Why I think the iPhone 5C is a bad purchase

[the8thark]

After reading several live keynote text feeds (like we all did) have come to the conclusion that the iPhone 5C is a bad purchase. But why?

The Good

- 5 colours and the plastic finish is nice I'll admit this.

The Bad

- The price. The 5S is only $100 more (pre tax in the US) and $130 more (post tax in Australia). This is outright pricing. And even the contract pricing is similar. When at the extreme upper end of phone pricing (which the iPhone is at) $100 or so is almost not felt.

- Lack of new hardware features in the 5C. The new camera, fingerprint canner, M7 etc etc are all very useful tech you can use.

- the 5S is 64 bit. Does this matter today? For the most part no. But soon enough iOS7 will go fully 64 bit. And by that time will will Apple have stopped support on the 5C and 5S? Quite possibly yes. But there is also another possibility. That at this time, the 5C support is dropped but the 5S support is kept because of the 64 bit. This matters more than you think. The iPhone is slowly becoming like a Mac. By this I mean not something you replace every year or two. And at the very high price point of Apple Phones (higher the almost every wifi full sized iPad) people will not be willing to replace their iphone as much anymore. Thus future proofing your iPhone to get the most life out of it becomes paramount.

- iIn the future (possibly before iOS goes fully 64 bit), some devs could make their apps 64 bit only. That locks out the 5C from ever using them.

- Case finish. This is more a side point and not that bad but to some people this matters. The 5S outer case screams professional looking where the 5C looks more like a fashion accessory. A really good one but still in my opinion that point exists.

So for all those reasons I feel the 5C is not a good buy at all. If the 5C was $200-$300 cheaper than the 5S it'd be an easy buy. But at the given price points, it makes the 5C a very tough buy. Personally before the keynote I had my head set on getting a 5C. After the keynote, I probably wont touch a 5C ever, and will slowly save up for the 5S or 6 (which ever comes first after I save up for the high cost). The keynote basically destroyed my want of a 5C. And I think the keynote has done so for others too.

[edit]
The just a phone people have the 4S (cause it's cheaper). And the tech geeks have the 5S. Why does apple need a middle man phone (5C)?

 

[user-name-here]

Even though I'm going with the 5S: maybe someone just has a budget of $99 for an upgrade, what then?

 

[r0k]

After reading several live keynote text feeds (like we all did) have come to the conclusion that the iPhone 5C is a bad purchase. But why?

The Good

- 5 colours and the plastic finish is nice I'll admit this.

The Bad

- The price. The 5S is only $100 more (pre tax in the US) and $130 more (post tax in Australia). This is outright pricing. And even the contract pricing is similar. When at the extreme upper end of phone pricing (which the iPhone is at) $100 or so is almost not felt.

- Lack of new hardware features in the 5C. The new camera, fingerprint canner, M7 etc etc are all very useful tech you can use.

- the 5S is 64 bit. Does this matter today? For the most part no. But soon enough iOS7 will go fully 64 bit. And by that time will will Apple have stopped support on the 5C and 5S? Quite possibly yes. But there is also another possibility. That at this time, the 5C support is dropped but the 5S support is kept because of the 64 bit. This matters more than you think. The iPhone is slowly becoming like a Mac. By this I mean not something you replace every year or two. And at the very high price point of Apple Phones (higher the almost every wifi full sized iPad) people will not be willing to replace their iphone as much anymore. Thus future proofing your iPhone to get the most life out of it becomes paramount.

- iIn the future (possibly before iOS goes fully 64 bit), some devs could make their apps 64 bit only. That locks out the 5C from ever using them.

- Case finish. This is more a side point and not that bad but to some people this matters. The 5S outer case screams professional looking where the 5C looks more like a fashion accessory. A really good one but still in my opinion that point exists.

So for all those reasons I feel the 5C is not a good buy at all. If the 5C was $200-$300 cheaper than the 5S it'd be an easy buy. But at the given price points, it makes the 5C a very tough buy. Personally before the keynote I had my head set on getting a 5C. After the keynote, I probably wont touch a 5C ever, and will slowly save up for the 5S or 6 (which ever comes first after I save up for the high cost). The keynote basically destroyed my want of a 5C. And I think the keynote has done so for others too.

There is another possibility: The 5C may sell for a LOT less in developing markets. The US pricing is set to avoid undercutting 5S, not merely to maintain margins. I had really hoped Apple would offer this phone for $400 or less unlocked on day one. It remains to be seen whether there is any 5C demand in the US or not. I bet the 5C gets mainly sold elsewhere. I wouldn't have been surprised if the 5C wasn't even offered here. Pricing it this high is effectively doing the same thing. People who REALLY want it will buy it, everyone else will go for a subsidized 5S.

 

[the8thark]

Even though I'm going with the 5S: maybe someone just has a budget of $99 for an upgrade, what then?

Those people are on plans who probably upgrade every 1-2 years. And by the time they upgrade again the 5C will probably still be supported so that's ok.

And if $99 to $199 on contract pricing is really that a big of a deal to you, it's probably best if you kept your older iPhone and saved up that $100 more. You don't have to upgrade the second you are eligible to.

----------

There is another possibility: The 5C may sell for a LOT less in developing markets. The US pricing is set to avoid undercutting 5S, not merely to maintain margins. I had really hoped Apple would offer this phone for $400 or less unlocked on day one. It remains to be seen whether there is any 5C demand in the US or not. I bet the 5C gets mainly sold elsewhere. I wouldn't have been surprised if the 5C wasn't even offered here. Pricing it this high is effectively doing the same thing. People who REALLY want it will buy it, everyone else will go for a subsidized 5S.

I don't it'll sell for a lot less in developing markets. The developing markets have rich and poor people like like countries like the USA and Australia do. And the poorer people here would appreciate a cheaper iPhone too. Most of them will not go to the trouble to import it just for a cheaper iPhone. They'll stick with their older iPhone (that's what I'm doing for the time being) or make go a cheaper Android.

My whole point is the pricing as in a way cannibalised the 5C. Is it worth giving up everything the 5S has to save roughly $100? Not really in my opinion.

 

[thekingofnerds]

- iIn the future (possibly before iOS goes fully 64 bit), some devs could make their apps 64 bit only. That locks out the 5C from ever using them.

I would be shocked if any major iOS apps went 64-bit only for at least the next 3 years. Even infinity blade 3 that they had a 64-bit-nerdgasm about at the keynote will still work on older devices. I wouldn't put it past Apple to insert requirements in their guidelines that devs must provide both binaries for the next couple years, or at least make that a "recommendation" to the app devs.

After a few years, I'm sure a lot of devs will drop 32-bit development. And guess what, by that point I would reckon at least 95% of iOS devices will be 64-bit enabled.

There will probably be some mathematical and science apps that switch sooner, but the vast majority won't as it won't make technical or economic sense to do so.

People had the same paranoia about the desktop 32->64 migration, and guess what, none of their fears came to be. Heck, there's still a bunch of mac apps available that are 32-bit enabled.

So for all those reasons I feel the 5C is not a good buy at all.

For the majority of the world, it is not. However, Apple is clearly targeting China and Asia in general with the 5C.

 

[the8thark]

I would be shocked if any major iOS apps went 64-bit only for at least the next 3 years.

The OS could go 64 bit only. And The new OS could have features that devs want to use in their apps. Also some people want to be using the latest OS always . . . no I think most of us do, (I know I do). But I think you might be right in saying we have 2-3 years leeway from this.

 

[thekingofnerds]

The OS could go 64 bit only. And The new OS could have features that devs want to use in their apps. Also some people want to be using the latest OS always . . . no I think most of us do, (I know I do). But I think you might be right in saying we have 2-3 years leeway from this.

I guarantee iOS will be available for both 32 and 64 bit platforms for at least 2 more years, probably 3. Apple's not stupid, the last thing Apple would want to do is segment their OS versions by dropping a bunch of devices, until they are absolutely ready to do so (everyone is on newer devices that are all 64-bit). The best thing they have going for them, unlike android, is that nearly every iOS device has a new OS.

 

[Michael CM1]

Even though I'm going with the 5S: maybe someone just has a budget of $99 for an upgrade, what then?

I just can't understand this concept. An extra $100 is a problem when over the life of the two year contract you're probably paying more than $2,000? It's especially worth it for the possibilities of the touch ID sensor.

Honestly, if the cost is that much of a deterrent, wait a couple of months for it to hit $150. I got my mom a 5 at Best Buy in January. Also, TRADE IN YOUR OLD PHONE. Gazelle is giving me $160 for a phone I bought for $199. Had I signed up two days earlier, I would've been given $175. Since your payments don't go down as they would on the T-Mobile plans, IT'S ALMOST A FREE UPGRADE. Well, free as in only about $240 instead of $400 for the 64GB model.

 

[Smallville]

It's not a great purchase at its full price. As someone with T-Mobile service and zero desire to switch and do the contract thing, full price is an important part of my decision to buy my first smartphone.

I was hoping for a price of no more than $450 to $500 after state sales tax kicks in. The 5C is going to be nearly $600, more than what I had budgeted. So, my options are to see if T-Mobile has unsold 5 stock and see if those phones will go on sale, or pick a cheaper Android phone, or try to come up with another $100 to $200. And if the third option is the case, I might as well save enough to buy the 5S. It may take a few more months, but I hardly think they'll be out of stock by November.

 

[nilzi]

I think many women will like the colorful iPhone 5C, many people previously complaint about iPhone's monotone colors, so they just switch to HTC or Samsung.
Apple release colorful iPhone 5c so that expand its market.

 

[UBS28]

The iPhone 5c is a bad purchase because it belongs in the $300-$350 category.

The iPhone 5 belonged there in the first place due to it's outdated hardware, but people were willing to pay the premium price due to the metal case.

I can see most people buy the iPhone 5S since they almost cost the same.

 

[camperdown9]

Hi

I might not be the regular iPhone customer. I tend to buy two per year at the full price and then sell the previous years phones.

My view is the 5s is a better option if you are going to keep the handset for a few years. The 5c is maybe a little over priced.

However if you have been an iPhone owner since iPhone 4 you might just be getting a little tried of the same basic form factor, and be ready for something that looks different.

Alex

 

[thekingofnerds]

I think many women will like the colorful iPhone 5C,

Why did I just get an image of a 30-something blonde with a purse dog holding a pink 5C in my head?