Two New Features
1 day ago
OpenAI Says Ex-Employee Showed Its Device Plans to Apple
OpenAI Says Ex-Employee Showed Its Device Plans to Apple
1 day ago
Discover the Best Cases and Screen Protectors for Your New iPhone Duo
Discover the Best Cases and Screen Protectors for Your New iPhone Duo
1 day ago
Apple Store Near Los Angeles Closed Due to 'Events Beyond Our Control'
Apple Store Near Los Angeles Closed Due to 'Events Beyond Our Control'
1 day ago
No, HomePod Mini 1 Won't Support Siri AI as CNET Reported
No, HomePod Mini 1 Won't Support Siri AI as CNET Reported
1 day ago
iPhone Duo Compromises: Everything You Have to Give Up
iPhone Duo Compromises: Everything You Have to Give Up
1 day ago
Apple HomeView Has These 15 Apps, Some CarPlay Apps and Widgets Also Supported
Apple HomeView Has These 15 Apps, Some CarPlay Apps and Widgets Also Supported
1 day ago