Is it worth it to upgrade to an iPhone 4S from an iPhone 4?

The difference between the 4 and the 4S is significant, but probably not worth over 200 to upgrade. If I was you I’d wait for the iPhone 5S, then buy the then cheaper iPhone 5

I don't know. It seems like such a marginal bump...

I think the jump from 4 to 5 is more worth it.

mrsir2009 said:

The difference between the 4 and the 4S is significant, but probably not worth over 200 to upgrade. If I was you I’d wait for the iPhone 5S, then buy the then cheaper iPhone 5

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I agree. It's a nice upgrade but not worth $200 (at least not to me).

For 200 dollars it surely worths

Better camera
much better video (imo)
dual core
7x times faster GPU
much storage (in your case)
better antena

I made the transition myself when the 4S came out and I did not regret it.
Not even now when I have a 5 in my hand

nope
go 5

mossme89 said:

I'm considering upgrading my iPhone 4 to a 4S. I love my iPhone 4, but it's beginning to show it's age. I'm finding the UI is becoming a bit laggy. Nothing too bad, but it makes it hard to do things quickly. I can get a 64GB iPhone 4S for $400, and probably get around $175-$200 for my 32GB iPhone 4. So it'll cost me $200-$225 net to move up to the 4S. Is it worth it?

I'm not interested much in the iPhone 5 because I'd have to pay the full amount for it (prepaid). So the 4S is a good step in-between.

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Simple answer: no.
The 4S has an atrocious battery life, worse than the 4.
But you do get a faster phone with better camera.

My iPhone 4S had great battery life.

JS82712 said:

Simple answer: no.
The 4S has an atrocious battery life, worse than the 4.
But you do get a faster phone with better camera.

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This. My 4S used to guzzle battery like its life depended on it. I hit low or dead battery at the end of almost every day. My 5 gets double the battery life of my 4S despite having a larger screen and more power hungry LTE radio. Maybe I had a lemon 4S but, given the number of posts I've read by people with similar experiences, I doubt it. I'd get the 5 unless the extra $100 upgrade cost is really that big of a deal for you.

One other thought about why the 5 might be a better choice: the 4S is already a year old. Apple has already started dropping features from iOS updates on the 4 and you know the 4S will be next when iOS 7 comes around. If you buy the 5, you are buying an all-around better device and will likely get all iOS features for the next 2 or so years.

I haven't had any battery issues with my 4s either. I typically charge it ever other day. Of course I'm not a heavy user either. This being our first iPhones, we purchased 3 of them a week before Christmas for $50.00 a phone from Best Buy. It's not as fast as the 5 obviously but we're all happy with them. My son is a heavy user but he uses a Morphie Juice pack so he doesn't have battery issues.

The 4S is still an excellent device. Unless you have one with a bad battery, it should be just fine in that dept.

All comes down to what you need, and what sort of form factor you're looking for. Its far more durable than the iPhone 5. Which is sort of funny when you think about it.

Tell u what, be on record that u owned a "4r Steve."

Its a good question

I also own iPhone 4. And a week or two before I was discussing it with my little brother whether I should upgrade it to iphone 4S or not. Coz he has good knowledge about latest smart phones (both iphone and android).

And here I've found a thread about it too.

I'm still confused, whether I should stick with this phone, go for iphone 4S or iphone 5. :S

I held off myself when the 4s came. It has some nice features but not at the price

Coming from a 4, I wouldn't jump to a 4S, I would either jump to a 5 or, if that move is not possible, hold out for the 5S unveiling, and then get the 5 at the most likely lowered price point.

I personally DO own a 4S, but I did that back on launch day in Oct 2011 and I was coming from a 3GS, which itself I'd gotten on launch day, back in June 2009. So, for me, at the time, the upgrade from 3GS > 4S was HUGE.

Likewise, although I could've gotten one, I decided to skip the 5, as the 4S can do basically everything the 5 can do, functionality wise. I just do not have the bigger screen, LTE, or HD FaceTime....however, I suppose I cannot miss that which I never had in the first place.

Granted, the 4S gets to reap the benefits of iOS 6. However, iOS 6 was overall vastly underwhelming, when compared to iOS updates from previous years.

Depends on the deal in comparison to the 5.

I went from a 4 to a 4S, but I got a great deal on O2 where I got the 4S for free in the summer and sold my 4 for £280. I knew the 5 was coming, but the performance gap between the 4 and 4S is noticeable, especially in the smoothness of iOS 6 and in new games.

I personally have always found the 'S' revision not worth an upgrade from the 'non S'.

So I have always gone 3 -> 4 -> 5 -> (6?).

With iPads I had the iPad 1 since release and have only just got the iPad 4 (Huge uprade for me).

I would say no. I just went from a 4 to a 5, and while having the 4s would have been nice, the refreshing change of the bigger screen and different form factor were well worth the wait. I don't think $200+ out of pocket plus the time and effort to get your old phone sold is worth the spec bump. I found myself growing pretty tired of the same form factor after having the 4 for 20 months...I would think you might start feeling the same after having the 4 then the 4s for so long. Like others have said, I would just continue to wait it out until you can score a better deal on a 5.

It is in my opinion.
The speed of the 4s is much better compared to the 4 ( tested this myself ) So yes I would spend the money to get a brand new device, earbuds etc for only that price.

Dave,

mossme89 said:

Is it worth it?

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Worth's always highly subjective. No one can tell you if you'll find it worth it or not. Compare the features and specs and make your call.

yeah i felt less buyers remorse going from 4>4s then 4s>5... (not that i wouldnt upgrade from 4s to 5 again..i loooove the 5)


the camera upgrade from 4 to 4s is absolutely amazing.

Are you sure it will cost that much to upgrade?

I sold my 32gig 4 for 300 and then bought an unlocked 32gig 4s for 350

JS82712 said:

Simple answer: no.
The 4S has an atrocious battery life, worse than the 4.
But you do get a faster phone with better camera.

Click to expand...

This must have been a problem with your phone, as my experience is different.

I went 4 -> 5 -> 4S, and I haven't missed the 5 at all. The 4S has much better battery life (as did the 5) than the 4, and signal wise the 4S beats both (I still have my 5, but use the 4S as my main phone).

Whilst I loved my 5, I just couldn't keep it as my carry phone, it was just so delicate (worrying about scratching it made it less than a pleasure to carry), the 4S seems to match the 5 in almost every way, other than the colours of the display being less vibrant and of course, data speed.

4 to 4S is a significant and worthy upgrade, and like for like, (so comparing same capacity phones) shouldn't be as expensive as you think.