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Apple iPhone 5c vs Apple iPhone Air

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleiPhone 5cAppleiPhone Air
Overview
ReleasedSeptember 2013September 2025
Display
Screen size4″6.5″
Resolution1136 × 6402736 × 1260
Sharpness326 pixels per inch463 pixels per inch
PanelLCDLTPO OLED
Refresh rate60 Hz120 Hz
Peak brightness500 nits3,000 nits
Display typeRetina display; 4-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch displaySuper Retina XDR OLED display with Dynamic Island
Pixel density326 ppi460 ppi
Brightness detail500 cd/m² max brightness (typical)1,000 nits max (typical); 1,600 nits peak (HDR); 1 nit minimum
Always-on display–Yes
Screen protectionFingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating on frontCeramic Shield 2 front, Ceramic Shield back
Display features800:1 contrast ratio (typical)ProMotion adaptive refresh; HDR; True Tone; Wide colour (P3); Haptic Touch; 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio (typical); anti-reflective coating
Performance
ChipA6A19 Pro
Memory1 GB12 GB
Storage8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB
CPUDual-core 1.3 GHz Swift (GSMArena); 1 GB of Elpida DDR2 RAM (iFixit)6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores
GPUPowerVR SGX543MP3 (GSMArena)5-core GPU with Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine–16-core Neural Engine
Cameras
Main camera8 MP48 MP
Ultra wide cameraNoneNone
Telephoto cameraNoneNone
Optical zoomNoneNone
Front camera1.2 MP18 MP
Main camera8-megapixel iSight camera, ƒ/2.4 aperture, backside illumination sensor, five-element lens, hybrid IR filter, autofocus, LED flash48MP Fusion Main, 26 mm, ƒ/1.6 aperture, sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, 100% Focus Pixels; 24MP and 48MP photos
Front cameraFaceTime camera with 1.2MP photos (1280 by 960) and backside illumination sensor18MP Center Stage camera, ƒ/1.9 aperture, autofocus with Focus Pixels
Zoom3x video zoom12MP optical-quality 2x Telephoto (52 mm) from the Main camera; digital zoom up to 10x
Video recording1080p HD at 30 fps; video stabilisation; take still photos while recording4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; 1080p Dolby Vision at 25, 30 or 60 fps; Action mode up to 2.8K Dolby Vision at 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p at 120 or 240 fps; Dual Capture up to 4K Dolby Vision at 30 fps; HEVC and H.264
Front video720p HD4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps; slo-mo 1080p at 120 fps; ultra-stabilised video; Centre Stage for video calls
Camera featuresTap to focus; face detection; panorama; photo and video geotaggingPhotonic Engine; Deep Fusion; Smart HDR 5; next-generation portraits with Focus and Depth Control; Night mode; Photographic Styles; customisable default lens; Camera Control
Battery and charging
Battery1,510 mAh3,149 mAh
Video playback (maker's claim)Up to 10 hoursUp to 27 hours
Wireless chargingNoneUp to 20 W
Battery life detailTalk time up to 10 hours on 3G; standby up to 250 hours; internet use up to 8 hours on 3G and 10 hours on LTE or Wi-Fi; video playback up to 10 hours; audio playback up to 40 hours; 3.8 V, 5.73 Wh, 1,510 mAh (iFixit)Up to 22 hours streamed video playback; up to 40 hours video playback with the iPhone Air MagSafe Battery (sold separately); EU energy label class A, 40 hours per charge, at least 1,000 charge cycles
Wired chargingCharging via USB to a computer or power adapterUp to 50% in 30 minutes with a 20W adapter or higher (sold separately)
Wireless charging–MagSafe and Qi2 up to 20W with a 30W adapter or higher; up to 50% in 30 minutes
Design
TypeStandardStandard
Weight132 g165 g
Thickness8.97 mm5.64 mm
Height × width124.4 × 59.2 mm156.2 × 74.7 mm
Water and dust resistance–IP68
MaterialsHard-coated polycarbonate body with a steel reinforced frame that doubles as the antennaGrade 5 titanium frame with a polished mirror finish; 3D-printed titanium USB-C port
ColoursWhite, Pink, Yellow, Blue, GreenSpace Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, Sky Blue
ButtonsOn/off, sleep/wake; volume up/down; ring/silent; HomeAction button; Camera Control; side button; volume up/down
Water resistance detail–IP68 (maximum depth of 6 metres up to 30 minutes) under IEC standard 60529
Biometrics–Face ID
SensorsThree-axis gyro; accelerometer; proximity sensor; ambient light sensorBarometer; high dynamic range gyro; high-g accelerometer; proximity sensor; dual ambient light sensors
Speakers–Built-in speaker (one, not stereo)
Microphones–Built-in microphones; Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum modes
Software
Operating systemiOSiOS
Software at launchiOS 7iOS 26
Software updates–Security, corrective and functionality updates for at least 5 years after it stops being sold (EU product information sheet)
AI features–Apple Intelligence; Visual Intelligence
Safety features–Crash Detection
In the box–iPhone Air, USB-C Charge Cable (1 m), documentation; no power adapter
Connectivity
Satellite messaging–Yes
Mobile networkModel A1507: UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE; LTE (bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20)Apple C1X modem; 5G (sub-6GHz) with 4x4 MIMO; Gigabit LTE with 4x4 MIMO; UK model A3517
SIMNano-SIM (GSMArena)Dual eSIM (two active, stores eight or more); no physical SIM card
Wi-FiWi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n (802.11n 2.4GHz and 5GHz)Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2x2 MIMO; Apple N1 wireless networking chip
BluetoothBluetooth 4.0Bluetooth 6; Thread
Ultra Wideband–Apple second-generation Ultra Wideband chip
NFC–NFC with reader mode; Express Cards with Power Reserve
Satellite features–Emergency SOS via satellite; Roadside Assistance via satellite
USBLightning connector; 3.5 mm stereo headphone minijack; video mirroring and video out up to 1080p through the Lightning Digital AV Adapter and Lightning to VGA Adapter (sold separately)USB-C with charging and USB 2 (up to 480Mb/s)
PositioningAssisted GPS and GLONASS; digital compass; Wi-Fi; cellularPrecision dual-frequency GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavIC); digital compass; iBeacon micro-location

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