How future proof is the 5C?

[wordoflife]

Background: I've got an iPhone 4 and it is painfully slow on iOS 7. I bought it while the 4S was the flagship model being sold. It seems that around the third iOS update, an iPhone's speed is severely reduced. Noticed this on other iPhones as well.

So seeing that a 5C has similar specs to an iPhone 5, I only wonder if the same thing will happen a few years down the line.

If iOS 7 on the iPhone 4 wasn't that bad, I wouldn't be posting this. But it really is terrible/unusable. Honestly, I'd rather be on old software than new but slow software. I used to praise Apple for still rolling out software updates on older devices (opposed to Androids) but now I question its worth.

Going to call AT&T and see if they can move my upgrade date up by 5 months. Otherwise, I'm seriously considering taking my business to T-Mobile just to get rid of this phone.

 

[bri1212]

Background: I've got an iPhone 4 and it is painfully slow on iOS 7. I bought it while the 4S was the flagship model being sold. It seems that around the third iOS update, an iPhone's speed is severely reduced. Noticed this on other iPhones as well.

So seeing that a 5C has similar specs to an iPhone 5, I only wonder if the same thing will happen a few years down the line.

If iOS 7 on the iPhone 4 wasn't that bad, I wouldn't be posting this. But it really is terrible/unusable. Honestly, I'd rather be on old software than new but slow software. I used to praise Apple for still rolling out software updates on older devices (opposed to Androids) but now I question its worth.

Going to call AT&T and see if they can move my upgrade date up by 5 months. Otherwise, I'm seriously considering taking my business to T-Mobile just to get rid of this phone.

What do you mean that is painfully slow? I use a 4S when I travel, and really have not noticed any slowdown because of the upgrades. My phone is newer than yours, so it may be different. So when is it painfully slow?

 

[zamboni52]

If you're worried about future proofing your next purchase, I would definitely get a 5S. The processor alone would keep it viable for at least a year. This summer the iPhone 6 should have a bigger display, but the processor technology will likely be the same. It is not much more than the 5C, but you get a better processor, camera, and touch ID.

 

[wordoflife]

What do you mean that is painfully slow? I use a 4S when I travel, and really have not noticed any slowdown because of the upgrades. My phone is newer than yours, so it may be different. So when is it painfully slow?

Based off personal experience, there's a huge difference between iOS 7 on a 4 and 4S.

The device is slow in nearly all aspects. Unlocking the phone to loading simple programs like the messaging and settings app takes 5-10 seconds for anything to show up. Even switching toggles in the settings apps is laggy and strange.

I've disabled background refresh, enabled reduce motion and increased the contrast. I think it works better, but it's still a rather annoying experience. They've omitted new features on older devices so I don't know why they didn't just mold iOS 7 for the iPhone 4. For example, the features I've changed should not be on iOS 7 for the iPhone 4 considering how badly it runs with it.

 

[oldertwin]

If you can I would get the iPhone 5S because the 5C is a glorified iPhone 5 with a plastic back.

 

[Bear]

5s if you're worried about useable lifetime of the phone vs iOS updates.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Background: I've got an iPhone 4 and it is painfully slow on iOS 7.

Rule of thumb: Never update to latest iOS on iPhones that they no longer sell or are obsolete. Given that they no longer sell the iPhone 4, it follows that you don't update to iOS 7. That said, the 5c will be future proof until the oldest iPhone they sell outperforms it.

 

[braddick]

If you can I would get the iPhone 5S because the 5C is a glorified iPhone 5 with a plastic back.

What makes the 5C "glorified"?

 

[wordoflife]

Rule of thumb: Never update to latest iOS on iPhones that they no longer sell or are obsolete. Given that they no longer sell the iPhone 4, it follows that you don't update to iOS 7. That said, the 5c will be future proof until the oldest iPhone they sell outperforms it.

Yeah, I know. But the person who primarily uses the device accidentally updated it. And either way, this still shouldn't be how it works. Restoring your phone automatically updates it too, and sometimes you have to restore it.

What makes the 5C "glorified"?

I guess because it's a new model, haha.

----

So I wonder, when the time comes... will they make the iPhone 5 slow and 5C still usable? Or will they both be usable? Or both slow?

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

So I wonder, when the time comes... will they make the iPhone 5 slow and 5C still usable? Or will they both be usable? Or both slow?

Given that they share the same processor, both will be equally slow once they stop selling the 5c.

 

[cdmoore74]

When it comes to phones I always believe in getting the best (from a technology standpoint) especially if the difference is only $100. My mistake was getting the 16gig 5s instead of the 32gig model. That's my one issue with Apple; charging $100 for 16gig more space. 32gig should have been the base model.

Don't even entertain the idea of the 5C model. Just by being on this site tells me that you have more knowledge than the typical user. I wouldn't even recommend a typical user a 5C because the on-contract price is relatively negligible after paying for a 2 year contract. It cracks me up that people can't afford $200 up front when there making monthly payments of $70 a month for the next 24 months.

 

[alphaod]

It should be good for another 2-3 years I would think. I still see people who are quite happy with their iPhone 4.

I would think you'd want a new phone in 3 years?

 

[iPodJedi]

Background: I've got an iPhone 4 and it is painfully slow on iOS 7. I bought it while the 4S was the flagship model being sold. It seems that around the third iOS update, an iPhone's speed is severely reduced. Noticed this on other iPhones as well.

So seeing that a 5C has similar specs to an iPhone 5, I only wonder if the same thing will happen a few years down the line.

If iOS 7 on the iPhone 4 wasn't that bad, I wouldn't be posting this. But it really is terrible/unusable. Honestly, I'd rather be on old software than new but slow software. I used to praise Apple for still rolling out software updates on older devices (opposed to Androids) but now I question its worth.

Going to call AT&T and see if they can move my upgrade date up by 5 months. Otherwise, I'm seriously considering taking my business to T-Mobile just to get rid of this phone.

The 4s hasn't really slowed down much-
It is just other phones getting faster making the 4s look like it is getting slower

 

[wordoflife]

It cracks me up that people can't afford $200 up front when there making monthly payments of $70 a month for the next 24 months.

Well it's not a matter of not being able to afford it. People just have different priorities with their money.

Anyways, I just realized that if we're able to download OTA updates, accidental upgrade shouldn't be too big of a problem.

https://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/13/overtheair-deletes-beta-3/

The 4s hasn't really slowed down much-
It is just other phones getting faster making the 4s look like it is getting slower

The 4 or 4S?
If talking about the 4, I disagree. It really has slowed down.

 

[iPodJedi]

The 5c will be fine for at least 3 yrs.

Will it loose some performance-yes but it will last long enough for your contract to end so u can buy another iphone.

 

[wordoflife]

The 5c will be fine for at least 3 yrs.

And that's my question. Are we counting 3 years from its release date? Or 2 years? Because technically the 5C is a year old in terms of specifications.

 

[Traverse]

And that's my question. Are we counting 3 years from its release date? Or 2 years? Because technically the 5C is a year old in terms of specifications.

It should get iOS 9. How well it will run will be another question. The 1GB of RAM will be a chokehold eventually. It somewhat is now.

 

[iPodJedi]

And that's my question. Are we counting 3 years from its release date? Or 2 years? Because technically the 5C is a year old in terms of specifications.

It will be able to update for another 3 years from now

 

[wordoflife]

It should get iOS 9. How well it will run will be another question. The 1GB of RAM will be a chokehold eventually. It somewhat is now.

At the same time, the 5S is at 1GB too. We'll see I guess.

 

[Jimmy James]

What do you mean that is painfully slow? I use a 4S when I travel, and really have not noticed any slowdown because of the upgrades. My phone is newer than yours, so it may be different. So when is it painfully slow?

4s is much quicker than a 4. When it was released everyone was screaming incremental upgrade, but speed was the one thing the 4 really needed.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

And that's my question. Are we counting 3 years from its release date? Or 2 years? Because technically the 5C is a year old in terms of specifications.

As you've learned from having iOS 7 on iPhone 4, being able to update and being able to run it well are two different things. As the 5c is already a year old in terms of specifications, that's one fewer year for it to run the latest iOS well.

 

[Menel]

Based off personal experience, there's a huge difference between iOS 7 on a 4 and 4S.

The 4S was a monumental upgrade.

It was the first device that introduced multithreading. It got dual CortexA9 cores compared to the single CortexA8 in the iPhone4.

Multithreading, the ability to process multiple threads simultaneously lends more to system responsiveness than mere numerical benchmarks can convey.

----------

4s is much quicker than a 4. When it was released everyone was screaming incremental upgrade, but speed was the one thing the 4 really needed.

Those people are ignorant.

The introduction of a dual core multithreading cpu core was ginormous from a capability and performance standpoint.

Also gained 4G/HSPA+ over 3G.
8mp camera and additional element lens over 5mp.
Dual diversity antenna system for connection stability.
Bluetooth 4.0LE, for which has exploded recently with lots of little gadgets and wearables hitting market.

It was probably the single largest upgrade for any year-year iPhone.

 

[cwwilson]

The iPhone 4 is the only single core device currently running iOS 7. Very poor choice by Apple. A5 should have been minimum spec to run the latest software. iOS 7 is really not optimized fully as is with the dual core CPUs so there's no way it should be running on something as ancient as the A4.

But to answer your question...the A6 is still very powerful and should be able to run the newest updates well enough for the next couple years. 7.1 is going to be a godsend for those on 7.0.4 and that should fix a lot of the problems and issues people are having.

 

[thegrants82]

Background: I've got an iPhone 4 and it is painfully slow on iOS 7. I bought it while the 4S was the flagship model being sold. It seems that around the third iOS update, an iPhone's speed is severely reduced. Noticed this on other iPhones as well.

So seeing that a 5C has similar specs to an iPhone 5, I only wonder if the same thing will happen a few years down the line.

If iOS 7 on the iPhone 4 wasn't that bad, I wouldn't be posting this. But it really is terrible/unusable. Honestly, I'd rather be on old software than new but slow software. I used to praise Apple for still rolling out software updates on older devices (opposed to Androids) but now I question its worth.

Going to call AT&T and see if they can move my upgrade date up by 5 months. Otherwise, I'm seriously considering taking my business to T-Mobile just to get rid of this phone.

Dont blame you one bit. In your position you have to be carful with the 5C because it is basically 1 1/2 years behind the curve right out of the box.

 

[ucfgrad93]

If you're worried about future proofing your next purchase, I would definitely get a 5S. The processor alone would keep it viable for at least a year. This summer the iPhone 6 should have a bigger display, but the processor technology will likely be the same. It is not much more than the 5C, but you get a better processor, camera, and touch ID.

I agree. The 5c isn't a bad phone, but it is already long in the tooth. The 5s is a much better choice at this point in time if you are worried about your phone running the latest iOS, apps, etc.