Should I upgrade my iPhone 4S?

[BigViper]

I'm looking at upgrading my iPhone 4S and I have 4 options:
1. Keep my 4S
2. Upgrade to a 5S
3. Wait for the 6 to come out
4. Switch to an alternative OS like Android or WP8 etc

I would appreciate some help. Also could you give me the pros and cons of Android?
Thanks
Viper

 

[turbolefty78]

Why did you omit the other option of switching to a Windows phone? My Nokia Lumia has been near perfect in it's operation since I got it back in December 2013. It has a very refined, polished feel to it.
So, you have 5 options, not 4.

 

[jacnob]

I would keep your 4S until Apple stops supporting it, then either switch to a 'Droid or the inevitable IPhone 6.

Android phones are quite a bit more "open" when it comes to software, which is both a pro and a con. Pro because you get a lot more freedom with what you can do, themes, emulators and so-on, but its also a con because malware is more common as a result.

IMO, the best way to decide is to get some "hands-on" use of an Android (or Windows) phone, and decide that way.

 

[xZAMGMarmite]

Switch to Android is what I would do.

Get something like a 'vanilla' Android phone like the Nexus 5 or Moto X or a Google Play Edition Samsung or HTC as it's easier for the ex-iOS people to get used to. I would also recomend a Samsung S4 or Note 3 or wait for the S5, Sony Xperia Z2 or a HTC One (M8) but these will have OEM overlay skins like Samsung Touchwiz or Magazine UX and HTC Blinkfeed with HTC Sence and can be annoying at times and some have useless features within them that cannot be removed.

Android is better, more open and easier to customize to your own liking using launchers like Apex or Nova. But watch out for the low number of malicoius apps on Google Play, the 'bad apps' may only come if you use a website that has paid apps for free download and sideload them to your device your self. A good anti-virus may be needed though, but very few 'bad apps' on Google Play means, less chance of a virus.

And stay clear of Windows Phone and BB10 as very few people use them and the devices are not as good as Android ones.

 

[Dragonistic]

Depends what you use the phone for, if like me it's just for browsing, IM, SMS and a phone(!) then newer phones bring nothing to the market over my current S3.

 

[BigViper]

Switch to Android is what I would do.

Get something like a 'vanilla' Android phone like the Nexus 5 or Moto X or a Google Play Edition Samsung or HTC as it's easier for the ex-iOS people to get used to. I would also recomend a Samsung S4 or Note 3 or wait for the S5, Sony Xperia Z2 or a HTC One (M8) but these will have OEM overlay skins like Samsung Touchwiz or Magazine UX and HTC Blinkfeed with HTC Sence and can be annoying at times and some have useless features within them that cannot be removed.

Android is better, more open and easier to customize to your own liking using launchers like Apex or Nova. But watch out for the low number of malicoius apps on Google Play, the 'bad apps' may only come if you use a website that has paid apps for free download and sideload them to your device your self. A good anti-virus may be needed though, but very few 'bad apps' on Google Play means, less chance of a virus.

And stay clear of Windows Phone and BB10 as very few people use them and the devices are not as good as Android ones.

I can't stand Samsung and Htc is on the verge of going bust so I want to keep away from them. The xperia z2 seems like a very well built phone, gets good reviews and has "insane" power.
Thanks
Viper

 

[turbolefty78]

Switch to Android is what I would do.

And stay clear of Windows Phone and BB10 as very few people use them and the devices are not as good as Android ones.

He didn't really ask you what you would do, he just wanted help in his decision making process. And what prompted you to make that claim that the devices running Windows are not as good as Android? They're not as prevalent, I'll give you that. But after owning both, I think the build quality of my windows phone is much better than that of my moto droid. It's a much more stable platform for windows(Nokia Lumia 1520) than the droid was for the Android os. I have far fewer problems now than I used to.
But we can at least both agree on BB10. Does anyone even buy them anymore?

 

[Sage Ages]

Unless there's something wrong with it, you might as well keep it.

 

[Gerarghini]

I'd say stick with the 4S. I upgraded from a 4S to 5S and it really isn't worth the cost.

 

[Mikeybc]

If you have spent a lot of money in the app store and can live with the small screen keep the 4s and wait to see if the iPhone 6 will have anything to offer.

 

[TB]

My wife upgraded her 4S to a 5S but that was because her battery was starting to die. If you aren't having a hardware issue (ie you're upgrading just because you feel like it) I say hold off. I'd also echo @Mikeybc's comment regarding the apps you've purchased, provided you've purchased any. One of the apps my wife needs for work is $300 and I'd greatly prefer to not have to buy that again!

 

[sesselpupser]

I'm in a similar situation, my 4S is due for an upgrade but apart from the back cover being a tiny bit loose the phone is absolutely fine, so I think I'll cancel my contract with O2, get something SIM-only with Three until the 6 comes out and upgrade then. My brother and dad have a 5 each and my sister and mum have a 5S each and I'm not exactly blown away, the bigger screen is nice but I'm happy with the 4S. Personally I don't consider Android an option because a) I have a lot of apps I don't want to buy twice, though that wouldn't be so expensive, b) Apple's support is actually quite good (when it comes to phones, anyway), c) I can't be bothered to re-learn a new type of phone, d) I don't like the design of any other phone and e) I just don't like Android much.

Apple's policy on cables - make them cheaply (and very weak) but sell them at what I'd guess to be 50 times more than what they cost and make them 'smart' so you can't buy cheap alternatives - is absolutely horrendous, but that's the only significant black mark against the iPhone range from the 5 onwards as far as I'm concerned.

 

[TB]

Apple's policy on cables - make them cheaply (and very weak) but sell them at what I'd guess to be 50 times more than what they cost and make them 'smart' so you can't buy cheap alternatives - is absolutely horrendous, but that's the only significant black mark against the iPhone range from the 5 onwards as far as I'm concerned.

Every one of the stock Apple cords I have have all cracked at the connection point between the cord and the plug. The cable I bought from monoprice is nothing short of stellar and highly recommended. That thing is built like a tank. I expect nothing less from their Lightning cable, too.

 

[sesselpupser]

Every one of the stock Apple cords I have have all cracked at the connection point between the cord and the plug. The cable I bought from monoprice is nothing short of stellar and highly recommended. That thing is built like a tank. I expect nothing less from their Lightning cable, too.

Yeah, Apple seems to think it's ok to use the insulative equivalent of tissue paper on their cables, I hate it. I forgot there's such a thing as licensing, though...

 

[AzNTypeR]

I'd say stick with it, I use a 4S, and sometimes use my Mum's 5S, and whilst there are some differences, they're not worth buying a whole new phone. The TouchID thing is quite nice though, beats entering a 6 digit code anyday, oh, and the larger screen is quite nice too.

Every one of the stock Apple cords I have have all cracked at the connection point between the cord and the plug. The cable I bought from monoprice is nothing short of stellar and highly recommended. That thing is built like a tank. I expect nothing less from their Lightning cable, too.

Did you take it back to get it replaced?

I took my Mac's Keyboard yesterday because my Dad spilt water on it, and they replaced it with one off the shelf, no questions asked. They replaced my set of EarPods yesterday too.

 

[acascianelli]

If you choose to stay on Apple, I would wait to upgrade. You could either wait until the iPhone 6 comes out, or wait until your current 4S isn't supported anymore which will probably be around 6S time frame. That's assuming that the iPhone 4S will be completely phased out when the iPhone 6S is released. That's just a speculation, I'm thinking they're going to drop the iPhone 4 with the release of iOS 8 and the new iPhone.

 

[TB]

Did you take it back to get it replaced?

Negative. The phone came from Verizon and they'd almost assuredly tell me to get a hold of Apple for it. Doing that would require either sending it to them or bringing it to the closest Apple Store. Over 200 miles away. Neither was worth the trouble.

 

[Prince.M5]

I'd say you should stay with the iPhone 4S and wait for the iPhone 6 or something. The upgrade to iPhone 5S is simply not worth it as the performance increase isn't all that noticeable. The 4S is still a darn powerful device!

If you ever going away from iOS, I would recommend you to go for a Windows Phone device, simply because the environment and atmosphere isn't all that too far away from iOS. I currently own both a Nokia Lumia 620 running on Windows Phone 8 and an iPhone 4S. Have to say, loving both of them!

Going for an Android, well sure you'll have all the freedom of customisation and such. The only issues are overtime, the performance will decrease and the OS is prone to be infected by malware. Coming from a former Samsung S4 user, I'm disappointed with the performance considering that the S4 has one of the most powerful hardware out there. Perhaps going for a 'Vanilla' Android on devices such as the Nexus, Moto X or Google Play Edition phones might save you from some issues like I have on my previous S4.

 

[Keef]

What I'm doing is keeping my 4S. I don't have a desire for the 5 at all. The 4G isn't that much faster because I'm on wifi whenever possible, the chip isn't that much faster, there are some nifty features but they're not that useful, iOS 7 doesn't look that much better. And to top it off, iPhone 5 battery life is frickin miserable.

I'm going to wait until the next one, or until this one gives me too many problems. As of yet it's been working wonderfully.

 

[terminator363]

WP8 browski, especially with WP 8.1 coming out.