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Upgrade timing and the 4G iPhone

S

scott.n

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 17, 2010
339
78
My iPhone 3G (AT&T) is eligible for upgrade February 25, 2011. (I purchased it in June 2009, just after the 3GS was released and the price dropped to $99. In retrospect I should have paid an extra $100 for the 3GS, but I digress.) The conventional wisdom says that I should wait a few months until summer when the iPhone 5 is released and upgrade then. However, the earlier I upgrade now, the earlier I'll be able to upgrade (at the lowest price) to the (presumably 4G) iPhone 6 next year.

I have little interest in switching to Verizon, but the fact that the iPhone 4 is just now being released on their network gives me some assurance that it will continue to be supported by Apple for some time

On the other hand, I don't want to buy an iPhone 4 and then a few months later see a truly revolutionary iPhone 5 released. Of course in that case, I could always sell the iPhone 4 to cover the early upgrade cost, but I like to keep my old devices.

So is anyone else taking into account the future 4G iPhone as you decide when to upgrade, and if so, what do you plan to do?
 
Last edited:
iceterminal said:
Really? iPhone 6?? Are you really serious?

The "iPhone 4S/5" is still a myth, and you're going on about a 6?

What post #2 said.
Click to expand...

I think he meant iphone 5 not 6 in his last comment.

I have a iphone 3 and am going to wait until the 5 comes out to upgrade. Depending on what that has, I would go with the 5 or if its nothing big (and if there is no home button) I would just go with the cheaper 4 which would probably drop to $99
 
iceterminal said:
Really? iPhone 6?? Are you really serious?

The "iPhone 4S/5" is still a myth, and you're going on about a 6?

What post #2 said.
Click to expand...

I am new to these forums, and if these sorts of threads are discouraged, then I am truly sorry.

However, I do think that a 4G radio is most likely to be introduced with the 2012 iPhone iteration which, yes, is still a long way's off. But if that's something that I'm looking forward to, is it really so wrong to consider contract lengths and future upgrade possibilities as I upgrade now?
 
Upgrade now....4G is not coming for the 5th gen. Whatever bells and whistles Apple's gonna add this summer won't make the iphone experience that dramatically different, what will make it very different is 4G and a bigger screen or something of that nature more likely to happen in 2012, not an 8 megapixel camera and more RAM... and you'll still get the benefits of iOS 5.0.

You'll only have to wait 2-3 months to get that version if you upgrade now.
 
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Whoa they are really making you wait it out for your upgrade pricing. At&t let me upgrade everytime from the 2g, 3G, 3G-S, and 4. Not sure why your upgrade date is so far away. Gotta pay closer attention when at&t bends the rules for iPhone customers.
 
scott.n said:
On the other hand, I don't want to buy an iPhone 4 and then a few months later see a truly revolutionary iPhone 5 released. Of course in that case, I could always sell the iPhone 4 to cover the early upgrade cost, but I like to keep my old devices.

So is anyone else taking into account the future 4G iPhone as you decide when to upgrade, and if so, what do you plan to do?
Click to expand...

Wow what a bunch of rude people responding, perhaps instead of telling the OP to go away they should. :mad:

OP: when you mention 4G, I'm assuming you mean 4G access, as we have the iPhone. I don't think the iPhone 5 will be 4G, perhaps in 2012 (if the world doesn't end :p)

If you need one now, get one now, otherwise wait until summer arrives and see what apple does.

Food for thought, if you get one now, you'll not have to deal with the crush, the waiting and possibly being put on a wait list and be unable to get a new phone for several weeks.
 
Chaos123x said:
Whoa they are really making you wait it out for your upgrade pricing. At&t let me upgrade everytime from the 2g, 3G, 3G-S, and 4. Not sure why your upgrade date is so far away. Gotta pay closer attention when at&t bends the rules for iPhone customers.
Click to expand...

You've upgraded every 12 months for $199/$299 or $399/$499?

AT&T would let me upgrade to the 16 GB iPhone 4 today for $399, but I'm eligible for the full discount ($199) on February 25.
 
scott.n said:
You've upgraded every 12 months for $199/$299 or $399/$499?
Click to expand...
AT&T has let a number of people take advantage of upgrade pricing even when they weren't eligible.
AT&T would let me upgrade to the 16 GB iPhone 4 today for $399, but I'm eligible for the full discount ($199) on February 25.
Click to expand...
If you want one now, call them back and explain it. Also explain that if you need to wait until February, You may opt for a Verizon iphone
 
MarlboroLite said:
Upgrade now....4G is not coming for the 5th gen. Whatever bells and whistles Apple's gonna add this summer won't make the iphone experience that dramatically different, what will make it very different is 4G and a bigger screen or something of that nature more likely to happen in 2012, not an 8 megapixel camera and more RAM... and you'll still get the benefits of iOS 5.0.

You'll only have to wait 2-3 months to get that version if you upgrade now.
Click to expand...

Thank you, that's exactly the sort of advice I was looking for: whether buying an iPhone 4 towards the end of its cycle instead of waiting for the iPhone 5 is a reasonable trade-off for getting the 2012 iPhone earlier.

Of course there's no guarantee that the 2012 iPhone will be LTE, but that seems to be the most common expectation.
 
maflynn said:
If you want one now, call them back and explain it. Also explain that if you need to wait until February, You may opt for a Verizon iphone
Click to expand...

I've thought about calling and asking for earlier upgrade eligibility, but my contract actually isn't up until the end of June so threatening to leave for Verizon isn't really an issue.
 
scott.n said:
My iPhone 3G (AT&T) is eligible for upgrade February 25, 2011. (I purchased it in June 2009, just after the 3GS was released and the price dropped to $99. In retrospect I should have paid an extra $100 for the 3GS, but I digress.) The conventional wisdom says that I should wait a few months until summer when the iPhone 5 is released and upgrade then. However, the earlier I upgrade now, the earlier I'll be able to upgrade (at the lowest price) to the (presumably 4G) iPhone 6 next year.

I have little interest in switching to Verizon, but the fact that the iPhone 4 is just now being released on their network gives me some assurance that it will continue to be supported by Apple for some time

On the other hand, I don't want to buy an iPhone 4 and then a few months later see a truly revolutionary iPhone 5 released. Of course in that case, I could always sell the iPhone 4 to cover the early upgrade cost, but I like to keep my old devices.

So is anyone else taking into account the future 4G iPhone as you decide when to upgrade, and if so, what do you plan to do?
Click to expand...

While I am on Verizon, I can tell you that my thought pattern sounds very similar to yours. I am going to be getting the 4 this February. Why? Because if I wait for the summer and only renew my contract then, then when the 2012 iPhone is released (assuming that it will be a much bigger update then), I'll be completely unable to upgrade without paying full price. If I upgrade now, I'll only have to wait 2-3 months in order to upgrade to the 2012 iteration. And if WWDC 2011 comes along, and the update to the iPhone really is that monumental, I'll just sell my iPhone 4 and pay a little to upgrade to that.
 
They sent me an email last month saying I was eligible for the discounted upgrade. I bought last June when the 3Gs came out.

I'm paying the ETF to go to verizon because the 3G here is better than AT&Ts 3G... Plus I'm tired of all the dropped calls!
 
MarlboroLite said:
Upgrade now....4G is not coming for the 5th gen. Whatever bells and whistles Apple's gonna add this summer won't make the iphone experience that dramatically different, what will make it very different is 4G and a bigger screen or something of that nature more likely to happen in 2012, not an 8 megapixel camera and more RAM... and you'll still get the benefits of iOS 5.0.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Especially this bit in bold. Here's a link to a comparison between the iPhone 4 and Droid X. We all know the iPhone has a 5 MP camera. The Droid X has an 8 MP camera. Now many people would instantly say that this means the Droid's camera is better. Scroll down to about midway through the page on this link, and see the comparisons between image quality.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/199844/iphone_4_vs_droid_x_a_headtohead_comparison.html

What really irks me is the emphasis that so many people place on megapixels. More is not necessarily better! Unless you're planning on making prints out of your pictures and enlarging them to poster sizes, you really don't need more than what the iPhone 4 currently offers. Here's another link that explains this:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/digital-cameras-do-megapixels-matter/

If one of the huge selling points for the next gen iPhone is an 8 MP camera, I won't be overly impressed.
 
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Yup $199 once a year.

Except for the very first one (the 2g) because they only sold it at full price.
 
These threads have been beaten to death and really give me a headache. Just buy the latest and greatest available now. Speculating on the iPhone 5,6, or 7 is insane. :eek:
 
scott.n said:
I've thought about calling and asking for earlier upgrade eligibility, but my contract actually isn't up until the end of June so threatening to leave for Verizon isn't really an issue.
Click to expand...

Still can't hurt to call and ask.
 
What I don't get about these forums is that it seems like an iPhone is only good for 6 months, then you are expected to wait for the newest one. My friend just got an iPhone 4 and is very happy with it...will likely skip the next one and so what???? I fully plan on getting the Verizon iPhone 4 for many reasons. First, I've been waiting forever and I'm sick of it. Second, if there is a re-design, I'm not jumping on it....the iPhone 4's problems have been fixed with the Verizon version (antenna) and I'll just let all the early adopters work out all the bugs before even thinking of upgrading again. Also, the whole 4G thing is way too new, may have much higher pricing and doesn't have much coverage now...so why would I want a 4G phone anytime soon?

Just my 2 cents...get the phone and be happy with it.
 
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