I can get a refurbished iPhone 5 or 5c for the exact same cost. I don't care about the physical looks, but I just want to know if the 5c has better internals since it came out a year later. Are the cameras on the 5c better? I remember reading that somewhere, but I am not sure.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Are there any internal differences between the iPhone 5 and 5c?
- Thread starter saintforlife
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
That's not entirely true. The 5C supports a lot more LTE bands than the 5. You can check the LTE bands here and see the differences. Regarding LTE support the 5C is equal to the 5S.
The 5c also got a better front facing camera right ? (if anyone can confirm lol I'm not 100% sure)
You are correct, only the front facing camera though so unless your priority is the finest of HD selfies, you will notice no difference. So choose on design, I would go for a 5 in your position but we all have our own tastes. Same processor, 32-Bit however so bearing in mind the rumoured full 64-Bit transition I would tread carefully buying a 32-Bit device now. Look at the 5S perhaps? But you would get a couple of years out of the two either way. Not my money, your choice!
This is especially useful in Europe where the 5 is basicly a crippled LTE phone. 5C is not crippled.
Could be, don't know what these networks are. But a lof of carriers in Europe use 800MHz and 1800MHz. The 5 only supports 1800MHz. 800MHz is generally used to cover a wide area, 1800MHz is used for high capacity (generally you'll only see 1800MHz in dense or populated areas). Ofcourse there are carriers that don't have a license to operate on 800MHz, but a lot of carriers both use 800MHz and 1800MHz in the way I described above.
And a better cellular modem supporting more LTE and other bands/frequencies. And a better front camera.
It is the case, the only carier to support 4G on the device was EE. That was the combination of T-Mobile and Orange. As we buy our iPhones unlocked the Sim Only thing that EE used to tout was to do with 4G on the iPhone 5 etc. But yes, you have the points behind it.
The microphone is superior on the 5, so if having your voice clearly understood on the other end is important, you might pick the 5.
Where are you getting this? Never had any complaints about how my voice sounds on 5c.
(Same to the comment above, about the screen seeming "marginally worse" on the 5c – based on what? I've used both models extensively.)
I've used both models extensively too, and while having them both in hand called my voicemail (Google Voice), left a voicemail with each, and then played back on my mac with quality speakers. The 5C is noticeably less clear and more muffled, always, compared to the 5. The 5s has a better mic than both of them, but only marginally better than the 5. The 6 is about the same as the 5s. I haven't had a chance to test a 6plus. The Samsung Galaxy 6 mic BLOWS AWAY the iPhone 6 mic in clarity and definition, which surprised me, as Samsung Galaxy 1-4 had horrible microphones. I guess they decided the spend the extra $8 and put a semi-quality mic in. The Apple mic is at best a $2 item.
But those sound like one off type of anecdotal tests. Basically the unit you might have had could have had some issue or just on the edge of tolerance in production and perhaps more of an exception than other ones. Basically while the observations (which are still mostly subjective as well) can be applicable to the particular units you tried, it doesn't necessarily mean that's how it is for most or even many of the models.
What am I looking for? I see this:
The iPhone 5c's display is identical to that of the iPhone 5 and 5s. It's the same 4-inch 1136 x 640 Retina Display that Apple launched last year. Apple seems to multi-source the panel as the quality of the one in my 5c review sample was the best iPhone Retina Display I've ever tested.