With Apple’s iPhone release event yesterday and the electronics company’s stock down roughly 5.7% as I write, tech junkies and iOS users alike are surely hankering for a new iPhone 5S hands-on and review in hopes that Apple’s new flagship smartphone is worth buying. With a new 64-bit A7 processing chip and a status quo price tag of $199 with two-year contract, on paper the iPhone 5S appears to a purchase-worthy device.

But don’t just take it from me. For your convenience and Apple pleasure, here’s a list of first impressions, hands-ons, and reviews by tech writers and pundits to help you decide whether or not you should put in for the September 13 iPhone 5S pre-order.

 

CNET: “The real question in our minds is this: will more people pick the 5S or the 5C, or another phone entirely? It looks like Apple is using this year to refine peripheral technology around the iPhone rather than heading in a bold new direction. That said, if Touch ID makes the iPhone 5S more secure, it’ll be no small feature. We’ll also be keeping an eye on the M7 chip: Apple might be making a play for iOS health-tracking apps and gear to beat competitors to market, or, failing that, to just plain beat them.”

 

TechRadar: “The iPhone is a handset designed to give the best blend of power, sophistication and performance, and the iPhone 5S has taken that message and improved on it once more. The price will still be too high for some, but those locked into the iOS ecosystem, or just willing to take a punt and try something a bit different, will be massively pleased with the new iPhone.”

 

Engadget: “All told, the iPhone 5s is essentially what we expected it to be. It’s mostly an iterative improvement over the iPhone 5, but Touch ID is a great addition and some of the new camera features are clever; not to mention the fact that iOS 7 is a huge change over previous versions of the OS.”

 

TechCrunch: “It’s not very surprising that Apple has delivered a new iPhone that seems at first glance to be among the best smartphones in the business, if not definitely the new overall king. But what is surprising is that something like a built-in fingerprint scanner can make such a difference to overall device experience – I think adoption of this will definitely be much faster than you might expect.”