I like my gadgets, and generally consider myself an early adopter. When my friends are looking at buying a new piece of technology, I’m the one they ask as they know I’ll either own it or have tried it.
So you might be surprised to learn that my phone is an iPhone 4S and that after yesterday’s unveiling of the 5s (no, I don’t know why it suddenly became lower-case either), I’m planning to wait for the iPhone 6 before upgrading.
It’s not that the 5s isn’t impressive from a purely technological viewpoint. It is. A 64-bit phone? That’s a pretty incredible achievement. Delegating sensor functions to a separate chip to enable constant use without the usual battery-drain? Brilliant. A truly state-of-the-art fingerprint sensor? Fantastic. A larger phone sensor with lower pixel-density? Exactly the right approach, and I was delighted to see Apple refusing to join in the stupid megapixel race.
But I’m still not going to buy one, and the reason for that is two-fold. Before I get to that, one piece of context. In the U.S., upgrading can be a no-brainer as you end up on the same tariff either way. In the UK, it’s better value long-term to buy the phone outright at full retail (around $1120 for the 64Gb 5s), so you have to balance incremental benefit over other gadgets you could buy with the same money – like a new iPad. So, back to those two reasons …
First, much as I love hi-tech solutions for their own sake, I still need to see practical benefit. While I am wowed by the 64-bit CPU, I can’t honestly think of a single occasion when I’ve been using an app and wishing my phone were faster. Perhaps I would if I were a gamer, but I’m generally not. My experience of using my 4S is that I touch a button and something happens. Mobile data delays, sure, but waiting for the processor to do something? Doesn’t ever happen for me.
It’s not like a laptop. The switch from 32-bit to 64-bit there was night-and-day with some tasks, like processing lots of photos and video editing. But those processor-intensive operations aren’t the kind of thing I do on my phone.
The M7 co-processor really is a piece of genius. If you’re not familiar with the concept, normally the CPU – the A7 chip in this case – does pretty much all of the work. Not just running apps, but also all the background stuff too: keeping track of the phone’s orientation, looking out for new wifi networks to join, that kind of stuff. What the 5s does is have a separate chip to take care of the accelerometer, gyroscope and compass. For example, if you’re running a fitness app, instead of the CPU being active the whole time, collecting that data and passing it to the app, the M7 chip simply logs it all and makes it available later to any app on demand. That means the A7 chip has less to do, and you get better battery life.
Fantastic. But in my typical usage, it’s rare for me to run out of battery life. My office is at home, and I have an iPhone dock in my car, so the phone generally only needs to operate on battery power for a few hours at a time. There are exceptions, but for most of those the 4S still copes – and there are battery-cases for the few times they are needed (like cycling holidays).
Fingerprint sensors aren’t new, and they have even made it into phones before, but the 5s one is incredibly advanced. With many fingerprint sensors, you have to roll your finger across them, and the finger has to be in a consistent orientation. With the 5s sensor, all you do is touch, and it offers 360-degree recognition, so it doesn’t matter how you are holding the phone or how you apply your finger.
I love that. But it’s not enough. Give me fingerprint-protected NFC, so I can leave my wallet at home and only carry my phone, and I’d have been setting up camp outside my local Apple Store. Let me unlock my banking app and Paypal account and I’d have been pretty tempted. But just to unlock my phone? That’s a waste of good technology.
That new phone sensor and f/2.2 lens? Ok, Apple, I admit you did tempt me there. While everyone else crams in more and more pointless megapixels to a tiny sensor just so they can put an impressive-sounding number on the box, you actually understand photography. You know that once you have enough megapixels to produce a decent-sized print (and honestly, even 4MP achieves that), what matters is the quality of those pixels. And for quality, sensor size is king. Couple that with a wide-aperture lens to let in as much light as possible and you have a camera that will be incredibly capable in low-light conditions.
But when I want to take proper photographs, I use my DSLR. My iPhone is what I use for snapshots, where it’s about the memory rather than the art. Improved quality is always good, of course, even for snapshots, but it’s not a massive selling point for me.
The new styling? Hmm, sorry, Jony, it’s pretty and all, and you’ve achieved an absolute miracle in creating a non-tacky-looking gold phone, but I honestly prefer my all-black 4S.
All of which brings us to the second reason I won’t be buying one. My two-year-old iPhone 4S still looks new. It still looks modern. It still performs beautifully. The buttons and switch all work perfectly. The attention to detail and manufacturing quality that made it a winner then leave it still a winner today. In short, if I were to walk into a phone store today and buy my 4S, I’d be happy with my purchase.
You got me to upgrade from the iPhone 4 to the 4S. Siri did that. But I’ll be able to get the iOS 7 goodness on the 18th just like those who’ve splashed out on the 5s, and there’s nothing else I want enough to join them. In essence, Apple, by creating a quality phone and then allowing me to update it to the latest software two years later, you’ve cost yourself a sale.
But then that’s also the reason I’ll likely still be a customer many years from now. Long-term, Apple’s strategy is bang on the money.
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Bang on! I still use my iPhone 4 and after three years see no reason to upgrade. When the iPhone 6 comes out it will be time for an upgrade but for now the old 4 is fast reliable and fast enough to wait for newer technology.
I also have an iPhone, but I would disagree. I am very much ready for an upgrade. Using a 4 we are missing out on a ton of new features coming in iOS 7. And I wouldn’t call the iPhone 4 fast.
I’m still using my iPhone4, too. However, with the iOS7 GM it does not really feel fast anymore. What’s more is that some of the beautiful things are simply not available on the iPhone 4: Weather app not animated, Wallpapers don’t react to phone movement, animations when opening and closing apps tend to stutter, keyboard key presses work quickly enough but the key animations/visual confirmation lag behind, still no Siri and no panorama mode on the cam.
I consider upgrading, however I’m waiting for the fingerprint sensor to become available for developers, so we actually see the use cases described in the article in real life. If that makes me wait for the iPhone 6, so be it. If they open it up around x-mas, I’ll hop in before.
I think developer accessible fingerprint scanning will be made available as a software upgrade after the reliability of the sensor is proven. Just like early iOS Apps and Siri, Apple controlled the strings and the early user experience. It will be opened to the developer community soon after the hardware is proven in the wild.
do you really really work in the Technology market? really?
It seems so.
It seems that you don’t like the article. If I may ask, why? What do you consider totally wrong?
I actually really enjoyed this article. I for one will be upgrading from my 5 to a 5s because of most of the reasons you mentioned, but it’s still nice to hear another opinion.
But I have to admit that your second to last paragraph threw me for a loop. The reason that you upgraded from a 4 to a 4s was mostly because of Siri? When I upgraded from a 4 to a 4s, Siri was honestly not one of my reasons to do so. I feel like Siri’s usage and capabilities at that time barely warranted an upgrade, but the changes announced yesterday actually seem like big steps. (at least to me anyway)
I was already a big Dragon Dictate user at the time, so I had to have Siri even if it was quite limited at the time. It matured pretty quickly, though, and I have long dictated all my texts and other messages on it.
“and you’ve achieved an absolute miracle in creating a non-tacky-looking gold phone”
Really? REALLY?!
Really. It’s not to my personal taste, but I don’t think it’s horrible, and for a gold phone that’s really the standard!
I think it looks pretty decent myself. I’ve always gone with the black model, but I may switch it up and go a bit flashier this time around if I like the look of it in person.
Maybe it’s not tacky because it’s not actually gold in appearance. Anybody ever hear of bronze? Oh wait… that’s synonymous with third-place, and we can’t start calling it the “Third Place iPhone”, now can we. Even if it was the third color option Apple brought to market.
from what I’ve read online it’s more of a champagne
Lets see
nice article but i bet you´ll get one anyway’
Hehe – a friend said something similar on facebook earlier …
I’d agree with Twitboydk, if I wasn’t still rocking my iPad 2 with no App pressure to upgrade. As long as stuff like Infinity Blade 2 still keeps running smooth, I’m not feeling an upgrade anytime soon.
Waiting is not a bad choice. It will take time for developers to take advantage of the new software and hardware. A year from now there will be compelling reasons to want the 64 bit chip and the finger print scanner. I enjoy being a first adopter so I’ll get a 5s and get to try apps that take advantage of the hardware as they come out, but by waiting you save some cash, and will have polished apps for your iPhone 6.
I agree with your sentiment of waiting – but disagree on the timing. Why would you think the next major number release (i.e. iPhone 6) won’t have larger changes for app developers to adjust to then the 5s? Fhe form factor and screen will likely change in the 6, so that will be just as significant of an adjustment for app developers as a newer processor, if not more so.
For me, I apply waiting in that I upgrade on the “S” releases. By then developers have apps out for the new screen size / pixel density / whatever, and Apple also had a chance to tweak the new form factor (i.e. antenna from iPhone 4, or tendency for chamfered edges to scratch on iPhone 5 – I’m hoping).
It’s compelling because we are discussing going from 4s to 6, a three generation shift. I agree the second generation of each phone is optimum. Getting on a two year upgrade cycle for the s version would be great for those who don’t need to be a first adopter every year. You get the benefits of the s generation improvements for minimal cost as your 2 year old phone in working condition will pay for all or most of your upgrade costs.
Love the title, and enjoyed the read. I am saying about the same thing to my friends. “This is a grounbreaker of a change in the phone world, and this is the most amazing phone ever. And, I’m not going to get it, not for a LOOOONG time.” All the actually new things, are way to new for me to care about, or even concern myself over. The 5s is way over the top – and I really don’t want a “mango phone” so much, although they are pretty.
i will be upgrading from the 4s to the 5s because of features that the 4s can not process. AirDrop and Slow Mo video, dual flash are big selling points to me.
Solid article with excellent points. With regards to the fingerprint sensor beig able to unlock your banking app and PayPal, that’s really on those company’s not Apple. Perhaps the new SDKs will allow for use in that area. I currently own a 5 and am still debating picking up the 5s for similar points. In short, great post.
Apple’s fingerprint video seems to suggest there will be no API and other apps will stay locked out. That has to change at some point, but it’s looking like it won’t be in this cycle.
If I am correct, it just says the fingerprint data never goes to the app. They still could add functionality where the authentication is done by ios and then the program is informed that authentication was successful. Look at the appstore app for an example. My guess is that they want to make sure that it is secure and well-done before they release it. Limiting it to unlocking the phone and paying on itunes just gives them a chance to work out all the bugs.
That’s possible, and I’d certainly rethink if that proved to be the case
You will feel the lack of cpu resourses while iOS7 will be on board..
Could well be
That’ s where you are mistaken regarding iOS…it is always further and further optimized. That is the key, smart programming, optimalization to their devices
You MIGHT count on Apple to keep their software and OS lean and mean, but your general App developer won’t spend a lot of precious time and money optimizing their software for performance on aging hardware. That’s where the upgrade pressure will come from. They’ll only optimize for older iOS hardware if negative complaints hurt sales, or if they have a hit on their hands and the money rolls in sufficient to produce patches.
I have iOS 7 beta 7 in 4S, is now a more slowly phone.
Right, that might turn out to be a reason after all … will soon find out
There is no iOS 7 Beta 7?
The GM release has brought a -very- noticeable performance improvement. Must have stripped out all the development hooks; it’s significantly quicker. 4S users have nothing to fear.
I will not update to 5S I had a 3GS and upgraded to 4S which was for me at the time an insane upgrade and worth the purchase, then I bought the 5. the 5S as nifty as it sounds does not appeal to me yes it sounds cool but honestly it isn’t enough for me to load down the bucks and upgrade when next year there will be a different a much better phone and the tech will be taken more advantage of.
I really enjoyed this totally honest article. Great work even though I do not share your opinion about the C3PO phone.
This is a gold iphone: http://www.goldgenie.com/us/gold-plate-your-iphone5.php
Apple is selling a bronze iPhone, that’s only gold in name.
iPhone 4S user here, I agree with some of what you said, but I gotta say, performance is an issue, I have been using iOS 7 beta since day 1, performance did get better with each release, but I am not quite satisfied with it, it is the main driver for my decision to upgrade to 5S, if you haven’t used iOS 7 beta, once the iOS 7 is rolled out, you will get my point. I hope I am wrong, as I will be waiting for some time before I can my hands on a new 5S
I’ll come clean if that does prove to be the case :-)
No you won’t. When you value things that have no practical, secure, or justifiable use like NFC, you show yourself as being barely qualified to write for a technology information website. This article of yours is beyond pathetic. I can’t ever take anything you post seriously ever again. You clearly just don’t possess enough knowledge (maybe a lack of experience in the tech field?) to comment. Your comments on 64 bit are wrong, NFC you don’t understand at all, and the general capability of the 4S has been so exaggerated by you in order to support your point that you really fail to win any favor at all.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us
It was unnecessarily harsh, wasn’t?!!
Dude you take internet blog articles waaaaaaaay to seriously. I think he’s off base on the 64 bit thing as well, but damn. It’s not like he called the 5S a steaming turd. It’s an opinion piece for crying out loud.
Ben, Ignore the fool. It’s a good honest article.
A long article almost in the TL;DR category but I got through it.. eventually.. Thoughtful insights, only for you to end the post with you admitting you upgraded to the 4S because of Siri haha. That pretty much voids all your credibility.
Hehe
Well written article – opinion but not in an obnoxious manner.
I have a 4S myself, but I will be upgrading to the 5s. The battery life on my 4S has become intolerable and I am barely able to survive normal working hours without requiring a charge. I am not expecting several days battery life by upgrading but I am hoping that it can last me until bedtime with regular use. Secondly the fingerprint sensor is a deal maker for me. While it’s use is limited at present, I found having a passcode an annoyance and I often go without having it on. I also found entering my iTunes password in the AppStore an irritant, so replacing the need for both of these things is is sufficient. I am certain over the next year Apple will expand it’s use.
I can see why Apple said the 5s is a forward thinking phone and I do feel it is a device that will fulfil my requirements for longer than other phones I have owned.
As an iPhone 4 user I am moving up to 5s because the speed difference finally seems big enough.
Finding contacts I want to call and opening my agenda and Tom Tom apps are getting a bit too slow while life has become more busy and the databases more and more crowded.
Estimote Bluetooth Smart Beacon – iBeacon-compatible
NFC killer
It’s a superior technology for sure. But then Betamax was way superior to VHS. What matters is what gets widely adopted. For the moment at least, that’s NFC.
for sure
Same for me. I’ll keep my 4s for another year. Still very happy with it. And once I’ll get an new phone this will be handed down within the family. Just like my old 4 which is still in heavy use after 3 years.
My 4s battery life barely makes 6 hours with basic use, and is a 3G network phone. We go to Disney parks a lot, and I prefer not to carry a larger camera, or a extended battery pack when we are there all day.
I agree 100% with you regarding the Touch ID feature. If Apple had invented an application that allowed people to add their debit and credit cards onto their phones so that you would never have to use a wallet again… Apple wouldn’t be able to make enough phones to meet their customers needs.
Sadly this was not the case but they would be pretty stupid not to include something like that in future iOS updates.
Personally I’ll be going for the ‘Space Grey’ 5GS with the Product (RED) cover. My iPhone 3GS, venerable star performer as it has been is now getting cludgy plus the volume rocker broke. I can’t wait ANY longer & for me personally 64bit is the key with this one.
This means it should get iOS 8 & iOS 9. Maybe iOSXI (Damn sure Sir J can think of a better name) when that finally gets done (merger of iOS & OS X) on the ARM platform… Bye bye intel, it was nice knowin yer;)
I wish siri were to be built into the phone for a faster response for that is the only reason i dont like siri. the functionality is there but it takes too long for a response.
No mention of LTE? That’s what got me to upgrade from a 4S to a 5.
Ditto. That, along with the 4″ screen, really tipped me over.
LTE is likely to get me to upgrade my iPad rather than my phone. My iPad goes pretty much everywhere with me, and that’s what does the heavy lifting for apps and data.
I’ve never understood the need to have an LTE iPad when you can just turn on the hotspot feature on the iPhone. It’s like saying, “here phone company, take more of my money for no reason.” Maybe things are different in the UK.
There are iPad-specific tariffs available here that offer more data than the equivalent phone ones, but mostly it’s about convenience for me.
It’s a waste not to upgrade at least every 2 years if you are on a contract. You can resell the phone on eBay, sign another 2 year contract, and probably still come out ahead, especially if your phone is I’m new condition. If you don’t do this, you are essentially throwing away money.
This is actually the most compelling argument to upgrade I’ve read. I do this every year.
Except all you’re doing in a contract is disguising the true purchase cost by paying it off monthly. I always buy outright, then have a SIM-only tariff. I pay out a large lump-sum, but am ahead of the game overall.
Yes, but in America, for the top 3 carriers atleast, you will pay the same monthly regardless if you sign a contract or buy the phone outright. It makes little sense to buy the phone outright in America unless you must have it unlocked.
Ok, that’s very different in the UK, where every carrier offers SIM-only deals
Couldn’t have said it better myself “I love that. But it’s not enough. Give me fingerprint-protected NFC, so I can leave my wallet at home and only carry my phone, and I’d have been setting up camp outside my local Apple Store. Let me unlock my banking app and Paypal account and I’d have been pretty tempted. But just to unlock my phone? That’s a waste of good technology.” — No NFC = Gigantic fail. OK some people say NFC isn’t secure and bliggity blahgity bloo…fine, come up with some other solution then that IS secure and will allow me to not have to carry around a wallet anymore…that’s on Apple to do that, not to just sit back and not do anything. Complacency is rampant throughout Apple.
“…come up with some other solution then that IS secure and will allow me to not have to carry around a wallet anymore…”
One word: iBeacons
http://gigaom.com/2013/09/10/with-ibeacon-apple-is-going-to-dump-on-nfc-and-embrace-the-internet-of-things/
http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/11/4718082/ios-7-ibeacons-could-solve-indoor-mapping-make-shopping-better
TouchID + iBeacons (BLE) will replace NFC
NFC stands for Nobody F#%*ing Cares :)
If what you’re saying about iBeacons is true, then why hasn’t Apple set up a huge infrastructure with payment processing companies and retail stores? Why didn’t they mention iBeacons — not even ONE TIME at the iPhone 5S/5C launch event? The thing a lot of people fail to realize about NFC is that other phones have had it for years now, and people have been using it every single day of their lives for a long time.
I agree that iBeacons look promising, and it may one day replace NFC, but that day is NOT today, not by a long shot…and that’s all consumers care about. They don’t care about the next phone, the next technology, the next big thing…they want the current big thing TODAY.
It’s only us nerds / techno people who are interested in how things actually work that care about the future…but even having said that I STILL find Apple’s current complacency regarding NFC and digital wallet / payments to be appalling. They need a solution and an infrastructure NOW, not a year from now and not two years from now.
NFC is hardly the current big thing. It may be bigger in some places than others, but it’s hardly wide spread. And the proximity requirements alone make it a limited use technology. iBeacons sounds like a much more useful alternative.
iBeacon is the better technology, NFC is the one in widespread use (at least in London).
Wow. That is the most pathetic, ranty, whiny bunch of bullshit I’ve ever read.
NFC is a fucking joke. Much like this article. You’re just like every other 4S owner that I know that won’t get anything else, because they’re afraid of change.
Afraid of a change of phone? That’s an, uh, interesting concept …
Just… ignore him next time
You are just pathetic. How can you be so close-minded? Besides the NFC part, Ben is British (I think) and NFC is much more popular in the UK than in the US.
Oh really? Is it suddenly more secure or less pointless because it used slightly more in the UK? Does that make it a good idea? Add yourself to the list of people with NO knowledge or critical thought regarding real NFC.
Nobody else can have an opinion or desire features different from you. Anybody who does is an ignorant, uninformed moron. We got it.
I think it’s a rule of web forums that there has to be at least one person unable to distinguish their own opinions from facts …
since when did we have to start defending ourselves not only against Android fan boys, but Apple fan boys? Same team, Farva, same team! He’s entitled to his opinion and to wait if he wants to wait. There’s a lot of people out there who are going to wait as well. Don’t worry about what other people are doing so much. Worry about yourself. You need to seriously switch to decaf, medicate, get laid, anything. Just calm the frick down.
I vote to have PMZanetti banned for being douchey
hahaha!
If you plan on sticking with the 4S, I would plan on sticking with iOS 6. Some of the bells and whistles are nice (on my 5), but even so, it feels bloated and unpolished in many areas. I imagine your 4S will feel the impact of iOS 7 immediately, and your decision to upgrade will quickly change. Or you’ll want to downgrade back to iOS 6, haha. Who knows!
Yeah the animations seem especially clunky on the 4S. I would definitely suggest waiting to update for people who are sticking with their older phones.
This is indeed the biggest question-mark – we shall see!
Nice review but…. you are basically saying you don’t use all of the features that are packed into an iPhone 4S so you are holding out just for the sake of saying you are until the 6 comes out. One less person people have to wait in line behind at the stores , on the phones or online come pre order. I myself like to upgrade as often as the contracts allow just because to me having one more feature which the 5s has many compared to the 5 makes using the phone that much better for everyday use. I would also find it hard to write reviews on things you don’t even have or use.
I don’t do contracts – in the UK it works out cheaper to buy the phone outright and then have a SIM-free contract – so I don’t have an automatic upgrade cycle, I take each one on its merits. This piece isn’t a review of the phone.
What’s funny is, I wasn’t going to upgrade my iPhone 5, but after reading this brilliant opinion piece, I think I’m now going to.
Heh. I can quite see how the same facts could lead someone else to the opposite conclusion.
I’m on a 4S and would be willing to wait for the 6 if it wasn’t for the fact that I can’t take another year of being stuck on 3G. Also, I installed the iOS 7 GM on my phone last night and it seems kinda laggy on the 4S. It’s not awful but I think there is a noticeable difference in how much slower it is on the older phone, so for me, I’m glad I will be upgrading to a faster phone soon.
And when the iphone 6 comes out…you’re going to post the same article telling us why you wouldn’t upgrade from your 4s.
Very unlikely :-)
hmm. I have to say I agree. Although I like Apple’s stuff I look at the latest update to the product line and it looks tired and lazy. First off, Apple (allegedly) is finally coming to the table with an entry level phone in the 5C – now we all know this is a pile of crap (the 4S is the entry product until it gets nix’d). It’s the 5 in a plastic mac. It annoys me that they’re trying to sell it as a different entry point product when the price alone doesn’t really define it as such in any really meaningful way. I know they want to keep the coffers full but they missed a trick with this. That aside, they’ll sell bucket loads.
The second thing, is Johnny Ive is slowly becoming as annoying as Phillipe Stark and that is some feat. His work has been in stasis from the 4 onwards. The 4 was amazing but since then we’ve had very little of real substance out of Apple’s (mobile) hardware division in terms of new design language. To compound this, and I really do mean it, the Nokia (or whatever they will become) lumia handsets are by far, nicer designed, more ergonomic and come in colours that don’t look cheap. Did apple choose cheap looking colours to ensure people covet the iP5s? I notice there’s a white one but not a black one? Is this because they’d be worried that it would look better than the iP5s? Who knows. All I know is the colours look terrible in the PR shots and it’s a safe bet that the white one will ship bigger numbers.
This all sounds pretty harsh from a died-in-the-wool Apple fan but I look at the current crop and, minus technical updates which are welcomed, Apple is missing that magic. There’s no doubt a slightly larger screen would be welcome. We’re not talking phablet territory but it has to happen. And a new approach to materials would be welcome. As I mentioned, Nokia’s lumias are beautiful, Apple can learn to be humble and take inspiration from its competitors. And finally, for a company that prides itself on innovation, I’m still waiting for them to catch up to Sony with their waterproofed Xperia – truly a fully useful, every day addition tech-wise that would benefit most iPhone uses and some point or other. I love Apple but I really need them to be, a little bit less Apple sometimes.
Tired and lazy? Lazy would have been to just cram more pixels into the camera or look the other way when everyone knows phone security is a big deal now that more and more of our personal data is being stored on them. And the new M7 processor in an effort to tackle the battery life issue – Genius.
What’s funny is Apple just tackled three big problems that exist on mobile devices: Picture quality, security, and battery life and you totally missed “the magic”. Yet instead, you would have preferred a water proof phone?? The iPhone 5s seeks to address relevant problems… What current issue does the Xperia address?
I think you’re looking for a fight buddy but not reading what I wrote. I mentioned that the technical updates are great and welcomed. This covers all of the whizz bang technical updates – my specific gripe is that, from an industrial design standpoint the range is tepid at best. Fingerprint scanning is cool. An incremental update to a camera is a baseline expectation so you can stop blowing that trumpet and so is an improvement to a chip architecture. It’s all good stuff but most of it should be expected from Apple as it is with other vendors. As for solving tackling the battery life issue. Please, don’t make me laugh, mate. The battery issue is a fundamental one that no amount of tweaking with it will make the kind of leaps we as consumers want. I’m by no means a heavy phone user but have to charge my iPhone every day. An iPhone 5s is not going to be that much different. Not by the amount I would consider significant in any meaningful way. The company that does crack the battery issue will have a license to print money. And as for Sony’s Experia (and I’m pretty sure a Panny phone did it first) what relevant problem does it address? Er, hello, it’s waterproof. Now, as a normal chap, I see that as a HUGE benefit to me because it means if I drop it into water, have water splash onto it (or beer etc) or some other liquid nightmare descends upon it then it will be completely safe. As the punter who pays for the hardware I like the idea of it being more robust. It;s a phone, it goes everywhere with me and if it can be made slightly more capable of dealing with extremes in environment that that’d be great thanks.
See. Apple does it again. You’re seeing magic but it’s just smoke and mirrors. It’s the best trick in the book.
You’ve got a valid point. The phone’s design hasn’t changed much in 3 years. I don’t mind it so much because a lot of accessories transfer over and things like full body skins apply easily to a flat phone, however I’m fully expecting a redesign for the 6. A lot of people will be very disappointed if it isn’t. Time to use that liquid metal license.
Nice article, Ben. Now the one thing that I’d say is that though my iP4S took great pictures, my iP5 does a much better job there, to the point that I really can’t say that my Sony Nex-5 does it much better on day to day shots.
With the 5s camera specs, I think we can expect an even more significant improvement. The iP5 camera is outstanding, and so will be the iP5s.
Yes, I think if I didn’t use a DSLR so frequently, the camera improvement would probably swing it. It was certainly the feature that most tempted me.
I have a 4S,I have an upgrade available and yes I would buy a 5s. My 4S is fine for what I use it for, which is basics like phone calls, email, Twitter, Facebook and a photo now and then. An added plus is the phone’s look is iconic. I don’t game so the speed is relatively moot. I probably will buy a 5s at a later date when the price comes down. I also prefer to wait to see if any bugs show up and if anyone hacks the fingerprint scanner.
Can’t agree your article more, this is the same reason I stay with my 4S for now. It is still fast enough for almost everything (except the camera). It still works like new and if I really need a better camera, I can get the new Sony lens for it. I will save my money for the ipad 5 instead, which I think the A7X will be more useful there.
I have EXACTLY the same views, I have a black iPhone 4S which has nothing wrong with it and I do not need to upgrade for a new one, (however) my memory is starting to fill up so I may consider an iPhone 5S 32gb instead, call it killing two birds with one stone except the first bird did not matter to me.
iOS 7 and apps optimized for 5/5s are going to start bogging down that 4S, though.
A Tech writer with a 2 year old phone hesitant to upgrade? That’s like a Plumber with a leaky faucet. If your job depend on discussing technology it’s sort of a pre-requisite that you stay current. Just saying
It’s more like a plumber deciding to stick with his existing pipe system rather than upgrade to the latest pipe tech. My second point, admittedly made rather more briefly at the end, is that my 4S doesn’t leak … (Though it may start to do so when I pump iOS 7 through it, so we shall see.)
Well written article and I sure enjoyed reading it. Well done!
I totally agree with you. The 5s is an amazing device and I absolutely love it. However, my 4S is still going strong and there is not much of a reason for me to replace it. Unless there is a huge discount on the 5s later this year like $99 with contract, otherwise, my 4S will have to stay with me for a little while :)
BTW: No USB 3.0 in the new iPhones? Why not?
This article makes perfect sense. Current iPhone 4S and 5 users have no practical need to upgrade. Any upgrading would be in the ‘want’ category, and there is nothing wrong with that. I may side-grade from my iPhone 5, to a 5C, just cause I like the hardened poly-carbonate case and color (I miss that from the 3 and 3GS).
Now, if I had an iPhone 4, I’d want to upgrade. The 4 is pretty slow, compared to the 4S or 5, and the camera is ho-hum even when you compare it to the 4S.
I agree. The main thing I am looking forward to is iOS7. The new phones look nice and all but I have a 4S and it’s working fine for 2 years, I am sure it will continue to work for a couple more.
I dislike how they are trying to force every consumer to buy the new 5C phones by dropping the regular 5 version. That is just a sly way of them forcing a new mid range product while making much more profit per unit, mainly due to the same tech but in a plastic phone.
I don’t see why people don’t upgrade whenever they are entitled to. This doesn’t seem to be a common opinion.
My logic (only applies to ATT and Verizon customers (T-Mobile changed all this by separating the payment for the phone and payment for service.)) The full price of an iPhone 5 was $649. I paid $200 upfront leaving me to pay $449 by way of my monthly fee. Over 24 months that is $18 per month. If I then go without upgrading when my contract is up I am paying them that for nothing. Selling a used iPhone will cover, or come close to, the upgrade cost. Why wouldn’t one upgrade?
Because then you can’t write link bait opinion pieces about why you won’t upgrade to the new products!
I buy outright, not on contract. A contract doesn’t eliminate the upgrade cost, it merely disguises it.
I would agree with you except that like you I have a 4s, and most carriers are really discontinuing service for 3G, and I live in a big metro area 4g lte is enough. Two i believe the finger print scanner will expand for use, and from reviews ios 7 is killer on 4s and 4 in terms of battery life. So while we may get the upgrade it comes with a price.
Ben, you nailed it. Personally even the iPhone 4 is plenty fast enough for a phone for me, and 3G speed is absolutely fine.
Faster is not necessarily better if you’re not going to get any benefit from it, and although I have a ton of apps on my phone and use them very actively, I have never felt the iPhone 4 was too slow. I am also convinced that apart from some tech geeks this actually applies to most people.
Obviously Apple and all the similar companies DEPEND on people wanting the latest and greatest, but I do not buy a phone to benefit them – I buy one to satisfy my own requirements. And the iPhone 4S will do that very well indeed.
Tim still thinks he can do the difference!!! what a dumm, so big event for what??? plastic iPhone and new finger print security!!!! what is Apple doing since Jobs left??? bullshit. i am a end user, i dont care about which technology my equipments have, as long as they fit my necessities. i still dont see one small advantage to update my 4s 64GB, i still dont see one improvement!!! and iOS7??? a ReVamp OS??? for what??? PEOPLE look for the essensial forget the acessory and do the right choices for the right products :) BIG BIG BIG DISAPOINTMENT this Apple management!
what were you hoping for? a phone that shoots frickin’ laser beams from it’s lightning port? PEW PEW PEW!
I would definitely upgrade to that?
Yeah, I’m in for that too. I hear it’s planned for the iPhone 7.
Spoiled pathetic idiot…
Meh. The author may indeed be truly sticking with the 4S (good phone). But, this opinion piece is hardly more than typical link bait aimed @Apple. I expected more from this site.
4S really? LTE & 4in screen wasn’t enough to get you to upgrade to iphone 5? I understand your points to not upgrade to 5s but i’m very surprised you decided to rest with a 4S and not a 5.
I actually prefer the 4-inch screen, but that’s because my iPad goes pretty much everywhere with me. My iPhone is used largely as a phone (amazing, I know!) and for the kind of apps where you just want to quickly get one piece of info – the iPad does the rest. I know I’ll have to live with a larger screen when the 6 rolls around, but bezels will be even thinner by then, so physical size shouldn’t be affected too much and may even be smaller (witness Nexus 4 against Nexus 5).
Stick with with the iPhone 4S .. WHAT ?
Not even got an iPhone 5 ? Skipping 2 generations ? Why ?
Absolute nonsense.
The iPhone 5S is worth buying even for iPhone 5 customers.
The iPhone 5C it’s a scam, high price, low quality plastic.. a shame by Tim Cook.
I disagree about the 5C being a scam. It’s the exact same playbook they’ve always followed. It’s the last year’s model at the $99 price point. They just slapped a different body on it. People have been asking for colors for years and now they have some options. If anything they’ve upped their game a bit in that regard.
Actually, this is why 5c is a scam. Think about it, which one is cheaper to make, the 5c or 5? Now, if you look at the spec, they are pretty much the same phone. Apple could have just keep the 5 and sell it for $99 and have the plastic version, which is the 5c, for free with contract. That will make perfect sense, and yet Tim Cook decided to have the 5c replace the 5 and charge $99 for it. I mean, what? Like WHAT?
Because Apple is a business and they will make more margin on the 5C than they would on the 5. They have also calculated that they will make more net profit by selling the 5C at the price point they have selected than by reducing it to a lower price.
That’s why the financial guys have it wrong when they mark down Apple shares. Apple are not interested in market share – if they were they wouldn’t have made iOS 7 run on older hardware – they would have simply played the Android game and FORCED people to upgrade their hardware to get the latest version of the OS. They are more interested in playing the long game and maximising their overall profit.
Besides which they are probably somewhat capacity constrained – people forget what a vast number of phones they ship and how it is just not easy for one company to simply increase the build rate forever.
It’s not a scam it’s smart business. It’s essentially the same product in every way that matters. Is it cheaper to manufacture? Probably. Although you have to include the cost of R&D and marketing into it. Plus now they will presumably be able to manufacture 5S’s at a faster rate because of the added volume of aluminum and glass for the backs (although my guess is the constraining factor is, was, and always will be the screen).
Where are all the people that upgrade to new iPhones because you’re a gadget aficionado or because of the tradition of always having latest and greatest fastest iphone ever. I for one am both of those people and i will be selling my ip5 to purchase the 5s just like i did when i sold my 4 to purchase the 4s and so on. stop all this pessimistic negative talk about how you don’t need this and you don’t need that. just shut up and give apple your money. you know deep inside you want to so just do it. i promise you will be more then happy you did.
Your comment is either the height of irony or extremely sad. Go on, own up, which is it? If is not irony then you have a serious addiction to throwing your money away.
it’s not sad or ironic. Some people are gadget geeks and can afford to upgrade every year. I’m one of them. And it’s not that big of a hit as I just sell my previous model for $500 on ebay. I get new toys every year and I’m the expert my friends and family all go to with their questions because of it. I fail to see the problem, other than his somewhat seeming to look down on those that don’t upgrade and your somewhat seeming to look down on those who do. Who cares? To each their own.
Very honest. I suppose it’s what keeps the economy going.
Just don’t kid yourself that you actually NEED rather than just want what the new phones offer. At the end of the day it’s just another material possession that does a job for you.
If you don’t have a better use for the money (like saving for your future or spending quality time with friends/family) then that’s fine – it’s just that I find it a bit sad/sickening when I see my mates living in crap circumstances while they tout the newest phone or flashiest car.
Lots of people (obviously not you) have been so convinced by marketing people that they NEED the latest stuff that it grossly distorts their sense of what is important in life. Personally although I could easily afford to buy the newest stuff I just hate to succumb to wasting money on things that don’t bring me any real benefit. The thrill of the new wears off very quickly when I realise that it hasn’t actually measurably improved my life.
I respect your opinion and reasoning for not always buying the newest thing every year. I know I don’t NEED it. Nobody actually needs a smartphone. I got along fine before smartphones and before cell phones in general. It’s just one of those things that makes life easier and more fun. But don’t kid yourself either. Just because you don’t buy the newest gadget every year doesn’t mean you don’t spend your money somewhere else you may not need to. It’s just a matter of deciding what your willing to pay for and what you aren’t. More power to ya though.
Nothing wrong with upgrading to the latest tech just because you want to. Believe me, I’ve done that plenty of times. :-)
The title should read, why i will be switching to the 5S in 2 months… (probably end of october or NOV)
The 4S is a great phone, but the lure of a larger screen, finger print scanner, 64BIT cpu and a WAY better camera than the 4S will OVERPOWER YOU. I know because I went from the $S to the 5 2 months later because i couldn’t resist. There will be so many reasons in your head on why you should upgrade, but you will, trust me..
There will be so many reasons in your head on why you shouldnt upgrade, but you will, trust me..
If iphone had 5 or 6 inches, or finger print scanner, faster processor or higher megapixel camera, iphone will not help apple, because it’s not all about the size of the screen or finger scanner, or faster processor etc.
People loose interest in iphone because of the too much restriction of ios. Can’t do much real work for it to be practical to use. Can’t share files. can’t make real folders for photo everything has to be in camera roll. the so call making folders are fake folders. when you plug in the usb computer there is no photo folders of what you made but some bunch of annoying encrypted folder names, I’m sure iphone user know what I meant. no cross application file or document sharing integration. just too much restrictions which is a pain in the butt. iphone is like point and shoot camera. android is like DSLR camera. DSLR has lot’s of freedom and practical use of function, and if you don’t like the manual mode you can just go auto mode for beginners. since more and more people had owned smart phone for quite some while. more people will be leaving iphone and upgrade for a more featured system with less restiction. that’s why making the screen bigger will not solve the boring hands and feet tie restrictions of the ios. and that will be the trend when user get more advanced will ditch expensive ios devices.
I most likely missunderstood. But the way I heard it, apple would not share your fingerprint with anyone. So does that really mean that third party apps cant use the fingerprintsensor, even if they have their own way of storing your fingerprint?
API likely is passed from a 3rd party app and back….so the 3rd party just gets a “yes” or “no” that your identity is correct, or some form of that. I doubt it will be implemented for 3rd parties for awhile though, Apple needs to test it out on the masses with iTunes and the AppStore first.
Thanks for the article. Goos thoughts and I think theres a lot of IP4S ans IP5 users out there thinking the same as you. I have an IP4S myself and I think it has worked so well, that I could only dream of changing to a IP5S. But the biggest point of all, that matters, is that you can upgrade your older iPhones with the new IOS7. I think this has a huge impact on peoples purchase decisions.
I agree.
Love my 4S and i would like the fingerprint scanner but that is not enough for me to get a new phone.
Personally i like the size of the 4S better then the bigger 5S and that is also a reason to stay away a little bit longer.
I appreciate the article. I’m a 4S user as well and likely won’t change either – at least not for now.
I would point out, however, the Siri turned out to be a fringe feature that turned out to be much less practical than many had hoped.I think that the 5s is a fantastic “s” phone with very practical core upgrades (speed, security, photography, compatibility and convenience).
I think I’m in a minority in being happy with Siri. Sure, I really want app integration so I can use it for everything, but I rarely type on my phone – pretty much every message I ever send is dictated. Same with reminders, calendar entries, notes.
I’m still (and will be for the foreseeable future) cheering on Apple and for Siri to be the tool it could be – hopefully sooner rather than later. I still use the feature but have to remind myself to use it. When the majority can use Siri naturally because it’s faster and nearly as accurate as typing, that will be a good day. I think this will likely happen gradually and one day we’ll just find ourselves relying on it.
In my experience, we’ve already reached that point for dictation. Where Siri is lacking is in application support. I have a train app and my phone knows where I am – it’s ridiculous that I can’t ask Siri “What time is my next train home?”
I like your article but I am still encouraging my wife to upgrade her 4S to either the 5c or 5s, the main reason being the weight/form factor, as the 4/4s is much heavier and more prone to break. Otherwise I agree that there is not too much impressive change… I will keep my 5 for now and wait for the 6!
better yet, give her your 5 and get the 5S for yourself. Wash, rinse, repeat.
i agree,
i switched from 4s to the 5 for the larger screen and LTE but this year i will pass.
i feel they will release a 4.8” iPhone before May 2014 and if they don’t they will feel the pain on Wall st.
This sector is too competitive now and they don’t have a 5 year lead anymore so they better wake up.
I’d be surprised if they went that big. After trying out the Droid Razr Maxx and the HTC One, I think 4.5 is the sweet spot IMO.
Agree and agree. I tried the HTC One and it works brilliantly in my hand. Yes, one hand. Samsung, however, is just ridiculous. I even prefer holding an iPad min over their nonsense products.
Sweet Stealth Poors Thread
The iPhone 5 transition to LTE trumps all of this article’s points. To say your phone is not significantly slower reduces your credibility, even if YOU don’t know it.
But how “fast” does a PHONE really need to be?
Speed is relative to what we ask our phones to do. It’s not speed for speed’s sake. You’d likely not find as much speed benefit between the iPhone 5 and 5S running iOS 6, for example, because iOS 6 is optimized to run fast on iPhone 5 hardware. However once you start asking that same hardware to run a more processor intensive iOS 7, you start to see the benefit when your iPhone 5 gets a little laggy. Or when your 4S doesn’t get all the bells and whistles because it starts to choke on the higher requirements. Faster hardware enables things like the fingerprint sensor or new camera modes and image processing. As the hardware gets faster, we can ask it to do more, and inversely will notice our older, slower hardware doing less, or doing the same less expediently. So a phone needs to be as fast as they can make it to enable it to do new things and do old things better.
If you stop thinking of them as phones and more as miniature portable computers that happen to make phone calls, it makes more sense to continually want more speed and power.
I can accept that argument for an iPad (although I’m still dubious about how much horsepower even an iPad needs) but here we’re talking about a PHONE – defined by its form factor. I just don’t need any more horsepower in my pocket.
Well, like I said, it’s MUCH more than just a phone. If all it did was make phone calls I’d agree with you, but ask yourself what you actually do with it and with the nature of apps becoming more complex and websites offering ever expanding information and fancier graphics effects and better camera quality and video quality and processing larger files and all the added functions and features and you’ll find speed isn’t a novelty, it’s an ever growing necessity for progress and advancement.
But that’s the point. I find even the iPhone 4 plenty fast enough for all the stuff I actually want to do with the phone I carry around in my pocket. What exactly do I need more speed for? And I say that as someone who has a gazillion apps on my phone and I do actually use lots of them as part of my work. An iPad is somewhat different, but even then I just don’t feel the need for more speed than the current models offer. I have also checked out iOS 7 on the iPhone 4S and for me it is absolutely totally fine in terms of speed/lag/whatever.
pardon my ridiculous run-on sentence
well if you’re happy with your 4 that’s perfectly fine. I personally want my phone to be as fast as possible at what I’m doing. Just call me Maverick, cuz I have the need, the need for speed! But seriously there’s nothing wrong with your phone if you’re happy with it. You just asked how fast a phone needs to be and I posited a few examples. I will say this, though. If you update to iOS 7, you may find the reason you want a faster phone. Maybe not. That’s just my guess.
Guess I didn’t read your whole comment. If you’re happy with iOS 7 performance on your 4S, that’s great. No reason you HAVE to upgrade. I’m not trying to convince you. You can run that thing till it gives up the ghost. That’s totally your prerogative.
I think many of you limited by your scope or use of “a” device. Let me ask you this. The server who is using the iPod or iPhone to order your food. Do you want it fast or slow? Dont think of phone as a device to make calls but to be productive in the field, restaurant, etc.
You are making my point for me. The phone simply needs to be fast enough to do the job for which it is needed. A faster phone will not make any difference to the efficiency with which a server can take an order from me, or pretty much all the tasks for which it will be used.
Let’s face it, Apple, Samsung and the other manufacturers increase the performance of their phones simply because they HAVE to do so in order to stay competitive with each other. They do not do it because their customers need it, but because people foolishly feel they must have the latest and greatest model, whether they actually have any real need for it, they are taken in and spend their money.
LTE vs 3G is a killer argument if a substantial amount of your data use is on your phone. Almost all my mobile data use is on my iPad, where what I really want is LTE-A. The phone is used as a phone, for messaging and the type of quick-check apps that don’t justify reaching into my bag for my iPad, or walking along the street when the one-handed nature of the phone is more convenient.
Great article; thank you. I think I’ll be upgrading from my iPhone 4 to the 5s simply because the home button has become very non-responsive and I don’t think it will hold out until 6 is released.
Hey, buy a replacement home button for a few bucks from ebay, or get it fixed for $20. Not a good reason by itself!
I completely respect your opinion. But am damn sure you will realize that your decision now is not right. It will happen sooner. First of all, once you install ios 7 on ur 4s, you will realize the slowness in the device. Next, the M7 processor is not only for handling sensors, but to use those sensors always to capture data. You will realize that soon after the developers come with some revolutionary stuff.. Next, fingerprint sensor, You will realize soon after apple releases access to developers. Also its not only for device unlocking but also to app store purchases. Iam sure apple will open this, but wont allow access to the fingerprint itseld, but someway to identify and use the existing stored fingerprints. Next, the camera, iphone 5’s camera is in itself is far better than 4s. Once you start using the 5S you will realize how good it is. But ofcourse, the last one will happen only after you buy it.
We have been running iOS7 for a while and many of the features no set with 5S will have a major issue on a 4S.
Last but not least, by sticking 4s you are not enjoying LTE.. its incredible.
LTE is great, and I would love to have it. However, I rarely use my 4S for heavy browsing, downloading, or any tasks those require me to have an ultra fast network speed. Perhaps is the fact that I don’t have unlimited plan makes me do so. Of course it would be even more ideal if I can have a LTE phone, but it’s just not necessary for me.
you say that now, but when you finally upgrade you’ll see. It really is a night and day difference.
Glad to see you’re still enjoying your 4S. Like many of the commentors in this article, my 16gb 4S has been passed on in my family; first to my wife until she decided she needed a 64gb iPhone, and now my mother uses it to talk to her friends, FaceTime with her grandchildren, and play Solitaire and Candy Crush.
As a little bit of background, I am disabled. My arms extend just beyond my elbow, and I have small hands and no fingers (which will be interesting when trying to use the TouchID sensor). That being said, the iPhone has greatly improved my accessibility and productivity since it launched in 2007. Using the iPhone freed me from the constraints of phones with tiny buttons and allowed my unique hands more space to swipe around. Before the iPhone I could not read a normal newspaper without laying it across a table, or play a videogame without finding a pillow on which to rest the controller. As the iPhone evolved with each iteration it became my single most-used device and became a more accessible: computer, camera, mp3 player, notebook/journal, game console, newspaper, compass, GPS, device locator, etc.
While I understand your reasons against upgrading to the 5s, many of those reasons actually support my decision to not just upgrade from my iPhone 5, but to upgrade early (and incure a penalty from AT&T for doing so). My 3 biggest reasons for upgrading are: the updated camera sensor and wide-angle lens, the 64-bit A7 processor, and FREE iWork and iLife apps.
To my first point about the camera, I am not a professional photographer, nor do I aspire to be one, but the updated camera negates my need to buy a pricey and bulky SLR camera, which I was originally planning on purchasing this fall. Apple’s cameras have consistently improved with each iPhone, and the camera in the 5s looks to really capture the depth, color, and clarity we are increasingly looking for. Also, the inclusion of burst shots and slow-mo video recording will only further enhance the photos and videos we can take. Next, the A7 processor will enhance the experience of our content creation/consumption by enabling us to multi-task and use increasingly capable apps with less of a drain on battery life. Finally, while not exclusive to the iPhone 5s, Apple’s newly FREE iWork and iLife apps will be optimized for use on the new flagship device, and will enable everyone to create beautiful content on-the-go.
I know I must sound like an Apple freak or iPhone fanboy, but its only because the iPhone has helped solve many of the issues I’ve had and made my life that much easier. The 5s may not be revolutionary, but it is a substantial evolution of an already amazing product line. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
Written using Siri on my iPhone 5
I am betting the iPhone 6 will have NFC. I prefer the pace they are taking, beefing up phone security before enabling a mass mobile payment system. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple buy up a payment processing company (or even Square) in the next 6 months.
“wouldn’t be surprised to see Apple buy up a payment processing company”
Agree completely
Bingo.
The article makes sense, however there are variety of personal Likes and Dislikes which no can understand except you :)
The s looks to be in good share however for normal person it might look like s -> same :P (Stealing from one of the video I saw few hours back)
I am not understanding Apple’s strategy here, seriously no one care for 64 bit unless you are hard gamer. I have iPhone 5 so NO WAY I am thinking of upgrading it. I am with you if you want to upgrade from 4S either. Makes perfect sense to me. I agree if there was NFC things would have been dramatic. I guess Apple is still waiting for the “Perfect” solution/ use for NFC and may be it might be there in iPhone 6 as it may cost them basic hardware design change which would mean huge money.
I still dont think Apple can get away with this iPhone 5 s piece and I would really like to see how people respond to this non changed phone.
64 bit processing is going to help tremendously with the new camera and video taking capabilities as well. It’s not just for gaming. It’ll make every 64bit app faster.
you’re correct..
I can probably tell you how they’ll respond: Record breaking sales. As usual. IMO this is a much larger upgrade from the 5 to 5S than it was from the 4 to 4S, or even the 4S to the 5, larger screen and all.
Good article. I too use a 4S and have been waiting to upgrade. I was hoping for a slightly larger screen, but I’ll probably upgrade for a reason you don’t fully address in the article. I frequently use my phone for internet tethering for my MBP. The 3G speed is just way too slow. And my wife complains about he photos I take with the 4S. But overall, the 5s is a disappointment – maybe that’s why the “s” is lower case.
I will probably upgrade because it is cheaper for me to sell my phone outright on ebay or Amazon and use that money to buy an off contract one. I use straight talk and can usually find someone selling their new iphone that they don’t like for around 500-550 while mine sells on ebay for 450 or more. January and February is about the time to take advantage of those wanting to get rid of their “new” iphones. Last year i upgraded from the 4S to 5 for about 50 bucks out of pocket. We’ll see what happens this year…
Lower case s because that’s the way steve signed his name.
Your argument is weak. The iPhone 5 looks old compared to the 5S, let alone the 4S!
If you don’t want to upgrade, don’t, by why write a major article about it? Are you trying to dissuade users from buying this phone?
This is an opinion piece and meant for discussion.
Not trying to persuade anyone else, simply aiming to express an opinion that people find interesting – whether they agree or disagree. Judging by the number of comments, that aim appears to have been achieved.
Why would you not want to upgrade for LTE. I chose not to upgrade from the 4S to the 5 because I knew it would take my carrier Sprint more than half of the year to get LTE in my area. It didn’t make sense to pay the off contract price and go through the hassle of selling my phone to not enjoy the main selling point of the 5, 4G data. It’s a no brainer now, with all the audio/video streaming apps out there, LTE is a must have.
>>>
Let me unlock my banking app and Paypal account and I’d have been pretty tempted. But just to unlock my phone? That’s a waste of good technology.
<<<
Isn't this aspect out of Apple's control? Apple cannot dictate what Paypal or your banking app does. If Paypal insists on you entering your password each and everytime, what's Apple got to do with it.
Take for example the Apple "Find Friends" app. If you have lock screen enabled, "Find Friend" will not ask you to enter your Apple account password. I don't have a lock screen passcode set, so each invocation of this "Find Friends" app requires me to enter my iTunes/Apple password NOT the iPhone passcode. This is generally for security and privacy reason.
Now, take for example a banking app, in my case my E*Trade app. It has an option to either have a simple passcode option which keeps in logged in with my real E*Trade password (after I've entered it the first time) or I have to enter my E*Trade password each and every time. E*Trade could choose the route of "Find Friends" and allow me to access my account info provided my phone is unlocked. Do I want this? Absolutely not! Even if it has this option, I would not use it.
Think about how many times your friends, co-workers, child may ask to borrow your phone. Do you seriously want them to accidently open your Paypal or banking app without a secondary password confirmation? I think not.
In either case, it is not up to Apple, but rather the individual app developer to implement this, though at the moment fingerprint is not accessible but they could have implemented this previously with the lock screen if they so choose to.
About not upgrading to 5 or 5s or 5c from the 4S. Other than the obvious gain in a larger screen and much much lighter phone, you also gain LTE. Granted you work from home, so you are obviously on wifi all the time. So, download speed is not a concern for you. How many people are as lucky as you to be working from home? Even if you don't fancy the larger screen and the lighter phone (both didn't sway me initially), the speed boost going from 3G to LTE is tremendous.
Good luck waiting another year for the iPhone 6.
But what edge use do you have where downloading vast amounts of data is necessary, or the time spent downloading that data is a problem? 3G is plenty fast enough for me downloading spreadsheets and other documents from Dropbox, or browsing the web.
I, too, have an iPhone 4S and am delighted with it. I upgraded from an original 2008 iPhone, so the speed increase was amazing! I’m interested in the improved camera and the larger screen but my 4S is still just such a great device that the 5s is not necessarily a must-have. It remains to be seen if iOS 7 slows down my 4S — that would make it a reason to upgrade, but currently I never notice a lag with the4S. Now if the iPhone 6 comes out with a 4.5″ screen, it would definitely tempt me to upgrade. I don’t want to be carrying an aircraft carrier-sized phone in my pocket, but I think a slightly larger screen might be just the ticket to make viewing apps and the web just that much easier.
I think you and I might be twins that were separated at birth. I couldn’t have said it any better.
Thanks
You can’t lose this funny comic about yesterday Apple Keynote! :D Have fun!
http://www.themaplekind.com/iphone-5c-5s-keynote-in-a-few-words/
Missing big picture. Yes you’re not a gamer but gamers will go to this device, new iPads and more importantly iOS7 will damage even more the game console companies. Every level of new technology set the ground work for even more products. Now you sit behind a keyboard and write and most likely have a day job but the technology in the 5s allows companies like mine to build and deploy even better enterprise solutions. I guess I just need to read these pontifications and stick to not replying.
This is of course the reason it’s an opinion piece, and my opinion. If I were a gamer, I’d likely have a different one. Neither of us is missing the picture, we simply have different ones.
pretty ignorant reply. He did clearly state it was just an opinion on why he won’t be upgrading relating it to his uses and requirements.Clearly if a “company like yours” can leverage this tech and give us some indispensable app that can only be achieved on the 5s, then users may be tempted to upgrade where they have chosen not to, but lets just wait till that happens eh.
Well said. Ben’s thoughtful choice to not upgrade does nothing to diminish the advancements in technology that the 5s represents. And unless the argument is that by Ben not upgrading, or persuading others to not upgrade, he is harming the proliferation of these advancements, I don’t see how any big picture has been missed.
Even if Ben’s conclusion would not be yours, his method is useful to have spelled out. Weighing pros and cons is not always so easy when dealing with a piece of technology that serves many uses, so I found it very useful to see Ben’s point-by-point comparison. Others may have different points to compare, but he did a nice job of describing his type of usage and needs, so I could take what I wanted from his conclusions.
Main reason from going from the 4S to the 5 was LTE. I bought Apple care so that I knew I would be covered until the iPhone 6 came out. Granted, in a business world I think the 5s will be amazing just with the fingerprint sensor alone. I can wait, but it still is a nice upgrade.
Good reading and rationales. thanks. I’m owner of iPhone4 and I had a great 3 yrs sleeping with it. It’s still going strong despite the back glass is now broken due to many drops and batteries are not holding up any longer. I have to charge it up every 3 hrs now.
I love everything from the iPhone4. However, I am fed up with the slowness of 3G connection and cannot wait to upgrade to 4G network. I loathe my 3.5in LCD now as it becomes too small to be useful for browsing and viewing stuffs. My eyes are getting dark and heavier these days. I hope for a 4.5 – 5 in LCD.
So, I’m due for an upgrade and i’ve been waiting waiting for a next good iPhone that satisfies just my “larger LCD” screen request. I heard all the rumors before the announcement but I still hope for a miracle that Apple somehow manages to pull out a bigger screen. I agree with you in most points. I love the camera on iPhone5 and the camera improvement in 5s without increasing picture size is definitely a smart move. For those who don’t know, I’m also an avid photographer, I always post a large-size photo, x0248 on the larger side, on facebook/flickr. At this size, my jpg file is ONLY less than 1 megabyte (hello, it’s MEGABYTE) and I could print this photo as large as 16x24in. So, for those who needs more than 8MB photo to post on the web, you are just plain wrong as FB, flickr either downsize or disallow your photo to be uploaded.
Being said that, iPhone 5s is definitely a disappointment for me. I’m a software developer but no, I still prefer Apple than Android. I guess I’ll be sticking around a bit longer until maybe my 4 is dead :(.
I find it quite nauseating that someone who writes articles for 9to5 mac has a two year old iPhone…
I’ve got a Nexus 4 (and an iPhone 5)
I know, it’s shocking. I also expect to still have my year-old MBP and MBA in a year’s time …
I enjoy reading your posts and if I had a really nice monthly salary, I might indulge in more Apple products. For a long time I was Android user and it was fine, but I really loved to the touch and feels of a 4s.
A friend of mine has been a longtime Mac user and has exclusively Apple products.
He’s the one who suggested to me to buy the 4s (unlocked version) which I did and I’m very happy with my 4s.
Getting my iPad 2 in November 2011 was really a head turner for me still,using it right now to type this, it’s my love of the Ipad that got me to get a 4s and for my wife’s birthday I got her an Ipad mini because she was complaining that see couldn’t properly see on her phone (an LG Optimus that is working less and less hmmm, I wonder perhaps she’s due for an upgrade).
I’m really looking at the Macs now, I think before I get a new phone I might upgrade my PC to Mac, or maybe I’ll get a Macmini as I enjoy my 27″ screen.
I really enjoy Apple Products but in a different way, like you I’m waiting for a IPhone 6, perhaps it’s because I’ve been thrilled, to early, too many times by Apple that now I expect something even bigger?
One last question, my honey not being a tech oriented person, do you think the 5c would be a good switch from her LG, and should I wait for it to be sold unlocked so she doesn’t have to stay with Orange (her carrier) as it doesn’t get that good of a signal as we live in the countryside. Bouygues Telecom does better out here.
Thank you for your patience and your replies.
If she already has an iPad, an iPhone would make a lot of sense. The 5c styling is obviously a matter of taste. Unlocked is always good for the flexibility.
There will be many uses for the Touch ID in the near future. Takes a little time for companies to take advantage of it as well as security hurdles to clear. Will be extremely useful but I will also wait to see if the iPhone 6 will offer a larger screen to better take advantage of mobile gaming, better battery life, and easier on the eyes with GPS.
Glad to see you’re still enjoying your 4S. Like many of the commentors in this article, my 16gb 4S has been passed on in my family; first to my wife until she decided she needed a 64gb iPhone, and now my mother uses it to talk to her friends, FaceTime with her grandchildren, and play Solitaire and Candy Crush.
As a little bit of background, I am disabled. My arms extend just beyond my elbow, and I have small hands and no fingers (which will be interesting when trying to use the TouchID sensor). That being said, the iPhone has greatly improved my accessibility and productivity since it launched in 2007. Using the iPhone freed me from the constraints of phones with tiny buttons and allowed my unique hands more space to swipe around. Before the iPhone I could not read a normal newspaper without laying it across a table, or play a videogame without finding a pillow on which to rest the controller. As the iPhone evolved with each iteration it became my single most-used device and became a more accessible: computer, camera, mp3 player, notebook/journal, game console, newspaper, compass, GPS, device locator, etc.
While I understand your reasons against upgrading to the 5s, many of those reasons actually support my decision to not just upgrade from my iPhone 5, but to upgrade early (and incure a penalty from AT&T for doing so). My 3 biggest reasons for upgrading are: the updated camera sensor and wide-angle lens, the 64-bit A7 processor, and FREE iWork and iLife apps.
To my first point about the camera, I am not a professional photographer, nor do I aspire to be one, but the updated camera negates my need to buy a pricey and bulky SLR camera, which I was originally planning on purchasing this fall. Apple’s cameras have consistently improved with each iPhone, and the camera in the 5s looks to really capture the depth, color, and clarity we are increasingly looking for. Also, the inclusion of burst shots and slow-mo video recording will only further enhance the photos and videos we can take. Next, the A7 processor will enhance the experience of our content creation/consumption by enabling us to multi-task and use increasingly capable apps with less of a drain on battery life. Finally, while not exclusive to the iPhone 5s, Apple’s newly FREE iWork and iLife apps will be optimized for use on the new flagship device, and will enable everyone to create beautiful content on-the-go.
I know I must sound like an Apple freak or iPhone fanboy, but its only because the iPhone has helped solve many of the issues I’ve had and made my life that much easier. The 5s may not be revolutionary, but it is a substantial evolution of an already amazing product line. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
Written using Siri on my iPhone 5
Not at all, your reasons make perfect sense to me. That’s the point a (thankfully) tiny minority commenting here are missing: different decisions will be right for different people.
Sorry, but most of Sman Haqq reasons does not make sense to me (except the camera)
A 64Bit processor means… well nothing. All apps running perfectly on 32bit and if Apple did not publish it you would have never know or feel it, since it’s basically give you the ability to address more memory space (for example, Intel latest 32bit allows 4Gb limit). I don’t see how Apple getting even close to that amount in the 5s. A7 will be faster, for the same reason A6 was faster over its predecessor. both architectures performs the same.
better content creation? I can’t even imagine a situation where the CPU will solve me that. Apps runs fast and except for the hobby “video editing” you can make on the phone, what exactly slows you down? since 4S, iPhone keeps waiting for me to act, not the other way around.
Battery life? the joke of all times. I can’t leave home without a charging cable in my pocket/car, so how does an “improved” extra hour, more or less, changes that? whether it lasts a full day of average use, or not. there’s no middle here, and so far it fails.
Free iWork and iLife? paying hundreds of dollars for device upgrade in order to get $40 software does not sound free to me. iWorks exists few years already and if you haven’t bought it so far, it means you simply don’t need it.
So yes, you do sound like a Apple fanboy and that’s perfectly fine. I believe I am too.
Ben, I read every word and just kept saying “exactly!” to myself. I couldn’t agree more.
so far I’ve been buying every 2nd iPhone announced. looks like it’s going too be every 3th at best…
Great article and spot on. I’m actually in the same boat. I’ve had the 3GS then the 4S. So I’m an “S” person because those are the versions of the iphones with all the problems fixed…to me “S” stands for solid. And my 4S looks and works great. Plus it will get most of the software features in iOS 7. So I’m really up in the air about getting the new phone. I could use the larger screen and would like that touch id. But other than that, I don’t really have a need to upgrade. I truly feel that my 4S could last til they release the 6S.
100%.
I have a 5 and in absolute no rush to upgrade – these incremental improvements, while “cost[ing]…a sale,” are what make iPhones truly great devices (hardware and software combined). Not dissimilar from the Porsche 911 – also a machine that has been incrementally improved for the last 50 years – which any car person will have up there on their best-car-in-the-world list.
And yes, allowing older models to upgrade is a great customer retention strategy, even if that does not mean a purchase of every single new model.
Interesting to see the application of the M7 to the iWatch for superior battery time, augmented by a mini version of an AX processor, or working in tandem with the processor of another iDevice?
Indeed, although my 911 was an older one. :-)
I have an iPhone 4S, and will be upgrading, because iOS 7 isn’t really smooth and I need an LTE phone because I will get free LTE soon :) So I will be upgrading to… the iPhone 5.
I really wanted to get a black iPhone 5s, but now there’s only the weird grey, and I don’t see the point with the processor yet. In two/three years, it will make a difference when iOS9/10 comes out and the iPhone 5 is cut, but I’ll be on the next iPhone by then. Camera is nice, as you mentioned, but the 4S is good and the 5 is even better, so I don’t see the need there. And Touch ID…the dream of unlocking 1Password with your fingerprint…wait, there’s no API? So the 5s didn’t impress me that much. And as with the 5c, it’s 100€/$ more expensive, thicker, heavier… and all the same internally as the iPhone 5 (I know, better Facetime camera, but I couldn’t care less given the quality of those calls). So I thought, why decide on a color, when you can get the awesome black/slate version of the 5c.
Just pre-ordered the iPhone 4S for my daughter’s 18th birthday on the 22nd Sept. She currently uses a two year old iPhone 4. I subtly probed her about whether she liked the new iPhone 5c or 5s. She told me that she likes the look, build quality, form factor, size as well as the case and accessories she currently uses and enjoys with the iPhone 4. I was surprised – you’d think that youngsters would want the latest and greatest, or new and shiney. However, the 4S is still a great phone. And with iOS7 installed, she’ll get a reasonably new experience with a fresh OS. Enjoyed the article.
But what about zoom? You’re forgetting about that.
I think a lot of the media is missing the point about megapixels in camera phones AS a snapshot device, this article also misses the point which doesn’t really surprise me. While the higher numbers game is lame and we all think that (at least most of the people that both read and post comments on sites like this), it is lame because numbers above that 12 – 14 megapixel range, especially for smartphones, just means larger filesizes and smaller pixels and little else. Except, there is one thing I see my mom constantly doing with her phone, she “zooms” all the time — she is willing to do this because often the subject of an image is more important to her than the quality of the image taken. If you are like me you probably don’t zoom because we know that we will get shitty quality – that shitty quality is because we are cropping from a paltry 8mp (iPhones…)! But, it would be to Apple’s, Samsung’s and all the other player’s advantage to realize what the Lumia series is enabling people to do; zoom. I would love to be able to zoom without losing so much quality and I don’t want to have to buy attachable lenses for a smartphone to do it. I’d love to see more thought put in to this area when comparing these devices, it might help the more popular companies realize they may need to start thinking about how to compete, but, you know what, they probably already are, yet articles like this are still eating up Apple’s argument and spitting it out for everyone else.
If you want zoom, sure, megapixels make sense. But on my DSLR, where I have a choice of nine lenses from 10mm to 210mm, the one I use most is the 35-70/2.8, and most of the time it’s toward the 35mm end. I hardly ever wish for zoom on the iPhone.
Doubling the number of pixels results in 40% more linear resolution, you’re not getting that much by “zooming”. You’re only getting an extra 0.3x “zoom factor” with 14 megapixels vs. 8 megapixels. A good quality sensor can easily make up for the difference.
Oh yeah, but, I’m more comparing it to the 41 megapixel monster that is the Lumia 1020..
@Ben – for me, I don’t zoom much either, I compose based on the fixed 35mm, like you, I have a whole dslr setup, etc etc. I’m more talking about the mass market user. I’d like to see data on who zooms, I bet there are all sorts of demographics that do zoom because they don’t care or don’t know that they lose quality.
Agreed
You’re missing a few huge reasons to upgrade and they weren’t announced yesterday, they were announced last year.
1. LTE
2. Screen size
3. Build (lighter and thinner)
I agree..Am a Mac and Nexus user open to considering an iPhone and this was a massive fail for me…Even the 5C price was way way way too pricey…(same as the 5 wouldve cost if they would have left it)..And the numbering of the S phones is driving me crazy
“And the numbering of the S phones is driving me crazy” .. and android phones or the many galaxy name/series doesn’t drive you crazy?
and for the 5S topic, i’ll stick with my 5 for now, and wait for the 6, why?
iphone 5 is the best iPhone i ever had,. so i’m pretty sure the 5S is a killer phone.
it is cos i just upgrade my 4S to 5 around 4-5months ago. and i’m excited to try iOS7,
so this year for me is new(few months ago) iphone 5, and then renew my iphone5 with a facelift iOS7.
what’s so confusing about the HTC One/One X/One S/One Unicorn? Right?
A lot of the statements above can have a “Yet” added to the end.
A lot of people see these new features and say, “when am I ever gonna need” or “I don’t currently ____ on my phone” . ….Think future, think advancement, that is why Apple added these technologies to the new iphone. They’re not thinking of what people do on their phone now, they’re thinking of what people can do on their phone in the future.
When the previous apple products and innovations came out, I bet people were like:
“Why do I need gps on my phone”
“Why would I need an iPad, I already have an iphone”
“64gb for a phone? i’ll never need that much space”
LTE alone should make anyone want to chuck their 4.
Unless you live in an area that won’t get LTE for another 2-3yrs.
I’d imagine that the fingerprint access feature will be adopted over time… first, unlocking the phone. Eventually… doing everything. All in good time.
I don’t want a fingerprint scanner on my phone. If I lose my phone I want someone to be able to get into it and use it. Fingers crossed that they look in the call log and start making calls in an attempt to return it. I want them to use the phone. I want them to hop on their wi-fi so I can use Find my iPhHone to get it back. If they can’t get in and use it, they’ll just wipe it. Then I’ll never get it back.
If I slip in the house and crack my head open, I want one of my kids to be able to make a phone call. Can you still dial 911? Probably, but I’d want them to be able to call my wife’s cell too.
You can disable the feature. It’s optional and not required only recommended.
You can also add more than one fingerprint. Just have your kids fingerprints saved on the phone as well.
I don’t see why there wouldn’t be an “emergency call” capability exactly like what the iPhones have now, you can call 911 without unlocking the device.
If you want people to be able to browse your contact information, so be it, but that seems a bit risky.
From my perspective 40 x faster than than my 3Gs and all of the new features and not be able to upgrade iOS7. It will be a much anticipated arrival!! Pre order and Upgrade here i come !! : )
Apple has a real problem here…they make such good devices that they are still very good years later and their owners can’t see the need to upgrade. The answer? Put a major bug inside iOS 7 that causes devices that update to it (besides devices that ship with it of course) to slowly die over the next few months…
Then people sigh and say “well it’s been a good phone…guess it’s time for a new one now. Good thing they just came out with the 5s!”
If I were a 4S user, I’d want to move to one of the newer phones for the jump from 3G to LTE. The performance boost from not having to wait for basic items to download from the Internet made the phone seem so much faster to me. If that weren’t in play, I could completely understand all your points.
Yep, that makes perfect sense if you use the phone a lot for data. I do most of that stuff on my iPad.
Agree, if you’re a gamer, then the iPad Mini is for you, THAT is a console killer!
I too have a 4S and it just works; from the look of the iOS7 compatibility, it appears that it will be supported for at least two more versions, so around the 6S is the end of it’s lifespan.
No real incentive for me to upgrade to the latest – a sign of a quality product to say the least.
Many are complaining about NFC. There is actually no need for NFC, with BLE or Bluetooth 4.0 is getting wide adaption. NFC is a very ugly technology. When you can do the samething wirelessly without touching, why should you need NFC ???
NFC is very well-established in the UK – or at least in London. The majority of my purchases now are made that way. If iBeacon becomes as popular, great, but it’s so far non-existent here as a payment method.
Hey Ben, why not trade in your 4S and use the cash to upgrade? Apple is offering $200 for a good condition 16GB 4S, so with renewing your contract the upgrade is free. As others have mentioned, you’re not mentioning all the upgrades from the 4S to 5, mainly LTE, better wifi, bigger screen, and lighter weight. All that and an amazing camera. I like my DSLR, too, but it doesn’t have the sharing features a phone does.
Waiting for the 6 will diminish the trade-in value of your 4S, so that’s also something to keep in mind.
I always buy outright, never on contract, but yeah, the maths isn’t too different. An upgrade costs me the difference between the selling price of the old phone and purchase price of the new one, and over the typical two-year life of the phone it’s a pretty trivial monthly equivalent. It’s just not quite calling to me enough.
@Ben, if you meant contactless payment as NFC, then you are terribly wrong. Its same old RFID. NFC needs more time to pair than RFID. NFC is not widely adapted as media is portraying. Its only in few countries.
Visa tells me it’s NFC, and I tend toward believing them …
NFC is secure RFID, same technology.
LTE is enough to go from a 4S to the 5S, slow load times are a drag, waiting three seconds to save a photo edit stinks, so the new processor is definately welcome. Touch ID to unlock my phone allows it to be secure yet easy to unlock, I do not like using a password but have to because of what I do. Pair that with the camera and battery life, a thinner and lighter phone with a slightly larger screen, I am SOLD!!!!
@Ben, if you meant contactless payment as NFC, then you are terribly wrong. Its same old RFID. NFC needs more time to pair than RFID. NFC is not widely adapted as media is portraying. Its only in few countries.
Hi, just a few comments I have the 4s love it also. I loved the design of my iphone1. Hated the design of my iPhone 3G with the cheep plastic back. One big reason that no one is talking about is that I can trade in my iPhone 4S for about $200 so a new 32GB IPhone 5s will only cost me $100. Check with an apple store on this, they can look at your phone and run the Serial number. So it is really a no brainer.
With all the ausome tech in this new iPhone one problem I have is screen size and then screen formatting. Web sites still want to treat my iphone like any other phone. this i hate. The screen formatting on the ipad and ipad mini is sooooooo much better. I won’t be doing video editing or Photo editing on my iPhone unless I want to quickly touch up quickly and send a photo to my brother but nothing serious. I will be still doing my video and photo work on my ipad3 for the fourmentioned points. This is why I pray all the time to the Apple Gods that all the iPhone 5s tech is included in the new ipad. But in the past the ipad always lags one generation behind the iPhone. Then this is where the 64bit chip, etc will really shin.
Oh, one other feature that I will have to test out is 120FPS slow-mo. I have used a similar feature on my Sony FX-7 video camera. And 10FPS burst shooting mode. Depending if this really work well (?) compare that to my very nice pro camera the Canon 60D that shoots at 5.3FPS and that is considered fast in the industry. My current iPhone I guesstimate shoots at 2FPS. But for video recording I love having the bigger ipad screen size. There What you see is what you get. My iPhone 4S still does not work well in contrasty situations this is the main reason I don’t use my iPhone as a camera more often and no manual shooting controls.
I’d say the “s” is lower–case because together a 5 & a capital S look very similar.
5S / 5s
Especially with a thin typeface.
I guess anything that might look like SS would be unfortunate …
Brian,
First of all…Congratulations! This is most commented article I have ever seen on 9to5! 223 and counting…
I hear you out on your personal reasons for not upgrading, so I’m just adding my 2 cents to the conversation:
I’ll be upgrading to the 5s because I love taking photos with my iPhone (currently the 4S) and the battery life is simply not good enough for me to confidently go around snapping and uploading photos and not worry about draining my battery. Also, when 3G is on kills the battery even faster. I usually turn 3G off unless I’m browsing or downloading something.
I play games on my phone, but not I’m not a hardcore gamer, so I can’t say that’s a particular reason for me to want to upgrade. While you may be satisfied with performance of the 4S, I find that it’s getting a little bit too laggy for my own tastes even when using regular app, but maybe I’m just impatient.
Third, I really love the idea of being able to batter track my activities with the help of the new M7 processor. I will certainly be enjoying using the new Nike+ Move app!
Damn autocorrect…well aware your name is Ben lol
How much better do you think 5S will be? Wait 1 year and see how good the battery will be from there…. if you really like photography then buy a camera. DSLR, compact or one of sonys new external lenses for smartphones. OR the cheapest one yet… buy an battery case for your 4S.
People like you is a big joke just trying to come with excuses to buy a new phone just because its apple and you want it. Just admit you want something new.
And what’s the problem if he wants to buy just to have something new?? Is his money, not yours..people like YOU are a big joke!!!!!
This article is spot on to how I’m feeling about the new 5C. I would also consider myself an early adopter of tech. I usually skip a generation with the iphone so I’ve been exited for ages that the new 5C would be my new phone.
I was poised ready with my card details to pre-order my 5C after the keynote, while trying to make my mind up whether to go for the black or white. I think I actually prefer the look of the colourful iPhone 5S lineup.
Turns out Apple did me a favor by not accepting pre-orders for the 5C as it’s given me time to think over my upgrade properly. The new features are fantastic. I love the camera features and the fingerprint technology is very cool. But I can’t justify the cost.
I have also had the benefit of running IOS 7 on my iPhone 4S for the past few months and I have to say, I love it. Those that will get the upgrade next week, it’s like getting a new phone. It runs plenty quick for me still. The different look and feel seems so much fresher and includes bright new wallpapers. Even the old sounds (ringtones, text alerts etc) have been subtly enhanced and sound refreshed. There’s also a load of new sounds to pick from too.
I’m sure iPhone 6 will get me to upgrade but for now, IOS 7 + iPhone 4S = one pretty amazing refreshed phone.
Still using the 4S….gross
Just to clarify, the fingerprint sensor isn’t just for unlocking the device. You can authenticate iTunes, iBookstore, and App Store purchases. And who’s to say apple won’t provide an API for devs, specifically of banking apps, for authentication in the future?
They will release this API when they release iPhone 6 ;-)
What a great article, informative and well written. It also mirrors my opinions perfectly. I upgraded from iPhone 4 (skipped 4S) to an iPhone 5 and even though I am thoroughly impressed by the great new features, I will upgrade when they unveil an iPhone with a slightly larger screen. (The Samsung Note is too big, but the size of a Samsung Galaxy S4 feels real good in my hand, but I don’t want to go to android)
Your opinion very funny…
So you are saying that you considered convenient an upgrade from 4 to 4s just because of Siri but you are not convinced about an upgrade from 4s to 5s despite the bigger screen and thinner case?
Exactly… If Siri is compelling enough, then size, weight, camera, fingerprint scanner, LTE are not compelling enough??. I think @Ben is just adamant in his stance. Nothing more. Again its my opinion
Fingerprint-protected NFC? 2014!
Full use of the 64-bit A7? 2014!
Perhaps even bigger screen? 2014!
Waiting for iPhone 6! ;)
I agree a lot of what you said in the article. Very well written. I didn’t expect the camera to be this good but my 4S is pretty good too and is doing fine for me.
The most important thing for me was to get a bit larger screen, maybe 4,5″ would be perfect. But I didn’t expect that this year. I can’t imagine iphone6 to have 4″ only. I’m going to android when my contract is over in April. Apple is becoming a big joke, trying to rip people off with no shame at all.
C’mon Author, what’s the real reason you are not upgrading to the 5S. Is it because your current 4S contract has you locked in for another year, there or a bouts.
No: it’s not on contract. I always buy outright.
Liked your article..With iPhone 6…I want Apple to find the best suited balance between a Bigger screen with latest technology and a good (full day) Battery backup…Also they need to completely think out-of-the-box to create an absolute beauty of a design for the larger phone…which is something i can trust them with to deliver..Good luck to them!!!
Good read and interesting perspective for not upgrading and also gives food for thought for upgrading.
From my experience, IOS7 works much better on the iphone5 than my iphone4. Quicker, cleaner, more satisfying.
Also, I agree the 4S is just as good as the 5, as long as you don’t care about LTE. If you use cellular data, LTE is a killer app for the iPhone5, even though it’s not an app.
The only issue with that is you will run thru your data caps way early in the month if you don’t have unlimited data.
Wifi speeds appear to be about the same on both.
And who really uses Siri anyway.
This is a great article for those deciding whether or not to upgrade. Fortunately, I’ve made that decision.
I have an iPhone 4 and to be honest, from a hardware perspective, it still works great. Yes, it’s gotten slower as the apps got accustomed to using the 4S and 5 specs as the basis for development, but overall, for a 3 year old device, it’s actually still quite nice. The screen size doesn’t bother me, though it will be nice to have something slightly larger.
My biggest problem with my 4 is that the home button is very fickle. Moreover, I have my entire iTunes library (approx. 6,700 songs) synced to my phone because I’m one of those people who needs to have all his music all the time (it also saves me the trouble of having to carry my iPod classic around). The music is synced at 128kbps, but even so, the 32GB storage (the maximum option at the time) is maxed out.
The rest of the phone performs fine. The battery is fine. I don’t need Siri, to be honest. I have it on my iPad, and I never use it. But I will be glad to have something faster and a bit larger. If I had a 4S or a 5, I’d be less inclined to upgrade.
I gave an iPhone 4S that I’ve had for almost two years, though I’m not eligible for an upgrade because a family member used mine as I was perfectly content with my 4S. Well, it lags occasionally and as of late, has become increasingly finicky. The most important features to me are the camera (I’m an AVID smartphone “photographer”; I have a DSLR but I’m much too clumsy and never want to lug it around day-to-day) and having a great phone that can fit in my ridiculously tiny hand– why I love my 4S. However, I’m ready to upgrade, and I have the cash. Is the 5s worth it? Or should I just wait, ehhh… a year maybe?, and pick up a 6?
this author is terrible. he is the typical fan of apple who buys everything they sell and boasts how good they are in the offseason but when its a product release acts like they’re not impressed. you clearly don’t have a sense of design. this phone (and the 5) are flawless in terms of size and design, and the features are groundbreaking. not only that the 4s runs like a shoe box compared to even the 5. you’re the typical person who wants a revolutionary (2007) iPhone and a revolutionary (2010) iPad every single year from Apple. well guess what, every other company takes Apple’s ideas and throws a nfc chip in them and calls their phone the best. no sense of design or true engineering. you sir are ignorant. what more do you want?? smart watches have been in production for probably over a year. smart(glass)es, tablets, phones from 3.5-6.5 inches, fitness and activity monitors. its going to be a while before a whole new market emerges. and you can be sure that when it does that Apple will not only capitalize first, but they will create the market.
I think you haven’t read many of my pieces, as I’ve posted the exact opposite of what you suggest. :-)
I think the author has manipulated many readers’s minds by his own preferences. Siri appears to be the most important feature to him, but to others it could be screen size, processor speed, graphic performance, camera, or even the camera flash.
How could any reviewer compare a smartphone camera with a DSLR? Come on, how many people take DSLR with them all the time? How about you just take a laptop computer with you, and you do everything on it so the phone is just a phone to make phone calls because for every function that it provides, you can find a better tool to do it, in that case you don’t even need the iPhone 4S, right ?
I upgraded my iPhone once every year, and in every upgrade I see significant improvements over the predecessor. For example, 6 seconds faster while loading the navigation app, 3 seconds faster snapping a picture, they are improvements to me, why would anyone say that a faster CPU is useless and he won’t take advantage of it ?
iPhone 4S is still a winner today? If you would be happy walking into a store and still buy an iPhone 4S today like you said, then iPhone’s are not for you, because you could not tell / appreciate the differences between different generations of it. Summary?
This article has no technical reference value, it’s like “My 2006 7th gen Honda Accord does everything for me just fine, I do not need the 2013 All-New 9th gen Accord, whatever new features and improvements on it is just useless to me, hey, see that I even skipped the 8th gen? because it wasn’t compelling enough, either.”
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us
Ben, will you still be updating to iOS7? do you think there will be lag? or will you be sticking to iOS 6?
I’ll definitely be updating to iOS 7, and that is the one thing that could change my mind: if it doesn’t run well on the 4S
Great post Ben, I couldn’t agree more. Just because something new comes every year it doesn’t mean that you ought to buy it. It’s really hard for me to believe that there’s people that in August 2012 (About a year and a month ago) before the iPhone 5 was announced defended the iPhone 4S to death and believed it was the best of the best, now that same people about a year later talk like that same phone was a piece of junk and that anyone that owns one should be embarrassed. In my opinion you and everybody is in the right of choosing the products that suits them best. That said I’m also not planning on upgrading my iPhone 4S, 2010 Mac Pro, my 2012 MBA or my 3d gen iPad until I feel that they don’t meet my expectations or fulfill my needs because all of those products are still REALLY GREAT products. Ps. Sorry if any grammar mistakes were made, I’m not a native english speaker. Greetings from Bolivia.
By allowing you to still upgrade (iPhone 4 here) 3 years later, to the latest operating system, shows me why id rather stick with apple. If i had the money, id snatch up a 64gig gold iPhone 5s, but i dont, and that doesnt completely disappoint me! I know that my purchase 3 years ago is still a valid customer in their eyes, and makes the phone i loved then, loved and valued now.
What a great article! I feel exactly the same way about my 4s. It’s tough to justify getting a 5s when my 4s still looks new, runs like new, and does everythikng I need it to do. However, the buyback programs currently available will allow me to sell my 4s for as much or even more than I paid for it, and will fully fund the $199 I’ll have to pay for a 16GB 5s.
Apple kinda relies on people’s stupidity to sell stuff. I bet you don’t even have any idea what a bit is.
iPhone has been the only 32bit smartphone since 2009. 64bits on a phone really isn’t a huge achievement. My phone has 4 cores. 5s only has one. Apple releases a new phone every six months, and adds one or two new features every time. HTC and Samsung have the real newest in technology in all of the phones, while Apple has a whole cue of stuff they can add, just in case technological development ever stops. Which will never happen. And fingerprinting causes immense security issues.
Kind of like how the Android platform requires pathological liars like you?
5s is dual core and beats all the quad core mobile chips. Android phones aren’t 64 bit yet, unlike your claim. Samsung has already had to say they have 64 bit plans, they wouldn’t need to if they already were 64 bit.
Hi Ben,
I absolutely agree with most things you said, but here’s an opinion from someone who just switched from 4s to 5s this past week.
The 5s is a fantastic upgrade.
I am an engineer myself, and I can get very deep into why this is a significant advancement. But here it’s just my experience. Yes, 64-bit sounds like a gimmick; and yes, you don’t NEED any of the new features. 4S still holds quite well as a 2-year-old phone. But the difference is EVERYWHERE… Not just in games/intensive apps.
Unlocking is fast. Really fast. Messaging is fast. Typing is a breeze. Every corner of your phone is simply more enjoyable. The experience is very well thought out, and works in a very coherent way to make everyday tasks simply delightful – one of the reasons I am yet to consider an Android after using a Galaxy S4 and HTC One.
It’s really in everything. And the change matters. Not in specs, but in the experience.
(Wow I sound like an Apple fanboy. And that was a long reply.)
I would definitely have made the jump if I’d seen any noticeable lag in my 4S on iOS 7, but I have to say it seems as responsive as ever (unlike my iPad 2, which I’m waiting impatiently to upgrade to the iPad 5 :-)).
The only reason I am buying a 5s is because my 4s is only 16gb. I agree it is still a great phone that I love. Just need more space.
I agree entirely, but I may still upgrade my 4S. My reason? My company gave me a Verizon 4S. Which means it’s not even 4G, but 3G (CDMA). I rarely get over 1MBps data speeds. My main reason for upgrading (If I choose to go that way) will be to get to LTE and have some normal data speeds.
(I’d also love to get away from Verizon and their horrible CDMA tech that they still use for voice on the 5s, but ultimately that’s up to my company)
Why anyone would want to play games on a phone I don’t know. I think phones are actually the last thing people look for when buying a phone.
To me it looks like phones are getting bigger and I pads smaller. Soon there will be no need for the phone as the iphone will soon be comparable in size to the ipad mini. Then Apple will equip the ipad with the capability to make calls and, voila!
Half the people I see using Iphones are never talking on them anyway. I am actually sick of going to dinner and sitting with a bunch of people watching you tube, tweeting, fbing or texting on their phones. The art of conversation has been lost.
The last thing people want a phone for is to have conversations.
“what is the cellular communication like. Is the connectivity good, the coverage good, does it drop out? They are the last questions anyone asks when buying an Iphone.
I just returned my HTC One M*, and iPhone 5 before that) and walked out of Verizon with a brand new 4s. Turns out for me, it’s not about having the newest or the best, but about having what works best for me.