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From 5 to 5s - probably not worth it depending on your needs

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matttye

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 25, 2009
4,957
32
Lincoln, England
Just for anyone in the same boat as me, wondering whether it's worth an upgrade from the 5 to 5s. I'd say it's probably only worth it if you're going to get a lot of use out of ALL of the new features, given that there's not a great deal of difference between the two devices.

In the reviews I've read it seems that the OS is not really any more fluid on the 5s, other than in a couple of places.

If you're into graphic intensive games then clearly you'll see a difference with the A7 over the A6, but it seems that the A6 is already plenty fast enough for most tasks and making the processor faster doesn't actually speed them up. This is as I suspected. Obviously any processor intensive tasks will benefit.

People have reported a bit of an improvement in Safari loading speeds. For most things though there won't be much of a difference between the two. Animations, splash screens etc. are often the bottleneck rather than the processor.

If you're a heavy phone photographer then you'll see a huge improvement in the camera and flash. That alone may justify an upgrade.

TouchID is a great convenience but does it justify an upgrade in itself? I don't think so, but some might. The potential is awesome but it's limited in its current form.

If any 5s owners disagree with what I've said above regarding the A7's effect on the OS, feel free to say so. I'm just repeating what I've seen in tech reviews.

Discuss!
 
A

AceMason

macrumors 6502
Aug 27, 2009
275
27
I agree, I upgraded from the 5 to 5S and it doesn't really seem like a new phone (I already had iOS7 on my 5, being a developer). I really like TouchID though and I rely heavily on the camera so those features are nice. Also, the main reason I upgraded was because a family member wasn't going to use their upgrade and it was essentially a free upgrade since I sold my 5 for $420 on Craigslist. I definitely don't think it's a must-have upgrade from the 5 but if you can, then go for it.
 
limesmoothie

limesmoothie

macrumors 6502a
Apr 20, 2009
917
697
Edinburgh, Scotland
AceMason said:
I agree, I upgraded from the 5 to 5S and it doesn't really seem like a new phone (I already had iOS7 on my 5, being a developer). I really like TouchID though and I rely heavily on the camera so those features are nice. Also, the main reason I upgraded was because a family member wasn't going to use their upgrade and it was essentially a free upgrade since I sold my 5 for $420 on Craigslist. I definitely don't think it's a must-have upgrade from the 5 but if you can, then go for it.
Click to expand...

Agree completely. I find the fingerprint ID really useful when making purchases in iTunes.
 
spaceballl

spaceballl

macrumors 68030
Nov 2, 2003
2,892
285
San Francisco, CA
+1.

I upgraded from the 5 to the 5S. I'm a geek who needs to always be experimenting with the newest stuff (I have a feeling lots of people here are), but if you don't have the constant itch, skip this generation if you have a 5. I have had every iPhone thus far, and outside of TouchID, this one is the smallest step up from the previous model yet.
 
D

DOUGHNUT

macrumors regular
Jan 8, 2006
246
17
the thing to note is performance wise it is still a big step up over the iPhone 5, but the iPhone 5 is already plenty fast for day to day usage. the phone isn't like your ordinary computer where you'll actually need the speed to perform certain tasks. how much speed do you really need when you're texting or browsing the web?

previous S updates were far more noticeable because when you're on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of performance, any step up would be far more noticeable. my opinion: skip the 5S if you already have a 5. yeah, its got a nicer camera and the fingerprint sensor, but it's probably worth it to simply skip to iPhone 6 next year when these features will be more refined and hopefully brought to a larger screen, better battery life package.
 
noobinator

noobinator

macrumors 604
Jun 19, 2009
7,228
6,793
Los Angeles, CA
I estimate I've put in my passcode at least 50 times per day over the last year. That is 18250 times at 2 seconds each (including the swipe). If my math is correct that is over 10 hours. The id is worth it enough for me. The camera is an added bonus to capture my little one.
 
X

xero9

macrumors 6502a
Nov 7, 2006
863
486
I had the 5 and sold it a few days ago with the intention to upgrade to the 5s. I have one ordered, but now I'm thinking I might skip it and go iPhone-less for a year :/
 
Max(IT)

Max(IT)

Suspended
Dec 8, 2009
8,551
1,662
Italy
I don't really know if I'm going to get a 5S, but the point is: if you are happy with your new 5s , it worths the upgrade.
 
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Antgb84

macrumors 6502
Mar 9, 2013
341
40
spaceballl said:
+1.

I upgraded from the 5 to the 5S. I'm a geek who needs to always be experimenting with the newest stuff (I have a feeling lots of people here are), but if you don't have the constant itch, skip this generation if you have a 5. I have had every iPhone thus far, and outside of TouchID, this one is the smallest step up from the previous model yet.
Click to expand...

Thank you needed to hear it. Not itching to upgrade anymore.
 
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bushman4

macrumors 601
Mar 22, 2011
4,025
3,427
Biggest noticeable feature is touch ID. Other than that the 5S feels similar to the 5
Yes the camera is different and better but nothing that you can't live without
Then again if you use your upgrade now and the iPhone 6 turns out to be a must have , what are you going to do?
 
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yegon

macrumors 68040
Oct 20, 2007
3,405
1,983
noobinator said:
I estimate I've put in my passcode at least 50 times per day over the last year. That is 18250 times at 2 seconds each (including the swipe). If my math is correct that is over 10 hours. The id is worth it enough for me. The camera is an added bonus to capture my little one.
Click to expand...


Same here. Always skipped the S upgrades previously, never interested me in the slightest but Touch ID was enough for me (from 5). The rest is gravy.

Ultimately, it's down to preference - take away Touch ID and I've very happy with the still very fast 5 for another year.
 
M

matttye

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 25, 2009
4,957
32
Lincoln, England
Max(IT) said:
I don't really know if I'm going to get a 5S, but the point is: if you are happy with your new 5s , it worths the upgrade.
Click to expand...

I disagree with that - slightly. Nobody would be unhappy with a better phone; the question is, is it so much better that it justifies upgrading?
 
Night Spring

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,614
7,793
One thing I didn't see in the OP is the new M7 dedicated motion sensor chip. This will be great once fitness apps get updated to use it. I'm hoping it conserves battery life so it lasts all day while tracking my movements. Right now my iPhone 5 tends to run out of juice at the very end of the day unless I manage to recharge mid-day.
 
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matttye

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 25, 2009
4,957
32
Lincoln, England
Night Spring said:
One thing I didn't see in the OP is the new M7 dedicated motion sensor chip. This will be great once fitness apps get updated to use it. I'm hoping it conserves battery life so it lasts all day while tracking my movements. Right now my iPhone 5 tends to run out of juice at the very end of the day unless I manage to recharge mid-day.
Click to expand...

My understanding is that the M7 is a battery saving feature, nothing more. The reason is that it enables the main processor to remain in deep sleep while continuing to poll the sensors.

Apps were able to access sensors before and could make their own calculations to tell whether you were walking, running, driving etc. Nothing is new in that regard.
 
Night Spring

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,614
7,793
matttye said:
My understanding is that the M7 is a battery saving feature, nothing more. The reason is that it enables the main processor to remain in deep sleep while continuing to poll the sensors.
Click to expand...

Well of course it is a battery saving feature, but I wouldn't say that's "nothing more." If it lets my iPhone last the whole day with motion tracking turned on, then for me, that's HUGE.
 
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rockitdog

macrumors 68030
Mar 25, 2013
2,721
1,238
I upgraded from the 5 to the 5S and the difference is nothing minus the home button. If I didn't have t-mobile with the ability to switch phones whenever I wanted I probably wouldn't have done it.
 
lienhart

lienhart

macrumors 6502
Jun 24, 2013
341
129
The 5s I tried in the Apple store today responded WAY faster than my 5. I just hope that when I restore my back up to it, that bugs dont carry over and make it slow again :(
 
phpmaven

phpmaven

macrumors 68040
Jun 12, 2009
3,466
522
San Clemente, CA USA
matttye said:
I disagree with that - slightly. Nobody would be unhappy with a better phone; the question is, is it so much better that it justifies upgrading?
Click to expand...

If you can sell your 5 for enough to cover the cost of upgrading, then it's a no-brainer, otherwise, I don't think it's worth bothering. Although the gold is pretty sick. :D I'm diggin' it.
 
M

matttye

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 25, 2009
4,957
32
Lincoln, England
Night Spring said:
Well of course it is a battery saving feature, but I wouldn't say that's "nothing more." If it lets my iPhone last the whole day with motion tracking turned on, then for me, that's HUGE.
Click to expand...

Well it depends on how much battery is saved as to whether it's a reason to upgrade. I haven't seen any reviews about it yet.

If it substantially improves battery life when navigating, that would be awesome :D Not sure which tasks will need to use only the M7 and which will need to use both.

----------
phpmaven said:
If you can sell your 5 for enough to cover the cost of upgrading, then it's a no-brainer, otherwise, I don't think it's worth bothering. Although the gold is pretty sick. :D I'm diggin' it.
Click to expand...

I'd have to get a smaller phone or pay about £200 on top of what I'd get for selling my phone. :p
 
Night Spring

Night Spring

macrumors G5
Jul 17, 2008
14,614
7,793
matttye said:
Well it depends on how much battery is saved as to whether it's a reason to upgrade. I haven't seen any reviews about it yet.

If it substantially improves battery life when navigating, that would be awesome :D Not sure which tasks will need to use only the M7 and which will need to use both.
Click to expand...


I just need it to last another hour to make it to the end of the day. :D

Is it worth the price of the upgrade? That, I'm not sure. But I think it is a factor to be taken into consideration, along with all the other improvements. Better camera? TouchID? M7 chip? 64-bit A7? Each of these, taken alone, isn't enough to convince me to upgrade. But all those features combined? I have one on preorder, though I haven't 100% decided if I will actually keep it.
 
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