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iPhone 5c 8GB - enough for basic use

G

gamemaker143

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 14, 2014
3
0
Hello there,

I just made this account to ask this question but have been reading this forum for a long time and thought I'd ask here.

My mother still has a dump phone and really wants an iPhone since it is simple to use. Now, she likes the 5c for its price and looks but it is only available in 8GB here (maybe everywhere, I don't know but at least here).
I read (and know) that 8GB really is not much, but she will only use it for text-messaging (iMessage, Whatsapp), email, webbrowsing and checking the news. Not much more. She won't be making lots of photos, she just wants to be able to connect with people using a more modern device. She isn't able to spend more than a 5c with some data, voice and text so upgrading isn't possible either.

My question; will she be able to use it normally or is it -really- a bad choice? Thanks!
 
The number of people who can get by with 8 GB is shrinking rapidly. It's really a shame Apple even offers it anymore. They should stop.

But with that said... your mom sounds like one of those people.

I think she'll be ok unless she develops a serious video game addiction.

(Also, you may or may not know this, but check the phone's Settings > General > Accessibility > Larger Text and let her experiment with the sizes. My parents find it indispensable for making the phone useful for them. Worth showing her the options that are in there.)
 
Small White Car said:
The number of people who can get by with 8 GB is shrinking rapidly. It's really a shame Apple even offers it anymore. They should stop.

But with that said... your mom sounds like one of those people.

I think she'll be ok unless she develops a serious video game addiction.
Click to expand...

It starts when they hear Candy crush from someone else...:rolleyes:
 
Small White Car said:
The number of people who can get by with 8 GB is shrinking rapidly. It's really a shame Apple even offers it anymore. They should stop.

But with that said... your mom sounds like one of those people.

I think she'll be ok unless she develops a serious video game addiction.

(Also, you may or may not know this, but check the phone's Settings > General > Accessibility > Larger Text and let her experiment with the sizes. My parents find it indispensable for making the phone useful for them. Worth showing her the options that are in there.)
Click to expand...

Thanks for your quick reply. She won't be gaming on it heavily... Possibly Candy Crush as eclipse01 said :)

And thanks for the tip about the larger text, I wouldn't have thought of that!
 
As long as your mom isn't installing a lot of apps on her phone, 8GB should be more than enough. When my mom got her iPhone 4, she got 8GB since at the time that was the only model available for $.99 when she signed a two year contract. She maybe has 5 third party apps on her phone, and mainly just uses it to text, email, take pictures and talk on the phone. All in all 8GB suited her well, so I think you're mom will be ok with 8GB.
 
Last edited:
I thought my mom would be one of those low use people with the iPad I gave her. Well, once she has figured it all out and gotten use to it she has put a good dent in the space available on a 16GB model.

My advice is that even though she will be a low use person, supposedly, what is left on the phone minus the OS and preinstalled apps will fill up rather quickly and lead her to the "storage full" message rather soon. This is just from my experience with a mom using an iOS device who is a rather low use type of person. Lack of storage space tends to become a headache.
 
epphllps said:
I thought my mom would be one of those low use people with the iPad I gave her.
Click to expand...

I would say there are worlds of difference between and iPad and an iPhone. My dad is exactly the kind of user the OP is describing and, trust me, he is not getting addicted to the app store on his phone in any way no matter how much he uses my mom's iPad. They're just different.

epphllps said:
Lack of storage space tends to become a headache.
Click to expand...

No argument there. It's a very thin line we're walking here and I usually say "buy all the memory you can get!" But I think the OP has a good sense of the mom so we'll just have to put a bit of faith in that.

(Also, it sucks for the models where there are no larger memory sizes. I'm eager to say "get more memory" but less eager to say "get a different phone.")

- - - -
Also, OP, I remembered another tip. Please set her up with a free iCloud account and make sure everything is turned on. Backups, photos in the cloud, contacts, etc.

You may think that light user doesn't care about all of that stuff, but in reality they're the ones who need it most. Having a silent guardian watching over her stuff in the cloud is essential for people who are never going to think about backing up stuff or archiving media on a computer.
 
Small White Car said:
I would say there are worlds of difference between and iPad and an iPhone. My dad is exactly the kind of user the OP is describing and, trust me, he is not getting addicted to the app store on his phone in any way no matter how much he uses my mom's iPad. They're just different.



No argument there. It's a very thin line we're walking here and I usually say "buy all the memory you can get!" But I think the OP has a good sense of the mom so we'll just have to put a bit of faith in that.

(Also, it sucks for the models where there are no larger memory sizes. I'm eager to say "get more memory" but less eager to say "get a different phone.")

- - - -
Also, OP, I remembered another tip. Please set her up with a free iCloud account and make sure everything is turned on. Backups, photos in the cloud, contacts, etc.

You may think that light user doesn't care about all of that stuff, but in reality they're the ones who need it most. Having a silent guardian watching over her stuff in the cloud is essential for people who are never going to think about backing up stuff or archiving media on a computer.
Click to expand...

I was planning on setting up iCloud indeed, and hooking her up with an iTunes giftcard so she can use Whatsapp, buy some apps, I don't know.
Thanks for your info, I really appreciate it!
 
My mom doesn't know how to use the App Store but she has managed to put a good dent in a 16gb iPhone just with photos alone. Now she wants the iPhone 6!! The problem is that the OS takes up so much room these days so you might only have 2-3 free gb for use. Also the "other" folder eats up space too so be mindful of that as well.

In short I don't recommend an 8gb phone for anyone even the lightest user.
 
gamemaker143 said:
Hello there,

I just made this account to ask this question but have been reading this forum for a long time and thought I'd ask here.

My mother still has a dump phone and really wants an iPhone since it is simple to use. Now, she likes the 5c for its price and looks but it is only available in 8GB here (maybe everywhere, I don't know but at least here).
I read (and know) that 8GB really is not much, but she will only use it for text-messaging (iMessage, Whatsapp), email, webbrowsing and checking the news. Not much more. She won't be making lots of photos, she just wants to be able to connect with people using a more modern device. She isn't able to spend more than a 5c with some data, voice and text so upgrading isn't possible either.

My question; will she be able to use it normally or is it -really- a bad choice? Thanks!
Click to expand...


Yes, that phone will be fine for your Mother. My Mom still uses her iPhone 4 8GB for the same things as your Mom wants to do.
 
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