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Why on earth would Apple discontinue the iPhone 5?

Krissypantz2828

Krissypantz2828

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 8, 2012
884
3
This may not be even true but I can't help but wonder if this is some attempt to make people buy the 5S? Because if it were me I wouldn't want to buy a plastic phone! Let's be serious here! There will be people who buy it, but for a hundred or two more.. I would buy a 5S! Along with many other people I'm presuming!

Also I have an iPhone 5, so technically Me and whomever else will have a discontinued phone! That's great so now we can walk around with discontinued products! Some of us take pride in our up-to-date apple products, and that would definitely squash that even though the iPhone 5 is a perfectly good phone!

Ok so all this rant over a rumour? Yes because the thought is ridiculous to me! Hopefully it is just a rumour!
 
Seems like something more for the iPhone forum rather than the iOS 7 one. I think there are some threads there already dicussing this type of thing too. If anything it's likely more related to the rumors of iPhone 5C pretty much being like 5 so there might not be much need for 5 and 5C together, in addition to 5S.
 
I don't think they will discontinue the 5, rather the 4 & 4S since the processor in the 5 was quite a bit more powerful than previous iphones, and, when it came out last Sept. it was the fastest smartphone on the market. The 5 is also the only iphone that can utilize all of the features of iOS 7 (which brings this thread into the iOS 7 forum). AirDrop is not available for older iPhones, along with the parallax effect.

I could be wrong, perhaps Apple will drop the 5 and only have two phones 5C/5S, since these are rumored to be in different price brackets.

Still, they could continue to offer the 5 as a 16GB model only (maybe even only white?), 5C next step up 2 or 3 memory configs., then the 5S with 32/64/128?
 
Krissypantz2828 said:
Also I have an iPhone 5, so technically Me and whomever else will have a discontinued phone! That's great so now we can walk around with discontinued products!
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Seriously wtf? Who cares if you're product is discontinued or not, companies are gonna make new products ok? It's not like you're phone gets much slower just because of it.
 
C DM said:
Seems like something more for the iPhone forum rather than the iOS 7 one. I think there are some threads there already dicussing this type of thing too. If anything it's likely more related to the rumors of iPhone 5C pretty much being like 5 so there might not be much need for 5 and 5C together, in addition to 5S.
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It doesn't really matter if the 5 is discontinued still ip5>>>ip5c.Your phone won't be outdated.

If they do discontinue the 5 it's because the 5 would eat into the 5s and 5c sales.The 4s is sill selling well.I would imagine a lower priced 5 would sell as well as the 4s.

Edit:meant to quote OP.
 
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poobear said:
Seriously wtf? Who cares if you're product is discontinued or not, companies are gonna make new products ok? It's not like you're phone gets much slower just because of it.
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No but how many times did you see the IP4 get discontinued or the 3GS? They get old..not discontinued. I personally dont want to walk around with a discontinued phone! Maybe some of us can't afford to go and buy the iPhone 5S!!!
 
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:confused:I don't understand why having a discontinued 5 is a big deal.That line of thinking makes no sense whatsoever.
 
JobsGang said:
:confused:I don't understand why having a discontinued 5 is a big deal.That line of thinking makes no sense whatsoever.
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I dont know, because I just bought it lol..I didnt buy it when all the other apple fans bought their IP5's last year :(
 
C DM said:
Seems like something more for the iPhone forum rather than the iOS 7 one. I think there are some threads there already dicussing this type of thing too. If anything it's likely more related to the rumors of iPhone 5C pretty much being like 5 so there might not be much need for 5 and 5C together, in addition to 5S.
Click to expand...

Yes you are right!! I should of put it in the iPhone forum: Sorry Mods!
 
Krissypantz2828 said:
I dont know, because I just bought it lol..I didnt buy it when all the other apple fans bought their IP5's last year :(
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Krissypantz2828 said:
No but how many times did you see the IP4 get discontinued or the 3GS? They get old..not discontinued. I personally dont want to walk around with a discontinued phone! Maybe some of us can't afford to go and buy the iPhone 5S!!!
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So it is all about how you think you will look?
 
As a person inclined to buy the 5S, yes, I know I'm basically paying double for the same phone, but right now, my iPhone 5 doesn't get LTE and the battery life makes me sad.
 
If it will be discontinued it will be because they figure the 5S is going to be so similar to the 5 anyway, why have 2 out there? The 4S is still a functional older generation phone.
 
Italianblend said:
If it will be discontinued it will be because they figure the 5S is going to be so similar to the 5 anyway, why have 2 out there? The 4S is still a functional older generation phone.
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I find the aluminum to be sexy!! I guess I can look at it in a different way, like that I have a unique phone and the others have a plastic phone..blah I dont know lol
 
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Italianblend said:
If it will be discontinued it will be because they figure the 5S is going to be so similar to the 5 anyway, why have 2 out there? The 4S is still a functional older generation phone.
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That line of thinking makes no sense...the iPhone 4 and 4S looked identical.

the 4S is still functional, but, not all new function of iOS 7. No AirDrop, parallax, not sure about new siri voices. It will definitely be discontinued.
 
benji888 said:
That line of thinking makes no sense...the iPhone 4 and 4S looked identical.

the 4S is still functional, but, not all new function of iOS 7. No AirDrop, parallax, not sure about new siri voices. It will definitely be discontinued.
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Parallax and AirDrop aren't necessary features.
 
I think having just two products makes it much easier for Apple and consumers. Who cares if you have the 5 and the 5S is released - 99.9% of people won't be able to tell the difference at first glance and you'll be upgrading to the 6 in a years time anyway.
 
I would think that having the 5 and the 5C would be to much overlap. If what we hear is correct its the exact same except for the casing. And that lower price point that they traditionally sell last years version is where they want offer the 5C.
 
I have a 5 and couldn't care less if they discontinue it. It's still going to get OS updates and doesn't change the way it works. It's still going to look exactly the same as the 5S anyways. If you really care that much of what other people think of the cell phone you use you may want to reevaluate your priorities.

Sodner said:
I would think that having the 5 and the 5C would be to much overlap. If what we hear is correct its the exact same except for the casing. And that lower price point that they traditionally sell last years version is where they want offer the 5C.
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Pretty much what I am thinking. If Apple can move to only producing two phones at a time rather than three it's going to same them some money. Even if they don't make as much from a 5C as they do from a 4 or 4S the money they same from not running as many different assembly lines and stocking those parts should more than make up for it.
 
Who cares? Might be a good thing. If stock runs out then a warranty claim may get you a 5S.

More then likely they will have enough stock.
 
I think it's quite likely that the 5 will be discontinued, although the thought gives me no joy. The 5c is clearly coming and has to be notably distinct from the 5s (and not just in it's case) which means older hardware - that almost certainly means the same innards as the 5 since anything older isn't going to have lightning, be set up for the bigger screen etc.

So my guess would be the 5C is essentially a 5 with a cheaper, lower maintenance plastic back. If you can choose between that at an affordable price, or a top flight 5S that looks the same as a 5, what room is there going to be in the lineup for the 5 itself anymore?

As a 5 owner, owning and using a discontinued phone doesn't bother me at all since its still the same great device - but I am concerned it will affect resale value later on, because other people *will* be bothered. I'm also a little concerned that without being in the stores, apple may choose not to support it quite so well in terms of ongoing updates (it's a lot easier to drop software support for a phone you're not actually selling) but I guess we just have to hope apple continue to do the right thing there. If the 5C is just the same phone internally, that shouldn't be too difficult for them.
 
When I say "Similar to the 5," I don't mean just in appearance. The upgrades are not going to be earth-shattering. Therefore, why spend money producing the 5 anymore? Just have a 4S and a 5S. That way, there's two different shapes, and one is the lower-end, cheaper version.
 
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