apple 4 or 5

Questions on how we spend our money and our time - consumer goods and services, home and vehicle, leisure and recreational activities
Post Reply
Topic Author
jbh42
Posts: 45
Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2012 4:57 pm

apple 4 or 5

Post by jbh42 »

I hope this question is appropriate for the forum. My contract is up for renewal for my cellphone. Verizon gave me an overview of
the Apple 4 and 5 phone. I text and email as well as use the camera. I like the siri feature as well. Which phone would be best for me?
dad2000
Posts: 697
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 6:04 pm

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by dad2000 »

It's very subjective. I don't know how much your carrier is proposing to charge you for the devices.

IMHO, I think we are starting to reach the point of diminishing returns on these smartphones. The jump from the iPhone 4s to the 5 was fairly significant, but the jump from the 5 to the 5s not so much. Are you comfortable with the 3.5" diagonal screen on the 4s? I find the larger screens to be more functional. The iPhone 5s has a 4" screen. Some Android phones are even bigger.

If you don't have a lot invested in the Apple ecosystem, there are some really good deals on the Samsung S3, which I'd rate much better than the iPhone 4s but not quite as good as the iPhone 5s.
killjoy2012
Posts: 1329
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 5:30 pm

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by killjoy2012 »

The 5 is clearly better than the 4, but the question is the $ difference. BTW - I would only get a 4S, not a 4. I have a 2 year old 4 with the latest iOS (7.0.4) and it's very slow at times. It's to the point of driving me nuts... but it's a work phone, so not much I can do about it. 4S would be good, 5 better, 5S best... just a matter of the $. And that the 6 probably isn't that far off.
buckstar
Posts: 231
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:38 am

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by buckstar »

I would recommend the Apple ][e :) I understand you can buy them with two floppy drives now!
dad2000
Posts: 697
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 6:04 pm

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by dad2000 »

killjoy2012 wrote:The 5 is clearly better than the 4, but the question is the $ difference. BTW - I would only get a 4S, not a 4. I have a 2 year old 4 with the latest iOS (7.0.4) and it's very slow at times. It's to the point of driving me nuts... but it's a work phone, so not much I can do about it. 4S would be good, 5 better, 5S best... just a matter of the $. And that the 6 probably isn't that far off.
+1 on not buying the iphone 4. I didn't know that VZ would still sell you one.
DSInvestor
Posts: 11647
Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2008 11:42 am

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by DSInvestor »

dad2000 wrote:+1 on not buying the iphone 4. I didn't know that VZ would still sell you one.
Just looked at VZ website and they didn't have iPhone 4 listed. There is the 4S 8GB (16GB, 32GB not listed). I don't think 8GB would be enough storage. IMO 16GB is the minimum.

The 5C is available in 16GB or 32GB. The 5S is available in 16GB, 32GB or 64GB. These configurations match what's available at the apple store.
Wiki
TPayne17
Posts: 42
Joined: Tue Feb 04, 2014 5:01 pm

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by TPayne17 »

The 4s is great machine. I currently have the 5s but had the 4s for over 2 years and it was great. As mentioned earlier you get a bigger screen with the 5s and it is also faster but if that isn't a big deal for you, save the money and get a 4s. I don't think you'll be unhappy with either decision.
smackboy1
Posts: 1285
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:41 pm

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by smackboy1 »

jbh42 wrote:My contract is up for renewal for my cellphone. Verizon gave me an overview of
the Apple 4 and 5 phone. I text and email as well as use the camera. I like the siri feature as well.
The biggest difference on VZW between iPhone 4, 4S and iPhone 5, 5S is 4G LTE. The older phones are limited to to 3G EDGE, which is fine for email, checking weather and other low data usage apps, but is S-L-O-W for web browsing, streaming content etc.. If fast broadband is not important at all, then iPhone 5 loses a bit of it's appeal.

Siri arrived with iPhone 4S and newer. Although some would say that an iPhone 4 with non-Siri voice apps like Google Search etc. is just as good.

If would consider AT&T, they have "4G HSPA+" data. Marketed as "4G", technically it's 3G on steroids, so speed is between 3G and true 4G LTE. So an AT&T iPhone 4S (not iPhone 4) on HSPA+ network has faster data than a VZW iPhone 4S on 3G EDGE.

If you like VZW's network coverage and are OK with slower 3G data, you could probably save some $ by buying a clean VZW iPhone 4/4S and signing up with a VZW MVNO e.g. PagePlus, TalkforGood.

If you frequently travel abroad you might appreciate a feature of the VZW iPhone 5/5s. The VZW phones have both a CDMA and GSM radio. GSM is SIM unlocked out of the box which gives the ability to use a local foreign SIM for cheap local phone calls while traveling.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/marcweberto ... -carriers/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/marcweberto ... -overseas/
Disclaimer: nothing written here should be taken as legal advice, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
User avatar
CyberBob
Posts: 3387
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 1:53 pm

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by CyberBob »

The iPhone 4 came out in October 2011. That's a pretty long time ago for a smartphone. Let Verizon pawn off their old stock on someone else :D

Bob
placeholder
Posts: 8421
Joined: Tue Aug 06, 2013 12:43 pm

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by placeholder »

jbh42 wrote:I hope this question is appropriate for the forum.
For the Help With Personal Investments forum?
User avatar
LadyGeek
Site Admin
Posts: 95696
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 4:34 pm
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by LadyGeek »

This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (cellphone), which is the appropriate spot.

FYI - Reporting the post will get our attention sooner. One of the reasons is "Wrong forum."
Wiki To some, the glass is half full. To others, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, it's twice the size it needs to be.
Snapper
Posts: 126
Joined: Sat Mar 30, 2013 10:23 am

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by Snapper »

Both are great phones. If you are thinking iPad air in the future 5 will simplify your life as they both use the new style charger. Apple owners tend to accumulate Apple devices.
sunnyday
Posts: 1679
Joined: Sat Jul 16, 2011 8:48 am

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by sunnyday »

I would go with the 5s. It'll probably cost you $200 under contract but then you can sell it for~$200 very easily on Gazelle when the contract is up.
User avatar
Mel Lindauer
Moderator
Posts: 35782
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:49 pm
Location: Daytona Beach Shores, Florida
Contact:

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by Mel Lindauer »

Just got an email. Radio Shack is selling the iPhone 5c for a penny with a 2-year activation.
Best Regards - Mel | | Semper Fi
flybynite
Posts: 138
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2013 8:14 pm
Location: DC burbs

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by flybynite »

jbh42 wrote:I hope this question is appropriate for the forum. My contract is up for renewal for my cellphone. Verizon gave me an overview of
the Apple 4 and 5 phone. I text and email as well as use the camera. I like the siri feature as well. Which phone would be best for me?
Assuming you are just looking for a good surfing phone, I would consider the 5C, which is a new phone one step down from the 5S unless you want some specific feature it has. 4 will be almost totally un-useable with IOS 7, 4S is only slightly better. 5C surfs very quickly and is responsive, kinda like the 4 when it came out before iOS 7 "upgrade".
User avatar
gatorking
Posts: 1498
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 5:15 pm
Location: MA

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by gatorking »

- Apple works very hard on "planned obsolescence". Go with the latest version.
- A friend of mine upgrades his iPhone every 2 years. He has always made money on the cost of the phone by selling the unlocked 2 yr old phone for more than he paid for it.
User avatar
hoppy08520
Posts: 2193
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2012 10:36 am

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by hoppy08520 »

gatorking wrote:- Apple works very hard on "planned obsolescence". Go with the latest version.
Not to get into an Apple vs Google debate, but we're talking about a product line (smartphones) that's barely five years old and the innovation is going fast -- I wouldn't call it "planned obsolescence". Android phones become obsolete even faster than iPhones and many of these phones cannot get their Android OS updated at all. And it's not so much that the phones become obsolete, it's that the apps get heavier and the older phones can't keep up with the newer apps.

Anyway, back to the OP, I'd get the newest phone.
dailybagel
Posts: 553
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2011 7:35 pm

Re: apple 4 or 5

Post by dailybagel »

jbh42 wrote:I hope this question is appropriate for the forum. My contract is up for renewal for my cellphone. Verizon gave me an overview of
the Apple 4 and 5 phone. I text and email as well as use the camera. I like the siri feature as well. Which phone would be best for me?
I just upgraded from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 5. The performance difference is very noticeable.

The iPhone 4 does not have Siri. Running the new mobile operating system, iOS 7, on the iPhone 4 was very sluggish, as another poster said.

I would go with an iPhone 5 or the newer and faster 5c.
Post Reply