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If I buy a used 5S now, can I get 2 years out of it?

JerTheGeek

JerTheGeek

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 15, 2014
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I am interested in upgrading my iPhone 4S as the battery life is really bad even after I had the battery replaced, and I am wanting the cool new features like Touch ID and the improved camera. I am not yet eligble for an upgrade, but I still want to get it for my bday this December. So if I get an iPhone 5S from Swappa, can I get a good two years if use out of it?
 
JerTheGeek said:
I am interested in upgrading my iPhone 4S as the battery life is really bad even after I had the battery replaced, and I am wanting the cool new features like Touch ID and the improved camera. I am not yet eligble for an upgrade, but I still want to get it for my bday this December. So if I get an iPhone 5S from Swappa, can I get a good two years if use out of it?
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I'm sure you can, it shouldn't be an issue. But on another note, why wouldn't you just go for the iPhone 6?
 
Tyler23 said:
I'm sure you can, it shouldn't be an issue. But on another note, why wouldn't you just go for the iPhone 6?
Click to expand...

Cause it is a lot more than a used 5S, a $250 difference. There are several mint condition 5Ss on Swappa for only $395.
 
I don't see why not. Just don't expect miracles with the battery life.

And the one potential issue with long-term durability with Touch ID is that it only works if the home button and processor have matching identifiers. Requiring the home button and motherboard to be a matched pair is a security measure that prevents someone from accessing your data by swapping the motherboard with another phone.

But, it also means that if the home button wears out, replacing it without also replacing the motherboard (as a matched pair) effectively disables the Touch ID feature. I've had to replace the home button on an iPod touch, and the home button on my wife's iPod touch has also become erratic. The home button on my 5s still seems to function like new (although I do try to reduce usage by pushing the power button instead of the home button when waking up from standby).
 
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I honestly don't see why you couldn't get two years out of a 5s. You may not see a drastic improvement in battery life coming from the 4s, but the faster processor will make a difference.
 
You will easily get 2 years out of it. The 5S is super fast. In fact, the A8 chip only has 25% more CPU performance than the A7, and 50% more GPU performance. Usually the A Series doubles performance but the A7 to A8 was more about low power consumption in a more efficient chip. So the iPhone 6 is not twice as fast as the iPhone 5S, it is just a little faster.
 
Definitely!!! I would just recommend you to think twice before updating the iOS. For me, if it works leave it be. Also try to at least get a 32gb so that you won't have to worry about space as much.
 
You can also look for the newest used 5s to get the best battery. (like mine that I'll be selling, that was opened in August this year ;))
 
I reckon so . It'll be showing its age by then though, like the 4S is now.
 
The 5s is still a great phone, If taken care of, I don't see a reason it wouldn't still be working in 2 years.
 
I just purchased a 5s in August and I'm very happy with it. It's only a 16GB though but I've got a Ipod Touch 5G that's 64GB for all my music, movies, and stuff.
 
I got a 64gig 5s off of Swappa a couple months ago. I upgraded from a 4s I had been using for a long time. My plan was to get 2 years out of it, and I see no reason why I wouldnt. I will no upgrade past iOS 8, which is key to my plan, imho.

seeing as the 6 and 6+ got the shaft with 1 gig of ram, Apple will make sure 1gig will work just fine on the phones for that long.
 
My mom's 5S runs smoother than my 6 Plus. Both are on 8.1. I am not worried that the 5S will feel any worse than the 6 Plus in two years, sadly.
 
Thanks for the advice, guys! as far as battery, I get like seriously around 3.5 hours of use on my 4S, and the battery is new! Surely the battery will be better on the 5S, right!
 
Battery on 5s is better than on 4s and better than on 5. If the 5s is used check how many battery cycles it has been recharged. If it is under 300 it will still last long time.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1578418/
 
12vElectronics said:
Yes you will. There are people still rocking the iPhone 4!
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I upgraded to a 5S from a 4, about 2 weeks ago. And although the 4 was still perfectly usable, the difference is astounding.

I had to upgrade because I wanted iOS 8. I can picture myself keeping this phone until Apple discontinues support as well. Can't believe I got 5 years out of a 4.

OP, you'd definitely get at least 2 years. 3, 4, if you're really patient and don't mind not having the latest and greatest.
 
my mom used a 4 for about 32 months.... then i gave her my old 5, which was actually replaced by apple car so it was only about 3 months old, but now, almost a year since she got it, still works....

i just gave her my old 5s, which will be a year old come December, and it works like a top. Battery was still at about 95% or so after 500+ cycles...
 
JerTheGeek said:
Thanks for the advice, guys! as far as battery, I get like seriously around 3.5 hours of use on my 4S, and the battery is new! Surely the battery will be better on the 5S, right!
Click to expand...


Yes, the battery in the 5s is noticeably better than the battery in the 4s. I notice a difference in the battery life on my 5s compared to my old 5.
 
Don't upgrade iOS; and you will have a perfectly usable phone for 2to 3 years more.
 
Ok; now what about the 5c?

So, I think I have decided to just get the iPad Air 2. But what about the 5c? I could afford to get the storage that I need with the 5c, and perhaps I could just keep that for a year or two????
Could the 5C hold up for two years if I had to?
 
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