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Is it a silly time to buy a 5C?

R

rogan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 13, 2009
122
1
My iPhone 4 thats now 3 and a half years old has finally gotten so slow that I can't stand using it,

I was going to hold out for the new iPhones but they probably won't be till september earliest by the look of it,

So, is it a silly time to buy a 5C? I don't really care about the touch thing and the aesthetics or the 5C look fine to me,

It will have to be in a 24 month contract so I is it a good time to buy a 5C that will have to last 2 years?
 
rogan said:
My iPhone 4 thats now 3 and a half years old has finally gotten so slow that I can't stand using it,

I was going to hold out for the new iPhones but they probably won't be till september earliest by the look of it,

So, is it a silly time to buy a 5C? I don't really care about the touch thing and the aesthetics or the 5C look fine to me,

It will have to be in a 24 month contract so I is it a good time to buy a 5C that will have to last 2 years?
Click to expand...

Can I ask, why not go for the 5s?

The A7 chip will have far more juice in the tank for the years ahead compared to the A6. And as someone coming from an iPhone that's already slowed down significantly you don't want that occurring again too soon, which with the 5c will happen long before the 5s.
 
rogan said:
My iPhone 4 thats now 3 and a half years old has finally gotten so slow that I can't stand using it,

I was going to hold out for the new iPhones but they probably won't be till september earliest by the look of it,

So, is it a silly time to buy a 5C? I don't really care about the touch thing and the aesthetics or the 5C look fine to me,

It will have to be in a 24 month contract so I is it a good time to buy a 5C that will have to last 2 years?
Click to expand...

Touch ID isn't the only difference between the 5s and the 5c. The internals are much, much better with the 5s, and much more future-proof (as much as can be). You'd be better off 2 years from now with the 5s than the 5c.

For that reason alone, I'd say yes, it would be very silly to buy the 5c now.
 
Ah sorry, I forgot that I'm a student but have a job lined up to start in august, I can't afford the 5s just now, its far far more expensive in the UK, whereas on contract here the 5C is available for £28 a month and free upfront, the 5S is £10 a month more and £100 upfront

So its a matter of try and stick out my iphone 4 till september, or get a 5c now
 
rogan said:
Ah sorry, I forgot that I'm a student but have a job lined up to start in august, I can't afford the 5s just now, its far far more expensive in the UK, whereas on contract here the 5C is available for £28 a month and free upfront, the 5S is £10 a month more and £100 upfront

So its a matter of try and stick out my iphone 4 till september, or get a 5c now
Click to expand...

I can give you a code for O2 that gives you 30% off the airtime part of the O2 Refresh tariff. The 5s is £39 up front, not £100, and you'd be £20 for the handset part and around £11 for the airtime/data.

Don't forget that after 2 years the phone is paid off and then you only pay the airtime bill, which remains 30% off until you upgrade. I don't work for O2 but I get corporate perks via my work.
 
rogan said:
Ah sorry, I forgot that I'm a student but have a job lined up to start in august, I can't afford the 5s just now, its far far more expensive in the UK, whereas on contract here the 5C is available for £28 a month and free upfront, the 5S is £10 a month more and £100 upfront

So its a matter of try and stick out my iphone 4 till september, or get a 5c now
Click to expand...

Since you're in the UK too, I can give you some suggestions.

Why not just buy a second-hand iPhone 5 off ebay? The 5C is effectively a rip-off and cheap version of the 5. you can nab one off ebay unlocked for less than £300 which is a bargain if you ask me. Then just slap in a monthly sim in and you're good to go. No contract for 2 years, unlocked phone, and it turns out CHEAPER than outright going with a contract.

Hope this helps.
 
RebornProphet said:
I can give you a code for O2 that gives you 30% off the airtime part of the O2 Refresh tariff. The 5s is £39 up front, not £100, and you'd be £20 for the handset part and around £11 for the airtime/data.

Don't forget that after 2 years the phone is paid off and then you only pay the airtime bill, which remains 30% off until you upgrade. I don't work for O2 but I get corporate perks via my work.
Click to expand...

if you could I would definitely look into that!

----------
solosdk said:
Since you're in the UK too, I can give you some suggestions.

Why not just buy a second-hand iPhone 5 off ebay? The 5C is effectively a rip-off and cheap version of the 5. you can nab one off ebay unlocked for less than £300 which is a bargain if you ask me. Then just slap in a monthly sim in and you're good to go. No contract for 2 years, unlocked phone, and it turns out CHEAPER than outright going with a contract.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

unfortunately dont have access to £300 just now
 
no help here but this makes me go uggh,

I am going from a company-paid iPhone 5S to my old iPhone 4.
I hope it isn't THAT bad for me to last until the fall or whenever the next release is.
 
RebornProphet said:
Can I ask, why not go for the 5s?

The A7 chip will have far more juice in the tank for the years ahead compared to the A6. And as someone coming from an iPhone that's already slowed down significantly you don't want that occurring again too soon, which with the 5c will happen long before the 5s.
Click to expand...

The 1gb of ram will choke both phones before the A6 v. A7 starts to become an issue.

To the OP, go with what you like and can afford. the 5C is a great phone as is the 5S and as of right now both can do the same thing. It's all a matter of priorities. Do you just need something to get it done or do you want the latest and greatest?
 
TacticalDesire said:
The 1gb of ram will choke both phones before the A6 v. A7 starts to become an issue.

To the OP, go with what you like and can afford. the 5C is a great phone as is the 5S and as of right now both can do the same thing. It's all a matter of priorities. Do you just need something to get it done or do you want the latest and greatest?
Click to expand...

Holy crap, finally someone with common sense and great advice.

I have the 5C and 5S. The only thing I miss when using my 5C is TouchID because I got used to it.

The 5C is a great phone and, honestly, is more comfortable to hold than the 5S. Get whatever you want OP. The 4 has lasted you 3 years before crapping out, do you really think the 5C won't last you at least 2?
 
TacticalDesire said:
The 1gb of ram will choke both phones before the A6 v. A7 starts to become an issue.

To the OP, go with what you like and can afford. the 5C is a great phone as is the 5S and as of right now both can do the same thing. It's all a matter of priorities. Do you just need something to get it done or do you want the latest and greatest?
Click to expand...

Well 2GB alongside the Quad Core Snapdragon isn't stopping the S5 from being reportedly sluggish in places according to reviews. Apple's main plus point is optimisation. iOS is tailored to work with the hardware so, so well and that's always been the case.

This RAM argument is getting boring. The 64bit CPU will show its benefits long before any "choking" due to RAM.
 
rogan said:
My iPhone 4 thats now 3 and a half years old has finally gotten so slow that I can't stand using it,

I was going to hold out for the new iPhones but they probably won't be till september earliest by the look of it,

So, is it a silly time to buy a 5C? I don't really care about the touch thing and the aesthetics or the 5C look fine to me,

It will have to be in a 24 month contract so I is it a good time to buy a 5C that will have to last 2 years?
Click to expand...

Not silly at all.. I've been contemplating on a white 5C 16GB even though I don't need one.
 
Thanks everyone

Im glad for the last few posts, much appreciated.

Seeing as I've had this iphone for the last almost 4 years I'm obviously not after the latest and greatest all the time, I think I'm just going to take the 5c and hope it lasts.

and if not I should be in a better financial situation to make a change..
 
rogan said:
Thanks everyone



Im glad for the last few posts, much appreciated.



Seeing as I've had this iphone for the last almost 4 years I'm obviously not after the latest and greatest all the time, I think I'm just going to take the 5c and hope it lasts.



and if not I should be in a better financial situation to make a change..
Click to expand...


I switched from an iPhone 4 to 5c. It is amazing the difference. You will be glad you did.
 
jrswizzle said:
Holy crap, finally someone with common sense and great advice.

I have the 5C and 5S. The only thing I miss when using my 5C is TouchID because I got used to it.

The 5C is a great phone and, honestly, is more comfortable to hold than the 5S. Get whatever you want OP. The 4 has lasted you 3 years before crapping out, do you really think the 5C won't last you at least 2?
Click to expand...
I've got the 5C and 5S as well. 5S surprisingly has better battery life, and a better camera, and is much quicker, but the feel of the 5C is...almost worth it...
 
RebornProphet said:
Well 2GB alongside the Quad Core Snapdragon isn't stopping the S5 from being reportedly sluggish in places according to reviews. Apple's main plus point is optimisation. iOS is tailored to work with the hardware so, so well and that's always been the case.

This RAM argument is getting boring. The 64bit CPU will show its benefits long before any "choking" due to RAM.
Click to expand...

A Galaxy S5 loaded (bloated) with Samsungs crapwiz UI isn't an iPhone running iOS or phone running pure android. Optimization is samsungs biggest issue along with others. Websites and apps will still need more ram as demands grow and my point still stands. I don't know why users get so defensive when I point out the iPhone is GOING to need more ram going forward. Technology progresses and RAM will be an issue before we start reaping the benefits of 64bit architecture in cell phones. Right now it's just a tick mark on the spec sheet.
 
rogan said:
My iPhone 4 thats now 3 and a half years old has finally gotten so slow that I can't stand using it,

I was going to hold out for the new iPhones but they probably won't be till september earliest by the look of it,

So, is it a silly time to buy a 5C? I don't really care about the touch thing and the aesthetics or the 5C look fine to me,

It will have to be in a 24 month contract so I is it a good time to buy a 5C that will have to last 2 years?
Click to expand...

Considering that the 5c is based on hardware that was released 1.5 years ago; you are already almost halfway to where you are now with the iPhone 4 before even considering purchase. You may well find yourself with the same dilemma in 1.5 years.

If you somehow hang on until September; you could be set for the next 2 - 3 years.
 
Toltepeceno said:
So the S5 is shipping with ios? Otherwise it's not a valid comparison.
Click to expand...

No, and that's not the comparison being made.

KitKat on the S5 is sluggish in places according to some reviews and that ships with a Quad Core chip and 2GB of RAM. People act like iOS must have more than 1GB of RAM and it'll bottleneck soon when evidence thus far proves that iOS runs at its best, for now, on 1GB with a Dual Core chip. That's not going to change next year, the 5s isn't going to become as slow as the iPhone 4 overnight with iOS 8.

The point is that Apple optimise their hardware and software while most Android devices perform just on par or below par in comparison to iOS with superior specs (in terms of UI smoothness).

----------
TacticalDesire said:
A Galaxy S5 loaded (bloated) with Samsungs crapwiz UI isn't an iPhone running iOS or phone running pure android. Optimization is samsungs biggest issue along with others. Websites and apps will still need more ram as demands grow and my point still stands. I don't know why users get so defensive when I point out the iPhone is GOING to need more ram going forward. Technology progresses and RAM will be an issue before we start reaping the benefits of 64bit architecture in cell phones. Right now it's just a tick mark on the spec sheet.
Click to expand...

Going forward of course it will, technology is always advancing, but in the next year or so it's not going to impact the 5s in a hugely negative manner. The A7 CPU will be powerful enough to keep the 5s running smooth on iOS 8 and 9, of that there is no doubt.
 
rogan said:
Thanks everyone

Im glad for the last few posts, much appreciated.

Seeing as I've had this iphone for the last almost 4 years I'm obviously not after the latest and greatest all the time, I think I'm just going to take the 5c and hope it lasts.

and if not I should be in a better financial situation to make a change..
Click to expand...

It will definitely last for atleast 2-3 yrs. :)
 
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