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8 reasons why I sold my iPhone 5 and am going back to the better phone: the 4S!

B

Big.Mac.Daddy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 5, 2012
629
0
I got my iP5 on launch day and was very happy to have the new toy. Then... over time the annoyances of the iPhone 5 began to grow.

1. Quality control - right out of the box it had 3 big scratches. I pre-ordered from AT&T so they said I can either return it (w/ a $36 restocking fee) or I can take it to Apple for a replacement (which %#?!s up the ability to sell it, which I later find out).

2. Scuffing - so I go to Apple for a replacement and end up going through three bad ones before finally settling on the 4th. Was a huge hassle and the Apple rep had to call his manager after the first two had scuffs. Then the manager starts huffing / puffing / rolling eyes / looks at me like I'm stupid because I want a flawless product that I paid $700 for. Then I finally get one that I find acceptable and after 4 days the chamfer edges start to show bright silver :mad: If you can't tell I'm highly OCD about my iPhone and take great care of it. I only had it in my pocket, no keys or change at all, and when I used a microfiber cloth to wipe off the fingerprints the black started to wear off and show more silver. Ugh :(

3. Larger screen - larger screen is great right? WRONG. The 4" screen forces me to shift my hand to hit te top row of icons or pull down notification center. I almost dropped my phone a few times doing this.

4. Apps - most apps aren't set up for the larger screen and need to be updated. This could take months, if ever. Certain apps the letterboxing would be a hindrance such as Google Voice (letterbox bar below messes up typing) or games (Im focusing on the middle of the screen not the virtual controls). Why would I want to be a beta test subject for a product whose ecosystem isn't ready for prime time? :confused:

5. Jailbreak - no jailbreak sucks. Plain an' simple. And as Pod2G told us a few days ago. There isn't a iOS 6 jailbreak on the horizon. iOS 5 jailbreak took months to get here so why would I want to go months without a jailbreak for? For a 0.5" longer screens that most apps don't even take advantage of the real estate yet? No thanks.

6. LTE - not widespread on AT&T and won't be until next year as they try to catch up with Verizon. Why would I purchase a product whose major new feature isn't even widespread enough to easily take advantage of it?

7. Premium feel - the iPhone 5 feels like a toy in the hand compared to the 4S. The 4S has the sleek look and feel of a premium device while the 5 felt like a lightweight plastic android device in hand.

8. iOS - the 5 doesn't have any software advantages over the 4S, and the hardware changes are hardly an improvement for me. So what is the motivation to upgrade then if the software is the same and the hardware I dislike?

So, after a week I came to the conclusion that the 5 just isn't a worthwhile upgrade over the 4S for me and sold it on Craigslist for $750. Would have gotten more but having a replacement from Apple with a different IMEI # than what is on the originals box %#&!s up your ability to sell it :mad:

Stick with the 4S for now guys... The 5 isn't ready for prime time yet and won't be until the 5S is already here ;)

So... got in, tried it out for a week, sold it to make a profit, and I'm back to the better phone for me: the 4S.

p.s. this is only my experience and personal opinion. I don't assume that anyone else feels the same way.
 
I'll agree with the jailbreak argument. However, won't the 5S have a larger screen and that premium feel you dislike and are complaining about?
 
I've never had a problem with buyers regarding IMEI numbers differing.

People appreciate that Apple replace devices under warranty at the Genius Bar.
 
I would seriously seek help...it's a phone. the 5 is better than the 4 but it does mark....STICK A BUMPER ON IT. and move on :p
 
WeegieMac said:
I've never had a problem with buyers regarding IMEI numbers differing.

People appreciate that Apple replace devices under warranty at the Genius Bar.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's a U.S. SoCal thing but I met with 3 different buyers who all had a problem with it before finally finding a sale.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You forgot to complain about the new maps and device / radio band fragmentation. You could have had ten reasons instead of only eight. I give your rant only 3/5 stars. :p
 
wonderspark said:
You forgot to complain about the new maps and device / radio band fragmentation. You could have had ten reasons instead of only eight. I give your rant only 3/5 stars. :p
Click to expand...

Damn! I knew I was forgetting something! ;)

Naw, actually Apple maps had been great for me here in SoCal, even if Google maps does have more information.

Only 3/5? Booo! I at least should have gotten 4 stars :p
 
Enjoy your 4S its a good phone.

As for me I switched to the 5, had the black at first but now switched to the white AND ITS STUNNING. I COULDNT BE HAPPIER :cool:

Anyway when the 5 came out your 4S didnt automatically stop working, its still perfectly usable just slightly dated and slower.
 
1,2,4,5 and 6 are all short term problems that will be fixed.

Fair enough if you prefer the 4S, but most of the issues you list will be sorted fairly soon.
 
Big.Mac.Daddy said:
Damn! I knew I was forgetting something! ;)

Naw, actually Apple maps had been great for me here in SoCal, even if Google maps does have more information.

Only 3/5? Booo! I at least should have gotten 4 stars :p
Click to expand...
Haha, just read the "my iPhone has a rattle" thread, which points out that the camera inside the phone rattles if you shake it. That puts the number of complaints up to eleven now.

If you edit your post to include all eleven, I will amend my review to 5 of 5 stars.

Edit: I spoke too soon... there is also PurpleHazeGate. I can't count all the flaws on two hands anymore, so I'm going to play with some poop I found in my sandbox instead.
 
I'm confused as to why you bought it in the first place? No less than half of your 1-8 are things you had knowledge of beforehand (apps being letterboxed, no jailbreak, LTE map--not even an iPhone specific problem, iOS6). And #7 could be included with #1 probably.

As for screen size and your BK Hands problem...if you have a problem reaching the top of the screen, you must BARELY be able to reach the top of the screen on the 4/4S, and should have known that as a potential problem and gone and tried out a phone of similar dimensions.

Don't get why someone would spend several hundred dollars on something they'll have to live with every single day while knowing they greatly dislike several things about it beforehand, and know there are other potential deal breaking issues.
 
27690927.jpg



Man, hold your fantasies to your head. The 4S battery blows. Thats what the 4S stands for. "Hey I got the worst battery on the market!"
 
aztooh said:
I'm confused as to why you bought it in the first place? No less than half of your 1-8 are things you had knowledge of beforehand (apps being letterboxed, no jailbreak, LTE map--not even an iPhone specific problem, iOS6). And #7 could be included with #1 probably.

As for screen size and your BK Hands problem...if you have a problem reaching the top of the screen, you must BARELY be able to reach the top of the screen on the 4/4S, and should have known that as a potential problem and gone and tried out a phone of similar dimensions.

Don't get why someone would spend several hundred dollars on something they'll have to live with every single day while knowing they greatly dislike several things about it beforehand, and know there are other potential deal breaking issues.
Click to expand...

Yeah seriously.
... What is this guy on about? He's a total newb... "I don't like change so I'm going to use an older phone"
 
Sorry, but a microfiber cloth doesn't wipe off the chamfered edge anodizing. And going through phone after phone trying to find a "perfect" one when you are clearly so anti 5 anyway should induce some eye rolling. It made me, and I didn't even need to process multiple returns to satisfy your OCD on a phone you dislike anyway.

Everything else in your rant was 100% foreseeable by simple common sense and some reading. It's too big? Didn't see that one coming? Apple never said it was going to be BIGGER!? Oh wait, ya, they did...

Lighter too. And thinner.

Shocking.

LTE not in your area? You didn't realize this?

Sounds like you should have never bought it to begin with. I bet the people who's time you wasted would concur.

If you didn't want an iPhone 5, you didn't have to buy one, and every reason except for the OCD of minuscule edge flaws was 100% foreseeable and 100% your fault.

Ironically, the resale value you often gripe about was unaffected by the horribly devastating defects of the nicks (caused, or at least worsened by microfiber?).

Even with the damage, the IMEI, and all of the "reasons", you turned a profit.

Enjoy the 4S. The 5 did you no wrong.
 
Big.Mac.Daddy said:
...or I can take it to Apple for a replacement (which %#?!s up the ability to sell it, which I later find out).


So, after a week I came to the conclusion that the 5 just isn't a worthwhile upgrade over the 4S for me and sold it on Craigslist for $750. Would have gotten more but having a replacement from Apple with a different IMEI # than what is on the originals box %#&!s up your ability to sell it :mad:
Click to expand...

Nothing could be further from the truth. Sold my iphone 4 replacement on ebay with my original box (different IMEI) for $260.00 Nobody's gonna care that the box has "matching numbers," they care about the condition of the phone.
 
Guys, regardless of how the post was written, the OP is someone who actually bought the phone on launch day, used it for a bit, and decided to return it after. He presents valid points of all to consider, so lets try and take the contents of his post for deliberation instead of flaming him for putting it here.

If you really wanna flame, please do so to the many more who either are complaining about the ip5 without ever owning one, or are clogging up threads with problems they know they will already face by getting it (scuffs, camera, and many more to come).

OP, I fully agree with you on many of the points you presented. Some of them were my exact thoughts when we were introduced to the iP5. I'd like to just highlight 1: Design.

Truly when apple unveiled the iP5 to the world, i felt that they really set out to make the best phone there is, and they did that by changing almost everything about the iPhones that we knew, down to headphones.

However, certain elements of the iP5 i feel are backwards in comparison to the 4S, and that is the choice of material and design elements. When they replaced Stainless Steel with aluminium, I was really hoping they would be using aircraft grade aluminium at the very least, or some hybrid alloy (liquid metal anyone?) so as to keep the structural integrity of the antenna, and make it less prone to wear (anyone ever heard of people complaining about how poorly elementcase holds up to wear? didint think so). The fact that they used the same aluminium as that used on their laptops, they probably didnt place enough importance on the impact that it may have to the effects of wear and daily use. Our phones are subjected to way more heavy use and abuse as compared to our laptops and desktops. If they didnt anodize the laptops, why would they do so to the iPhone, which is sure to show signs of wear very early on? To put it simply, if you keep you iphone 4S well, it has the potential to still look brand new 2 years down the road (mine does). But with the iP5, its going to be nearly impossible, mainly because aluminium is so much softer than stainless steel. You do not need keys to scratch it, all you need is sand stuck in your bumper. If you're OCD like the OP, you're going to go nuts if your back scratches, and the only way to fix that is to change the entire phone.

If you present the argument that the iP5 can only get lighter and thinner only by going the aluminium route, thats not really valid either. I mean, before the 5, who has ever complained that the 4 and 4s were too heavy? Who ranted about how they wish the iPhone 4 was thinner, esp by 30%? These were not the main complains with the 4s. The heft in the iphone 4 actually contributed to the premium feel of the phone, and by making it lighter presents little to no benefit in this aspect. Add on how worn the phone will look in a year, buyers will start to feel that the iphone is less premium than its predecessor.

The second area which i feel is a step backwards is the choice of making the shiny chamfer around the iP5 larger, so as to make it more eye catching. Many people compare the iP5 to jeweller, and rightly so because it's so shiny. However, if you've owned a 3G/3GS or an iPod touch, you'd know that making an everday use item so shiny is a case of form over function, where it looks nice on display, but will be a scratch magnet when you use it daily. Who here still has a perfectly mint condition ipod touch/3gs without a scratched back/bezel? I feel that apple scarificed maintenance effort for device beauty with the introduction of the chamfered bezel for the iphone 5.

With all thats said, and done, there are some elements I wish i could bring over to the 4S from the 5: The screen quality, and battery optimizations that come with the A6. Let me explain:

When the 4s was introduced, apple claimed that they kept the same brilliant ips display that was introduced with the iphone 4. That wasnt entirely true. The 4s retina display was less bright, and less vibrant compared to the 4. With the iPhone 5, it makes the 4s display pale even more in comparison. I'm not wishing for the larger display, I am wishing for the quality of the screen.

Those claiming that the iP5's battery is amazing should really understand where the source of real power efficiency. Its not in the battery capacity of the iPhone 5 (its only very slightly larger than the 4s), but the A6 that has been custome designed to be much more power effecient than the 4s, so much so that even with LTE running, it can last longer than a 4S.

If i were to conclude, if apple offered the iPhone 5, alongside a 4S with the same screen and processor as the iPhone 5, I would have selected the updated 4S, and would have virtually no complains whatsoever.

Just my thoughts, from an objective point of view.
 
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