Sell 4S in anticipation of 5?

[Robbo]

That's down to numerous reasons though - poorly optomised software, no support for the extra cores, overclocking (still possible on a phone), etc. Having dual core in an age whereby we are getting more and more cores per proc than ever before seems a little backwards. It's not neccessarily required but it's limiting. it's quite obvious, if optomised, that a like for like dual core vs quad core (i.e. same Mhz) the quad core will outperform it.

Yes, four of the same core will outperform two, obviously, but two better cores may beat four. Look at the Nvidia Tegra 3 vs the Snapdragon S4. I know which I'd rather have, given the choice.

Having more cores available future proofs the phone somewhat. I can see what Apple have done and some people will praise the cleverness while other people will get annoyed. Locking the phone so that you can't easily change the battery, add memory, etc. is great from there point of view because if the battery fails then it's a new phone, if you want more memory then it's a new phone.

Obviously the more powerful the hardware the better, but the amount of cores isn't necessarily the most important factor.

You have to remember that Apple are now behind the S3 in specifications and need to catch it up - I wouldn't want to buy an iPhone that's lower spec than a phone that, when the IP5 is eventually released, could have been in the market place for 6-12 months.

I doubt it would be a lower spec phone, what if it has two cores but is a lot faster and benchmarks faster? Will you still assume it's worse just because it's not quad-core?

 

[Mr_White]

You have to remember that Apple are now behind the S3 in specifications and need to catch it up - I wouldn't want to buy an iPhone that's lower spec than a phone that, when the IP5 is eventually released, could have been in the market place for 6-12 months.



M.

The experience is what matters, not specs, as long as it has the horsepower necessary to deliver the best experience, that's all it needs.

 

[oli356]

You have to remember that Apple are now behind the S3 in specifications and need to catch it up - I wouldn't want to buy an iPhone that's lower spec than a phone that, when the IP5 is eventually released, could have been in the market place for 6-12 months.

M.

Apple have always been behind spec wise.. But they have still always been the snappier phones, until now anyway with the S3 (from looking at videos anyway)

 

[loaf]

First time post! anyway, could the next iPhone have touchscreen the size of the front of the phone? Perhaps a screen that would flex ever so slightly to allow the 'home' button to be pressed? That would be a curve ball 'game changer' that apple could pull off right?

and to the op . Could you switch from the 4S to the 3GS for six months? In anticipation of a phone that might not be all that much different from what you already have? Anything else you could spend the money on?

 

[dobbsy]

I'm in the process of selling my iPhone 4 for an S3, the S3 represents a big enough upgrade from my 4 to justify it. I'm not sure if I had a 4S i'd bother though!

In hindsight, the best way to upgrade, is to upgrade every other iphone e.g. Buy 4, miss 4S, buy 5. I just fancied a change.

 

[TheDean]

I'll probably be selling my 4 and the Mrs 3GS in the next few weeks in anticipation, and will buy 2 x ip5's. They should last us another 2yrs each no problems.

I'm not hugely worried about the inconvenience of waiting for a new one, because I'll probaly 'save' £150 if I sell them both now, which is worth it for me really.

 

[GJ02]

Sell it while the money is there
IPhone 5 is going to be the biggest selling product of all time

 

[Logsi]

I'm due an upgrade from a iPhone 4 at the moment and was going to buy a 64GB 4S today but would i be stupid to do so?

I'd be selling the 4 to fund it and also sell the 4S when the 5 came out...

Just seems like O2 Simplicity monthly deals are awful and may swell get a phone upgrade!

 

[Logsi]

O2 offer a 40% reduction on a new phone

Good luck with that. They don't budge on iPhones at all.

 

[malachi]

I'll be buying outright at launch and selling my 4S to my dad for £200

That's what I be doing and have been doing since the 3GS. Works out so much cheaper than being tired to a lengthy contract and you still get the latest phones by selling the previous one and paying the difference.

 

[^187]

Simple choice for me, buy from Apple outright bob my 3 sim in, sell 4S.

Job done.

 

[spoffle]

iPhone sales are as good as they are for numerous reasons:

• Some will buy an iPhone merely because of the fruit logo on the back, regardless of how good the product is.
• Apple is known for their fit and finish with their products, something which, no matter how much you argue, is simply not found with virtually all competing devices out there. Those using "quality" materials still don't quite match Apple's construction.
• Some people like the simple and "just works" approach the iPhone has, especially now with iCloud (taking out the PITA that iTunes is altogether).

The typical, non-techie user will not care about what's inside. They want the interface to just work smoothly. Most will also disagree with your battery life argument; very few need two days worth of battery life (unless you live on the streets, in which case you really have got your financial priorities in the wrong order). You take it out, use it for the day, come home and charge it with around 30% left. And who is going to complain that the new phone is more powerful than the last? Look at Samsung, who completely use the numbers to sell their phones. If it works for them, good on them. Staying on old technology does not make sales.

Display size...4 inches is as far as Apple needs to go. Displays above around 4.3" don't work as well in practice as people like to believe, and the reality is that people simply do not want such large phones.

I find posts like this hard to read and take in because it comes across as if it's straight from Apple's marketing department. I don't think it's really good for people to continually repeat marking phrases as "pluses" for products, such as "it just works", "amazing", "fastest selling product ever" and those type of things. The "it just works" is particularly disturbing as the very fact that people use it implies they think it's some how "unusual" for a product to work as intended and that it's an Apple bonus of sorts. Despite the fact that Apple stuff doesn't actually "just work" in the sense that they have niggles and problems like everything else, I find it a completely redundant phrase and very confusing when consumers actually take to using it. I have a lot of electronics, computers and gadgets and they all work fine, if they don't then generally it's because it's faulty in some way and needs to be returned or replaced. "It just works" is something I wish people would stop using because of all the implications that come with it.

I find it very hard to believe anyone REALLY finds their new iPhone "amazing", I don't think people quite grasp the meaning of what they're saying. I'm a massive nerd and yet I very rarely think any piece of new hardware deserves to be classed as "amazing".

Now I know you didn't say amazing, but you did reel off a lot of stuff that is basically the same things Apple use to market their stuff. There is a difference between you not caring about 4"+ sized screens on phones, and there being no need for it. It's obvious you only buy Apple phones, and that's great if they fit the job for you but it seems to me that one of the biggest complaints about iPhones is that they're really behind when it comes to screen sizes. 3.5" is miniature really. It isn't true at all that people don't need or want bigger phones because larger phones are very much in demand and selling very well.

Can you actually back up your claims as for why:

"Displays above around 4.3" don't work as well in practice as people like to believe, and the reality is that people simply do not want such large phones."

Outside of the fact that because Apple doesn't currently do it, it's not needed? This seems to be a common trend with a certain type of Apple user. I'm not trying to tell you your opinions are wrong, but it seems that you have confused what you want or how you feel over a phone's size, with what everyone wants and how they feel.