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macrumors 6502
Jun 20, 2010
429
23
A summary of my thoughts

This was a decent update, though the full impact of some of the changes have yet to be realized (ex. 64-bit). Touch ID is interesting but it could be a gimmick to many. The camera is a great upgrade and of course, there's CPU and GPU improvements.

There's obviously a lot of changes that weren't implemented, such as higher default storage options (32-64-128GB), haptic touchscreen (interestingly enough, this was rumored for the 5 but not the 5S), NFC, 802.11ac, more megapixels on the iSight camera (of course, megapixels aren't everything), Lightning to USB 3.0, and so on…

Anyways, I'm going to hold off on this update and keep my iPhone 5…I'll wait for the 6. :D
 

croooow

macrumors 65816
Jul 16, 2004
1,044
206
I think most phones already beat the iPhone, HTC one, s4, note 2 and note 3. Aesthetically the iPhone is bar none tho.

I came from the iPhone 5 and 4s and think they are great phones and ios is smooth as it gets but I was waiting for a game changer this year to bring me back to ios.

Well, we may disagree on that but I think we can both agree that those are EXCELLENT phones. The game has changed a lot since 2007 (When Apple was so far ahead of everyone else)

Apple does not look as good as they have before and they really do need to do something if they want to continue (or regain, depending on your point of view) their lead. They still sell TONS of phones but at some point, if there are better phones by other companies Apple will sell fewer of them.
 

Dmaynard83

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2012
825
66
Well, we may disagree on that but I think we can both agree that those are EXCELLENT phones. The game has changed a lot since 2007 (When Apple was so far ahead of everyone else)

Apple does not look as good as they have before and they really do need to do something if they want to continue (or regain, depending on your point of view) their lead. They still sell TONS of phones but at some point, if there are better phones by other companies Apple will sell fewer of them.

Yeah I agree they are all great phones and I'll admit a large part is due to preference. Was just hoping ios would close to gap and some customization and bring a game changing feature to offer.

Also I was hoping the 5C would be close to 300 off contract which would have brought a ton more people to ios. Instead the 5c is ridiculously priced compared to the 5S.
 

FoxyKaye

macrumors 68000
T-Mobile's 3G/4G HSPA+ runs on both AWS 1700/2100 and PCS 1900 (all though all of their 3G/4G HSPA+ network is being shifted to PCS 1900 to make room for LTE.) Their LTE runs on the AWS 1700/2100 (Band 4.)

T-Mobile's HSPA+ 42 network runs on AWS 1700/2100, which they are not changing.

These models of the new iPhone can run all of T-Mobile's network, including HSPA+ 42 and LTE:
View attachment 432409

These can run T-Mobile's new and re-farmed network (3G/4G on PCS 1900) and also their HSPA+ 42, but not their older 3G/4G network or their LTE network:
View attachment 432410

Wow - that's unbelievably helpful. Thank you! So buying the "unlocked" phone should enable me to access the LTE-Advanced network T-Mobile is pushing out later this year? Very good to know - once the dust settles from the launch, I'll ping T-Mobile directly to double-confirm, but this is great information to have, and I really appreciate it. I couldn't make heads or tails out of Apple's LTE page.
 

cdp1276

macrumors member
Dec 26, 2005
80
2
Fairport, NY
No 128GB option? When flash memory is so cheap.

No 12MP camera? When competitors do.

It seems to me to be about maximising profit, rather than provide meaningful improvements for users.

Mdelvecchio, I do accept that more megapixels do not necessarily mean better pictures. But I would expect an Apple 12MP camera to provide better pictures.

What are the chances that Apple might introduce a 128GB option before the next annual year refresh? So kind of a mid year or sooner iPhone addition?
 

chrmjenkins

macrumors 603
Oct 29, 2007
5,325
158
MD
What are the chances that Apple might introduce a 128GB option before the next annual year refresh? So kind of a mid year or sooner iPhone addition?

Not fantastic. They've only done that once, with the original iphone (adding 16GB option).
 

bankshot

macrumors 65816
Jan 23, 2003
1,367
416
Southern California
Why can't you buy the 16GB phone, save yourself over $100 and then subscribe to iTunes Match for $25/yr? You've got 4 years of Match paid for, and you'll save yourself another $100 in two years when you repeat this money-saving feat. You can just send me the money you saved if you would like!

Basically, what groovyf said:
Scenario... you go on holiday and want your music collection with you. Streaming is a no-go as there's no wi-fi at the beach/wherever you are, and roaming costs prohibit streaming over cellular. iTunes Match isn't much in this case.
I'd kill for a 128GB iPhone to store all my tunes on. Not everyone wants to stream - even in their home country - where data would get sucked up in no time and it's costly to pay for extra MBs used.

And even around home, as good as Verizon's network is, there are times/places where the signal quality isn't good enough to stream. I want to have my entire collection available to instantly play whatever song/album inspires me at a particular moment. Not wait for however long it takes to download/buffer for streaming.

Plus, does iTunes Match work with all of my Smart Playlists (ie, playlists are synced but songs are downloaded/streamed on the fly as necessary)? I honestly don't know, because it's never appealed to me enough to look into.

And I know I have lots of music that isn't available on iTunes Match (probably never will be). I don't know how much space that portion of my collection would take, but gotta have room for it anyway.

Additionally, 128 GB gives a heck of a lot more room for videos/movies, which really aren't viable for reliable streaming over cellular. Admittedly, that's more relevant with an iPad and its larger screen.

But this is straying off topic. :rolleyes: I can see why Apple declined to bump storage this time around - besides a few more dollars of precious profit, they try to do exactly as you suggest and push people to their cloud. No, thanks! :eek::p
 

yeah

macrumors 6502a
Jul 12, 2011
974
278
Wow - that's unbelievably helpful. Thank you! So buying the "unlocked" phone should enable me to access the LTE-Advanced network T-Mobile is pushing out later this year? Very good to know - once the dust settles from the launch, I'll ping T-Mobile directly to double-confirm, but this is great information to have, and I really appreciate it. I couldn't make heads or tails out of Apple's LTE page.

Well sadly, the new 5C and 5S do not have LTE-Advanced. :(

But they have LTE. :D
 

mrxak

macrumors 68000
You're so desperate to have this phone at launch that you refuse to go get it yourself and because of that you won't get it at all? You can order online and not lift a finger as soon as it comes out, it's just you'll have to get it a few days later Oh No!

I didn't say not at all, I said not this quarter. If Apple has no supply for preorder shipping, they're not going to have much supply in the weeks and months to come.
 

John Purple

macrumors regular
Jan 8, 2008
211
20
Thank you Apple...

...it's the first time in years that none of my four kids explains me for hours, why it absolutely should have this new iPhone
:D
 

Perfect Score

macrumors member
Aug 15, 2013
43
0
Toronto Canada
Honestly, I think part of it is that with the "S" series having minor form factor changes over the previous model, the "luxury" factor of having the latest and greatest will show more with the more marked differentiation between the 5C and the 5S. Keeping the 4S as the "free" (with two year contract) phone means that there no longer will be new phones being sold with the same basic form factor as the 5S.

Apple (and all phone manufacturers) have to keep up the new product cycle. Otherwise they can't hit the revenue target for the stock market. None of this stuff is actually groundbreaking.

Capitalism at its finest :rolleyes:
 

Obi Wan Kenobi

macrumors 6502a
Mar 9, 2011
502
338
London, UK
What are the chances that Apple might introduce a 128GB option before the next annual year refresh? So kind of a mid year or sooner iPhone addition?

I would say zero. It's been one update a year for the iPhone for some time now.

I have also been told that the 64GB iPhone 5 had much lower sales than the 16 or 32GB devices. A much lower take up would be a good reason not to bother with a larger memory this time. :(
 

ericinboston

macrumors 68010
Jan 13, 2008
2,004
476
The larger screen alone is a reason to do the upgrade. Is sounds like you are making excuses.

So let me get this straight....dump my iPhone 4s 64GB that I spent $400 on (because it's essentially worthless now that Apple gives some 4S models away for free)...spend another $400 on a new iPhone 5S (that also does not come in the color I want)...sign up for a new 2-year contract....buy new accessories since the iPhone 5S is incompatible with every 4S accessory I own (radios, chargers, etc)....update my iTunes installation...all so I can get an extra 1/8 of an inch display vertically.

Right...sounds like plenty of "reason" for you...but not to me and likely a very high percentage of 4Sers.
 

danielowenuk

macrumors 6502
Mar 18, 2011
272
36
So let me get this straight....dump my iPhone 4s 64GB that I spent $400 on (because it's essentially worthless now that Apple gives some 4S models away for free)...spend another $400 on a new iPhone 5S (that also does not come in the color I want)...sign up for a new 2-year contract....buy new accessories since the iPhone 5S is incompatible with every 4S accessory I own (radios, chargers, etc)....update my iTunes installation...all so I can get an extra 1/8 of an inch display vertically.

Right...sounds like plenty of "reason" for you...but not to me and likely a very high percentage of 4Sers.

Because they are "given away for free" makes it essentially worthless? Let me PM you my address, heck I will even pay the postage :)
 
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