UK iPhone 5s and 5c Thread

[BMcCoy]

After a bit of researching on iPhone 5 prices, I'm thinking SIM-free is the cheapest way to buy the iPhone, despite the up-front high cost.

A few weeks ago, I did a few calculations, going round all the UK carriers, and working out the costs of the packages.. specifically, comparing the contract costs of an iPhone 5 versus the SIM-only deals coupled with buying the iPhone from Apple sim-free.

In each case, the overall cost was less if buying the iPhone outright sim-free.

The carrier contract deals varied from about £40 to £300 more expensive over the duration of the contract.

 

[ayzee]

So surprised how expensive the 5c is unsubsidised. They could have really challenged the contract market with cheaper sim free 5c's. Also don't see the point to a 16gb 5s. With HD video recording, app sizes, and app data, 16gb is just not enough, especially for £549!! Prices have gone up by £40 for it aswell.

Apple is really trying to slow down the market, in order to rinse every bit of profit out, it is a risk but I'm sure they will make plenty of profit.

When the iPhone 5c is ordered online on the 20th, do you think they will be able to offer next day delivery for the 21st, or will they arrive monday 23rd?

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

i dont know why the heck did they discontinue iPhone 5. and then why there are no pre orders of 5s.

 

[RobocopAndy]

Been very disappointed with the Orange/EE 3G signal over the last 18 months - the fact that they were turning off masts (mentioned Above) may have something to do with it!

So was planning to jump in November when my contract as up, probably from 4S to 5s but e discussion of 4g bands suggest that EE will be the best on the 5s. Am I reading that correctly?

Just got off the phone to orange.. They will be ringing me back on Friday (launch date) and although they haven't got the prices sorted yet they will only be offering it on the 4g network..

 

[gadget123]

Will I be able to pick up a 5S about a week after launch at Carphone Warehouse?

 

[OllyW]

Will I be able to pick up a 5S about a week after launch at Carphone Warehouse?

I doubt even Carphone Warehouse would currently be able to give you an accurate answer to that question. It all depends on supply and demand but the lack of pre-orders for the 5S suggest they could be in short supply.

 

[Azy]

I will also be getting the black IP 5s (Finally time to upgrade my 4). I will be going to Vodafone as my upgrade is due to them.

I will never line up at like 4am to be able to pick one up and wait in line hours and hours. I would go down at like 9am however but don't want to head down at 9am, spend ages waiting and then get turned away and find i'm always too late to get quick delivery by ordering via Vodafone online/phone.

I've never had an iphone so close to launch before so really torn as to weather I go down to Vodafone in the morning and hope for the best or order it as soon as I possibly can from the Vodafone website and hope it gets delivered promptly?

 

[MikeWilson]

So surprised how expensive the 5c is unsubsidised. They could have really challenged the contract market with cheaper sim free 5c's. Also don't see the point to a 16gb 5s. With HD video recording, app sizes, and app data, 16gb is just not enough, especially for £549!! Prices have gone up by £40 for it aswell.

Apple is really trying to slow down the market, in order to rinse every bit of profit out, it is a risk but I'm sure they will make plenty of profit.

I'm surprised that they're keeping the 4S in the lineup as the budget device. It's two years old and looks like it's going to be sold well into its third year and with even the included Applecare, Apple's going to be supporting tons of them until Q4 2015.

I don't know why so many of us think of the 5C as a budget offering. Maybe it's because the rumour mill saw evidence of a plastic iPhone and went into overdrive, claiming that there was a cheaper iPhone in the works. I think Apple just did this to segment the market. Why it's so expensive, I don't know. Ditto the 5S - 16GB isn't sufficient, but maybe Apple will prove me wrong when they sell out of them.

But yes, Apple are really trying to go for extreme levels of profit instead of market share at the moment. I think it's the wrong move, but hey - I'm just a consumer/developer/little guy who is seeing more and more people moving to Android because it's cheaper.

When the iPhone 5c is ordered online on the 20th, do you think they will be able to offer next day delivery for the 21st, or will they arrive monday 23rd?

I think the iPhone 5c will have sold out by then and will be on the 2-4 weeks schedule by the 20th. If you visit the Apple store on the 20th, you'll probably see a delay on 5c's, but next day delivery on a 5s. That is, if the store is up and running without falling over.

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I've never had an iphone so close to launch before so really torn as to weather I go down to Vodafone in the morning and hope for the best or order it as soon as I possibly can from the Vodafone website and hope it gets delivered promptly?

Do the queue. It's fun and a nice way to make some friends

 

[WRXiceman]

What time you thinking of heading down? With the iPhone 4/4S I got there about 3/4AM and I had a 4/5 hour wait in line

Seriously? Oh god! I was thinking of leaving my house at about 6am to get there for around 6:20am.

 

[MikeWilson]

Will I be able to pick up a 5S about a week after launch at Carphone Warehouse?

My crystalline balls say no, but possibly at the 2-3 week mark.

However in the past, Carphone Warehouse has been one of the shops who have had stock since most people tend to prefer to queue outside the retail outlets for the networks directly.

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Seriously? Oh god! I was thinking of leaving my house at about 6am to get there for around 6:20am.

But he/she'd be one of the first in the store with the whole day ahead of them.

 

[danb77]

What options are there for 4G PAYG?

I'll be looking for a Giffgaff-like £10 per month with 1gig+ of data. Am I dreaming?!

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

But he/she'd be one of the first in the store with the whole day ahead of them.

A friend of mine walked into a CW store last year on launch day and they had a few iPhones left. A few miles down the road on Cardiff they were queuing with no guarantee there would be any left and these people had been queuing at least overnight. Sure it is nice to buy something in the actual Apple store, but is sitting on a hard shopping centre floor really worth all the hassle? My iP5 arrived on launch day in the morning to my front door. I don't really get the whole camping out thing.

 

[MikeWilson]

A friend of mine walked into a CW store last year on launch day and they had a few iPhones left. A few miles down the road on Cardiff they were queuing with no guarantee there would be any left and these people had been queuing at least overnight. Sure it is nice to buy something in the actual Apple store, but is sitting on a hard shopping centre floor really worth all the hassle? My iP5 arrived on launch day in the morning to my front door. I don't really get the whole camping out thing.

CW do tend to have a few in, but over the past couple of years they have been, in my experience, pushing contracts with them every time.

I picked up my first iPhone 3Gs, queuing up in a shopping centre quite early (about 6am). It was fun, met some really nice people and bought the phone from O2 on PAYG who were one of the only places to obtain it at the time.

The iPhone 4 I queued again (front of the queue, spent a nice couple of hours chatting to other Apple affecionadoes), this time at Orange. All went well until the manager decided to tell me, right when I got to the till that they wouldn't serve me as they were only doing contracts that morning. And this was after asking him in person the previous day if they would sell me two the following day on PAYG. It was quite tense, and the other queuers even spoke up for me, but the manager wouldn't budget. Very annoyed with Orange's dreadfully greedy in-store customer service, I went to Tesco and bought the last two that they had and got enough clubcard vouchers to eat out at Pizza Express once a week for a couple of months.

Pre-ordered the 4S and 5 online which was far more difficult than simply going to bed a few hours earlier, queuing and having a nice chat with other folks. The online store going up and down, and cancelling and payments failing and ... eugh.

So you pays your money and takes your choice. If you haven't queued before, it's worth the experience as it can be rather good fun But just once.

 

[JonLa]

The only reason for the lack of preorders will be a constrained supply of the most popular models. If they can get you in the store, and your preferred model is out, they can sell you a different colour, capacity, or a 5C.

 

[Azy]

Seriously? Oh god! I was thinking of leaving my house at about 6am to get there for around 6:20am.

Haha - I was going to leave mine after 8 to get to the town about 9am when the store opens, maybe even a little later to let the initial wait go down!

Do the queue. It's fun and a nice way to make some friends

I don't mind waiting for like an hour but not for hours and hours and if by me turning up after the store opens there is no chance of me getting it i'd rather not bother and just wait for orders to open online and maybe even get it delivered within 24 hours. - More importantly if I go down and wait around and don't get one then try and order one for delivery, it could end up taking weeks! - Bit of a risk for somebody who wont be camping out.

I can't bring myself to wait for hours before the stores even open to then wait a few more hours just to have it on launch day but don't mind going down when the store opens and waiting around for a while to get it

 

[animatedude]

so no news about preordering the iPhone 5S?

 

[PaulOBrain]

so no news about preordering the iPhone 5S?

Nope no preorder for the 5S.

 

[Azy]

so no news about preordering the iPhone 5S?

The News is that there will be no pre-ordering, it's a case of trying to buy it on launch day!

 

[Theydonboi]

Any chance of being able to order on the 20th for pick-up in a store the following day?

I've never queued for a launch, and I'm not going to start now. Why are we getting this treatment while 5C customers get no such bother? Surely the premium product should be a more pleasurable buying experience?

Really cheesed off with Apple over this. I'd organised to work from home on release day anticipating the yearly wait for the courier. No such luck.

On top of that, the 32GB 5S is £30 more expensive than the equivalent 5 last year....and the trade-in price for 5 is much cheaper than the 4s Last year.

Gah.

 

[recklesslife85]

Think my iPhone days are long gone at that price. Currently using the S4 which is great but was considering going back to an iPhone due to my Apple Tv and iMac but think I'll stick to Android and get a LG G2 (due to the great reviews and awesome battery life) Note 3 is too big and Z1, well I had a Z and wasnt that good.

Going down to Cardiff with my brother next Friday so hopefully I leave with no 5S...

 

[Danando1993]

Currently own a 4S and definitely want to upgrade to the 5S, but the prices puzzle me How can the 5C be marketed as a cheaper option but still be £469 for the 16GB, quite odd to me. Plus an increased price for the 5S than usual.

Oh well, hoping to get a 32GB 5S on o2!

 

[danb77]

I have bought several iPhones on launch day. With contract, your best bet is to go to one of the mobile network's own shops. Sim-free often the big carphone warehouses have them in stock, and the more obscure ones (e.g. in secondary town centres) usually have small queues. Don't go to your main local flagship store, go to the smaller one in the neighbourhood shopping precinct.

 

[dspalton]

If somebody could suggest phone recycling websites, I'll look up current prices and post them

I run a site which donates any money made via it to charity
www.recyclemyoldmobile.com
its just a comparison site with all the top UK recyclers prices.

Hope it helps and ok to post.
The money made goes to Farnham & Wey Valley Cats Protection - www.farnhamcats.co.uk

Dave

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I got £125.50 for my 16GB iPhone 4 from O2 Recycle last month. Pretty pleased with that as it almost covered the cost of my 32GB iPhone 5 on contract.

http://www.recyclemyoldmobile.com/phone/apple/recycle_apple_iphone_4s_16gb_RP3572.html

£204.00
iPhone 4S 16GB

Dave

 

[Rlong405]

I obviously don't know what will happen this time but let me share my experience from last year (iPhone 5)

Got to the Liverpool 1 Apple store at 3:05am. I was circa 70 - 100th person in the queue. Obviously the store doesn't open til 8 so the queue doesn't get any smaller til 8am. At about 4:30am they organised the barriers to form a snake like queue rather than have everyone queue down the street in a straight line - security made sure that everyone got into the snake queue in same order as arrival.

At approx 5am they went through the queue and handed out tickets depending on what colour and model you wanted (it was 2 per person max). They had the correct number of tickets depending on how many of each phone they had in stock.

I don't know the exact time they ran out of tickets but I believe they were turning people away at about 7am - 7:30.

Then when the shop opened at 8, they let groups of people in at a time until the queue of people with tickets had gone. I had my phone and back to the car by 9am (so an hour of additional queuing from 8am for them to process the 70ish people in front of me.

So I guess the point I am trying to make is that turning up at 8am or 9am is probably going to be too late.

Btw the guy at the front arrived at 4pm the day before.

Also note - this is the apple store so carrier stores may be less busy.

 

[ScholarsInk]

After a bit of researching on iPhone 5 prices, I'm thinking SIM-free is the cheapest way to buy the iPhone, despite the up-front high cost.

A few weeks ago, I did a few calculations, going round all the UK carriers, and working out the costs of the packages.. specifically, comparing the contract costs of an iPhone 5 versus the SIM-only deals coupled with buying the iPhone from Apple sim-free.

In each case, the overall cost was less if buying the iPhone outright sim-free.

The carrier contract deals varied from about £40 to £300 more expensive over the duration of the contract.

I'm not sure that's always the case. Generally, yes, but for instance I am on The One Plan with Three on an iPhone I bought from the Apple Store unlocked. It runs £25 a month and if the prices remain similar, that would be a £10 premium for two years (£240) with a £29-£69 up front fee. In my case that would be an additional cost that's half the price of a new iPhone outright.