Reasons not to buy an iPhone 5S

[pagemaster]

I would like some compelling reasons not to get the 5S, preferably from those who have it.

Thanks!

As opposed to getting some other phone? Are you going to just keep the 4S?

 

[dojoman]

You want a reason not to buy an iPhone?

How about the sleep button (almost) always breaking just out of warranty?

Seems like BS. I've had iPhone since 2G. Sleep button never break, I only had home button sticky issue on iPhone 4 one time. That was it.

 

[MikeyMike01]

The battery life is actually better than a 5s, ignore the initial reviews as they are based on out the box spec. It takes a while for the batteries and apps to optimise, plus there's a small part where people are turning wifi off with the toggle, but it continuously searches still, this eats the battery however going into the wifi settings and turning off this search irradiates that issue. Nexus 5 has a 2300 mah battery, and a low memory iOS in kitkat. Go on the various android forums, and I'm sure they'll confirm this.

Here's some numbers instead of your ridiculous "optimizations" theory.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7517/google-nexus-5-review/3

 

[carjakester]

if your only reason to upgrade is because your carrier wants you to, then just keep your phone and wait for the next generation.

 

[MAvery]

Wait 6 months for a iPhone 6, that seems compelling enough for me

Literally the only reason I can think of if cost isn't a factor.

 

[itjw]

There are PLENTY of reasons not to buy a 5S:

1) Allergy to nice things
2) Severe mental disability
3) Live in area with no electricity

I could go on...

Other than the looming 6 (which, as proven by the launch of the 5 is NOT always a "good" thing to all people... See all of the "why I love my 4/4S even though the 5/5S is infinitely superior" threads) there is/are none. Even if you DO want the 6, the financial impact will be minimal, provided you're willing to sell your 5S prior to the official launch.

Or do what I (and a lot of others do) and just buy EVERY model.

It's only money, you can always make more...

 

[blarivee]

Have someone else buy you the iPhone 5S

 

[oVerboost]

Reasons NOT to buy an iPhone 5S

Here's some numbers instead of your ridiculous "optimizations" theory.

It's not theory, it's fact. A colleague actually has the phone, and it beats my 5s hands down. Those tests were carried out on a phone "out the box", they really do take a while to optimise battery life, but if you don't want to believe me that's fine.

Also you failed to post the 3G graph, which shows the 5s losing to most others in battery performance wise, which is the real world for most people who aren't on wifi and don't have/can't get 4G/LTE. The 5s isn't even on the graph! But the 5 does poorly in comparison.

And then there's actually using the phone, as a phone...

I go by real world experiences, not benchmark tests which are easy to manipulate and easy to get unfair comparisons from, different settings etc. Based on my colleagues phone, doing the same amount of browsing, Facebook, YouTube etc by the end of the day (both heavy-ish users) I'm on 20% or under, he's got 50% or more!

 

[MikeyMike01]

Also you failed to post the 3G graph, which shows the 5s losing to most others in battery performance wise, which is the real world for most people who aren't on wifi and don't have/can't get 4G/LTE. The 5s isn't even on the graph! But the 5 does poorly in comparison.

I didn't post that graph, because it's worthless:

"Our cellular talk time test is almost entirely display and SoC independent, turning it mostly into a battery capacity test"

Why the 5s isn't on the 3G test I couldn't tell you.

Hilarious anecdotal evidence from "your friend" doesn't cut it with me.

 

[Black Magic]

Hi,

My contract is with my carrier is almost up, and they want me to pick a new phone for myself. Coming from the 4S and having iPads the 5S is a pretty obvious pick.

I would like some compelling reasons not to get the 5S, preferably from those who have it.

Thanks!

As other posters have said, wait a few months for the iPhone 6. Everyone will be going crazy for it at that time and you will be stuck on the 5s. I'd wait.

 

[Robster3]

Wait 6 months for a iPhone 6, that seems compelling enough for me

Try 8 months and 1 week. 20th september.

 

[RoboWarriorSr]

Would it be better if you posted this question on the Other Devices rather than iPhone section? I mean most people here have an iPhone because they don't have a reason not to like it enough to not buy it.

 

[garya73]

Will you be giving up a good unlimited data account in the process? It might not be worth it if they are switching you to a pay-per-GB plan as well as upgrading the phone, if you use a lot of data.

 

[oVerboost]

Get the 5s, if you enjoy using your 4 then you'll love the step up to the 5s for sure! Larger screen, better speaker, better display, faster and smoother operation, 4G etc...

 

[Mrbobb]

That a vendor PUSHES me to make a purchase is reason enough to resist it,

I buy when I am good and ready and not before then.

 

[sjinsjca]

Hi,

My contract is with my carrier is almost up, and they want me to pick a new phone for myself. Coming from the 4S and having iPads the 5S is a pretty obvious pick.

I would like some compelling reasons not to get the 5S, preferably from those who have it.

Thanks!

Compelling reasons? Well, depends on what the alternative is.

o Keep your 4S? Then on the one hand you don't blow $200-300 on an upgrade, but meanwhile you're paying for a subsidy you're not enjoying.

o Get a 5C? It'll save a little money up-front, but in my opinion there's no comparison between the two phones; the 5S is just an amazing accomplishment.

o Get something else such as a Windows phone or Android phone? Well... I'll reserve comment on this option.

o Don't upgrade at all? This option preserves the chance to upgrade when the next iPhone comes out. Reportedly, it'll be larger, with the usual incremental advancements in capability, camera, etc. Larger will probably also mean more battery life.

So, the compelling reasons boils down to (1) saving a bit of cash at the moment, and (2) maybe going for something even better in 6-10 months when the next great thing comes out of Cupertino.

 

[PNutts]

I go by real world experiences, not benchmark tests which are easy to manipulate

• Real world experiences are the worst kind to go by
• Yes, we know which manufacturer manipulates benchmark results

 

[TheAnvil]

Wait 6 months for a iPhone 6, that seems compelling enough for me

I can't wait. The offer expires with my contract (3 weeks) and it is too good to pass up.

Unless you want to give Android a try(The Nexus5 is an amazing phone), I can't think of a reason not to go with the iPhone 5s.

I was thinking the Galaxy S4 or Note 3.

While I like the 5s, IMO battery life is not great and there is a certain instability with regard to the phone. That may be why you want to hold off.

How bad is the battery life?

Do you think the instability is significantly worse than on the new iPdas (if you have them)?

Not interested in 5C.

 

[T5BRICK]

I was thinking the Galaxy S4 or Note 3.

That's probably a good choice, but I absolutely hate the TouchWiz skin and "features" that Samsung adds. My good friend loves his Gs4, I played around with both the HTC One and Gs4 for about an hour and the HTC One came out on top for me. I preferred the screen, but the camera was a huge disappointment. Unfortunately I dropped it and completely the phone, and when I went to buy a new phone I chose the 5s. Among other things, the battery life(and obviously camera) is noticeably better than my HTC One.

How bad is the battery life?

Do you think the instability is significantly worse than on the new iPdas (if you have them)?

I know this comment wasn't directed at me, but I'll reply anyway. I feel that the battery life issues and instability are software issues. iOS 7 is still fairly new and there are likely software bugs related to the 64 bit A7 chip that need to be worked out. It's pretty typical for the iOS x.1 update to bring huge improvements in battery life and stability.

Additionally, I have had less far crashes on my 5s than I saw in my time with my HTC one. Of course, my Android experience could be isolated and caused by defective hardware.

 

[jav6454]

Wait 6 months for a iPhone 6, that seems compelling enough for me

It's more than 6 months at this point. Not worth the wait for 8 months.

 

[sixrom]

The only downside with the nexus 5 is the horrendous battery life, upgrading from a 4s to a 5s is night and day.

I use the Qualcomm BatteryGuru app specifically designed for Snapdragon powered phones. I experienced an increase of 35% to 45% under heavy usage, more than 55% under average use. It's the ideal setup.

 

[oVerboost]

• Real world experiences are the worst kind to go by
  
• Yes, we know which manufacturer manipulates benchmark results
  

Even so, I've not seen any other benchmark reports/tests that mirror the findings on AnandTech, and reading the android forums too where their "poor" battery life is often a day and a half before charge, with enough usage to warrant charging sooner on the iPhone. Also, the tests on AnandTech clearly are the result of the iphone using a cached page when hitting refresh, where as the n5 is actually loading it up again fresh. Other tests score the 5s a lot lower in comparison. But I'm not knocking the 5s, I have one after all...

----------

I use the Qualcomm BatteryGuru app specifically designed for Snapdragon powered phones. I experienced an increase of 35% to 45% under heavy usage, more than 55% under average use. It's the ideal setup.

What phone are you using the app on?

 

[Badrottie]

If you go with Samsung Note 3 or any Android smartphone, you will be warned. MacRumors will banish you from here for the rest of your life.

Seriously, It took more than 2 months for me to upgrade 5s from 4s I found three compelling reasons, LTE is so awful fast, A6 processor is so fast (especially with video app), and 5s feels so light than 4s.

 

[zipster]

Screen size
Lack of iOS customization


I was going to switch to a Galaxy or the HTC one, but I really really enjoy my 5S.

 

[Shrink]

Try 8 months and 1 week. 20th september.

Now that's what I like to see...specificity!