• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Buy new iPhone 4S or wait....

B

boeckelr

Member
Hi everyone,

In July 2010 I traded in my old iPhone 3GS for a 4 at Radio Shack....they essentially bought my 3GS for $200....which I used for the new iPhone 4...so it was free.

I am faced with the same dilemma now - except there is a wildcard - when will the iPhone 5 come out?

I consider the 4S underwhelming - but it does have a dual core CPU and the battery on my iPhone 4 is starting to act old.....but I worry that Apple could surprise us in 6 months with an iPhone 5.....which would leave me unable to upgrade for 6 more months.

So what is the gut feeling around here regarding the iPhone 5? Do most of you feel it will follow Apples normal upgrade interval of 1+ years?

I also kind of wonder if Apple would risk alienating and infuriating people who bought the 4S by bringing out an iPhone 5 too soon...at the very least they would probably have some sort of upgrade path, but thats just IMHO.

So what do you all think? I also know that the longer I hold onto my iPhone 4 the less I will get from Radio Shack or whoever the next time I am ready to get a new phone..

Any advice you have will be greatly appreciated.

Mike
 
boeckelr said:
So what is the gut feeling around here regarding the iPhone 5? Do most of you feel it will follow Apples normal upgrade interval of 1+ years?
Click to expand...

The next revision of the iPhone will come in 12 to 16 months. I wouldn't consider the 4S enough of a bump from the 4 if it already does everything you want.
 
Rumors are baseless. No one knows when the release schedule is. If you want a iPhone 4S, buy it now. If you want iP5, wait for that.

The only thing I would recommend if you wait for iP5 is to change out the battery. It's fairly easy to do.
 
Personally if I had a 4 I'd hold out unless you really use the camera feature a lot..

But I know plenty of people with 4 getting the 4S just because they can..

I'm switching back to an iPhone just because I get bored easy and want to change it up from Android, my DX has been a great phone though.
 
I have an iPhone 4 and am under contract until July 2012. I will not be upgrading to the 4S. I am betting that the 5 will come out in June 2012 at which time I may get the 5 after the early rush.

If you have anything short of a 4 and are not in contract, the 4S would be a nice upgrade (unless you want to wait until the summer for an upgrade).

Of course, if your 4 is dying, as I think OP is implying, I am not sure it will last until the 5 comes out. Maybe buy a used 4 from CL or EB as a stopgap until the 5 comes out?

MotionMan
 
MotionMan said:
I am betting that the 5 will come out in June 2012
Click to expand...
So am I.

4 to 4S is sort of pointless, though. By the time enough stuff comes out that really requires the A5, the 5 will make the other 4S specs dated anyway (like the 3GS).
 
s44 said:
So am I.

4 to 4S is sort of pointless, though. By the time enough stuff comes out that really requires the A5, the 5 will make the other 4S specs dated anyway (like the 3GS).
Click to expand...

I think there are two upgrade paths for iPhone owners (obviously not 100% accurate):

2 -> 3GS -> 4S
3G -> 4 -> 5?

MotionMan
 
Since you already have the 4, you might as well use it until 5 bubbles up. Unless you are on or want to be on Sprint - nothing great to be gained with 4S.
 
If Apple wants to get back to the summer release setup that they had for the iPhone, I assume they'd probably want to do it gradually if at all. A lot of people tend to buy phones at the contract renewal prices, and if they jump back to a June release, you'll see the 4S purchasers unable to upgrade for 4 months. Having few people off-contract might make sales worse.

Also, consider that if they want to add LTE, the LTE modems that include voice won't be out until Q2 next year. That would probably create a rather tight manufacture-to-release schedule.

EDIT:

Oh, and I forgot my silly joke that I wanted to make when I saw this thread's title:

I think regardless of what you do... you're going to be waiting. 😉
 
Thanks for all of the responses.

I agree with all of you who said that the 4S wont do anything my 4 can already do......In all honesty I hated Siri when it was available as an app. I dont care how much they have improved it etc -

However, if I go thru Radio Shack again, and get close to $200 for my used iPhone 4, there really isnt any skin off of my back - except if the iPhone 5 comes out sooner rather than later....and since noone knows when its going to come out, it might make sense to just hold off.

I could also go and trade in my 4 and get a new Samsung Galaxy S II...which is intriguing.

Since it wouldnt exactly be a huge surprise for me to see an iPhone 5 in the spring or summer of next year....it makes sense to wait. I have been running ios5 beta and now the GM and it runs well on the 4.

Thanks for your help.
Mike
 
As a note, you can probably get more than $200 for it if you sell it yourself. iPhones tend to sell rather well.
 
Aikouka said:
As a note, you can probably get more than $200 for it if you sell it yourself. iPhones tend to sell rather well.
Click to expand...

If you have a bestbuy around you last time I checked an att iPhone 4 in good condition with charger was worth around $270 or so in store credit. Cash wise they whack off $50-60 or so.

iPhone 4 to 4s isn't worth it at least to me.

I'm thinking SGS2 as I want larger screen. Only downside for me is I haven't seen one live all dummy phones. Kinda also thinking maybe wp7 samsung focus S as it's rumored to have same screen. 90% of my use is web so don't care about apps much. Hoping focus s comes out at $99 upgrade with same screen 🙂
 
I'd probably upgrade for the faster 14Mbps modem (twice as fast) and the better camera. A5 processor will probably help speed up web browsing too. And since there is absolutely no idea when the iPhone 5 will be out, I probably would not wait on that, unless you really are fine with what you have now.
 
Kind of pointless really unless you are really disappointed with iPhone 4's experience. If it's just the battery then replace it out it's easy to do. I know if I went from 4 to the 4S now I would be hating myself when the 5 rolls out.
 
My guess is that the iPhone will come out in June of next year. I think the delay this year was caused by supplier issues related to the Japanese quake and that they will go back to a summer release next year.

I personally think the 4S is underwhelming and I'm going to pass - even though I have a upgrade from AT&T that I can use whenever I want for a full discount, I'm going to wait and see what's coming next.
 
pm said:
My guess is that the iPhone will come out in June of next year. I think the delay this year was caused by supplier issues related to the Japanese quake and that they will go back to a summer release next year.

I personally think the 4S is underwhelming and I'm going to pass - even though I have a upgrade from AT&T that I can use whenever I want for a full discount, I'm going to wait and see what's coming next.


Patrick
Click to expand...

What do you have now?

MotionMan
 
s44 said:
Real-world performance didn't double between 7.2 and 14.4 on other platforms. Not even close...
Click to expand...

Have you seen iPhone 4 vs iPhone 4S speed tests? I'm not saying you'll get 14.4Mbps from the iPhone 4S, but neither were you getting 7.2Mbps from the iPhone 4.

HSPA+ users are getting some pretty decent performance from their modems though, I don't see why you wouldn't get nearly twice the speed of your 3G iPhone 4.
 
Ravynmagi said:
Have you seen iPhone 4 vs iPhone 4S speed tests? I'm not saying you'll get 14.4Mbps from the iPhone 4S, but neither were you getting 7.2Mbps from the iPhone 4.

HSPA+ users are getting some pretty decent performance from their modems though, I don't see why you wouldn't get nearly twice the speed of your 3G iPhone 4.
Click to expand...
No, but just look at the SGS2 numbers. This is on an even faster 21mbps max modem.

You're just not going to get more than mid-single digits regularly with HSPA unless/until you double the bandwidth (i.e. T-Mo's 42mbps version).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top