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Is it still worth to buy an iPhone 5c?

akimoriRyuuji

akimoriRyuuji

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 28, 2015
115
84
Let me preface it thusly.
I'm a college student with just a part-time job, making about $100/week. due to school.

I want to buy an iPhone, but the iPhone 6 is pretty much out of the question. In Canada, we don't have contracts, but we do have "2-year agreements" where you can buy a certain amount extra to your phone bill to buy the phone you'd like. I could very well buy the 5c outright at the low cost of $360CAD, but I have the option to pay nothing upfront and add $15/24 months to my plan.

I don't plan on doing much on it besides texting, snapchat, etc. The bulk of my app usage would be on my iPad Mini 2. So I don't suspect the 8GB will be a problem. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Do you think the 5c will last me for the next 3 or more years? In terms of it being supported.
As it is, I can not get the 6 because I don't have the right phone plan. Currently I'm paying $30/mo. for 100mb data, 200 minutes of calling time (which I don't barely use anyways), and unlimited messaging. I'd have to pay $60/mo. AND THEN some for the tab system. So that wouldn't work out.

Thanks.
 
It sounds like you're not going to be using the phone in a "power user" sort of way, so I have a feeling the 5C will be fine for you.

Have you looked into the 5S? It's a year newer tech-wise, 64 bit and Touch ID really IS a killer feature. You'd have to see how much it would cost you though.
 
zorinlynx said:
It sounds like you're not going to be using the phone in a "power user" sort of way, so I have a feeling the 5C will be fine for you.

Have you looked into the 5S? It's a year newer tech-wise, 64 bit and Touch ID really IS a killer feature. You'd have to see how much it would cost you though.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply.
Exactly, I won't be using this as a my sole device. In fact, it'll be more like a "hub" for me. As I intend to take advantage of continuity and text from my Macbook.

I have looked into the 5S. It also has 16GB capacity as compared to the 8GB capacity the 5C has. It'll cost about $350 more. I would have to pay the $350 outright and then pay $15/month in addition to that.
Do you think the 5S would be supported by Apple longer in terms of updates? I'm aware they want to phase the 5C out but I don't care about the latest and greatest. As long as I can have an iPhone :p
 
5s should be cheaper now, go for that somehow.

Keep using what you're using or get an Android you can afford.

I would not get a 5c expecting it to be useful 3 years from now.
 
akimoriRyuuji said:
Again, is there any reason I should? Other than it being better, will it last longer?
Click to expand...
I think it would. I actually think you're better off buying a used 5s than a new 5c. 5c is basically an iPhone 5 which is 3 years old now. I have a feeling that 5c might be almost unusable after another couple years. Do you see anyone with a 3GS around? No because it's so slow and laggy it's impossible to use. Buy a scuffed up 5s, put a sturdy case on it so you don't break it and after 3 more years, you'll be ready to junk it.
 
mhdena said:
5s should be cheaper now, go for that somehow.

Keep using what you're using or get an Android you can afford.

I would not get a 5c expecting it to be useful 3 years from now.
Click to expand...

Why do you say this? The 5C was still being sold fairly recently. I'm pretty sure it's going to get iOS 10.

Even if it doesn't get iOS 11, major apps will likely keep working on 10 for at least another year, probably longer. That's the three years right there.
 
The iPhone 5C has the same basic internals as the iPhone 5, which is already 3 years old. 3 years in the smartphone world is a long time.
 
Don't buy a 5C. They are already 3 years old, were the last iPhone to have a 32bit processor, and have been phased out. It will most def not last for 3 years. The 5C may be good for another year at most. A 5s on the other hand has a 64 bit processor, and will be supported for a few more years. Plus you'll be getting double the memory.
 
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Some folks can only afford a 5c. However, you should probably try to get one that has a 16 GB capacity rather than 8 GB. Check Amazon for unlocked new 5c iPhones. Lots of iPhone owners are still using their 4S and that can be updated to iOS 9. The 5c will be around for awhile. ;)
 
zorinlynx said:
Why do you say this? The 5C was still being sold fairly recently. I'm pretty sure it's going to get iOS 10.

Even if it doesn't get iOS 11, major apps will likely keep working on 10 for at least another year, probably longer. That's the three years right there.
Click to expand...

Okay.. so I have a iPod touch from the first generation with the 4" screen. It has all the internals that the iPhone 5C has. Already, i've noticed it is a bit slower than it used to be, most likely due to iOS8. Theoretically, this should get better with iOS9, but if you want to have it for three extra years, I don't think it will work.

Before this iPod touch, I had a first generation iPod Touch. I had it for around 3 years, but after that, it was totally unusable. I couldn't upgrade to iOS 5, loading Safari pages was excruciating. The only thing I could use it for was for listening to music.

If you really need to stay in the Apple ecosystem, buy someones used iPhone 5S.... this is good time since there are probably a lot of people upgrading to the 6s. Otherwise, if you're honestly just using it for messaging and snapchat, get a windows phone, something like a Nokia 635 or something. It has limited apps, but you said you weren't going to use many apps. You can get it on amazon new for like $70 and it'll be upgradable to Windows 10.

I've had a Nokia 521 for a couple years and it was a cheap holdover until I got a promotion and can now afford to buy an iPhone. It worked for texts, calling, whatsapp and it could work as a mobile hotspot for my computer and iPod touch. Clearly we all pay a premium for Apple products, but don't pay a premium for something you're planning on using for 3 years and will be frustrating for the last year to use.
 
Are you opposed to refurbished phones? You can grab a nice 16GB 5S for $300 USD and even lower on eBay.. so I imagine in CAD it's not too much more. & definitely less than $350 CAD outright plus payments.
 
Agree with those that advise against he 5C. You would definitely be better off with a 5S. However, beware of buying a 5S from auction sites etc there are a lot of stolen phones that are icloud locked out there and if you are not familar with the system it is easy to get caught out. If you can get a refurbished from the carrier or Apple or someone that you know personally that would be your best option.
 
Yes, my mom is interested in a better phone - and this is a great introduction phone that looks friendly and not so industrial. Since they are basically free it's also not giving her the feeling she can't drop it and cry a thousand tears.
 
Go with the 5S. Even if used.

In any event, the cost will drop again in two weeks once the 6s becomes the new norm.
 
If you can get a used 5S without it being too much trouble it will do a much better job of lasting you the 3 years you want it to. But at the same time if you can't afford it go with what you can afford to buy outright and maybe save a bit of money over the next two years and upgrade early.
 
akimoriRyuuji said:
Let me preface it thusly.
I'm a college student with just a part-time job, making about $100/week. due to school.

I want to buy an iPhone, but the iPhone 6 is pretty much out of the question. In Canada, we don't have contracts, but we do have "2-year agreements" where you can buy a certain amount extra to your phone bill to buy the phone you'd like. I could very well buy the 5c outright at the low cost of $360CAD, but I have the option to pay nothing upfront and add $15/24 months to my plan.

I don't plan on doing much on it besides texting, snapchat, etc. The bulk of my app usage would be on my iPad Mini 2. So I don't suspect the 8GB will be a problem. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Do you think the 5c will last me for the next 3 or more years? In terms of it being supported.
As it is, I can not get the 6 because I don't have the right phone plan. Currently I'm paying $30/mo. for 100mb data, 200 minutes of calling time (which I don't barely use anyways), and unlimited messaging. I'd have to pay $60/mo. AND THEN some for the tab system. So that wouldn't work out.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I may have misunderstood your post. Are you planning on keeping the 100mb data plan? That may not be sufficient for any iPhone these days.
 
I found a used 5S. Still thinking about what I want to do at this point. But I thank you all for your input. It seems most people say the 5C is a no go, some say it'll be fine...
It might even just be a phone I keep for 2 years instead.

While the used 5S is still fairly expensive at $455, that's not bad compared to the retail price. It does have noticeable scratches/wear on it but I'm not too picky on that either.

I'll see what I can do.
Also, I should point out that I'm "upgrading" from a Windows Phone. Windows Phone is bad, and I cannot stand using my phone anymore simply because of how bad it really is. I won't go into details here about that other than to say that bugs, UI lag, lack of apps, etc. are all reasons I won't use it anymore.
Also, there's no snapchat on Windows Phone :p
 
Voodoofreak said:
I may have misunderstood your post. Are you planning on keeping the 100mb data plan? That may not be sufficient for any iPhone these days.
Click to expand...
Hehe, it'll be enough for me. I'll basically turn off all the data-using features except for select few so as to say within my cap. If anything, I might upgrade for +$5/month and get 300mb.
I will say, to Microsoft's credit, their Data tracking app trumps anything Android or iOS has to offer. It's too bad you can't set monthly limits on iOS. I was hoping iOS 9 would change that. Nope, it actually does the opposite. By default, iOS 9 will prioritize Data over WiFi if the connection is slow. You should all be checking into that.
 
akimoriRyuuji said:
Hehe, it'll be enough for me. I'll basically turn off all the data-using features except for select few so as to say within my cap. If anything, I might upgrade for +$5/month and get 300mb.
I will say, to Microsoft's credit, their Data tracking app trumps anything Android or iOS has to offer. It's too bad you can't set monthly limits on iOS. I was hoping iOS 9 would change that. Nope, it actually does the opposite. By default, iOS 9 will prioritize Data over WiFi if the connection is slow. You should all be checking into that.
Click to expand...

Ah ok. Just checking! For the use you mentioned then...especially on wifi, iPhone 5c will last you the next 1.5 a 2 good years - but probably will struggle after that. I would agree with a couple of posters above and recommend looking into a 5s instead.
 
akimoriRyuuji said:
Hehe, it'll be enough for me. I'll basically turn off all the data-using features except for select few so as to say within my cap. If anything, I might upgrade for +$5/month and get 300mb.
Click to expand...
You;ll have to be careful with data, but it is certainly doable as long as you have wifi fairly often. I've gone for awhile with no data plan on my phone and just relied on wifi to save money, it worked well enough, the only time I ever had issues was if I needed to use a navigation app to get directions, but you can work around that.
 
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