You think iPhone Lite is the better buy due to its lower tag price? Think again as one report claims that pitted against the Apple flagship, the iPhone 5S, the latter is more economical in the long run.

While the rainbow-studded iPhone Lite is definitely an attraction in-the-making come its rumoured release date on September, Gotta Be Mobile argued against its long-term benefits. For most users, the initial expense will surely pile as them attempt to sustain the variety of options that come with the so-called cheaper iPhone.

True, the first cash out will likely not exceed the $400 mark (the Lite is rumoured to retail between $300 and $400) but the spending will not stop from there. The core design of the Lite is to create possibilities for users, that is customising the handset which is an option not available for previous iPhone owners or the iPhone 5S for that matter.

And the option to personalise is not free and cheap at the same time. Easily, iPhone Lite buyers could end up forking out twice the amount or more of the price they paid for owning the handset in order to keep up with its 'fashionable characteristics', GBM said in the report.

On the contrary, the classic-looking iPhone 5S requires no major physical modifications to become an allure for most buyers. In plain black and white, it is a beauty by itself and a definite cash-magnet.

The only other expenditures it requires, aside from network services, are optional accessories topped by screen guards and handset protectors, which for many iPhone owners are shields of their investments so the handset can fetch a good price once it is put in the market.

And the power and features to come with the 5S are more overwhelming compared to the Lite, which analysts said is geared for the price-sensitive market, hence equipped with fewer capabilities.

So for the power iPhone users, the iPhone 5S is the clear choice for providing more bangs for the bucks, which seems hefty at the onset (especially for the unlocked version) but spreads out all the pluses over the long haul.

On release date, the iPhone 5S is said to sport a 4-inch screen display with Retina+ technology that delivers some 1.5 million pixels, a quad-core A7 CPU, a 12MP main cam and pretty much the same sleek and sexy body-build seen in the iPhone 5, still wrapped in a mix of anodised aluminium on the back and edge portions and a Corning Gorilla variant on the face side.

The iPhone Lite, on the other hand, is likely encased in a polycarbonate plastic material with a likely dual-core A6X chip and a 5MP rear shooter plus a 3.5-inch display screen without Retina.

Both handsets, however, will be powered by the Jony Ive-redesigned iOS 7.