iPhone 5c vs iPhone 5? Any significant difference?

[JerTheGeek]

I am hopefully going to be getting an iPhone 5 OR 5c for my bday in December. I like the colorful look and feel of the 5c and I am leaning towards getting it over the 5. But are there any significant differences between the 5 and the 5c? I know the specs are pretty much identical, but is there any important difference to make me choose one over the other? Or is it just the design? I will have a case on it all the time, so I figure that the 5's aluminum design wont make much difference if it has a thin, plastic case on it versus the 5c with the Apple case on it. For people who use cases, is there a big design difference between the 5 and 5c besides the color?

 

[WHIT3TRASH]

My youngest daughter, she is 13, has a 5c with a couple of the colored "holes" Apple cases, the phone has been extremely durable. She is running iOS7, I still have iOS6 on my 5, but I would say the phone seems exactly the same as mine in terms of speed the few times I have used it.

If you can swing it, the 5s would be the phone to get (out of the 5-series), my 16yo has one and it is very fast when I have used it.

 

[eyoungren]

There's really not much of a difference. The 5c has a slightly better processor but that's about it.

Instead of moving the iPhone 5 down and retiring the 4s, Apple chose to discontinue the 5 and took the internals of the 5 and stuck them in a plastic case with a slight processor upgrade. So this is really the reason there is no difference. The 5c is a 5 in a plastic case.

You just have to decide if you want metal or plastic. Personally, I prefer the metal. And the 5c doesn't come in black.

Of course, I'm partial to the 5 though, because I preordered mine and got mine on launch day, September 21, 2012. And I'm still using it as my primary phone.

 

[JerTheGeek]

My youngest daughter, she is 13, has a 5c with a couple of the colored "holes" Apple cases, the phone has been extremely durable. She is running iOS7, I still have iOS6 on my 5, but I would say the phone seems exactly the same as mine in terms of speed the few times I have used it.

If you can swing it, the 5s would be the phone to get (out of the 5-series), my 16yo has one and it is very fast when I have used it.

I was thinking about the 5s but I don't want to spend too much, only around $325; I've seen a few refurb 5cs on Amazon for that. If the 5s gets down to that price I'll get it, but it's around $400 now so I doubt it.

 

[Appl3FTW]

5 will be obsolete soon.. Get the 5s more future proof and better hardware wise than 5/5c. 5s is top notch of the 5 series.

 

[JerTheGeek]

5 will be obsolete soon.. Get the 5s more future proof and better hardware wise than 5/5c. 5s is top notch of the 5 series.

My upgrade is actually next year around this time, so I'll be fine with a 5c till then. I just need something a bit faster and compatible with the Applr Watch.

 

[d123]

Depending on your local carrier, the iPhone 5 is not as capable as the 5c for LTE.

The 5 is missing 800MHz LTE support, in the UK as an example, this mean the 5 LTE will only work on 2 out of the 4 networks and the 2 networks that do support it have commenced rollout of 800MHz so coverage will also become an issue on those for the 5 as that rollout continues.

 

[0000757]

I am hopefully going to be getting an iPhone 5 OR 5c for my bday in December. I like the colorful look and feel of the 5c and I am leaning towards getting it over the 5. But are there any significant differences between the 5 and the 5c? I know the specs are pretty much identical, but is there any important difference to make me choose one over the other? Or is it just the design? I will have a case on it all the time, so I figure that the 5's aluminum design wont make much difference if it has a thin, plastic case on it versus the 5c with the Apple case on it. For people who use cases, is there a big design difference between the 5 and 5c besides the color?

The 5C has more LTE bands supported, a slightly smaller and more efficient version of the A6 (not more powerful, just less taxing on the battery), and the battery is about 5% larger.

At the same time, it is also heavier and thicker than the 5.

 

[blueflower]

I think the major difference is the battery life issues on the iphone 5. If it were strictly between the iphone 5 and 5c I would get the 5c. Otherwise, I would get the 5s which is hands down the beat of the iphone 5 series and may be the best iphone available now.

 

[Appl3FTW]

I think the major difference is the battery life issues on the iphone 5. If it were strictly between the iphone 5 and 5c I would get the 5c. Otherwise, I would get the 5s which is hands down the beat of the iphone 5 series and may be the best iphone available now.

But Apple released a recallon the battery so they can get a refurb

 

[JerTheGeek]

I think the major difference is the battery life issues on the iphone 5. If it were strictly between the iphone 5 and 5c I would get the 5c. Otherwise, I would get the 5s which is hands down the beat of the iphone 5 series and may be the best iphone available now.

If the 5s goes down in price I'll get it, but otherwise I'll go with the 5c. Don't want to spend too much, no more than $325 or so

 

[FuzzMunky]

iPhone 5c is the best iPhone to date in terms of ergonomics. It feels amazing in hand. Very balanced and fills the right amount of your hand to make it comfortable to use. (Plus it's a durable but good quality plastic so should be naked). I think that ergonomics goes a long way, particularly as you don't do anything on the phone without first "holding" it. It is like choosing a comfy bed. Should be a priority when you consider the hours we spend sleeping.

My wife has a 5c and it feels 10 times better in hand than my iPhone 6. It's also still as snappy on iOS8 as it was on the previous software. If in the future they cut it out of the loop, you can just not update it and continue to use it with no lag on iOS8. I did that with my iPhone 4 and it lasted many years running smooth until I just updated.

 

[JerTheGeek]

iPhone 5c is the best iPhone to date in terms of ergonomics. It feels amazing in hand. Very balanced and fills the right amount of your hand to make it comfortable to use. I think that goes a long way, particularly as you don't do anything on the phone without holding it. It is like choosing a comfy bed. Should be a priority when you consider the hours we spend sleeping. My wife has one and it feels 10 times better in hand than my iPhone 6. It's also still as snappy on iOS8 as it was on the previous software. If in the future they cut it out of the loop, you can just not update it and continue to use it with no lag on iOS8. I did that with my iPhone 4 and it lasted many years.

Thanks for the input! I have heard the ergonomics were better; plus I think the bright colors are unique and cool. I thought the 6 was cool and the big screen was nice, but I don't want to spend $650 on a phone when I can get the 6S in a uear for only $199. I am excited about the 5c, I think it will be a great iPhone for me.

 

[chupachup]

I am hopefully going to be getting an iPhone 5 OR 5c for my bday in December. I like the colorful look and feel of the 5c and I am leaning towards getting it over the 5. But are there any significant differences between the 5 and the 5c? I know the specs are pretty much identical, but is there any important difference to make me choose one over the other? Or is it just the design? I will have a case on it all the time, so I figure that the 5's aluminum design wont make much difference if it has a thin, plastic case on it versus the 5c with the Apple case on it. For people who use cases, is there a big design difference between the 5 and 5c besides the color?

Yes. The 5c has a bigger battery.

 

[mexxdude]

I've had both 5 and 5c. 5c is definitely more comfortable to hold. In addition to what everyone else pointed out, I believe 5c has a better front facing camera than 5's.

 

[sunking101]

5 will be obsolete soon.. Get the 5s more future proof and better hardware wise than 5/5c. 5s is top notch of the 5 series.

Hardly. The iPhone 5 & the new iPhone 6 both have 1GB of RAM, and the iPhone 5 is every bit as fast as the iPhone 6 in real world tasks. Shockingly similar in speed for web browsing etc. There is very little to choose between the 5/5S/6 other than Touch ID, improved camera, bigger screen and Apple Pay.

 

[Appl3FTW]

Hardly. The iPhone 5 & the new iPhone 6 both have 1GB of RAM, and the iPhone 5 is every bit as fast as the iPhone 6 in real world tasks. Shockingly similar in speed for web browsing etc. There is very little to choose between the 5/5S/6 other than Touch ID, improved camera, bigger screen and Apple Pay.

WRONG.. 5 is half speed of 5s. how can it keep up with the 6/6+? if anything 5s can keep up with 6/6+, not the 5. 5 gets blown out of the water by it's bigger brother.

 

[rui no onna]

WRONG.. 5 is half speed of 5s. how can it keep up with the 6/6+? if anything 5s can keep up with 6/6+, not the 5. 5 gets blown out of the water by it's bigger brother.

If you're running benchmarks or games, sure. For email, Facebook, web surfing, etc, I doubt the difference will be noticeable on iOS 8. Maybe when iOS 9 is released, the 5/5c might start to falter. From my experience with my mom's 5 though, it can still handle common end user tasks with nary a sweat.

 

[theapplefanboyj]

I think you should get the extra money for a 5S.

 

[JerTheGeek]

I think you should get the extra money for a 5S.

If it goes down in price, like from $400 to $325 or so, I'll get the 5s, but for now the 5c is the one in this price range. Either way, I'll be happy with any of the 5 series.

 

[recoil80]

I've had both 5 and 5c. 5c is definitely more comfortable to hold. In addition to what everyone else pointed out, I believe 5c has a better front facing camera than 5's.

You're right, better front facing camera and more LTE bands.

 

[eyoungren]

5 will be obsolete soon.. Get the 5s more future proof and better hardware wise than 5/5c. 5s is top notch of the 5 series.

The original iPhone and the 3GS as well as the 4 and 4s are obsolete. People still use them. I will still use my 5. It makes phone calls, does SMS/MMS/iMessage and can browse the web. I don't need iOS 8 (let alone iOS 7) and any cutting edge apps for all of that.

So, obsolete or not, my usage doesn't require it to be current.

Just saying.