One of the big things that seems to be a bit of a disappointment in terms of the Apple iPhone 5S is the display, which on some fronts—naturally, this whole thing is going to be a bit on the subjective side—isn't stacking up very well against its contemporaries like the Samsung Galaxy S4. This isn't quite so important when it comes to mobile gaming as some might think; after all, we're talking about a four inch display showing at a resolution of 1136 x 640. This isn't the space for big, brightly-rendered explosions; this is the space for simple level designs like game boards or chess sets or the like. So while the display may be a bit on the down side, it may do the job for mobile gaming, which commonly uses lower-tier graphics.
What's particularly good here, meanwhile, is the recent augmentation to the processor. That new A7 chip, at last report, is giving the iPhone 5S a lot of extra power, making it what amounts to the first 64-bit smartphone. That's opening up some serious opportunity, and when you couple the limits of the display's presentation, that could make developers focus more on gameplay than on graphics. That's a development that could be very welcome, and may end well indeed.
Additionally, there are reports that indicate the battery life on the iPhone 5S has been increased by two hours over the iPhone 5, and when it comes to mobile gaming, battery life means a lot. Two extra hours is two extra hours, and that's certainly no small help.
So, as the headline suggests, is the Apple iPhone 5S gamers' new best friend? Maybe. Mobile gamers will likely find quite a bit to like here, and of course, mobile gamers also get a lot out of this that doesn't have much to do with gaming. It's always a good sign when a device can serve more than one purpose, and make no mistake, the iPhone 5S will do several different jobs. But for gamers, the iPhone 5S ought to conduct itself well, especially for those who were planning to pick one up anyway.
