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Should I buy an iPhone 4S now, or wait for the iPhone 5?

ChrisTX

ChrisTX

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Dec 30, 2009
2,689
55
Texas
So I just realized one of the lines on my account is now eligible for a full upgrade. Normally I wouldn't hesitate to upgrade but with a redesigned iPhone certain in 2012 and being an iPhone 4 owner, I'm on the fence. I'm not the type of person who always waits for whats next, but with the 4S being mid life cycle should I buy it now and use/lose my upgrade, or hold out for the redesign in October, and use my upgrade then? I'm really leaning towards using my upgrade because the sleep wake button on my iPhone 4 is broken and it's aggravating and almost impossible to press. But at the same time I hate to sign a 2 year contract now, and be stuck when the iPhone 5 is released Sorry to make such a typical post like this, but was hoping to get some insight from someone else that might be in my same position. Decisions, decisions... :confused:
 
ChrisTX said:
with a redesigned iPhone certain in 2012
Click to expand...

There is nothing certain about it, but I would say it's a safe bet. Wait if you want, or don't if you do. There is no official info, and not even really leaked info out on the next iPhone. until then it's vaporware. Anyone telling you to wait or not is giving you 100% opinion.

That said, get it now. You are here today. You may not be tomorrow. Enjoy life while life is there to enjoy. :)
 
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I'm not a big fan of waiting when it comes to electronics.

Buy now, and be happy now. I got my iphone 4s this week actually and I'm more than happy to have it.
 
lordofthereef said:
There is nothing certain about it, but I would say it's a safe bet. Wait if you want, or don't if you do. There is no official info, and not even really leaked info out on the next iPhone. until then it's vaporware. Anyone telling you to wait or not is giving you 100% opinion.

That said, get it now. You are here today. You may not be tomorrow. Enjoy life while like is there to enjoy. :)
Click to expand...

I know nothing about it is certain, but Apple never releases the same phone design twice.

manjazz123 said:
I'm not a big fan of waiting when it comes to electronics.

Buy now, and be happy now. I got my iphone 4s this week actually and I'm more than happy to have it.
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Yeah, I have gift cards to best buy that essentially cover the cost. On that note maybe I'll upgrade now. :D
 
ChrisTX said:
I know nothing about it is certain, but Apple never releases the same phone design twice.
Click to expand...

We know this based on two redesigns. There isn't a lengthy track record to go on. Before this last release, nobody would have believed that and iPhone would be released as late as October (it never had been previously). Things can change, nothing is certain.
 
I would wait for the new iPhone 5 to be released. Most likely it willhave LTE and a couple of other goodies.
 
If you don't like to wait, buy a slightly used 4s outright now; and sell your 4 to help pay for it. Then, sell the 4s once you get the 5. Between the sale and the giftcards you'll probably come out ahead or close to it.
 
Not much difference between iPhone 4 and 4S imo so definitely wait for the next gen. You can use swipe gestures from activator so there's no need to even use your sleep button
 
Thanks for the insight guys. Definitely going to wait October isn't THAT far away, and still loving my iPhone 4. :D
 
If you can live without Siri wait until iPhone 5. I upgraded to 4S mainly for Siri and I am glad I upgraded
 
Im in your boat, although i can upgrade around march/april time so its not as bad. Im 100% waiting though. People who have the iphone4 and 2 year plans are in the best cycle if its new redesign/new model every year like the 4/4s which isnt worth my upgrade.

Wait if you can i would say.
 
YES! DO IT!

I may have the unpopular opinion of the group here, but DO IT. Don't listen to those saying the 4S isn't "much" better or faster than the iPhone 4. It is, and quite a bit. It's noticeable from the first app you launch. I'm very glad that I did the upgrade - I rarely use Siri, more of a gimmick to me, but the overall performance boost over my old iPhone 4 is VERY noticeable.

You can also do AirPlay Mirroring to an Apple TV without jailbreaking and running some third-party crap to do it. Also something I wanted. YMMV.
 
I went ahead and upgraded in January. I upgraded for the camera and love Siri dictation. I was waiting for a new form factor but when that happens I can decide what to do then. And you're have a redesigned antenna if you like to go naked.
 
lordofthereef said:
There is nothing certain about it, but I would say it's a safe bet. Wait if you want, or don't if you do. There is no official info, and not even really leaked info out on the next iPhone. until then it's vaporware. Anyone telling you to wait or not is giving you 100% opinion.

That said, get it now. You are here today. You may not be tomorrow. Enjoy life while life is there to enjoy. :)
Click to expand...

there's practically a 100% chance that the iPhone releasing this year WILL be redesigned. quote me on it.
 
newyorksole said:
there's practically a 100% chance that the iPhone releasing this year WILL be redesigned. quote me on it.
Click to expand...

I am likely not going to remembe ryou said this, if it happens. There are a ton of people saying it. I am one of them. That said, it is nothing but a feeling literally. Your 100% chance is a feeling, not a fact.
 
I'd wait if I were in your shoes. The iPhone 4 is still a nice phone and does everything the 4S does. The only thing you're missing is Siri but right now it's pretty limited and will certainly work better by the time iPhone 5 rolls around.
 
ebolamonkey3 said:
I'd wait if I were in your shoes. The iPhone 4 is still a nice phone and does everything the 4S does. The only thing you're missing is Siri but right now it's pretty limited and will certainly work better by the time iPhone 5 rolls around.
Click to expand...

Better camera both for stills and video too... if you care of course :)
More storage... if you drop a couple extra Benjamins.
 
lordofthereef said:
Better camera both for stills and video too... if you care of course :)
More storage... if you drop a couple extra Benjamins.
Click to expand...

True, but unless you're blowing the pictures up, it doesn't really matter. If you just mostly look at them on facebook or flickr, nobody can really see the difference.
 
Prett much everything was improved in the 4S. The only thing that didn't change was the outer appearance. If performance is important to you then yes go with the 4S. The A5 chip is a whole lot faster, the antenae is better, cameras take significantly better pictures, it has bluetooth 4.0, Airplay mirroring, handles 1080p, Siri, etc.

However, if you are only interested in a different look, then you might want to wait for the iPhone 5.
 
Well chris, you never really said what you wanted in an upgrade or if the newer features in the 4s even mattered to you. Just that your sleep/wake button was acting wonky.

If the upgraded features matter to you, then it's important to think about. If you're on the fence and more or less "meh" about it and the only issue you have with your phone is the sleep wake button, then wait. I wouldn't buy an entirely new phone if i was still happy with my existing phone but it just had a faulty button. If you're happy with your 4, go to the apple store and have someone look at your button
 
If you had a 3GS or a non-iPhone like I did I would say upgrade, but since you already have an iPhone 4 and if can live without Siri, I'm going to agree with everyone else and say wait.
 
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