Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Still worth buying the iPhone 5?

S

seble

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 6, 2010
972
163
So I have a 2 year old 4 which I got on launch day (which has since been replaced a few times by apple) and only now do I have the mney to consider a 5 even thought its been out a while.

Thing is though I'm starting to hear all these rumours about how a new model could be coming out June/July, so is it worth holding n to my 4 till then? It drives me mad because neither the lock nor home buttons work properly and I find it can be so slow!
 
That's a tough call on what to do. All dates are speculation.

You could always bring it to an Apple store and explain your issues with the phone and ask what your options are and then decide from there.

The hardware issues are one thing. The slowness you mention could be a deciding factor in what you actually wind up doing.
 
The summer is a long way off to keep going with a broken iPhone. I got mine in December which is a little late too and I'm enjoying it. If you live in an area with LTE I think you'll see a big difference. If you don't have LTE in your area yet, then maybe not so much.
 
Hard to say. The stock went down a lot. If Apple files chapter 11 then iOS is unlikely to get supported.
 
flameproof said:
Hard to say. The stock went down a lot. If Apple files chapter 11 then iOS is unlikely to get supported.
Click to expand...

Well we all know, that's not going to happen :)

barkomatic said:
The summer is a long way off to keep going with a broken iPhone. I got mine in December which is a little late too and I'm enjoying it. If you live in an area with LTE I think you'll see a big difference. If you don't have LTE in your area yet, then maybe not so much.
Click to expand...

I do have LTE but in the UK there is only one LTE network and I hear their 3G is crappy.

Bear said:
That's a tough call on what to do. All dates are speculation.

You could always bring it to an Apple store and explain your issues with the phone and ask what your options are and then decide from there.

The hardware issues are one thing. The slowness you mention could be a deciding factor in what you actually wind up doing.
Click to expand...

Yes apps crash all the time even when going into the settings app and restarts itself more then it should. I think I may do that, but I just know its out of warranty so I'm guessing it would just be luck if it was replaced? If they did replace it for free I'd be able to hold on until summer or even the end of the year.
 
As for your issue with the home button, have you tried cleaning it with one or two drops of medical alcohol (~70%)? I own a 4 too and dropping one drop of alcohol on the home button and then rubbing it circularly actually resolved the poor response issues I was having.

My lock button still works flawlessly though.

I'm undecided too, by the way, I dunno if i should wait for the 5S or the 6. Or I could just stick to the 4 until it falls apart. :) I mean I've played around with my brother's iPhone 5 a bit and there are no new futures that are of any use to me.
 
Ah

You don't want to use standard rubbing alcohol on that - you would want to use denatured alcohol for electronics use but even then, bring it to your local apple store - they can fix that home button for you inside of 30 minutes.

As far as the 5 goes, I'm really enjoying mine - I could easily use this for two more years.
 
flameproof said:
Hard to say. The stock went down a lot. If Apple files chapter 11 then iOS is unlikely to get supported.
Click to expand...

Anyone with some semblance of a brain would know how ignorant it is to say Apple is anywhere near the point at which it would file chapter 11. Get out.
 
seble said:
So I have a 2 year old 4 which I got on launch day (which has since been replaced a few times by apple) and only now do I have the mney to consider a 5 even thought its been out a while.

Thing is though I'm starting to hear all these rumours about how a new model could be coming out June/July, so is it worth holding n to my 4 till then? It drives me mad because neither the lock nor home buttons work properly and I find it can be so slow!
Click to expand...

If you need, or even just want, a new phone now then get it. Don't keep waiting for the next version because there will always be a next version. I have a 4 as well, and I'm getting the 5 on Monday. :)
 
To the OP, re: the bad home button, you can also use the "virtual" home button vs. the physical one.

Settings>General>Accessibility>Assistive Touch.

Having owned the iPhone 4 (one of the greatest devices ever made, btw) and now owning the 5, the biggest difference I've noticed is the inclusion of 4G LTE (on Verizon's network, it's like night and day vs. 3G) and faster processing (but the 4 is no slouch even by today's standards). And of course the taller screen size. Other than that, no huge differences.

If you could survive with the faulty home and unlock buttons and your 4 is otherwise working fine, I'd hold out till the 5S (or 6), but YMMV.
 
seble said:
So I have a 2 year old 4 which I got on launch day (which has since been replaced a few times by apple) and only now do I have the mney to consider a 5 even thought its been out a while.

Thing is though I'm starting to hear all these rumours about how a new model could be coming out June/July, so is it worth holding n to my 4 till then? It drives me mad because neither the lock nor home buttons work properly and I find it can be so slow!
Click to expand...

Should be fine, focus on the present & ignore all the rumors.

In the UK, I think the best carrier for data would be 3. I've seen screenshots of the 3G network, the speeds are legendary, even faster than some LTE speeds.
 
Let's assume the worst case scenario with an iPhone 5S that is released in September with deliveries somewhere in October or November.
Is the iPhone 4 still fast enough for you, so you can hold onto it that long? If your answer is no, order your iPhone 5 now and save yourself from the early-order hassle, otherwise wait for the release and then some other weeks to months for it to be delivered.
 
flameproof said:
Hard to say. The stock went down a lot. If Apple files chapter 11 then iOS is unlikely to get supported.
Click to expand...

I actually laughed when I read that.

I got my iPhone 5 in December as well, and I have remorse at all. There is always a better device on the horizon. I think that it would be silly to wait. I'm not sure they're going to announce anything anyway.
 
I just upgraded our iPhones in late December to the 5 (for my wife and I) and I can't believe the jump in performance and usability of the 5 compared to my 4, and my 4 had no issues or faults at all. No regrets whatsoever here.

My wife wants to keep hers long term but I plan on selling mine when the 5S comes out and upgrade. My 5 is factory unlocked with AppleCare+ so it'll be an easy sell which will cover most of the cost of the 5S/6/whatever they call it. Win win IMO. If your 4 is barely functioning, why wait? Jump in and start enjoying a great phone.
 
I'd say grab the 5. I upgraded from the 4 and the difference is night and day - and I don't even use LTE.

The screen's bigger, camera's better, a lot lot faster, it looks nicer.... Go for it!
 
I've also heard such type of rumors that new iPhone is coming. May be iPhone 5S (not sure though).

I think I was reading it on phonearena dot com.

I was also considering an update to iPhone 5 from iPhone 4. But now exactly in a similar dilemma whether to keep this phone and wait for the next model or should I upgrade today. :S
 
ATC said:
I just upgraded our iPhones in late December to the 5 (for my wife and I) and I can't believe the jump in performance and usability of the 5 compared to my 4, and my 4 had no issues or faults at all. No regrets whatsoever here.

My wife wants to keep hers long term but I plan on selling mine when the 5S comes out and upgrade. My 5 is factory unlocked with AppleCare+ so it'll be an easy sell which will cover most of the cost of the 5S/6/whatever they call it. Win win IMO. If your 4 is barely functioning, why wait? Jump in and start enjoying a great phone.
Click to expand...

I agree, the 5 is a very good choice because it has LTE and has a fast dual core chip that I could see being supported for up to a few more generations of iOS. I could see the i5 go up to iOS10 or iOS9
 
Tunnelrunner said:
To the OP, re: the bad home button, you can also use the "virtual" home button vs. the physical one.

Settings>General>Accessibility>Assistive Touch.


If you could survive with the faulty home and unlock buttons and your 4 is otherwise working fine, I'd hold out till the 5S (or 6), but YMMV.
Click to expand...

Thanks, but I've been using Assistive Touch for about a year now, I'm used to it, but nothing beats not having it. Plus the fact that having to restart the phone is such a pain having to push it against a table to hold the power button for long enough.

ATC said:
I just upgraded our iPhones in late December to the 5 (for my wife and I) and I can't believe the jump in performance and usability of the 5 compared to my 4, and my 4 had no issues or faults at all. No regrets whatsoever here.

My wife wants to keep hers long term but I plan on selling mine when the 5S comes out and upgrade. My 5 is factory unlocked with AppleCare+ so it'll be an easy sell which will cover most of the cost of the 5S/6/whatever they call it. Win win IMO. If your 4 is barely functioning, why wait? Jump in and start enjoying a great phone.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have played with friends and there is a big difference. For me I don't mind the iphone speed too much expect for how crashy it seems to be (when going to activate airplane mode every night 1 in 3 times the app will crash when opened. Plus sliding up from lock screen to use the camera takes ages! Pic opportunities are often missed. In fact just remembered why it bugs me even more now. I have a stinking crack in the camera lens which certainly makes for some interesting artefacts in pics.

Anyway I think I'll wait and see what other rumours there are with the new iPhone, if it seems like there may be some 'killer' features then I might hold out, but to be honest I think I may just take the plunge soon with a new iPhone
 
Sital said:
Don't keep waiting for the next version because there will always be a next version.
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it better myself. I got the 5 and I'm loving it so far. @ TS, Try it out and if you don't like it, you can always sell it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back