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4 or 4S?

S

sl33t

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 12, 2011
139
0
Cleveland, Ohio
I'm looking to get my first iPhone. It would be great if I could get some opinions on if I should save some cash and go with the 4 then get the 5 when my contract is up. Or spend the extra cash for the 4S. I am really leaning toward the 4 because I'm tight on cash and really don't feel like I would use the upgrades of the 4S enough to be worth the extra $100. However, I would really like to hear some opinions before I make my purchase.
Thanks in advance!

-Sl33t
 
In my opinion I would go with the 4S.

Reason being that in a year you can sell the 4S on craigslist or ebay for at least $100 more than what you could sell the iPhone 4.

So if you have to spend a $100 more now but you get $100 more back when you sell it then it doesn't really cost you anymore that getting an iPhone 4 would so you might as well go with the top model.

Just my opinion though...
 
I went with the 4s. No question it's worth it. Siri and voice dictation alone are worth $99.
 
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I also would want the newer phone if I was purchasing now.
 
Thank You for the feedback, however I'm still not sure. If I just get the 4 then I can put money towards something else. I really don't need the 4S because I don't plan on using my phone for much more then just a phone. (Calls, Texts, and occasional internet browsing.) Based on that I don't really feel the need to have the top model.
 
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Yes, if that is how you feel, the 4 is fine (it's what I'm using to type this).
 
100 bucks extra is nothing for something you will rely on every day. Choosing the 4S is a no brainer. You will likely use the other features more than you think.
 
sl33t said:
Thank You for the feedback, however I'm still not sure. If I just get the 4 then I can put money towards something else. I really don't need the 4S because I don't plan on using my phone for much more then just a phone. (Calls, Texts, and occasional internet browsing.) Based on that I don't really feel the need to have the top model.
Click to expand...

Then I think you you may have answered your own question. It really depends on how you will use it. To me the money difference wasn't a big deal nor worth even really waffling over.

I do however think you will realize a whole new appreciation and set of uses for the device once you get one.

Again voice dictation is awesome. This entire reply was done using it.
 
sl33t said:
Thank You for the feedback, however I'm still not sure. If I just get the 4 then I can put money towards something else. I really don't need the 4S because I don't plan on using my phone for much more then just a phone. (Calls, Texts, and occasional internet browsing.) Based on that I don't really feel the need to have the top model.
Click to expand...

It seems to me that you don't really care about upgrading your phone every year.

If you plan on sticking out the full two years of your contract before upgrading again, then I'd say splurge and get the 4S. The 4 is already a year old so you're looking at a three-year-old device by the time you upgrade.

You never know what features might be the cutoff point on iOS hardware. iOS 6 might require a 4S for certain features. Say, graphical ones that require the more powerful vpu.

Having said that, it's amazing how much life the 3GS still apparently has left in it. I wouldn't count on it being able to upgrade to iOS 6 though.
 
i don't wnat to just wiat for the 5... my contract is up at the end of the month and I'm gonna get the 4. Then when I get an upgrade I'll get the 5.
 
Bearxor said:
It seems to me that you don't really care about upgrading your phone every year.

If you plan on sticking out the full two years of your contract before upgrading again, then I'd say splurge and get the 4S. The 4 is already a year old so you're looking at a three-year-old device by the time you upgrade.

You never know what features might be the cutoff point on iOS hardware. iOS 6 might require a 4S for certain features. Say, graphical ones that require the more powerful vpu.

Having said that, it's amazing how much life the 3GS still apparently has left in it. I wouldn't count on it being able to upgrade to iOS 6 though.
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree- at the end of your two year term the iPhone 4 will be 40 months old.
 
I have developed the policy of not buying electronics that are already outdated, in the long run it really doesn't save me any money.
 
I bought a 4S, found a good deal on a 32gb 4, sold the 4S and ended up with the 4 for free along with an extra $10.

Yes I'm going to miss the dictation ability for texts and emails but free is free!

I think 8gb is too small and if I wasn't into making deals then I would have stuck with the 4S. For only $100 difference it just doesn't make sense to get the 8gb 4. Siri and the extra 8gb are well worth the extra $100.
 
Definitely the 4S. The added speed, camera, dictation & especially Siri make it worth the extra money.

Plus you'll be more up to date, the 4 is already a year old, which means it'll be 3 years old by the time the two year contract is up.
 
I say 4S, ull get higher resale value later. Plus when new iOS updates come out it can handle it better years down the road.
 
I just went through this with a friend of mine. She ended up going with the 4, because she needed a smartphone, and based on her uses i didn't think she would really use siri and she didn't really need the extra space, but i did say that she probably didn't want to go with the 3gs, because imo it will be outdated soon, and she needs something that will last a while. Also she NEEDED find my iPhone, and since i was doing most of the setup, im glad she went with the 4, because its so much easier to get it on the phone. So far she is very happy with her phone, and since the 4S's were sold out it helped her decide. Also her husband was upset about her getting a smartphone and spending money on it so it was just all around a better choice to get the 4 for the features she will use. Hope this helps you :)
 
pdqgp said:
Then I think you you may have answered your own question. It really depends on how you will use it. To me the money difference wasn't a big deal nor worth even really waffling over.

I do however think you will realize a whole new appreciation and set of uses for the device once you get one.

Again voice dictation is awesome. This entire reply was done using it.
Click to expand...

you did that all in one big monologue to siri? full stops & paragraph breaks the lot?

doesn't pass my smell test.
 
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sl33t said:
Thank You for the feedback, however I'm still not sure. If I just get the 4 then I can put money towards something else. I really don't need the 4S because I don't plan on using my phone for much more then just a phone. (Calls, Texts, and occasional internet browsing.) Based on that I don't really feel the need to have the top model.
Click to expand...

Call + text = than u don't need iPhone, go for blackberry.

I just purchased unlocked iPhone 4, just because to save some money, and to buy iPhone 5 later.
 
sl33t said:
Thank You for the feedback, however I'm still not sure. If I just get the 4 then I can put money towards something else. I really don't need the 4S because I don't plan on using my phone for much more then just a phone. (Calls, Texts, and occasional internet browsing.) Based on that I don't really feel the need to have the top model.
Click to expand...

If that is the only things you would use it for then I would be tempted to get a free phone on a cheap (money wise) and short contract, not an iPhone.
 
sl33t said:
I'm looking to get my first iPhone. It would be great if I could get some opinions on if I should save some cash and go with the 4 then get the 5 when my contract is up. Or spend the extra cash for the 4S. I am really leaning toward the 4 because I'm tight on cash and really don't feel like I would use the upgrades of the 4S enough to be worth the extra $100. However, I would really like to hear some opinions before I make my purchase.
Thanks in advance!

-Sl33t
Click to expand...
If it's $100 extra for a iPhone 4S 16 GB against a iPhone 4 8 GB than I would definitely go for the 4S. Not only you get double the amount of space (16 against 8 GB), but you also get better graphics and a dual core processor (A5 against A4). The difference is not huge, but let's not forget that you will be more future proof. I assume you want to keep the iPhone for two years. In two years time, the 4S will hold out better than the 4.

Besides that, you will also have no problems with antennagate and you of course get Siri.

Last but not least: 8 megapixel camera. It appears to be much better than the camera of the iPhone 4 and you will get Full HD recording.

There are also some smaller things: slightly better battery life (although some users have problems, in general it's better). GLONASS (Russian GPS variant) support (so faster and better location services), louder speaker (3 dB, seems small but it's a lot), bluetooth 4.0, slightly brighter display, CDMA + GSM (worldphone), video stabilization and face detection in still photos.

I think that's worth the extra $100. For $100 you will get all of this extra:
- 16 GB (against 8 GB)
- Dual core processor (against single core)
- Better graphics (against, uh, less graphics :p)
- No antennagate
- Battery slightly better
- Voice Dictation (Siri)
- Eight megapixel (against five megapixel) + Full HD video recording
- GLONASS support (Russian variant of GPS)
- Louder speaker (3 dB extra, seems small, but it's a lot louder)
- Bluetooth 4.0 (more energy efficient, faster etc.)
- Slightly brighter display
- World phone (CDMA and GSM in one)
- Video stabilization
- Face dection in still photos (not sure if iPhone 4 also has this with iOS 5)

That's definitely worth it. Certainly if you think about the fact that you will probably keep the device for 2 years. Just so many more features. Sure, it seems as a small upgrade but when you look at the list above the 4S is actually quite a huge upgrade.
 
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Ok, so after thinking more about it, I've decided to just wait a little more and save up some more money to get the 4S.
 
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