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Shall I wait for the iPhone 5 or is the 4S more than good enough for my use?

H

hajime

macrumors G3
Original poster
Jul 23, 2007
8,176
1,414
Considering whether to get the iPhone 4S now or wait for the iPhone 5.

The current size seems to be good for me. Somewhere between the current size and 4" may be better but not necessarily. Over 4" may be too large to handle with one hand especially talking on the phone. I don't plan to use it to play games often. Even I do, I play only simple games as it is difficult to control complicated 3D games on such device.


Features I need:

Music and video playing
Phone communication
Skype (perhaps)
Camera to take HD photos and videos (both indoors and outdoors, at night as well)
Camera with large zoom factor (how many times can the iPhone 4S zoom?)
Simple games only
Long battery life

Any suggestions? There were reception problems and discoloration on the white version of the iPhone 4. Is the 4S problem-free?

I heard the rumors that the screen size for the iPhone 5 may be 4" or over. How about the camera? Do you expect Apple will include a better camera?
 
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hajime said:
Features I need:

Music and video playing
Phone communication
Skype (perhaps)
Camera to take HD photos and videos (both indoors and outdoors, at night as well)
Camera with large zoom factor (how many times can the iPhone 4S zoom?)
Simple games only
Long battery life
Click to expand...

Well, the iPhone 4S does cover all that reasonably well, except the zoom is pretty rudimentary... you'll want a snap-on zoom lens if you want to do decent optical zoom, and there are several good options on the market. It stands to reason that its successor will perform similarly.

The good money says the next iPhone will be released in early October. That's almost exactly half a year away, clearly still within what would be the contract period on your 4S if you got one, and in fact if the annual refresh point becomes early October you would end up having your contract pop and get a next new phone sometime around the fall of 2013.

So the real question for you is: Just how patient do you want to be? A person uses a smartphone every day, so maybe buying now makes some degree of sense for you. And remember, you can always pay full freight for an iPhone 5 in half a year and then resell your 4S to recoup a portion of the difference. That's a cool thing about iPhones -- they hold value better than any other smartphone, though there is depreciation of course. I sold an iPhone 4 16GB for $300 smooth about a month ago. That's not bad considering it had already been six months past replacement.
 
You could always go into your nearest Apple store and have one of their experts walk thru the 4S with you. That should be enough to tell you whether or not it meets your needs. And remember, if you choose to wait, you might as well wait for the 5S, since it will have even more features than the 5!
:)
 
While you're at it, why not continue to suffer with a dumb phone until the 6S comes out? :eek:

Actually I did something almost this stupid. I walked around with a BB8830 for almost 2 years before I got an iPhone 4 and found out what a smartphone is supposed to be like.
 
Remember that if you can wait, and if you end up deciding the 4s suits your needs, you'll likely be able to buy it for $100 less than it is now.
 
Buy now, you won't be disappointed.

Or pick up a plain iPhone 4 for even less money and be more inclined to trade up with the 5's introduction. The 4 is great for me and battery life is cited by some to be better than the 4S.
 
The iPhone 4S will meet your needs, the next one will probably meet them even better.

A lot depends on what you have now. I would be tempted to hold out if I currently had an older iPhone such as the 3GS, but wouldn't if I had an old dumb phone with a dying battery.
 
The 4S would work. WHat phone do you have now? If you've already got an ok phone and can deal with it for a few more months then wait and at the least you can get the 4S for cheaper if you don't like the 5. You can always be waiting for the next version to come along, so my advice is if you need it then buy it, and if you don't need a new one then wait.
 
Thanks for the advice. I have a very 4-year old Nokia phone from my mom. I don't even know the model. It is about 70% the screen size of the iPhone.

I just came across the Samsung Galaxy Note. Anybody has both devices? How are they compared in the real world?
 
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If you want something between the current iPhone size and four inches.... Then the note wouldn't work for you. That thing is huge...even for me and I have rather large hands.
 
So basically, will the current phone work for you.. or will an unannounced phone with unknown specs (and features) better meet your needs?
 
I have only made 3 phone calls in the past year. I usually use emails, facebook, skype, etc. However, when I start to work few months later, I probably will make more phone calls. So, I don't really need it now. I can wait. Maybe I just wait until May and see if the iPhone 5 comes out and then decide.
 
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