Is now a bad time to buy 4s?

Trance said:

I have a ip4 and I finally got an upgrade with att for a new phone.
My screen has minor scratches and i have the cash but i'm worried if i buy 4s I won't have another upgrade for 2 years and I would have to buy the iphone5? full price 🙁

still it out with the 4 till a new model?
any suggestions?

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Its not worth an upgrade on the iPhone 4. Wait for the next gen iPhone.

I'd wait. There isn't exactly a massive upgrade there. And worst case is if you don't like the 5 you get a 4s even cheaper!

It depends. Is the iPhone 4 suiting you just fine? If so, stick with it.

If you can make use of the camera, or you tether and can use the faster data speeds (on AT&T), or if your phone is filling up and 64GB of storage is useful to you, or if your current iPhone is a bit slow and you want something faster, then get the 4. You can always sell it for the 5 when it comes out, if you decide you want to upgrade to it.

I currently have a 4S but the only phone that I would consider before the iPhone 5 comes out is the Galaxy Note...

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I echo the others in that since you have a 4 already, the 4S isn't a huge upgrade. I'd wait until the next one is released this year.

I went from a 3GS to the 4S which was a huge improvement, not to say the 3GS sucked or anything, because it was a good phone in it's own right. But going from a 4 to 4S would be a waste of an upgrade I think.

If you didn't have a 4 before, I would say that now is still a pretty good time to buy.

I had an iPhone 4 and my wife who had a 3GS was upgrade eligible so I got the 4S on her upgrade and gave her my 4 and can tell you there is no way the 4S is a good upgrade from the 4. Siri-the novelty goes away VERY quickly. The camera isn't noticeably better IMO and the speed difference isn't anything I can tell. So i'd wait for sure if you already have a 4.

I think Siri's great. I use it daily when I'm driving. "Read me my texts" and her voice comes on over the Bluetooth system in my car. It's a lot safer than texting while driving.

As for the 4 to 4s debate, it depends on what you're going to use it for. The 4S is a minor upgrade of the 4; when the 5 launches, it's rumored to be a new design style (major upgrade) which typically launches with a few glitches/bugs/etc, such as the death grip bug of the original iPhone 4.

But, on the other hand, you're looking at some major changes like LTE support in the new iPhone. Since you already have a 4, I'd say wait for the (hopefully) LTE enabled iPhone, since you're going to want that speed to take you the two years till your next upgrade.

I personally just got my first iPhone - a 4S - because I was on a piece of garbage Blackberry Curve. And, the way that my carrier works their contract, I can get an upgrade in about 21 months instead of 24 like most carriers (Sprint lets you upgrade on the 1st of the 22nd month; in my case, although I upgraded in late January, I'm eligible for an upgrade on November 1, 2013.)

Hopefully by the end of 2013, Sprint will 1) still be in business and 2) have their LTE rollout completed!


Don't forget, some carriers like Sprint will let you do a "buy-up" to make yourself eligible for the 2-year upgrade price. I think the rep I spoke with said it was $45 per line to reset eligibility. That's not bad if you're happy with your service anyway and it's a lot cheaper than an early term fee!

pilot1226 said:

I think Siri's great. I use it daily when I'm driving. "Read me my texts" and her voice comes on over the Bluetooth system in my car. It's a lot safer than texting while driving.

As for the 4 to 4s debate, it depends on what you're going to use it for. The 4S is a minor upgrade of the 4; when the 5 launches, it's rumored to be a new design style (major upgrade) which typically launches with a few glitches/bugs/etc, such as the death grip bug of the original iPhone 4.

But, on the other hand, you're looking at some major changes like LTE support in the new iPhone. Since you already have a 4, I'd say wait for the (hopefully) LTE enabled iPhone, since you're going to want that speed to take you the two years till your next upgrade.

I personally just got my first iPhone - a 4S - because I was on a piece of garbage Blackberry Curve. And, the way that my carrier works their contract, I can get an upgrade in about 21 months instead of 24 like most carriers (Sprint lets you upgrade on the 1st of the 22nd month; in my case, although I upgraded in late January, I'm eligible for an upgrade on November 1, 2013.)

Hopefully by the end of 2013, Sprint will 1) still be in business and 2) have their LTE rollout completed!


Don't forget, some carriers like Sprint will let you do a "buy-up" to make yourself eligible for the 2-year upgrade price. I think the rep I spoke with said it was $45 per line to reset eligibility. That's not bad if you're happy with your service anyway and it's a lot cheaper than an early term fee!

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Sprint's never done that to let you move up your upgrade date. You got a loopy rep.

verwon said:

Sprint's never done that to let you move up your upgrade date. You got a loopy rep.

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They mentioned it when I called customer service a few weeks ago. I wasn't supposed to be eligible for my upgrade until February, and I threatened to cancel and go to AT&T and they reset my eligibility. They said it was a "courtesy" because I was less than a month away at the time I was upgrading, whereas they normally would charge $45 for the ability to do an early upgrade reset.

Loopy indeed, but I guess it's true with anything in the corporate world: talk to retention and threaten to leave unless you get ______, and you'll get it.

I did this with my cable carrier a few months ago because I had received a promotion from a competitor's service, so they matched it... but only after I threatened to cancel my service.

pilot1226 said:

They mentioned it when I called customer service a few weeks ago. I wasn't supposed to be eligible for my upgrade until February, and I threatened to cancel and go to AT&T and they reset my eligibility. They said it was a "courtesy" because I was less than a month away at the time I was upgrading, whereas they normally would charge $45 for the ability to do an early upgrade reset.

Loopy indeed, but I guess it's true with anything in the corporate world: talk to retention and threaten to leave unless you get ______, and you'll get it.

I did this with my cable carrier a few months ago because I had received a promotion from a competitor's service, so they matched it... but only after I threatened to cancel my service.

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Yeah, it's because you threatened to leave, not because they usually do it. They just told you the $45 thing to try and make you feel they were moving mountains for you.

I got mine moved when they kept screwing up my AppleCare+ order. Saving that one for the next iPhone! 🙂

If I had no phone and wanted an iPhone, I would get an iPhone 4 for cheap and wait for 5 to come out anyways. 4s is a weak upgrade imo.

pilot1226 said:

The 4S is a minor upgrade of the 4

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LoL 😛

pilot1226 said:

When the 5 launches, it's rumored to be a new design style (major upgrade)

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Oh really? 🙄

So if the next iPhone is the same design but:

- Quad core (4s got similar upgrade to dual core)
- 12mp camera (4s got similar upgrade to 8mp w/ better optics)
- LTE (4s got similar upgrade to 14mbps hspa+ speeds)
- Major software improvements such as turn-by-turn Apple maps navigation (4s got similar upgrade w/ Siri software)
- 10hrs talk time (4s got a similar improvement to 8hrs talk time)

...then it's just a "minor" upgrade just because its not a different design... right? 🙄

No, the iPhone was released in mid October. Its basically still new.

It is a bad time to buy an iPad 2, though.

ap3604 said:

LoL 😛



Oh really? 🙄

So if the next iPhone is the same design but:

- Quad core (4s got similar upgrade to dual core)
- 12mp camera (4s got similar upgrade to 8mp w/ better optics)
- LTE (4s got similar upgrade to 14mbps hspa+ speeds)
- Major software improvements such as turn-by-turn Apple maps navigation (4s got similar upgrade w/ Siri software)
- 10hrs talk time (4s got a similar improvement to 8hrs talk time)

...then it's just a "minor" upgrade just because its not a different design... right? 🙄

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Yes, it was a minor upgrade. I only bought mine the day after the JB came out.
Without the JB, it's basically a 2yo fone and NOT worth a new 2 yr contract.

ap3604 said:

I currently have a 4S but the only phone that I would consider before the iPhone 5 comes out is the Galaxy Note...

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The galaxy note even being considered a "phone" is debateable. The manufacturers caring so little about pocketability makes me worried for where android is going. As a current android AND iPhone user, it's annoying that people say android has "choice of hardware" when it's basically "you get to choose between this thick phone with bad battery life and a 4.3 inch screen and that other one with a 4.3 inch screen. Don't like it? Choose the one with a 5.3 inch screen!"

Anything beyond 4 inches should not be considered phone terrirotory. This is from someone that also owns an htc rezound

As to the OP, it's up to you and how you're going to use it. The camera is alot better and this thing people call a gimmick siri i use on a daily basis to schedule appointments, search the web, find facts and dictate. If that's something you'll use DAILY, i'd say go for it.

The iphones cycle seems to have a rule of "at least a year". So i'd guess the next iphone (iphone 6, not 5) won't be here until late fall. That's awhile to wait if you want to switch right now

ipoopsplinters said:

As a current android AND iPhone user, it's annoying that people say android has "choice of hardware" when it's basically "you get to choose between this thick phone with bad battery life and a 4.3 inch screen and that other one with a 4.3 inch screen. Don't like it? Choose the one with a 5.3 inch screen!"

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I love having a 4.3" screen on my phone. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean others don't enjoy the larger displays. It's all opinion. For me it would be very difficult to go back to a dinky 3.5" display again, but that is just me.

DakotaGuy said:

I love having a 4.3" screen on my phone. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean others don't enjoy the larger displays. It's all opinion. For me it would be very difficult to go back to a dinky 3.5" display again, but that is just me.

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It IS all opinion isn't it? As a current android AND iphone user, the trend i'm seeing with android worries me. The balls that manufacturers don't seem to have. The mentality of avoiding the "experience" and just looking at things on their face and simplifying the entire thing. "Whoa. People like big screens. That's how we compete! Make it bigger! I want our next phone to compete with the iPad!"

If these 4.3-5.3 inch screens would've been released in 2007, people wouldn't have liked them. That's my opinion. Because it would've been such a radical shift from the small 2.4 and 2.8 inch screens we were used to. Remember the phone you had back then? I had a tmobile mda with a 2.8 inch screen and i thought that was huge! Then the iPhone came out and it was called a "big screen phone". Now, over the years we've conditioned ourselves to get used to the burden of bigger screens. If you personally aren't crazy about having a pocketable phone, that's fine. But to deny this shift in thinking among consumers is turning a blind eye to the entire subject.

When i got my first hdtv it was a 32inch samsung that blew me away. I paid a thousand bucks cash for it and it was the biggest tv i ever had at the time. Years later, it was small and all of a sudden i created these new problems in my mind. Looking at the same tv i've been watching for years, when comparing it to other bigger ones, i said to myself while squinting my eyes "i can't see this! How do people watch tv on crap this small?". So i got a 42inch. The newness felt big to me. A year and a half later, it was small. Now i'm at a 46inch led tv in every room in my house. Now? I'm pining for a new 55inch tv. I need to slow the hell down.

A year (or 2?) ago people thought the dell streak was HUGE and ridiculous. Now? People are asking for the galaxy note and it's 5.3 inch screen to come to the US. Mark my words, next year or the year after we will have a 6inch phone. Yes. We still still call it a phone. A manufacturer will "experiment" with it and put it to market. This will be the ultimate test. If people go for it, this will truly be ridiculous. Sounds crazy now right? Think about how we've adjusted our habits to make room for these bigger phones. On a 4.5 inch skyrocket, i have to use two hands. How is that not pushing it?

Apple drew a line in the sand and said "this is what a phone screen's size should be. If you want bigger, you want a tablet". You might not agree and your uses might require different things, but that's what android is for. The rumor mill went crazy for the last iphone and EVERYONE predicted a 4inch screen. Even leaks with pictures of new cases that "could accommodate 4 inch screens" came out and what happened? Nothing.

This is all just opinion. At least having gone from the thunderbolt to the rezound (which i still have) to the iphone, i have more experience to say something than someone that's just had tiny phones this whole time

Only because at&t raised their data and only offer unlimited messaging.

If your happy with your i4, don't buy a 4S. It's a minor upgrade, same screen, same design....

If you have a 4, wait for the 5.

The doctor will see you now.

Upgrade. Buy the 4S 32GB for $300 and sign a contract. Buy a good case. In 9 months, buy the 5 for $650 and sell the 4S for $500. Until then, skip the latte once a week and save that $150. When the 5S comes out in 21 months, upgrade again.

Next patient.

Yeah, you'll be able to sell an iPhone 4S for much more then the iPhone 4 by the time the iPhone 5 comes out, which at the very earliest won't be out until at least September. The resell value of the iPhone is so high you really have nothing to lose by buying the latest model. Stay a model behind however, and you're gonna have a much harder time selling to upgrade.

And the 4S is MUCH improved over the 4. Twice as fast IS twice as fast. The graphics are MUCH faster... 7 times. I don't know why people are saying this isn't an awesome upgrade, because it is. I guess they're just jealous of other people having the 4S or really haven't spent enough time with a 4S to see the big differences.

For the casual user, maybe not so dramatic. But to the power iPhone user, you notice the extra speed right away.

I currently have an iPhone 4, and am waiting for the 5. Only reason, the 4 works great still. I've been eligible since the 4S, sure it's always nice getting the latest and greatest, but the rumor mill has already been churning since the 4S was released. I'd wait it out personally. Sure the dual core, camera and Siri/Dictation are nice upgrades, just I don't see it being worth your upgrade if you have a 4. If you had a 3GS or 3G, then yes, get the 4S by all means.