The iPhone 5C was compared to the discontinued 5S.
IPhone 5C . The device was part of the iPhone series and was unveiled on September 10 , 2013 , and released on September 20 , 2013 , along with its higher-end counterpart , the iPhone 5S . The iPhone 5C was sold at a discounted price point in comparison to the 5S : unlike Apple 's prior practice of lowering the price of the previous model upon release of a new version , the iPhone 5 was explicitly discontinued and replaced by the 5C .