Those who went from 4S to the 5..

[MacBookPro13"]

What do you think of the upgrade? Any major improvements in any particular area's?

Would you recommend other 4S users to make the upgrade if they can get a good price for their 4S?

 

[Jare]

What do you think of the upgrade? Any major improvements in any particular area's?

Would you recommend other 4S users to make the upgrade if they can get a good price for their 4S?

Love the bigger screen and new design.

Yes, I'd say upgrade especially if you get a good price for your 4s. No reason not to!

 

[Vanel]

Biggest difference for me is the weight. I didn't notice it as much as first, but after a few days now I definitely feel the difference.

The larger phone also feels better in the hand.

It's definitely a worthwhile upgrade coming from the 4S, it's not an essential upgrade, but it's worthwhile IMHO.

The larger screen hasn't shown it's potential quite yet because many apps still aren't updated for it.

 

[HERO XXL]

Personally, I think the upgrade from the 4S to the 5 was a minimal one. The screen is longer, yes, but not so much that its noticeable to the point that if you really weren't looking for the difference, you'd actually know. Things such as weight & speed? I seriously have never given THAT much notice to these two aspects, so it's hard for me to picture others doing so. (Besides, JUST HOW MUCH speed DO we need? We continue to measure the speed against the previous model--its not like we had a problem with the previous models' speed!!) iOS 6 from iOS 5 was a nice change, however--again, not a major change, but the new capabilities are nice. I'd say, if you want to say that you have the 5 and no longer have the four, then the upgrade is for you. If not, you're good with the 4S!

 

[Quu]

I went from 4S to 5 and I think it's a great upgrade. The larger screen especially changes the entire feel of the phone.

It's amazing how such a little increase in vertical height can make such a big difference. It really makes messages, twitter feeds and just lists of information in general much nicer. And also now that the aspect ratio is 16:9 you can full screen a lot of videos (TV Shows mainly) that before you had black bars on so not only do you get the .5" increase of space for video you also get rid of the black bars which makes it feel even more larger when watching videos.

For me had they not increased the screen size I would have easily skipped this generation as I did with the original iPhone 4 (I went from 3GS to 4S) but the features here on the iPhone 5 are compelling, LTE, reduced weight, reduced thickness, new industrial design, improved camera, 2x as fast, twice the amount of RAM and the increased screen size.. it's just overall an improvement.

Now obviously there are no stand out and unique software features but I think in iOS 7 they are going to do something with that extra 512MB of RAM they've stuck in the phone. I mean really the iPhone 4S had 512MB of RAM the iPhone 5 has 1GB. That is a huge jump and I can't help to think they did that for a reason, you'll notice they never mentioned the RAM in their presentation which makes me think they don't want people to be contemplating it too much and figuring out what they are going to do but I believe they've done it for a reason and all will be unveiled with iOS 7.

 

[The Samurai]

OP -

Hope the following video helps.

 

[doctorandrew]

LTE is a big deal and a huge difference from iPhone 4S.

 

[TM WAZZA]

YouTube: video

 

[twylie]

LTE is a big deal and a huge difference from iPhone 4S.

This was my primary reason as my home, work, and travel areas are all well covered by VZW LTE. Any other upgrades (screen size, weight, etc.) were pluses but not my primary motivation. Also, It wasn't that my 4S ever felt slow, laggy or hung, but after using the 5 for the weekend, it's noticeably faster and more responsive. For me, it was similar to moving to an SSD laptop. Stuff just happens; instantly. App opens, OS responsiveness, and now with LTE, instant page loads (when VZW isn't doing it's "hanging" thing here in the SE).

One thing I wasn't expecting was the improvement in the screen. I never had any complaints about the 4S screen, but the 5 is visibly better to me with better saturation and a more solid look. I also like the iOS6 setup for auto brightness. Works much better than the old curve and adjustment setup IMO.

I just reset my 4S this morning for sale or gifting to a relative. It's still an amazing piece of hardware and the few fewer features compared to the 5 would not be an issue for many people.

 

[auero]

There is another thread going on which has some comments you might to read. I put my reply there.

Long story short: Bought AT&T i5, no LTE in my state so I returned to get the Verizon model but they were sold out. Using my 4S again and besides the screen size, I notice no difference in terms of speed. If apps open its a second less but nothing noticeable. Weight and thickness don't matter to me but it surely is a plus. I'm contemplating if LTE is the deal breaker for me to switch to Verizon or just hang onto my 4S.

 

[Irish Rose]

LTE, faster processor, and the larger screen size made upgrading an easy choice for me. I love everything about the iPhone 5.

 

[thaghost]

I just switched from the 4S yesterday. I had att and switched over to verizon. Still on the fence on whether or not I should return. Personally, I am not that impressed. Yes the screen is slightly larger, but in an awkward way. It almost appear too tall. Wish they would have extended the width a little bit, even 1/4". While the A6 chip is great, I haven't noticed that much speed upgrades. While I am a fan of the phone being lighter, it just feels different coming from a 4S or even a 4 for that matter. It's almost too light. Feels like it will break very easy. So idk, i got 12 more days to decide. But it's looking like I will return mine....

 

[paulrbeers]

To be honest, it wasn't a huge upgrade for me. I went from a 4S to the 5. Yes I have LTE now, but my LTE speeds at my house and work aren't that great. I just did a test with LTE on and off, and the increase was only 1.5mbps on the download (upload was waayy better on LTE but how much uploading do I do? not much). The extra screen real estate is nice for my fat fingers, but it only really helps if I type in Landscape mode (which I normally don't do). Speed is definitely faster, but then again the 4S really was no slouch.

Biggest annoyance right now for me is the lightning port. Since I can't use my iPhone 5 in my truck or my alarm clock until the port adapters come out (waiting on you Apple!). Also I like credit card slot cases which aren't all that readily available since this is a whole new form factor (compared to when I bought my 4S since the 4S had the exact same body as the 6 month old Verizon 4).

So would I buy the 5 again, if I had an upgrade yes. In my case I paid full price, so it probably wasn't worth it. However, my dad got a nice iPhone 4S for free off of me so I guess he's happy!

 

[ixodes]

My iPhone 5 makes me appreciate my 4S even more.

I prefer going without a case which is no problem with the more durable 4S. It seems like it may take a generation before Apple determines what's needed to make iP5 scratch resistant. As it stands it's a pretty soft finnish.

Being thinner it's harder to hold comfortably. The taller / longer form factor is oddly clumsy in hand. Whereas the shorter more compact 4S is more well balanced.

The 4S has been a great phone that's served me well & will continue to. It just fits my preferences far better than my iPhone 5. In addition I prefer iOS 5.

I'm very happy that I kept my 4S, it was a better move than I initially anticipated.