Wow! Thank you everyone for your help. I do understand that forums tend to be magnets for complaints; it just seemed like a somewhat alarming number of people were having trouble with bending. I'm not all that worried about scratching; that's sort of a fact of life with a lot of devices over time. I do care about screen defects, but most of the 5s I've seen have been remarkably consistent in that respect. I disagree that it's irrational to consider the 4S - I'd certainly like LTE and the A6 but, realistically, I won't be making maximal use of either, most of the time. However, my experience in the past is that my usage tends to adapt with new technology, so I don't want to discount the new features too much. Apart from that, the 4S is (in my opinion at least) a fantastic phone. The 5 looks like a great phone too, but it won't be so great if I end up messing it up
.
Regarding AppleCare+, that's not really a practical budgetary item for me right now. If it's truly ill-advised to buy a 5 without it, that would probably count as a point in favor of the 4S for me. As a general matter, I'm not all that hard on my phones. I don't baby them but I don't stick them in my back pocket, drop regularly, or things of that sort. I could probably get away with no-case on the 4S, though I imagine I'd use one anyway. However, with the 5, it seems to be pretty important.
It sounds like, apart from the AppleCare+ consideration, a slider case (or something equivalent in rigidity and coverage) would be adequate for typical front-pocket use? I don't wear super tight pants but they aren't baggy cargos either
I thought I'd give you some extra information. I had an iPhone 4 since 2010 and bought an iPhone 5 in October of this year. I have used the iPhone 4 about 30% of the time with a bumper case and 70% without. I have found even such a bumper case (sold by Apple) can scratch the phone.
I have been using the iPhone 5 since October without a case. I - luckily - haven't dropped it, but I just wanted to let you know it's not scratched. It's not scuffed. It's not bent.
Personally, if you had the choice between an iPhone 4S and an iPhone 5, I'd definitely go for an iPhone 5 (for several reasons I'll list below).
A6 chip
I don't know about you, but I tend to keep my phone for at least two years. While the A5 chip is no slouch, an A6 chip is definitely more future-proof. Not only do you get twice the CPU performance and twice the GPU performance, you'll also get a chip that generates less heat and has 1 GB of RAM.
1 GB of RAM allows for better multitasking and more advanced apps. In the past, Apple's iOS devices after a software update (like going from iOS 3 to iOS 4) with more RAM have
always run better than with less RAM.
The A6 chip gives you a garantuee: not only now, but also in 2013 and 2014 (and perhaps 2015), you'll be able to enjoy the latest iOS update and run new apps.
4-inch display
It's bigger, so you get more content, it's got a higher brightness, a higher contrast, better colours and less reflections. Also, it's most likely the display size for the iPhone for the years to come. It's likely that Apple will stick with a screen diagonal of 4 inch for the coming years, and it's likely developers will focus more and more on the 4-inch display.
Design
This is obviously personal. Some arguments in favor of the iPhone 5 are the facts that it is lighter and thinner. Also, the back panel is mainly made out of aluminium with just a little bit of glass on the top and bottom. The iPhone 4S, however, is made entirely out of glass (on the back). Glass can shatter, aluminium doesn't shatter.
LTE and faster 3G
LTE is a big deal in the United States. In the future you can expect speeds up to 100 Mbps and currently it's not uncommon to float somewhere around the 20 to 30 Mbps.
Also, the iPhone 5 supports faster 3G speeds: up to 42 Mbps.
These are the, on first sight, biggest differences. We've got these faster data speeds, something that is important because smartphones are internet-connected devices and every year carriers see higher and higher data usage.
We've got this new design, which you either like or don't. Also, we've got a bigger 4-inch display which shows us more content and a future-proof A6 chip.
There are also some other
smaller features that may, or may not, influence your decision. The rear-facing 8 megapixel camera has been improved: faster photo-taking, better noise reduction and it's also
much better in low-light conditions. It also allows you to take pictures while recording a video (something an iPhone 4S can't do) and, thanks to the more powerful A6 chip, it is able to do face detection while video recording (on the iPhone 4S, this is only available for still-photos).
There's also a FaceTime HD (front facing) camera which is a real step up from the VGA camera found in the iPhone 4S. Higher quality pictures, 720p HD video recording and finally backside illuminated.
An iPhone 5 also has three microphones for better noise cancellation and an iPhone 5 has, according to Apple, better battery life compared to an iPhone 4S.
Finally, there's a new, smaller, dock connector which is called the Lightning connector. Since you appear to be new to the "ecosystem", I'd suggest it's best to get an iPhone 5. From now on, all Apple's iOS devices will have this smaller dock connector. If you ever decide to buy an iPad (which also has this Lightning connector), for example, it's nice to have the same connector and not two different ones.
