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Is the iPhone 5 still worth it?

M

marty3026

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 27, 2014
15
5
Hey guys
My mother's birthday is in a month and i was wondering what to get her. She has an iPhone 4 and i wanted to get her a newer model but i'm on a pretty tight budget and can't get her something that expensive (i want to get an unused phone, not second hand) so i got my eyes on the 5 and 5c. She doesn't use her phone to do much. She checks her email, surfs the web, plays casual games like candy crush and checks some projects on autocad but only views them (she's an engineer) and that's it. Even though a 3 year old phone, i suppose Apple would keep it supported through iOS 10 too. And also do you think it'd be a problem if the phone's refurbished?
 
M

marty3026

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 27, 2014
15
5
geta said:
Anything bellow 5s i wouldn't bother to get at this point (unless its free), spacial if you thinking about future iOS upgrades.
Click to expand...
Yeah, i get that. Thanks! I guess i should reconsider. Still, if someone on ios 9 who has iphone 5 could share their experience, i'd love to hear it.
 
eyoungren

eyoungren

macrumors Penryn
Aug 31, 2011
29,659
28,435
marty3026 said:
Yeah, i get that. Thanks! I guess i should reconsider. Still, if someone on ios 9 who has iphone 5 could share their experience, i'd love to hear it.
Click to expand...
My iPhone 5 is on 9.0.1. Works just fine for everything I ask of it.

However, it's no longer my primary phone.

If the choice is between a 5 and a 5c, I'd go with the 5c. It's not much of an improvement over the 5 but internally it's slightly better.

If your mother is not going to be using it like a lot of people here do (video, streaming, heavy gaming, social use, etc) then the 5/5c should do just fine, particularly if the one you buy comes with an older version of iOS.

As to refurb, if it's an Apple refurb you won't be able to tell the difference between it and new.
 
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M

marty3026

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 27, 2014
15
5
eyoungren said:
My iPhone 5 is on 9.0.1. Works just fine for everything I ask of it.

However, it's no longer my primary phone.

If the choice is between a 5 and a 5c, I'd go with the 5c. It's not much of an improvement over the 5 but internally it's slightly better.

If your mother is not going to be using it like a lot of people here do (video, streaming, heavy gaming, social use, etc) then the 5/5c should do just fine, particularly if the one you buy comes with an older version of iOS.

As to refurb, if it's an Apple refurb you won't be able to tell the difference between it and new.
Click to expand...
Thanks, the 5c seems like a good choice for her!
[doublepost=1452864873][/doublepost]
eyoungren said:
My iPhone 5 is on 9.0.1. Works just fine for everything I ask of it.

However, it's no longer my primary phone.

If the choice is between a 5 and a 5c, I'd go with the 5c. It's not much of an improvement over the 5 but internally it's slightly better.

If your mother is not going to be using it like a lot of people here do (video, streaming, heavy gaming, social use, etc) then the 5/5c should do just fine, particularly if the one you buy comes with an older version of iOS.

As to refurb, if it's an Apple refurb you won't be able to tell the difference between it and new.
Click to expand...
Thanks, the 5c seems like a good choice for her!
 
G

geoff5093

macrumors 68020
Sep 16, 2014
2,251
2,564
Just be aware that it won't be getting future iOS updates for much longer, so within a few years some apps may stop working with it unless she just keeps the old versions of those apps.
 
B

bransoj

macrumors 68000
Jul 31, 2013
1,563
739
I've got a 5 currently on the latest OS and it would be fine bar some hardware issues....one of my own doing in that i dropped it a few months ago leading to the screen starting to go away and its one of the ones included in the recall for a dodgy power button but i never got it changed in time. It was a launch day model and to be fair until the last couple of months its never let me down and still runs the software side of things fine.

I suspect you would be fine with a 5 for the forseeable but to be honest i suspect for not a lot more you could pick up a 5S and that would be a better option if you are looking at running it for a couple of years.
 
J

jdblas69

macrumors 6502
Aug 15, 2012
277
151
I am still using a 5 as my daily phone with current ios updates. In honesty this phone has been great to me. The only issue I have noticed lately is the battery seems to be weakening but other than that absolute no complaints.
 
BrettApple

BrettApple

macrumors 65816
Apr 3, 2010
1,145
488
Heart of the midwest
I recently reacquired an iPhone 5 (on iOS 7.1.2 though) and it runs very well. Almost on par with my 6s in terms of load times, but it's on an older version of iOS that was quick on that hardware to begin with.

It's still going to be a massive upgrade over the iPhone 4, 2X the RAM and more than 2X the cpu power for loading stuff up. iOS 9.2 seems to run well on my roommates iPhone 5 that he inherited. Yes a 5s is preferable if you can find one for a similar price, but as far as addressing the original question, yeah it'll be fine for the time being.

I get stuff off Swappa all the dang time and they're priced pretty competitively since it's just individuals like myself selling along with other individuals. A good condition (16GB) 5 is somewhere around $150-ish depending on carrier. I did prefer the 5C I had after I had the original 5 simply because of the feel in the hand and it was harder to ding up without a case. Slightly better battery and front camera too. But everything else is pretty much the same.

One thing to keep in mind is that the battery will be at least 2-3 years old if not more on most of them. The one I have is from Sep 2012 and dies pretty fast, or shuts off when it's still got half a charge on it. It needs replacing. Luckily replacements are pretty cheap, but it's something to be aware of.
 
eyoungren

eyoungren

macrumors Penryn
Aug 31, 2011
29,659
28,435
jdblas69 said:
I am still using a 5 as my daily phone with current ios updates. In honesty this phone has been great to me. The only issue I have noticed lately is the battery seems to be weakening but other than that absolute no complaints.
Click to expand...
The advantage the 5s has over the 5 and the 5c is that it's 64-bit. That's going to keep you in the game a bit longer than the 5 and 5c which are 32-bit only.
 
tedley

tedley

macrumors 6502
Nov 3, 2009
294
339
Sacramento
My wife is user with similar needs as your mother. I purchased a 5 for her and it's been a perfect match for her needs. She also uses it for podcasts an iheartradio. No issues at all. I was able to find her an apple factory refurb that was in mint, pristine condition. You might look at a 5s if you can afford the extra just for longevity purposes but the 5 does still perform quite well for basic apps.
 
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V

viperGTS

macrumors 68000
Nov 15, 2010
1,560
941
Unlockable 5s' are available through Boost Mobile right now for $150 brand new; I highly recommend you get her one of these.
 
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M

marty3026

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 27, 2014
15
5
viperGTS said:
Unlockable 5s' are available through Boost Mobile right now for $150 brand new; I highly recommend you get her one of these.
Click to expand...
I would but I don't live in the USA. That's actually the reason i can't get her a newer model, they're pretty expensive here.
 
K

kevink2

macrumors 68000
Nov 2, 2008
1,856
303
viperGTS said:
Unlockable 5s' are available through Boost Mobile right now for $150 brand new; I highly recommend you get her one of these.
Click to expand...

The web site shows them as out of stock. Also, it appears the boost mobile unlock policy is you have to use their service for 12 months before you can unlock the phone. So, even if you found one, you would have to unlock through unofficial channels.
 
M

MarvinHC

macrumors 6502a
Jan 9, 2014
834
293
Belgium
viperGTS said:
Unlockable 5s' are available through Boost Mobile right now for $150 brand new; I highly recommend you get her one of these.
Click to expand...

EDIT: ignore, just seen the poster before me (kevink2) has asked the same questions

That is an unbelievably low price for a 5S! But just checked the website and already sold out.
You mentioned them to be 'unlock able' - out of curiosity how would you get it unlocked?
 
Elisha

Elisha

macrumors 6502a
Nov 21, 2006
781
504
Wait isn't the 5c identical to the 5 except for the plastic body?
I recommend the 5s as well just for future proofing.
 
D

Dreads

macrumors regular
Feb 17, 2015
120
52
My partner is still using iPhone 5 and it's working fine on iOS 9 I can't speak for the battery as it was one of the free battery replacements from Apple...
 
Ovedius

Ovedius

macrumors 6502
Aug 2, 2012
438
402
Norway
marty3026 said:
Yeah, i get that. Thanks! I guess i should reconsider. Still, if someone on ios 9 who has iphone 5 could share their experience, i'd love to hear it.
Click to expand...

Hi.

I'm an iPhone 5 and I still think it's plenty fast.
I've been using it as my main internet browsing device now for two months and it's been excellent.

The only time I notice slowdown is with Spotlight searching. It takes a good two seconds before results show up.

I'm using the latest iOS version without problems or any lagging during swiping or other animations.
Edit: task switching also works like a charm, although I've disabled background updating just to be on the safe side.


And I know what a slow i-product feels like.
My iPad 2 is absolutely worthless for anything other than reading books or comics. Browsing is a slow, laggy, crashing nightmare on it with any browser.

Edit:
Full disclosure, I have just ordered a 6S+ but that's just because I sold my Mac and wanted something shiny.
But really, I could easily see myself using the 5 at least until the 7S comes out.
 
Last edited:
V

viperGTS

macrumors 68000
Nov 15, 2010
1,560
941
MarvinHC said:
EDIT: ignore, just seen the poster before me (kevink2) has asked the same questions

That is an unbelievably low price for a 5S! But just checked the website and already sold out.
You mentioned them to be 'unlock able' - out of curiosity how would you get it unlocked?
Click to expand...

Tycho24 said:
http://www.rtb.boostmobile.com/shop/phones/apple-iphone5s/#/page_features/color_gray/memory_mem16

Boost.com says $449 & Sprint phones are DEFINITELY not unlockable.
Click to expand...

eBay unlocking services. However, they are out of stock. Sorry :(
 
M

merc-tt

macrumors member
Jan 1, 2015
59
6
I am using a black iPhone 5. I did not like the size of my iPhone 6 Plus so I bought a used iPhone 5 off Swappa. It's running the latest iOS 9.2 and runs just fine. I don't notice any lag. I am very happy with it.
 
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