Should i upgrade from iPhone 4 to iPhone 5?

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › Should i upgrade from iPhone 4 to iPhone 5?

Batman

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#110944 19-Oct-2012 23:23

Ok so i know i am the only one who can answer this but i'm looking for those with iPhone 4 (not 4S) who now use iPhone 5 ...

what are the pros and cons (ignore the money bit, ignore the specs/numbers coz i can look it up; purely on user experience)

My main reason for the 5 is the camera and video camera as wife uses it as her point and shoot ...

In particular any CONS?

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#703834 19-Oct-2012 23:33

joker97: Ok so i know i am the only one who can answer this but i'm looking for those with iPhone 4 (not 4S) who now use iPhone 5 ...

what are the pros and cons (ignore the money bit, ignore the specs/numbers coz i can look it up; purely on user experience)

My main reason for the 5 is the camera and video camera as wife uses it as her point and shoot ...

In particular any CONS?

The 4S maybe a bigger jump for the price differnce. The difference between the 4s and 5 is mainly just the larger screen and faster A6 processor. The 5 though will be updated by apple for longer.

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#703837 19-Oct-2012 23:47

Money issue aside not really any major cons that I've seen, although the audio quality is lower, which may matter to you personally.

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#703845 20-Oct-2012 00:01

The speaker or the earphones?

Karter16

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#704280 21-Oct-2012 12:00

Hi there,

I upgraded from the 4 to the 5 a few days ago. My wife got one a couple of weeks ago while I held off to see what I thought (I've always been a big fan of the glass back on the 4 so I wasn't sure about the 5)

Anyway - here's my thoughts.

The 5 is SO much quicker - I thought my 4 was still fast, then I used the 5. It just doesn't pause or lag, ever.

The taller screen seemed weird for about 5 minutes, but it really is good, especially with the keyboard activated, you get a lot more content on the screen.

The screen is brighter, more refined and just more pleasant to look at.

The camera is great - first phone I'd genuinely be ok with using as a point and shoot.

I was really worried about the black scratching, but I have to say it seems a bit more robust than I was expecting. Also the phone still feels solid and quality even though its a lot lighter... (Incidentally the black looks way better in person than in the photos).

The lightening connector is great - no having to worry about getting it round the right way :-)

Haven't noticed any sound quality issues. Only thing is the vibrator in the 5 is harsher than in my 4 and doesn't feel so "refined" - its taken me a while to get used to it.

In summary the 5 is a very solid upgrade on the 4 - definitely recommended. I think prior to getting my paws on the 5 I'd underestimated how out of date my 4 was getting..

Hope this helps :-)

Matt

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#704292 21-Oct-2012 12:55

Karter16 pretty much summed up my thoughts in terms of the screen, speed, and camera of the 5 vs 4. What really makes me love the 5, however, is how much more pleasant it is to hold in the hand and keep in the pocket. Whilst I maintain that the 4 and 4S are still good entry points into the iOS universe for the more price conscious and less "hardcore", for someone like me who uses the phone a lot for both work and play, not having to put up with the top heavy feel of the 4 and its general (perceived) bulkiness is a massive relief.

I also haven't had any of the well-exposed wifi or battery issues. Very happy overall. I should add that the speakerphone sounds gazillion times better than the 4 and I think I get better reception and voice-calling quality too.

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#704313 21-Oct-2012 14:25

joker97: The speaker or the earphones?

The audio quality for listening to music. Lower volume output (Apple playing ball with EU volume regulations finally?), worse output impedance, worse stereo crosstalk under load. Not going to be an issue for the majority of users, but I know you like your audio a bit more than most.

Overall, as I said, I think the upgrade is worth it if you're wanting to stay with iOS, just thought you of all people would want to make the decision with that information about the audio output.

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#704317 21-Oct-2012 14:41

:) thanks it's actually for my wife ... the main reason is she uses it as her camera (still & video) and a lot of the time indoors ...

as for me - well i'm getting very tempted by the S3 and the Note 2 ... luckily i can't decide which is better for me and hence happy to remain with S2

we'll show up to the telecom shop in a few days and let the heart decide :)

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#704319 21-Oct-2012 14:42

on the other hand NZTF ... can i connect S3 or Note 2 to Fiio E17 digitally?

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#704325 21-Oct-2012 15:26

joker97: :) thanks it's actually for my wife ... the main reason is she uses it as her camera (still & video) and a lot of the time indoors ...

as for me - well i'm getting very tempted by the S3 and the Note 2 ... luckily i can't decide which is better for me and hence happy to remain with S2

we'll show up to the telecom shop in a few days and let the heart decide :)

The S3's camera for video and photos is excellent. I was surprised at how good the video quality was for outside recording.
Plus it is a lot cheaper if you can get it on special. Basically if you can get it for around $700 like DSE were selling some at, which is $200 cheaper than the older 4s is priced at, I think you will be happy. The problem with the S3 is that some of the samsung software is poor. I thought itunes was bad, but the samusng kias software which looks very itunes, is far worse. The apple itunes, ipod and simplicity of their software is better I think, and just the way their interface works and it's design, but android I think does take a bit of getting used to.

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#704343 21-Oct-2012 16:23

I will throw my ten cents worth in... I have a S3, wife has a 4S, she doesnt care for how it works rather it must work when required, I'm a techno tinkler so love the whole android journey. We have a 4 day old baby so as you can imagine the phones are getting a hard time keeping up with friends family and social media, either phone is up to task of producing great pics and getting them to the relevant destination, android offers a bit more flexibility and simplicity but that's probably due to familiarity more than anything else.

If I was in your position I would upgrade purely for the camera alone, over the 4 the 4S & 5 cameras are a huge improvement, upgrading he 4S to a 5 possibly not worth the effort

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#704364 21-Oct-2012 17:34

Wade: I will throw my ten cents worth in... I have a S3, wife has a 4S, she doesnt care for how it works rather it must work when required, I'm a techno tinkler so love the whole android journey. We have a 4 day old baby so as you can imagine the phones are getting a hard time keeping up with friends family and social media, either phone is up to task of producing great pics and getting them to the relevant destination, android offers a bit more flexibility and simplicity but that's probably due to familiarity more than anything else.

If I was in your position I would upgrade purely for the camera alone, over the 4 the 4S & 5 cameras are a huge improvement, upgrading he 4S to a 5 possibly not worth the effort

I think the difference is that the iphone works easily out of the box. The samsung needs quite a bit of work to get it working and appearing how you want it to work. So it is more of a geeks phone. There are also lots of annoying quirks with the s3 over the iphone I have discovered.

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#704478 21-Oct-2012 21:55

Off all the androids I have had the S3 is the first android which to me has been useable straight out of the box. iPhones are great for non techies with their perceived simplicity which is exactly the reason I bought the 4S for the wife. My 60+yo mother has a 4 and I suggested an ip5 would be an ideal upgrade for her as she wants something to call, text and take photos on.

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#704494 21-Oct-2012 23:05

Yes it is a significant upgrade from the 4.

The only con I have experienced is the hole in my wallet. In all seriousness, the only annoyance I have is the headphone jack situated at the bottom which will be a big problem for some docking solution.

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#704571 22-Oct-2012 10:01

As a person who has upgraded from the 4S to the 5 I thought you may be interested in the following observations in relation to the camera which is something you touched on as a consideration...

Like yourself the camera is of significant importance to me. For some reason I have always been the person in my family (including extended in-law family!) relied upon to take photos of family gatherings. A lot of the time of course I tote along a "real" camera but there are always impromptu times at such gatherings, or just in day to day life, when I want to snap a pic of something.

After owning the 5 for a week now, and having spent a good few hours or three or four playing with the photographic/video capabilities of the phone I can report as follows: (oh, and I still have the 4S to compare to btw!)

(1) Outdoors with good natural sunlight I am not able to detect much, if any difference between the 4S and 5.

(2) Video footage is appreciably better on the 5. Better stabilisation for a start.

(3) In lower light such as indoors at dusk or night (with incandescent lighting) there is a significant difference. Images are far less grainy / noisy and have much more vibrance.

(4) The 5's camera is better than pretty much all the cheaper smaller digital cameras that I seem to have collected up over the years from upgrading.

The other thing I have noticed relates to post-processing. I have been a photography enthusiast for years and combining that with being a computer geek for years too (since about 1982!) I have naturally been a photoshop user.

Most of my digital images get post processed. Leaving the fancy stuff alone creating artistic images with effects and filters etc it's mainly levels and vibrance etc. I have notice that the images from the 5' camera offen need very little post-processing to get the "look" I am most happy with whereas the 4S's camera left images that were quite dramatically made more vibrant even using auto-levels.

With a little extra vibrance and a little balancing of levels images from the 5's camera start to rival that of my higher end digital camera.

In a nutshell I am satisfied that the camera on the 5 mostly meets my needs as an impromptu camera that is generally always on hand. I say mostly as I would still desire better "glass" (lens arrangement) and mechanical zoom - but you just have to accept there are trade-offs when using a phone camera.

So, going right back to your original question, I am stating that I am a 4S owner who is satisfied that the money I've invested in the 5 has been worth it with the camera playing a significant role in that decision making process. Therefore I would conclude that I would have been even happier had I upgraded from the 4 to 5.

Best of luck with your own decision making process!

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#704590 22-Oct-2012 10:50

the only thing i worry about the 5's camera is the automatic post processing ...

from all the tests i've read the 5's pictures are already post processed when you see it in camera roll ...

oh well :) i guess one less thing to worry about on another hand

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