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Would be the iPhone 5C be a bad gift?

powerbook911

powerbook911

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 15, 2005
4,009
398
I have an older family member on an iPhone 4S. They have had it 2.5 years.

I was considering putting them up to an iPhone 5C. They would get the SLIGHTLY larger screen and a bit of a processor speed bump, plus a shiny new phone.

I would like to get them an iPhone 6, but it is $220 more (considering additional tax too, and $220 feels significant right now).

They are not a particularly tech person. If I don't get the 5C, they will probably have to keep waiting 6 months to a year to get another phone.

Does the iPhone 5C have any inherent flaws or defects? Does it always crack or have some technical issue that almost always comes up after a while?

Thanks!!!
 
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The 5s is also available. Going from a 5c from a 4s is only giving you a small bump. When you put the 5c in a case you can't tell the difference if you have a 5 or a 5c. The 5s has the two processors which is suppose to be faster. Both 5c and 5s struggle in low light photos. If you were looking at the 6, the two things that stand out is the screen and Apple Pay. There are a lot of apps that allow you to pay in store, so you won't miss APple Pay on the 5s/5c.


If your older family member has a 4s, they can basically sell and use the money to upgrade to either 5s or 6. Most carriers will give you $$ for a 4s. Or you can wait until the next iPhone comes out. Maybe get them an accessory like a battery pack.
 
mofunk said:
Going from a 5c from a 4s is only giving you a small bump.
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It depends on the carrier. On Verizon going from the 4s to the 5c is a HUGE step up b/c you are going from Verizon's pitifully slow 3G network to its blazing fast 4G LTE network. The person will be impressed if they go from the 4s to the 5c on Verizon.

On ATT and TMobile, it won't be a big difference b/c HSPA+ is pretty fast.

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powerbook911 said:
I have an older family member on an iPhone 4S. They have had it 2.5 years
Click to expand...
What carrier?
 
I'd go with the 5s. Even if the recipient isn't very techie, 8GB gets used up awfully quickly. Even 16GB is tight with photos and music, but 8GB leaves almost nothing left for content of any kind. Also, the Touch ID is nice and not very difficult to figure out. It adds an element of security. For $99 more than the 5c pre-tax, the base 5s is a much better deal, IMO.
 
Thanks. I will keep all the above in mind. It is AT&T.

The 5S is a great phone. I feel like at that point, you're only $100 away from the 6 though.

UPDATE - I see Best Buy has the 5S for only $49.00. Pretty good deal and still $150 savings over a 6.

If I buy on Bestbuy.com will they ship the phone still sealed, and as long as I don't power it on, the recipient's other phone should stay activated until they open it on Christmas?

Thanks, I like the 5C for the free on contract, but $49.00 for a 5S is worth it, it is faster and will be more likely to be fast enough to last 2 years I think. They use a huge case, so the 6 might have even been a bit big for them once they put the survivor case on.

Thanks again, if anyone know how Bestbuy works it if it is like Apple where they keep it unactivated and ship a sealed unit? I wonder if I called Apple.com if they would price match Best Buy?

Thanks again.
 
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powerbook911 said:
I think the 5C might have worked for them, I wonder if it would work out ok for an entire 2 years?
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The 5c has only 8GB of internal storage and iOS 8 takes up 4GB. So it would depend on what they store on their phone and if future iOS upgrades take up even more internal storage (which is highly likely)
 
powerbook911 said:
If I buy on Bestbuy.com will they ship the phone still sealed, and as long as I don't power it on, the recipient's other phone should stay activated until they open it on Christmas?


Thanks again, if anyone know how Bestbuy works it if it is like Apple where they keep it unactivated and ship a sealed unit? I wonder if I called Apple.com if they would price match Best Buy?

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Yes the other phone will stay activated, I did this last year for Christmas.
 
I would opt for the 5s, but I think the 5c would be a great gift in of its own.
 
my 2 cents

if you can't afford a 5s and your budget says get the 5c, get it used.

like everyone says 8 gb is not enough. do not buy 8gb. , if all you can get is a 8gb 5c please disregard the rest of this post



but if you can get your hands on a 16 or 32 gb used model on a good deal. then go for it. it can be $100 to $200 cheaper on the used market for a 5c versus a 5s. theres a lot of people out there, like Boy Genius that really have it in for the 5c. but its got the second greatest cell phone radio on the market and it supports 13 lte channels

when it comes time to sell the 5c vs a 5 , your going to able to sell it to AT&T or t-mobile people ( or even verizon people if you get that model ), and those people will be able to use that iPhone 5c on the fastest LTE speed on their networks.

you do the same thing with the iPhone 5 , which everyone thinks it is except or the plastic case, and your stuck with slower speeds.

the old iPhone 5 came in different versions, for AT&T , verizon, and t-mobile
and moving them from a different carrier worked fine, because of its GSM , but you were stuck with HSPDA+ , and that is if your lucky , and didn't have to put up with 3G


the iPhone 6 has like 20 lte channels
the 5c and 5s has about 11-13
the 5 has 3 or 5 channels depending on the carrier
the average "flagship" android phone owned by people who think apple has to "catch up" has the same number of channels as the iPhone 5
the amazon flop phone and its cousin the google nexus 5 has 9



the iPhone 5 is a really swell device for people who are on channel 2100 , because they all have 2100 heh, but no carrier in the entire united states uses channel 2100

I'm only talking high speed lte channels, they all work on quad band gsm, edge, gprs, etc

i think most people will want the 5s though. it will probably have a longer life on future iOS versions then the 5c or 5, but thats just speculation
 
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5c is a nice feeling phone but its 32bit and low 8gb storage. It won't last as long as a 5s or 6 which are both 64bit and apple is moving to that with all their devices. A 5c now could be a dog next year. It seems like it could turn out to be a bad choice.
 
Well, I have a 5c 16GB and it is that phone I am using on to submit this reply.

I initially bought it because I really loved the plastic design. It's basically a 5 with a different design. A little better in some respects but essentially, in my book, almost same phone.

It is running the latest iOS right now and almost no lags. I say almost because sometimes it stutters doing certain animations, but doesn't bother me too much.

I dropped this phone for like maybe 20 times and I use it naked, but screen stays perfect and only the plastic casing suffers from small dents and scratches I never notice becase I look at the screen not the casing most of the time.

The only thing I don't really like is whenever my friend looks at my phone she never forgets to comment on how much it looks like a toy not a phone. She has the bigger screen phone (s3) so that's probably why... and the plastic casing of the 5c does make it look a little toyish, although I hate to admit.

iPhone 5c has served me well and probably will continue to for at least another year. Also, I came from iPhone 4 so I was very impressed when I experienced for the first time no lag on iOS 7 when I got it.

That being said, I am switching to the new iPhone 6+ because of its size in January. I have big hands and I spend a lot of time on my phone so it seems great to me over 5c lol.

Even though I just said the 5c is decent, I support the others' opinions for a 5s instead of 5c. I heard good things about the finger print scanner and.. well, it's probably faster than 5c. Not to mention it will last longer than a 5c. It's also not that costly compared to the iPhone 6 line up. Especially on contract.
 
It depends on who you are buying it for. My mum for example is someone who would get on with the iPhone 5C. She's still using her iPhone 4 which she got on release and all she does is surf the web, check her emails and Facebook, message and play candy crush. So 8GB would be fine for he.
 
Contracts???

Is this family member on your account? If not, will you be putting the recipient of the gift onto a new 2 year contract? Doesn't sound like much of a gift to me, especially if they are able to get their own subsidized upgrade.
 
ftaok said:
Is this family member on your account? If not, will you be putting the recipient of the gift onto a new 2 year contract? Doesn't sound like much of a gift to me, especially if they are able to get their own subsidized upgrade.
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I was thinking the same thing as I was reading that. Those prices are contract prices and if someone put me on a 2 year contract, I would probably yell at them lol
 
I never look a gift horse in the mouth.

That said, if I were buying, I wouldn't go with a 5c, especially going outright. Overpriced phone for what it is IMO.

If someone handed me one with a "Merry Christmas", I wouldn't think twice though.
 
lordofthereef said:
I never look a gift horse in the mouth.

That said, if I were buying, I wouldn't go with a 5c, especially going outright. Overpriced phone for what it is IMO.

If someone handed me one with a "Merry Christmas", I wouldn't think twice though.
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If they bought outright and didn't re-new my contract, I would say the same. But those are contract pricing and if I am going to be stuck in a contract, I want the better phone that will have a better chance of lasting thought my contract.
 
It's important to keep in mind how it will be used by the recipient. If it is unlikely they will ever add many apps, storage size is less important. If it is unlikely they will ever update the OS then 32bit/64bit is less important. Don't spend money on features you think they will never really make use of.
 
powerbook911 said:
I have an older family member on an iPhone 4S. They have had it 2.5 years.
....
They are not a particularly tech person. If I don't get the 5C, they will probably have to keep waiting 6 months to a year to get another phone....
Thanks!!!
Click to expand...

Based on what you indicated, they may not even notice the difference.

And, as mentioned - are you buying the phone outright, or requiring them to be contracted?
 
Sumter said:
Well, I have a 5c 16GB and it is that phone I am using on to submit this reply.

I initially bought it because I really loved the plastic design. It's basically a 5 with a different design. A little better in some respects but essentially, in my book, almost same phone.

It is running the latest iOS right now and almost no lags. I say almost because sometimes it stutters doing certain animations, but doesn't bother me too much.

I dropped this phone for like maybe 20 times and I use it naked, but screen stays perfect and only the plastic casing suffers from small dents and scratches I never notice becase I look at the screen not the casing most of the time.

The only thing I don't really like is whenever my friend looks at my phone she never forgets to comment on how much it looks like a toy not a phone. She has the bigger screen phone (s3) so that's probably why... and the plastic casing of the 5c does make it look a little toyish, although I hate to admit.

iPhone 5c has served me well and probably will continue to for at least another year. Also, I came from iPhone 4 so I was very impressed when I experienced for the first time no lag on iOS 7 when I got it.

That being said, I am switching to the new iPhone 6+ because of its size in January. I have big hands and I spend a lot of time on my phone so it seems great to me over 5c lol.

Even though I just said the 5c is decent, I support the others' opinions for a 5s instead of 5c. I heard good things about the finger print scanner and.. well, it's probably faster than 5c. Not to mention it will last longer than a 5c. It's also not that costly compared to the iPhone 6 line up. Especially on contract.
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5c is a nice appreciative gift, but if i was you i would most certainly and spend 50-75 more bucks on a 5s that also has more storage, the 5S is going to last ALOt longer then the 5C believe me when I say that.
 
Newtons Apple said:
But the outside is quite different. The difference in night and day.
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Obviously. The post I was replying to stated that it made more sense to get the 5 or 5S because of the better tech in them. The 5 has no difference over the 5C.
 
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