What iPhone cycle do you prefer?

[RiddlaBronc]

Excuse me if this has been covered before which probably has but i can barely type on this ancient 10.1 much less search.

What cycle are you currently on? Which do you prefer?
I went from a 3g skipped to the 4 then skipped to the 5s. Ill probably stick to the S cycle for some time. As thats when my upgrades are. I really liked the 5 but by the time i wanted to get it (june) i knew the S was around the corner so i waited. I really liked the gold so iwent for it.

Or are you one of those that upgrade yearly?

 

[aziatiklover]

yearly iphone upgrade

 

[Small White Car]

Not sure I can vote. I think the S cycle is totally the smart way to do it.

And yet I constantly do the # cycle because I'm attracted to shiny new things.

Perhaps I should abstain.

 

[SpyderBite]

I don't have a preferred cycle. I upgrade when I need to. I had a 5 and it was fine. I lost it, sat on a hand me down Android and then ordered a 5c when my upgrade was available. Didn't need the features of the 5s and will enjoy the 5c until I find that it no longer meets my daily needs.

If means were endless, then I'd probably upgrade every time a feature came out that interested me that wasn't supported by my current device.

 

[T5BRICK]

The "S" phones have treated me well. I started with the 3Gs, went to the 4s and finally went to the 5s. I'm more concerned about the hardware upgrades than I am about the change in the appearance.

 

[Silverbird0000]

I'm a yearly upgrader. I have had every model of iPhone since the original. But if I had to choose I'd do the non S cycle as that is when the most new features come out. You have a current looking phone for 2 years, even if you don't have the S features. The S models are almost indistinguishable from the non S model they replace. The non S upgrades make the previous model look ancient (ex: 5 vs 4s, 4 vs 3Gs).

 

[KenniJH]

S cycle here, no doubt.

 

[macigo]

My first iPhone was the iPhone 4 and it was a great phone. Then I got the 5, 5c and 5s.

 

[iPodJedi]

This is my first iphone (its a 5c) so im not sure. My plan is to get the iphone 7 in 3 yrs and then stick on a 2yr cycle.

 

[rockitdog]

Somehow I got sick on the South cycle but I'd like to be in the other non-S cycle

 

[mpantone]

The S cycle is far superior. Proven physical design, new internals. That's just looking at the actual device.

When you look at the third-party accessory market, the S iteration makes WAY even more sense since there is a plethora of accessories that are actually shipping.

What was the availability of inexpensive third-party Lightning cables the day the iPhone 5 came out? And cases? How about a month later?

Then answer the same questions in regard to the iPhone 5s release.

I live in Silicon Valley and owning the newly debuted smartphone design is only a conversation starter for a couple of months. I own an iPhone 5s and no one asks me about my goddamn phone. That's fine, I don't really find it very interesting talking about it, and certainly no one is going to think more highly of me because I own the damn thing. These things are a dime-a-dozen. IT'S JUST A BLOODY PHONE.

 

[citizen93]

S got my 3gs 4 years ago, just skipped to 5s few weeks ago

 

[wordoflife]

I've only had S devices, but I think they are more polished. Any problems with the number devices seem to be fixed by the time the S version comes out.

 

[sliceoftoast]

the yearly iPhone releases

 

[Diseal3]

I go yearly will but will use the latest Android phone every few months out of the year.

 

[goobot]

Yearly, i get a new iPhone every year and actually make money off of selling my old one.

 

[dave420]

I am on a family plan so I can upgrade yearly if I want, but I only did that once. I upgrade when I have a need to, or if there is new functionality I really want.
iPhone (2007)-> iPhone 4->iPhone 4S->iPhone 5s

 

[Amasashi]

My iPhone progression has been 3G (later gave to girlfriend) -> 3GS -> 4S -> 5s. My girlfriend's progression has been 3G -> 4 -> 5. So here's how I feel about both cycles.

# Cycle
Obviously, it's the latest design, and it'll stay that way for a full 2 years. Only a very discerning eye would be able to tell the different between a # and S phone. This matters a lot to some people. To me, it's the only real benefit of the # phone. The drawbacks are mainly that you have to wait a bit for third-party accessories to roll out and for some of the design problems to be addressed.

S Cycle
The main benefit is the hardware upgrades. Sure, the # phones get an internals upgrade as well, but not to the extent of the S phones. There will also be a plethora of accessories by the time the S phone come out, and all the problems with the design should be fixed by then. The only drawback is that it will only look like the latest phone for a year. When the new # phone rolls out a year later, you'll have to deal with carrying what's obviously an old design for a full year.

Personally, I think if always having the latest looking phone isn't that important to you, the S cycle is the way to go.

 

[TWD98j]

I've been on the "S" cycle since the 3GS in 2009. Then I skipped the 4 but upgraded to the 4S in 2011. Now I am comfortably on a 5S.

While "S" cycle phones may not receive a fancy new design, they receive upgraded internals which usually mean that any bugs/issues with the previous/debut model get worked out.

The 3GS got a 3MP camera, video recording, a compass, and a bump in RAM over the 3G.

The 4S got an improved/dual antenna system, 8MP camera with face detection, dual core A5 chip, and siri over the 4.

Then the 5S got an improved A7 with 64 Bit and M7 chip, improved 8MP camera with dual flash, more LTE bands, slo-mo camera, and Touch Id over the 5.

So yeah, I'm good with the "S" cycle....unless the 6 really blows me away somehow next year - which I'm not expecting - I'll be quite content with my 5S for the 2 years.

 

[Mrbobb]

"S" 'cuz I don't feel like dealing with any hardware bugs of anything x.0.

 

[harcosparky]

"S" 'cuz I don't feel like dealing with any hardware bugs of anything x.0.

x.0 'cuz I don't feel like dealing with any hardware bugs of anything x.S

 

[hamiltonDSi]

The one that I like.
Had the Original, 3GS & 4.
Now I'm using an iPhone 5 which I bought on launch day last year and I was planning on skipping the 5s but nope, I just ordered a Gold 32GB 5s which will arrive in a couple of weeks.

 

[Jbenn425]

Definitely the number cycle. You get a fresh redesign that stays current for 2 years, skip the incremental S generation, and are eligible for an upgrade by the time the next redesign is out. Works for me. Don't forget, the 3G was a nice hardware improvement over the 2G. The 4 was a nice hardware upgrade over the 3GS, and the 5 was a nice hardware upgrade over the 4S. So to say you only get hardware upgrades with the S generation is false.

 

[oVerboost]

What iPhone cycle do you prefer?

I'm on the new iPhone every launch cycle. My Vodafone contract (uk) lets me upgrade 3 months early and it's only a 12 month contract, so even if Apple were to ever change the launch date of an iPhone I could still upgrade. The only phone I didn't get at launch was the 4s but have owned them all since the original.

Like many also do I pass my outgoing model to both my parents (alternating) and they then sell the older models whilst getting themselves a newer model.

 

[T5BRICK]

Definitely the number cycle. You get a fresh redesign that stays current for 2 years, skip the incremental S generation, and are eligible for an upgrade by the time the next redesign is out. Works for me. Don't forget, the 3G was a nice hardware improvement over the 2G. The 4 was a nice hardware upgrade over the 3GS, and the 5 was a nice hardware upgrade over the 4S. So to say you only get hardware upgrades with the S generation is false.

The 3G had the same CPU, GPU, RAM and camera as the original iPhone, except they added 3G and GPS which, arguably, should have been there from the beginning.

My beef with the upgrade to the 4 from the 3Gs comes from the fact that they didn't really give the 4 a fast enough GPU to drive the retina display. The upgraded camera and flash were welcome improvements though.