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iPhone 5 Best iOS Version

Techwriter

Techwriter

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 1, 2010
163
17
I'm still using iOS 7 on my iPhone 5. It works great, no lag, battery life and bluetooth are all fine. Currently all my apps are being supported but I know that won't last forever.

I skipped iOS 8. Should I keep using iOS 7 or upgrade to iOS 9?

I can deal with some lag, but I really don't want battery life problems.
 
Techwriter said:
I'm still using iOS 7 on my iPhone 5. It works great, no lag, battery life and bluetooth are all fine. Currently all my apps are being supported but I know that won't last forever.

I skipped iOS 8. Should I keep using iOS 7 or upgrade to iOS 9?

I can deal with some lag, but I really don't want battery life problems.
Click to expand...

Just upgrade. You gain new features and security. Battery life improvements too.
 
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Do you need the new features or keep sensitive data on your phone, if you don't then I wouldn't bother? I kept my 4S on iOS 6 the entire time and it ran amazingly for 4 years. Many of the apps I used haven't changed that much from iOS 6 supported versions (maybe just aesthetics and touch ID support).
 
I sold my 5 a few weeks ago but I noticed an improvement in battery life and general performance going from 8 to 9. 8 was always a touch stodgier than 7 but even so, I never regretted that upgrade either, the extra functionality and security etc is always worth it overall. In fact I've spent the last seven years on the latest iOS available and always found that the best way TBH.
 
Techwriter said:
I'm still using iOS 7 on my iPhone 5. It works great, no lag, battery life and bluetooth are all fine. Currently all my apps are being supported but I know that won't last forever.

I skipped iOS 8. Should I keep using iOS 7 or upgrade to iOS 9?

I can deal with some lag, but I really don't want battery life problems.
Click to expand...

My old i5 battery took a huge nosedive with iOS7 and I gave it to my father so can't comment on iOS8 or 9. However, iOS9 isn't all that great even on the newer phones so why risk it? Aside from battery life mine ran great on iOS7 and personally I'd leave it there.
 
Don't update. You shoulda stayed on iOS 6. The highlight of Apple. I would love to meet the 7 year old who designed iOS 7+
 
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Here we go. iOS 6? Not a patch on iOS 5. Of course neither of them can hold a candle to iPhone OS 3 but if you really want best performance stick with tried and true 1.0. Much better battery and less lag without rubbish like the App Store cluttering things up..
 
I thought my post was deleted until I realized you created the same post in 2 different threads.
 
Dented said:
Here we go. iOS 6? Not a patch on iOS 5. Of course neither of them can hold a candle to iPhone OS 3 but if you really want best performance stick with tried and true 1.0. Much better battery and less lag without rubbish like the App Store cluttering things up..
Click to expand...

You've got to admit that way more bugs came onboard once Forstall left, along with the previously unheard of Androidy stuff like lag, stutter and freezing. iOS6 is revered by some as being the last great version of iOS. Sure we have new features now and of course nobody wants to be stuck in late 2012 forever, but one of the great reasons for choosing iOS over Android died when iOS7 came around. Smoothness.
 
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sunking101 said:
You've got to admit that way more bugs came onboard once Forstall left, along with the previously unheard of Androidy stuff like lag, stutter and freezing. iOS6 is revered by some as being the last great version of iOS. Sure we have new features now and of course nobody wants to be stuck in late 2012 forever, but one of the great reasons for choosing iOS over Android died when iOS7 came around. Smoothness.
Click to expand...
I remember us discussing this at the time, didn't agree then and don't agree now! iOS 6 wasn't even a good version of "classic" iOS, it was an inconsistent mess of a dated design which had run its course. iOS 7 needed to happen and the success of the platform since then stands as testament to that. Progress!
 
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Dented said:
I remember us discussing this at the time, didn't agree then and don't agree now! iOS 6 wasn't even a good version of "classic" iOS, it was an inconsistent mess of a dated design which had run its course. iOS 7 needed to happen and the success of the platform since then stands as testament to that. Progress!
Click to expand...

Progress at a cost. It just seems to have been one long beta program since iOS7 dropped.
 
sunking101 said:
Progress at a cost. It just seems to have been one long beta program since iOS7 dropped.
Click to expand...
Not my experience at all, and neither do I remember iOS 6 or earlier being perfect in any case. But we've had these conversations before; let's agree to disagree :)
 
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Dented said:
Not my experience at all, and neither do I remember iOS 6 or earlier being perfect in any case. But we've had these conversations before; let's agree to disagree :)
Click to expand...

I can't say one iOS was better than another (I just don't know enough) but the reason I stuck with iOS 6 was because it was fluid on the iPhone 4S. I had friends who moved to iOS 7 and 8, it just slowed down their phones tremendously. I assumed at the time that a later iOS ran slower because outdated hardware. I decided not to update because I didn't need anything from iOS 7 or 8, and I am glad I didn't. Once I tried the 6S+ I was impressed by how smooth it runs, and I may not update this phone past iOS 9 now.
 
Techwriter said:
I'm still using iOS 7 on my iPhone 5. It works great, no lag, battery life and bluetooth are all fine. Currently all my apps are being supported but I know that won't last forever.

I skipped iOS 8. Should I keep using iOS 7 or upgrade to iOS 9?

I can deal with some lag, but I really don't want battery life problems.
Click to expand...
If I could get my iPhone 5 (Black/Slate) back on iOS 6.1 with jailbreak life would be awesome!

Hated the interface in 7, still hated it in 8, still hate it now in 9. But my jailbreak, Eclipse 3, Monochrome and Color Profiles have taken care of the gaudy color and the eye-burning white.
 
NewtonPippin said:
An iphone 5?! LOL
Click to expand...
My very first pre-order, received on launch day iPhone.

I still use it as an iPod Touch. Last model available in Black and mine's a 64GB model (the highest capacity you could get until the 6).

And oh yeah, it still looks good!
 
AndrewR23 said:
Don't update. You shoulda stayed on iOS 6. The highlight of Apple. I would love to meet the 7 year old who designed iOS 7+
Click to expand...
I have a theory that Jony Ive was looking for design inspiration and ideas for iOS 7 and that might have been on his mind when he picked his kids up from daycare one day…
 
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Dented said:
I remember us discussing this at the time, didn't agree then and don't agree now! iOS 6 wasn't even a good version of "classic" iOS, it was an inconsistent mess of a dated design which had run its course. iOS 7 needed to happen and the success of the platform since then stands as testament to that. Progress!
Click to expand...
Regurgitated multi-colored unicorn puke.

No thanks. :D
 
AbsynthMinded said:
I can't say one iOS was better than another (I just don't know enough) but the reason I stuck with iOS 6 was because it was fluid on the iPhone 4S. I had friends who moved to iOS 7 and 8, it just slowed down their phones tremendously. I assumed at the time that a later iOS ran slower because outdated hardware. I decided not to update because I didn't need anything from iOS 7 or 8, and I am glad I didn't. Once I tried the 6S+ I was impressed by how smooth it runs, and I may not update this phone past iOS 9 now.
Click to expand...
Each to their own I guess. All I can say is I've used every version of iOS since 2.0 on a variety of phones over the years and never regretted an update yet - sure brand new "point-oh" releases occasionally have the odd issue but they get sorted soon enough, and you get genuine new features and improvements that more than make up for the odd temporary glitch.

My iPhone 5 went from iOS 6 to 7, 8, and 9. The worst issues I had were with 6, which had such terrible wifi I actually exchanged a few phones before giving up eventually and then finding iOS 7 sorted the problem. Each update brought benefits and I can honestly say it was running as well or better on 9 than it had at any point previously.
 
Dented said:
Not my experience at all, and neither do I remember iOS 6 or earlier being perfect in any case. But we've had these conversations before; let's agree to disagree :)
Click to expand...

iOS7 sucked for me almost the whole year. Only 7.1.2 was any good, but still not perfect by any means. Then of course they gave up on it and launched the disastrous iOS8. OK they got this 'palatable' a lot quicker than they did with iOS7 but it still felt like being on the beta program for the best part of six months. Now to iOS9 which compared to the last two is a lot better but still has glaring showstopper bugs which again place it firmly into the 'beta' program. Sure iOS6 and earlier weren't perfect either, but they weren't such a compendium of bugs that never seemed to be addressed.
AndrewR23 said:
Apple could release a 2 inch iPhone made of pink with iOS 1.0 and call it the iPhone 7. People would still pre order millions.
Click to expand...

They could release a phone with a 5.5" HD screen, underpowered CPU & 1GB of RAM which performs worse than the three iPhones that preceded it and I bet people would still buy it...
 
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Dented said:
It's 2015. Apple are yet again selling more phones and clawing back more market share than ever. Let it go :)
Click to expand...
Deal with, move on and use what's more or less current because that happens to be what my phone runs - sure.

Accept it and like it. No. I don't have to. And my jailbreak makes it so I don't have to.
 
Sigh. I think I'll leave you stalwarts to duke it out in 2013. Looking forward to getting iOS 11 on my 6S when the time comes :)
 
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