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Is the iPhone 4 still a good phone?

L T

L T

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 24, 2013
433
108
UK
My mum's contract is due for an upgrade and she fancies an iPhone because it will link up with her iPad and new iMac.

She can pay £10 and upgrade to the iPhone 4 for the same monthly fee as she is currently paying.

I've told her new iPhone's are only days away but she seems happy to go for the 3 year old iPhone 4.

I just wondered if this is still a good phone?
 
To be honest, I'd avoid it. It was great back in 2010, but now the latest apps feel sluggish and iOS 7 will be the last major version of iOS supported.

It would be madness to buy one now even if you feel it would suffice; you may as well see what the iPhone 5C brings to the table and if you don't like it, pick up a 4S for cheaper.

Incidentally, my mum has also indicated that she wants an iPhone, but at the moment she's being ripped off by Orange so will wait for the 5C and try and get it on another network such as Three when her contact's up.
 
L T said:
My mum's contract is due for an upgrade and she fancies an iPhone because it will link up with her iPad and new iMac.

She can pay £10 and upgrade to the iPhone 4 for the same monthly fee as she is currently paying.

I've told her new iPhone's are only days away but she seems happy to go for the 3 year old iPhone 4.

I just wondered if this is still a good phone?
Click to expand...

It is still a good phone for most people. I recently upgraded to the 4S, only because I wanted Siri, so I can dictate emails and messages, rather than typing on the tiny keyboard. I also needed more storage space. That may or may not be an issue for your mom.
 
I doubt the 8GB storage will be a problem, I can't see her having any more apps than the stock ones on there and she has no iTunes library to put on it.

She will just use it for calls, texts, pictures and light web browsing/email when she isn't near her iPad or iMac

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cambookpro said:
To be honest, I'd avoid it. It was great back in 2010, but now the latest apps feel sluggish and iOS 7 will be the last major version of iOS supported.

It would be madness to buy one now even if you feel it would suffice; you may as well see what the iPhone 5C brings to the table and if you don't like it, pick up a 4S for cheaper.

Incidentally, my mum has also indicated that she wants an iPhone, but at the moment she's being ripped off by Orange so will wait for the 5C and try and get it on another network such as Three when her contact's up.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't update it to iOS 7. I'll leave her iPad and that on iOS 6. She's only just got the hang of it and if I change the icons it will confuse her!

Also, doubt she will use many of the latest apps
 
L T said:
I doubt the 8GB storage will be a problem, I can't see her having any more apps than the stock ones on there and she has no iTunes library to put on it.

She will just use it for calls, texts, pictures and light web browsing/email when she isn't near her iPad or iMac

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I wouldn't update it to iOS 7. I'll leave her iPad and that on iOS 6. She's only just got the hang of it and if I change the icons it will confuse her!

Also, doubt she will use many of the latest apps
Click to expand...

Fair enough. I'd still try and find the 4S, as I just think generally it would last longer and give a bit better performance.

Only worry about not updating I'd have is that Apple releases an iOS 7-only security fix.
 
cambookpro said:
Fair enough. I'd still try and find the 4S, as I just think generally it would last longer and give a bit better performance.

Only worry about not updating I'd have is that Apple releases an iOS 7-only security fix.
Click to expand...
As iOS 7 will run on iPhone 4 or 4S, any security fix would be available to both. There is no difference in the performance or longevity between the 4 and 4S.
 
cambookpro said:
I know, but the OP said he wouldn't be upgrading the phone to iOS 7. :)
Click to expand...

Ahh, missed that. I can understand delaying the iPhone upgrade to iOS 7, at least until it becomes available for the iPad, so both can remain with the same interface. I'm sure that eventually, the OP will find it appropriate to upgrade both to iOS 7.
 
GGJstudios said:
As iOS 7 will run on iPhone 4 or 4S, any security fix would be available to both. There is no difference in the performance or longevity between the 4 and 4S.
Click to expand...

The iPhones 4s performs much faster than the 4. In fact a lot of effects are disabled in the iphone4 whereas the 4s retains all the features of ios7, like transparencies, camera effects, ect.
 
L T said:
My mum's contract is due for an upgrade and she fancies an iPhone because it will link up with her iPad and new iMac.

She can pay £10 and upgrade to the iPhone 4 for the same monthly fee as she is currently paying.

I've told her new iPhone's are only days away but she seems happy to go for the 3 year old iPhone 4.

I just wondered if this is still a good phone?
Click to expand...

Wait, she will be able to get the 4s for the same price
 
DcGamer05 said:
The iPhones 4s performs much faster than the 4. In fact a lot of effects are disabled in the iphone4 whereas the 4s retains all the features of ios7, like transparencies, camera effects, ect.
Click to expand...
I've used both, and have found no performance difference at all between them.
Can you provide some documentation of the differences? Are you only referring to the iOS 7 beta? If so, is there any documentation that there will be any differences in performance or functionality in the public release?
 
L T said:
My mum's contract is due for an upgrade and she fancies an iPhone because it will link up with her iPad and new iMac.

She can pay £10 and upgrade to the iPhone 4 for the same monthly fee as she is currently paying.

I've told her new iPhone's are only days away but she seems happy to go for the 3 year old iPhone 4.

I just wondered if this is still a good phone?
Click to expand...

Just have her wait a month for the 4s to take the 4's position on the price scale.
 
The 4 wasn't a good phone in 2010. It's a 3GS with a shiny wrapper.

To the guy who says there is no performance dif between 4 and 4s, wow. Most wrong statement of all time. It's not even close. It's night and day. Try doing a couple things at once or loading up the phone with a few tasks.
 
kre62 said:
The 4 wasn't a good phone in 2010. It's a 3GS with a shiny wrapper.

To the guy who says there is no performance dif between 4 and 4s, wow. Most wrong statement of all time. It's not even close. It's night and day. Try doing a couple things at once or loading up the phone with a few tasks.
Click to expand...

Really? Are you joking? Not a good phone in 2010? Granted the 4 has the same processor as the 3GS but it is different.

As far as the differences between a 4 and 4S not much differences. The camera is more mp's. it runs on an A5 chip. It has Siri. I'm guessing your mom can do without all of those things. The iPhone 4 was a great phone in 2010. It's a good but aging phone now. It is also the iPhone that has stayed in Apples lineup the longest. It's one of the most beloved iPhone's. Personally your mom would probably be fine with a 3GS if she's gon stay on iOS 6, but with all that said two months ago I would've said the 4 would be a good idea, but with the "event" just days away and the fact that the 4S is probably going to take over the 4's place ... I would wait if it were for me. However if it were for my mom (God bless my mom) I would just get her the 4 because she would be happy with it.

Btw I have ran tests on the 4 and the iPhone 4S together and if there was ever a "incremental" upgrade that is it. The differences are not major at all. They are both beautiful phones with IMHO a much better design then the current iPhone 5.

Again these are my opinions.

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One more thing though... I will say this... The iPhone 4 and 4S on AT&T that's a different story ... I have seen major differences in those two devices. The AT&T 4S is faster then the 4, but the Sprint and Verizon ones I have not noticed much difference in those
 
I'd say wait. The iPhone 5C is just around the corner. Having the lightning connector and LTE network compatibility will be worth it.
 
jav6454 said:
Your point? Still doesn't make it a good phone at this point in time. True it has an A4, but it is getting dated.
Click to expand...

It is getting dated. However he said he was gon keep his mom on iOS 6 therefore the 4 would be sufficient for her. I've had 4, 4S and 5. Personally don't like the design if the 5. The 4S wasn't a great deal different to me. Right now I'm back to my 4 and while I will get the 5S and stay with it this time because the 4 is getting dated and I can tell ... For his mom an iphone 4 seems fine to me. You think she cares about the latest? Lol!

Just know the 4 will most likely be discontinued so waiting and getting a 4S at the same price may not be a bad idea ... It will be around a little while longer... It is however just an incremental upgrade over the 4. The true definition of it lol...
 
The 4 has retina, front facing camera, 1GHz processor, much better than the 3GS, also a lot slower than the 4S (lack of RAM seems to be the issue, I guess the display eats it all up)
 
So would you call the 4S a MAJOR upgrade to the iPhone 4? I don't see it. I mean when it was announced it was widely criticized for its lack of "innovation" but come to think about it besides the jump from 3GS to 4 almost all iPhones have been met with that.. I just don't see the 4S being "day and night" different then the 4!!
 
With today's standards on smartphones, it is not a good phone compared to almost anything new. Don't get it.
 
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