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I was actually very enthusiastic about the 5c at first. It's certainly faster and better than my ancient iphone 4. And I am fine with the white model. Not so much the yellow, pink and the kind of peacock blue.
Then I realized the 5c was a dead end.

The last time we had a 32 bit/64 bit fork in Apple land the 32 bit side eventually died. The 64 bit moved forward.
Ditto for the G5/Intel code.
I really do not expect IOS7 to maintain both 32 and 64 bit functionality any longer than it needs to. While I am sure there are project managers and the like in Cupertino calling for the soonest possible cut off, more than likely Apple will give us grace period.
Now what do you think a reasonable grace period would be?
Why not the 2 year mandatory minimum contract period most of us agree to when we get our phone from VZW or AT&T?
Sure, I will probably be ready to upgrade by then.
But I am also a cheap bastard who keeps his phone until it just won't start anymore. (see the above battered iPhone 4)

So I really do expect there to come a day when apple says,
"here is our newest version of IOS7, only for iPhone5s or later."
it is only a matter of when


you will most likely get another new iPhone 6 or iPhone 7 in next two years. so, why bother
 
I got to see all the 5C colors at the Apple Store today. I wasn't impressed by the 5C or any of the colors it's offered in. The 5C was okay and mediocre and if I didn't want to spend $ on a subsidized phone, I probably would choose it. But other than that, it's a decent looking phone.
 
I was actually very enthusiastic about the 5c at first. It's certainly faster and better than my ancient iphone 4. And I am fine with the white model. Not so much the yellow, pink and the kind of peacock blue.
Then I realized the 5c was a dead end.

The last time we had a 32 bit/64 bit fork in Apple land the 32 bit side eventually died. The 64 bit moved forward.
Ditto for the G5/Intel code.
I really do not expect IOS7 to maintain both 32 and 64 bit functionality any longer than it needs to. While I am sure there are project managers and the like in Cupertino calling for the soonest possible cut off, more than likely Apple will give us grace period.
Now what do you think a reasonable grace period would be?
Why not the 2 year mandatory minimum contract period most of us agree to when we get our phone from VZW or AT&T?
Sure, I will probably be ready to upgrade by then.
But I am also a cheap bastard who keeps his phone until it just won't start anymore. (see the above battered iPhone 4)

So I really do expect there to come a day when apple says,
"here is our newest version of IOS7, only for iPhone5s or later."
it is only a matter of when

iOS 7 will not drop support for any models it support right now, Apple have never done this in their history. They drop hardware support in a future version of OS, not the OS version that new devices shipped with. In the case of iPhone 5C, they're more likely to ship iOS 9 or 10 without support for iPhone 5C, and likely drop support for iPhone 5S in iOS 10 or newer.

All iPhone models will eventually be dropped from future iOS versions, regardless of their specs.
 
Apple did an excellent job on the 5C. It's a very good phone for Apples purposes.
 
I think the 5C's main problem is it's price delta with the 5S.

I'm sure some can justify it but most people cannot overlook the significant downgrade from the 5S to save a measly $100; the list of things you lose from the 5S is just too long IMO.

Just my 2c but I think Apple had too much 4S inventory to move which forced them to price the 5C higher. Once the 4S inventory is gone, I bet there will be a $200 price delta between the 5S and C, which would make much more sense.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if iOS 9 dropped support for 5c while maintaining support for 5s, but iOS 7 will continue to support 5c and I'd put money on that being true for iOS 8 as well.
 
I think the 5C's main problem is it's price delta with the 5S.

I'm sure some can justify it but most people cannot overlook the significant downgrade from the 5S to save a measly $100; the list of things you lose from the 5S is just too long IMO.

Just my 2c but I think Apple had too much 4S inventory to move which forced them to price the 5C higher. Once the 4S inventory is gone, I bet there will be a $200 price delta between the 5S and C, which would make much more sense.

That could be true with the inventory, but I know a few folks and also seen a lot of folks said who just doesn't care about the specs and want something to replace their older iPhone 4/4S with. They also prefer the color and feel of iPhone 5C over iPhone 5S.
 
I just handled a 5c today for the first time. I quite liked the look and feel of it. It may not have the "best" processor available right now, but it is a good one and will have lasting power unless one is an avid iPhone gamer.
 
I was actually very enthusiastic about the 5c at first. It's certainly faster and better than my ancient iphone 4. And I am fine with the white model. Not so much the yellow, pink and the kind of peacock blue.
Then I realized the 5c was a dead end.

The last time we had a 32 bit/64 bit fork in Apple land the 32 bit side eventually died. The 64 bit moved forward.
Ditto for the G5/Intel code.
I really do not expect IOS7 to maintain both 32 and 64 bit functionality any longer than it needs to. While I am sure there are project managers and the like in Cupertino calling for the soonest possible cut off, more than likely Apple will give us grace period.
Now what do you think a reasonable grace period would be?
Why not the 2 year mandatory minimum contract period most of us agree to when we get our phone from VZW or AT&T?
Sure, I will probably be ready to upgrade by then.
But I am also a cheap bastard who keeps his phone until it just won't start anymore. (see the above battered iPhone 4)

So I really do expect there to come a day when apple says,
"here is our newest version of IOS7, only for iPhone5s or later."
it is only a matter of when

That's a silly reason not to get a 5C. iOS7 still supports the iPhone 4 lol. I think the 5C will be relevant for at least 2 years if not longer, when you'd be eligible for another upgrade.

And Apple continued to support Rosetta and PPC software for 3+ years after the introduction of intel CPUs. No need to jump the gun and abandon 32bit. The majority of iPhones out there are still 32bit.
 
I think the 5C's main problem is it's price delta with the 5S.

I'm sure some can justify it but most people cannot overlook the significant downgrade from the 5S to save a measly $100; the list of things you lose from the 5S is just too long IMO.

Just my 2c but I think Apple had too much 4S inventory to move which forced them to price the 5C higher. Once the 4S inventory is gone, I bet there will be a $200 price delta between the 5S and C, which would make much more sense.

This is exactly how I feel about this situation!And your also right about the 4s situation I just can not believe that there is only a $100 difference on both ends the upgrade and FULL PRICE!But like others have said the 5c is by no means out of the game but I think its just for certain people who really dont care about all the fancy smancy stuff or perhaps someone in love with color!I waited in line for a unlocked phone and my apple store didnt even have any unlocked 5s's and yes I was in the front of the line but they had unlocked 5c's lol didnt even consider it!
 
they haven't had such an architectural change in the iphones history. I'm guessing that they will cut off old phones before we run out of revision #"s in 7 or maybe early in IOS 8.
It's just an ugly situation to have to cover development for 32 and 64 bit devices with the same operating system, and have the applications (well apps) work no matter what kind of device you have. Remember fat binaries?
Shoot remember when people were happy to get their Macs running 32 bit clean with no 16 bit extensions?

what are you talking about? There are still plenty of 32bit windows/mac apps out there being made everyday that work fine on 64bit computers.
 
two things,
Like I was trying (badly) to point out, most cell users are locked in to a 2 year upgrade cycle. Apple can count on this. Unlike with desktops which dont have any mandatory upgrade cycle except in the corporate world where we dump our desktops every 3 or 4 years.
And yeah, there are still some old iphones out there. But honestly did you try using an iPhone 3 with IOS6 when it came out? Almost impossible slow. The iphone 4 is pretty awful with IOS7.
I'm not trying to imply that Apple does that deliberately. Thats simple progress, hardware giveth more CPU power and software taketh away. Older hardware always suffers on newer OSes.
I just think that at some point in the future we may see a clean break.

I understand your point but you can probably relax. The 5C will probably be supported for much longer than 2 years. Its been what, 3 years since the iP4 came out, and its still officially supported for iOS7? (performance varies, a lot of people have no problems, and a lot of people do...hit or miss).

Plus for a $99 phone, you're deff not looking for something that lasts more than 2 years. iOS8 will almost certainly support the 5 and beyond, with the 4S being left behind. Take right now, even though the 5S is 64bit capable, 99.95% of the apps are still 32bit.
 
So you're saying a device with less processing power won't support the latest software as long as a device with more processing power?

Go on, I'm learning a lot here.
 
they haven't had such an architectural change in the iphones history. I'm guessing that they will cut off old phones before we run out of revision #"s in 7 or maybe early in IOS 8.
It's just an ugly situation to have to cover development for 32 and 64 bit devices with the same operating system, and have the applications (well apps) work no matter what kind of device you have. Remember fat binaries?
Shoot remember when people were happy to get their Macs running 32 bit clean with no 16 bit extensions?

Ok, none of what you said supports that Apple will drop the iPhone 5C within iOS 7-8. Go read the history books and come back. Apple takes several releases to phase out the 32-bit support and majority of developers have no problem supporting both 32-bit/64-bit at the same time. Apple makes it very easy to do so and they've done the same on OS X, which actually is what iOS is based on.

ARMv8 supports running 32-bit code, just like 64-bit Intel chips did when Apple started supporting 64-bit CPUs in Tiger (10.4). They only dropped support for 32-bit CPUs in Mountain Lion, 4 major releases later (7 years later).

In addition, go read what the developers are saying about 64-bit support, it only takes 3-5 hours to make the code support 64-bit and that's all the work they have to do to support both 32-bit/64-bit code. It does not take much, and so it'll be easy for developers to support both for the next 2-4 years until a pure 64-bit iOS will be released.
 
So I really do expect there to come a day when apple says,
"here is our newest version of IOS7, only for iPhone5s or later."
it is only a matter of when

Except that Apple has already shown a pattern of supported models and it's unlikely to change.

iPhone 1 and the 3 lasted 3 iOS releases before they were no longer supported. The iPhone 3GS supported 4. The iPhone 4 is currently on it's 4th (and likely last) iOS release.

I'd wager that with iOS 8 next year, support for the iPhone 4 will be dropped, the 4S dropped with iOS 9, and both the 5 and 5C dropped with iOS 10.

Most contracts (in the US at least) last 2 years and I see Apple giving the 5C 3 years of the current iOS before 32 bit is fully outdated.



But honestly did you try using an iPhone 3 with IOS6 when it came out? Almost impossible slow.

It wasn't impossible slow, it was just impossible. iOS 6 only supported down to the iPhone 3GS.




I think the 5C's main problem is it's price delta with the 5S.

I'm sure some can justify it but most people cannot overlook the significant downgrade from the 5S to save a measly $100; the list of things you lose from the 5S is just too long IMO.

Just my 2c but I think Apple had too much 4S inventory to move which forced them to price the 5C higher. Once the 4S inventory is gone, I bet there will be a $200 price delta between the 5S and C, which would make much more sense.

That's you, but the 4S was still one of the best selling phones last year (with only 8GB storage, no less) at the same price point. The previous model has always been $100 less than the current and it's always sold well. If anything the 5C stands closer to the 5S since it has the same storage (unlike previous years where it was significantly lower).
 
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