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May 15, 2016
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Released in 2013, it's been about 2.5 yrs now, so just tell me about the iPhone 5s's future proofing, whether it'd be first hand account, second hand account, or from what you read in reviews or elsewhere.

Thx.
 
Can you be more specific? It still runs the latest version of iOS, and probably will for a couple more years. Some feel that 1 GB of RAM is limiting, but the 6 which came out a year later has the same amount.

How "future proof" something is really depends on each user's expectations for it. Some people will say that the 5s is still a good phone while others will say that it's already obsolete.
 
I will agree with the other that there is no such thing as "future proof". Apple does not want your phone to last forever. You should get 2-3 years out of a iPhone before the battery will need to be replaced. You will then be facing them not supporting the device in another 2-3 years. They will repair but you may no longer get updates.
 
The iPhone 5s still runs great on iOS 9. No idea how it will perform on iOS 10, but I imagine still great. The 1GB of RAM is the biggest limitation on it, but like someone above said, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have 1GB of RAM as well, so I imagine the 5s will still last a few more years.
 
The iPhone 5S has about two years left before Apple officially obsoletes it so I'd say it's not only NOT future proof, it's been shot and taking in water. The iPhone 5 is the oldest phone to work w/ the iOS 10. So iOS 11 likely is the end of the line of support for the 5S.
 
The 5s will work as well as the 6 on any future iOS, and the 6 is still being sold. So I'd say the 5s will be useful for the life of the first battery at least. Since I just bought one Friday for $150 brand new (Straight Talk, Walmart) I'd say it's still worth the money at that price.
 
there is no such thing as "future proof." Technology is constantly changing ... there is always a new feature or model around the corner.

As Steve Jobs put it after drastically dropping the price of the first iPhone just a couple of months after initial buyers paid much more for one,

"There is always change and improvement, and there is always someone who bought a product before a particular cutoff date and misses the new price or the new operating system or the new whatever.

"This is life in the technology lane."
 
Released in 2013, it's been about 2.5 yrs now, so just tell me about the iPhone 5s's future proofing, whether it'd be first hand account, second hand account, or from what you read in reviews or elsewhere.

Thx.
Future proofing?

You want Windows Mobile and PC.
 
I will agree with the other that there is no such thing as "future proof". Apple does not want your phone to last forever. You should get 2-3 years out of a iPhone before the battery will need to be replaced. You will then be facing them not supporting the device in another 2-3 years. They will repair but you may no longer get updates.

The 5s will work as well as the 6 on any future iOS, and the 6 is still being sold. So I'd say the 5s will be useful for the life of the first battery at least. Since I just bought one Friday for $150 brand new (Straight Talk, Walmart) I'd say it's still worth the money at that price.

I see these mention regarding the battery like it's a huge deal. Is it a huge deal? I don't know. I mean can't you replace the battery by buying a new one? In a DIY fashion? Or do you absolutely need to recycle ur phone?
 
I see these mention regarding the battery like it's a huge deal. Is it a huge deal? I don't know. I mean can't you replace the battery by buying a new one? In a DIY fashion? Or do you absolutely need to recycle ur phone?
I think battery keeps getting mentioned as we're not sure if you are talking about a new 5s (some retailers are still selling them new at a steep discount), or one that has been used for 2.5 years already? The issue being that battery life will be diminished a fair amount after 2-3 years of use (how diminished depends on how heavily it was used). You can get a DIY replacement kit for an iPhone battery and the battery is one of the easiest things to replace in an iPhone (some technical skill required as you do have to open the phone up, but there are plenty of youtube videos to walk you through it) so it may be a cost you'll want to factor in if we are talking about a used 5s.

Other factor is just how long it will be supported by Apple with the latest software. You'll likely be able to get the latest version of iOS for it until fall 2018.
 
I see these mention regarding the battery like it's a huge deal. Is it a huge deal? I don't know. I mean can't you replace the battery by buying a new one? In a DIY fashion? Or do you absolutely need to recycle ur phone?

No after two to three years if you battery needs to be replaced the Apple store can do it at a reasonable price. I would stay away from you mall kiosks as none of these places will have a "real" OEM battery, only Apple.
 
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The 5s will work as well as the 6 on any future iOS, and the 6 is still being sold. So I'd say the 5s will be useful for the life of the first battery at least. Since I just bought one Friday for $150 brand new (Straight Talk, Walmart) I'd say it's still worth the money at that price.

Pretty much this.

I would expect the 5s to receive updates as long as the 6/6+ do, given how similar they are in performance
 
No after two to three years if you battery needs to be replaced the Apple store can do it at a reasonable price. I would stay away from you mall kiosks as none of these places will have a "real" OEM battery, only Apple.

What advantage does an Apple Store's real OEM battery give you over a regular OEM battery you get from Amazon or in an "iFixIt" side shop at a mall?
 
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The iPhone 5S is still fast enough and is comparable in speed to the iPhone 6. So I don't think it will be obsolete soon unless Apple wants to kill the iPhone 6 that fast also.
 
What advantage does an Apple Store's real OEM battery give you over a regular OEM battery you get from Amazon or in an "iFixIt" side shop at a mall?
For DIY ifixit.com supplies good quality parts (there are other reputable suppliers too, but do your research). Avoid Amazon and eBay for iPhone batteries as there have been many horror stories about low quality batteries. While more expensive going to the Apple Store does offer peace of mind if you're not comfortable with DIY.
 
The iPhone 5S is still fast enough and is comparable in speed to the iPhone 6. So I don't think it will be obsolete soon unless Apple wants to kill the iPhone 6 that fast also.
I think so.

However i have an iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone SE as an iPod Touch, Maybe iPhone 5S will get iOS 11 but it would be slow just like the iPhone 4S in iOS 9. Even iPhone 5S is 64 Bit it lacks so many Features. Still clocked at 1.3Ghz(same as iPhone 5), No NFC, Barometer, Volte, Apple Pay, LTE Advance compared to the newer iPhone 6 and above.
I
 
I think so.

However i have an iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone SE as an iPod Touch, Maybe iPhone 5S will get iOS 11 but it would be slow just like the iPhone 4S in iOS 9. Even iPhone 5S is 64 Bit it lacks so many Features. Still clocked at 1.3Ghz(same as iPhone 5), No NFC, Barometer, Volte, Apple Pay, LTE Advance compared to the newer iPhone 6 and above.
I

Did the iPhone 5/5c slow down like the 4S did when it received iOS 10? No really, and no where near the same level as the 4S did with iOS 9.
The 5s is twice as powerful as the 5 with more modern architecture on both the CPU and GPU side.

What I'm getting at is one can't ignore the difference more modern and powerful chips can make in terms of extending life and how they might relate to performance on future updates. The 5s is really a stone's throw in performance away from the A8 iPhones and it actually performs better than the 6+. Newer iPhones are getting much better with subsequent iOS updates because of how much the power envelope is increasing over time. A lot has changed on that front since the 4S days.

You do make good points about the other features the 5s is lacking but those features are hardly major features with maybe the exception of Apple Pay (But even that has to exist in your country and be wide spread...Which even in many developed countries it's not quite there)
 
But i
Did the iPhone 5/5c slow down like the 4S did when it received iOS 10? No really, and no where near the same level as the 4S did with iOS 9.
The 5s is twice as powerful as the 5 with more modern architecture on both the CPU and GPU side.

What I'm getting at is one can't ignore the difference more modern and powerful chips can make in terms of extending life and how they might relate to performance on future updates. The 5s is really a stone's throw in performance away from the A8 iPhones and it actually performs better than the 6+. Newer iPhones are getting much better with subsequent iOS updates because of how much the power envelope is increasing over time. A lot has changed on that front since the 4S days.

You do make good points about the other features the 5s is lacking but those features are hardly major features with maybe the exception of Apple Pay (But even that has to exist in your country and be wide spread...Which even in many developed countries it's not quite there)
But iPhone 5 is Thrice as powerful im both CPU and GPU than iPhone 4s though. I didn't say iPhone 5 is slow in iOS 10. Even if iPhone 4s runs iOS 6 both iPhone 5/5s will fly even at iOS 10

What im saying not because iPhone 5, 5C and iPhone 5s didn't get that Slow because they are 4 to 6 times powerdul on iPhone 4s. Not because they are still Fast it doesn't mean THEY will get iOS 11 maybe the 5s will! However if they make iPhone 8 powerful im pretty sure iPhone 5s is worst than 4s because apple will force it to be compatible lacking features.
 
But i

But iPhone 5 is Thrice as powerful im both CPU and GPU than iPhone 4s though. I didn't say iPhone 5 is slow in iOS 10. Even if iPhone 4s runs iOS 6 both iPhone 5/5s will fly even at iOS 10

What im saying not because iPhone 5, 5C and iPhone 5s didn't get that Slow because they are 4 to 6 times powerdul on iPhone 4s. Not because they are still Fast it doesn't mean THEY will get iOS 11 maybe the 5s will! However if they make iPhone 8 powerful im pretty sure iPhone 5s is worst than 4s because apple will force it to be compatible lacking features.
iPhone 5s will get iOS 11, without a doubt, its iOS 12 that I am skeptical about. iOS 11 is only dropping 32bit devices.
 
But i

But iPhone 5 is Thrice as powerful im both CPU and GPU than iPhone 4s though. I didn't say iPhone 5 is slow in iOS 10. Even if iPhone 4s runs iOS 6 both iPhone 5/5s will fly even at iOS 10

What im saying not because iPhone 5, 5C and iPhone 5s didn't get that Slow because they are 4 to 6 times powerdul on iPhone 4s. Not because they are still Fast it doesn't mean THEY will get iOS 11 maybe the 5s will! However if they make iPhone 8 powerful im pretty sure iPhone 5s is worst than 4s because apple will force it to be compatible lacking features.

A few things:

Regarding the features you noted earlier, those are not the basis of why a phone will or won't be supported per se. The iPhone SE you talked about doesn't even support LTE Advanced, and it also doesn't have a barometer. I'm sure the iPhone SE will still get updates for several years :p
Likewise, The lack of VoLTE, LTE Advanced and Barometers are not going to decide when Apple will drop support for the 5s...those are really minor features for many iPhone customers around the world (even NFC is arguably a minor feature depending which market you're talking about).

You're right about the CPU in the iPhone 5/5c being more or less 3x as capable as the one in the 4S...in some respects it is closer to 2x as capable, in other areas even more than 3x. Keep in mind though, most of the leap comes with how the processor works and what customizations apple made to it, vs. the CPU used in prior iPhones...a relevant point to make because of how Apple changed things with the A7 in the 5s.

The GPU in the iPhone 5/5c is is somewhere between 1.5x and 2x as capable as the 4S, mostly closer to 1.5x; not 3x as you stated. The GPU in the 5/5c is actually the exact same as the one in the 4S but with an extra core and clocked higher. It is slightly weaker in raw power than the GPU in the A5X chip that was in the third gen iPad (the first iPad with Retina Display)

The 5s is on an even higher level...the big thing was the change to 64bit. That is significant in terms of support. Support is key to longevity.

We have to keep in mind, the 5s is about 100x as powerful as the original iPhone. It only came out a little over 6 years later, yet the performance envelope was pushed that far. Compared with the iPhone 4; about 10x as powerful and only came out just over 3 years after the 4 launched. The later iPhones are not linearly more capable; they have become more powerful exponentially. This plays a role into iOS and how it could be supported on the 5s. Apple can certainly add so many features that it will slow down older phones, but what we will start to see are phones that are supported much longer than before.

People point to history as evidence of how many operating systems a certain iPhone will end up having, but that is not accurate. The 4S became too burned by iOS 8 & 9. The 5 simply won't be able to support the future 64 bit only direction Apple is heading in. The 4S supported more iOS versions than any before it, the 5 has nicer performance with legacy support than any other iPhone before it. People forget that the performance envelope has been pushed ahead. It will be more akin to computers, how one can run the latest macOS on even 7-8 year old computers. I think the limiting factor moving forward beyond that will be more whether Apple supplies parts for devices or not, or they become "legacy" devices...again, just like their computer lineup has been for a while now, or if RAM will prevent iOS functionality in future updates.
 
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