Mimo The-Mobile
Great write up Will, a really detailed view of each of the iPhone generations. Personally I will stick with the 4S for now as the iPhone 5 hasn't really grabbed my full attention. I think the main factor is that I know a few people who have had to reluctantly send back their phones to Apple due to technical faults with the screen and/or Wi-Fi - slightly worrying don't you think?
DaddyHoggy
Apple clearly are still making great products but tech getting lighter and more powerful (the A6 is a fantastic CPU) on a yearly basis is hardly shocking...
I love the use of the word "significantly" used in this article. "Significantly thinner" - Whoop, whoop - 7.6mm down from 9.3mm - 1.7mm difference, or, rummaging through my own pockets, almost exactly the same thickness as my Barclays Debit card that I keep inside my own phone's protective cover so I'll always know where it is. Praise be that Apple saved me this thickness otherwise I might not be able to get my fat hand in my pocket to pull my brick out.
The 5 is also "significantly lighter" than the 4... empties pockets again and digs out set of scales and weighs loose change in pocket, 50p, 2x 2p and 20p coin, weighing in at... 25g - wow - thank the Lord the iPhone5 weighs so much less otherwise I might struggle to lift my legs...
You're absolutely right to compare the iPhone5 to a Rolex though - because in the watch world there are watches which are thinner, more technically capable and more expensive than a Rolex, but they lack that "in your face", "look at what I've got"-something that both Rolex and the iPhone5 have in handfuls.
I'm baffled why anybody might want a "new" iPhone4 even for free. Depending on contract there are lots of other phones available for free with 2yr contracts that are at least as capable as the iPhone4 and more so depending on what you want to use them for (like storing your music collection - you're going to struggle with an unexpandable 8GB on your iPhone4 compared to most other non-Apple phones that have micro-SD slots taking up to 32GB).
Surely the point of owning an Apple product is that initial rush of standing in a queue, the sense of belonging, being one of the chosen in those first few hours or even days of product release? Surely in the cold light of day a year old Apple iPhone is, well, just another phone?
agulesin
Great review, but I'm still an Androidian.
Don't forget that there is nothing that's completely "free" in the world; you pay for it in the end!
Leonard Lloyd
Gizmag compares new iPhone 5 with 4S and 4, with both continuing to be available at greatly reduced prices. One aspect not mentioned is the current problem with Apple's own map system. By staying with the 4S until that is straightened out, current map applications remain available. I would recommend that a new prospective iPhone user who wants access to a good map program to go with the now lower priced 4S until Apple sorts out the problems with its own map program.
DavidB
Jut as important as choosing the 4S, Leonard, is remembering NOT to update to iOS 6, which is what actually causes the replacement of Google's excellent Maps app with Apple's disappointing Maps app.
Ken Dawson
I don't care if the iPhone 5 turns water into wine... until I can get one unlocked (with no contract) I won't be buying one!
Jason McGovern
ill stick with the s3...quad-core cpu, nfc, and GOOGLE MAPS
Hal Howell
While I freely concede that the 5 is faster on paper, a prospective customer should go to Best Buy or someplace where the 5 and 4s are next to each other. I did this today and tried launching several apps side by side. Yes, the 5 has a faster CPU speed but honestly I could not see that much difference. Calendar was only slightly slower by a half second. Everything else seemed very much the same. After all, I doubt anyone is going to be doing scientific calculations or programs on their phones. So speed is probably not going to be THAT critical. The speed thing reminds me of the speed wars that the desktops went through. It's a phone, who cares if one is a half or full second faster...? One thing I noticed on the 5 that the 4s didn't have we're scratches! By choosing Aluminum for the case material, Apple chose something that while not as breakable, it is also still susceptible to damage. I chose to upgrade to a 64GB 4s (white) as soon as the price dropped and saved $100.00. With care, as in not dropping, my phone it will look as good 2 years from now as the day I took it out of the box. Will you be able to say the same for the 5? Yes, LTE would be nice but it also means going through your data plan faster!!! Yikes, that can add up quickly. The longer size of the 5 also means that it will be longer than the standard shirt pocket. So, my humble recommendation is that you get yourself more storage space for $100 less on a very decent 4s while you still can!
Martina Wodnik
My iPhone 4 isn't the fastest. I'm still happy with it and i don't see really a point for buying the iPhone 5. I will stick with the iPhone 5S 2013
thebigguy1
I also still have an iPhone 4, and although the iPhone 5 is intriguing, I don't logically see the point in exchanging a great little phone that does exactly what I need it to do....this 4 has been fantastic!
And being that I have jailbroken it. and added some really great enhancements to it, (i.e. PhotoSynth for panoramic photos, Google Voice for a Siri like experience which I find even more useful and cloud storage services which enable an additional 50GB of storage and can stream as well), I have breathed new life and utility into my iPhone 4! :)
So, by learning about what your phone can do, you can save even more money and make your phone live a much longer service life than Apple would have you believe possible. :)