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My list of Best to worst:
-iPhone 7 Plus
-iPhone 6S Plus
-iPhone 4S
-iPhone 6 Plus
-iPhone 4 (had so many issues with it even after multiple Genius Bar replacement).
 
I will only rank the ones I owned.

- 3G

- 5S

- 6S

- 7

- 4S

- 5

- 4

For design it would look like this:

- 4 (white)

- 7 JB

- 5 (gold)

- 6 (gold)

- 3GS (white back)

Loving the JB 7, but it's a close 2nd to that all glass 4 in white. Man that was sexy.
 
I will only rank the ones I owned.

- 3G

- 5S

- 6S

- 7

- 4S

- 5

- 4

For design it would look like this:

- 4 (white)

- 7 JB

- 5 (gold)

- 6 (gold)

- 3GS (white back)

Loving the JB 7, but it's a close 2nd to that all glass 4 in white. Man that was sexy.

I am going to quote myself here and say the iPhone 4 was an amazing design, but one of the biggest disappointments for me. I thought android was running circles around iOS at the time, and they really just made it look pretty on the outside and the Retina display. I think the 4S was a much better phone.

In terms of mind blowing, I loved the 5S. Touch ID has been one of my favorite features of all time. The phone was pretty sexy too. Really like iOS 7, but I can't remember which phone that was. Maybe the 5. I don't think Apple has been that good on the OS until iOS 10. I am loving the design and added functions of iOS 10.
 
I too, will only rank the ones I owned.

Xs Max > iPhone 7 > iPhone 5s > iPhone 4s > iPhone 6 Plus > iPhone 4 > iPhone OG > iPhone 3Gs > iPhone 3G
 
3G was my first, pretty ropey in hindsight but I loved it at the time, so it escapes my vote for worst.

6 Plus was by far the worst, 64 bit w/ 1gb RAM never should have happened. Crashy, unstable, everything constantly reloading and refreshing. Garbage.

Same applied to iPad Air 1. Plus that plasticky screen, yuck! Returned mine in the window and spent a year without an iPad.

Everyone moans about the iPad 3 but it’s only crimes were that it was slow, heavy and not great at more intense games (which I barely played anyway). It had a great glass scene, was stable and worked like it was meant too. In hindsight, should have gone iPad 2 -> iPad 4, both great iPads (never had a 4, since it was a 3 without the said flaws, I assume it was great). Going from the so-so 3 to Air 1 I got a bit burnt, hence why I went a year without.

Best is easy for me, inevitably will lean to more recent devices, but I’m completely satisfied with my XS Max and 1TB iPad Pro (doubly so with iOS13). I’ll definitely be skipping the next phone and iPad.

EDIT: Holy smokes this thread is old, I’ve already posted in it 3 years ago lol
 
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You still didn't get my description honestly.

Whenever there are comparisons like this, there are always a lot of people that just don't understand.

When is comes to electronics, I think sometimes people see in terms of just specs, and not other aspects like the impact the device made on the user, reliability, quality, design, and many other things people can compare devices on besides just specs.
 
Listed my best to worst overall experience of iPhones that I have owned:

4s - The most unique and beautiful iPhone when compared to the competition. The pinnacle of Apple's designs.

2g - I knew that this phone would change everything.

SE - When wanting to get a smaller iPhone after using my 6s Plus, this was the right size for the right price.

5s - The beginning of my indifference toward iPhones, probably because iOS 7.

6s Plus - Thinking it looked too much like every other phone on the market, I hated the design of the 6/6s/7/8, but got it thinking that I liked the size. I was wrong. Found this out after trying to take one-handed photos. I hated the giant size of the phone and iOS 9. This was the phone that inspired me to Think Different about the iPhone, and I bought an SE after, and I am still using it. I also bought a spare SE when they went on clearance.
 
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List of all iPhones, from best to worst based on my opinion:

4s - The pinnacle of Apple's designs
2g - The one that changed everything
4 - Nice design, but not quite the 4s
SE - Perfect size, good performance and battery, all for a low price
5s - Touch ID
5 - Very light weight, but a step down in design
6
- Hated the rounded edges, and looked like an Android phone when I first saw it
8 - The glass back made a slight improvement over an already boring design, but still a 6sss or 6s^3
6s - Not much of an improvement over the 6
7 - One of the saddest iPhone releases, it was basically a 6ss or 6s^2
X - Probably the best balance between the large size screen vs size of phone, but too expensive
Xs - Slight improvements over the X, but still too expensive
3G - too much plastic and a downgrade on design from the 2G
3GS
- No big improvements over the 3G while still having the all plastic design
6s Plus - Same as the 6 Plus, but the bending protection improved
6 Plus
- Too big, hated the rounded edges, and looked like an Android phone, plus it would bend too easily
8 Plus - Too Big, the glass back made a slight improvement on design, but still a 6sss or 6s^3
7 Plus
- Same issues and design of the 6s Plus
XR - Too Big and thick, all the issues of the 6 Plus with little improvements and for more money
5c -
Plastic kid's toy
Xs Max -
Too big, way too expensive, the high end cost more than Macs that I have purchased, and I would get much more use for a longer time with a Mac than this iPhone
 
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There's really no reason to rank individual phones. The best phone is the most powerful of a generation. iPhones should be ranked by generation. In my case (from best to worst)
iPhone 4 generation
iPhone X generation
iPhone 6 generation
iPhone 5 generation
iPhone (original to 3GS) generation

As far as model by model, it's pretty straight forward that the best model of that generation is the best phone IMHO and then they rank going backwards.

Maybe a slight edge to iPhone 4 which is my favorite overall but it's hard to argue the iPhone 4s wasn't better.

Also, this is all slightly adjusted for era. The fact is, the X and 6 generations are the only models that don't look hopelessly dated anymore.
 
There's really no reason to rank individual phones.
This is probably true. I should have did my ranking based off of generation.

The best phone is the most powerful of a generation.
It depends on how you define "best", as being powerful is just one of many ways to define what is best.

iPhone (original to 3GS) generation
I personally would put the original in its own generation, considering the major differences between the 2G and 3G/3GS.
 
In terms of people going from a Palm Treo(like me) or two color screen Nokia, the iPhone 2G WAS the best release.

It changed phones forever.

It's a collection of WOW factor from one iteration to,the next. Not a Best phone EVER list.
Agree I would have jumped on original if it were subsidized. Got a 3G fast since that one was.
 
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I personally would put the original in its own generation, considering the major differences between the 2G and 3G/3GS.
That's reasonable. In fact, I would kind of exclude the original from the list altogether. That thing was a prototype and was definitely not ready for the big time upon its release. It's a neat thing, but it was replaced with the 3G quickly so I don't know that it constitutes a place on this list.
 
It's a neat thing, but it was replaced with the 3G quickly so I don't know that it constitutes a place on this list.

To me, this goes along with how one defines "best".

I personally think that impact on the user and the industry would/could be heavily weighted when it comes to what is considered the best iPhone.

One could make a strong argument that the original iPhone had the biggest impact on the user and the industry. This is especially true for people that grew up using dumb phones in the 90's to the mid 2000's, as the iPhone was the first smart phone for many of them.

That is why I consider it in its own generation and rate it high on my list.
 
I’d actually have to do three separate rankings. One based on my own ownership, one based on the launch impact of each iPhone and what it brought to the table against its contemporary rivals and one based on the legacy of each device.

Based on my ownership of the devices, it’s very simple to rank:
- iPhone 4s (lowest)
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone XS (highest)

Each has been progressively better than the last overall.

There’s no point stringing out another list for the other two categories but the main points for me would be:

- iPhone 6 and 6 Plus rank highly for their impact at release because they were a highly anticipated design overhaul that finally brought decent sized screens. They rank low for legacy though - particularly the 6 Plus as it’s widely seen as having been underpowered. 6S seems to have a much better reputation now.

- iPhone 7 is arguably the reverse. Underwhelming at launch and - a little unfairly - considered to be an additional ‘s year’ for the iPhone 6. Much better legacy though as this was the year that’s remembered for the big camera enhancement and the introduction of the two beautiful black designs.

- the two ‘original’ iPhones (2G and 3G) have to score highly on both counts as they really shook up the market and set the playing field for modern smartphones.

- iPhone 4 and 4S rank highly for their initial impacts in that they were perfect revisions of the original design. They also stand out to me in that they had a completely different design to virtually every other smartphone on the market at the time.

- Unpopular opinion, I know, but all iPhones numbered 5 were underwhelming. This was the generation that wasn’t compelling enough to keep me on iOS as I just felt the Android flagships at the time were pushing things much further forward.

- Also a potentially unpopular opinion but I think the X, XS, XS Max and XR blow every other iPhone to date out of the water. And this is despite them having the toughest competition from other manufacturers. They certainly don’t wipe the floor in every category but, for me, as overall packages they hands down beat anything else that can be bought right now.
 
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To me, this goes along with how one defines "best".

I personally think that impact on the user and the industry would/could be heavily weighted when it comes to what is considered the best iPhone.

One could make a strong argument that the original iPhone had the biggest impact on the user and the industry. This is especially true for people that grew up using dumb phones in the 90's to the mid 2000's, as the iPhone was the first smart phone for many of them.

That is why I consider it in its own generation and rate it high on my list.
I would say the 3G was the real first legitimate iPhone. iPhone was a prototype and it wasn't very good. 3G made the device relevant to more than the super early adopters. Plus, it had a legitimate price reduction.
 
I would say the 3G was the real first legitimate iPhone. iPhone was a prototype and it wasn't very good. 3G made the device relevant to more than the super early adopters. Plus, it had a legitimate price reduction.
In my mind, it wasn't the iPhone 3G that turned the industry on its head, it was the original.

Up until the first gen iPhone, smart phones were a joke, but right after the introduction of the iPhone, all of the other phone manufacturers had to do major adjustments on their product lines.

All this happened way before Apple start selling millions and millions of iPhones.

Consider other industry changing products from Apple, such as the iMac. The first 1998 iMac had many perceived flaws, some people still talk about today (that mouse!), and while Apple didn't sell a (relative) lot of them, the influences in consumer electronics were very apparent.

The same could also be said about the first iPod and the first Apple Watch.

iPhone was a prototype and it wasn't very good.
I can't agree with this statement.

I still own the original, and bought it in 2007.

I used it for 4 years until the 4s launch. It was a great phone, imo.
 
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Best is the latest. Best as in which did I foam at the mouth over the most when buying? iPhone 4. iPhone X is probably second there.

Worst iPhone is easy. iPhone 6 Plus. Truly awful. Even the bigger screen wasn’t enough to deal with the lag. Went back to 5s. First time I returned an iPhone.
 
For me it’s the 4. It was a huge step up. New design, Retina display, multitasking, folders and the bumper cases (still my favorite).

Plus I remember how hard I worked to get the phone. Waited in line at the Apple store for 8 hours. The carrier system went down and we were given tickets at the Apple store to come back in the evening. They still had issues, so I waited 5 more hours to be told that I’d have to come back the next day.

Finally, Saturday morning I had my new iPhone 4. Probably the best/worst experience in getting a new phone on launch day. I did meet some cool people though.
 
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I loved the feel of quality of the 4 and 5 , much better than the 6 and 8 I got after which just feel cheap and slippery in comparison

They also seemed to have much better battery life which is vital imo , probably because they weren't fixated on this ridiculous slimming everything down agenda
 
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