5 Reasons Not to Upgrade to iPhone 5s
Now that the iPhone 5s launch event hype has subsided, it’s time to take a breather and think about your options. If you already own an iPhone 5, there are plenty of reasons to stay put. Sure, that fancy new Touch ID fingerprint sensor looks cool, and the camera enhancements are tempting. But don’t be blinded by the shiny newness of Apple’s sequel. Here’s why you should hold off on getting yourself the iPhone 5s. After all, the iPhone 6 is just around the corner.
1. iOS 7 will make your old iPhone 5 feel fresh
Want iOS 7 and its fancy new features like improved multitasking and Control Center? Or are you just itching for your phone to have a brand new look? All you have to do is download the free iOS 7 update on Sept 18, and you’ll get the same colorful new design that will make your iPhone 5 virtually indistinguishable from the 5s. The physical dimensions of the two devices are exactly the same, and nothing has changed physically other than the new color options, fingerprint sensor and dual flash.
2. Same size screen as predecessor
At 4 inches, the iPhone 5s still has the smallest screen with the lowest resolution among high-end smartphones. If you upgraded, you’d still be staring at the same 4-inch 1136 x 640 display that your iPhone 5 already has. Although 6.3 inches might be overkill, as on the Galaxy Mega, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Apple is testing screens as large as 6 inches. We’re assuming now that the iPhone 6 will sport a larger display, so you may want to wait for that.
3. 64-Bit apps will take a while to ramp up
The new A7 chip will make apps perform twice as fast with 64-bit support. But really, other than Apple and a small handful of partners, developers are going to take some time to deliver updates. You’re not missing out on a lot of action by waiting to upgrade, because it will take some time for developers to optimize and debug their apps for the new architecture.
4. The iPhone 5’s 8-MP camera is good enough
The iPhone 5’s camera is so good it recently won our first annual Smartphone Camera Shootout. It’s the same camera inside the new iPhone 5C. Apple did add a larger sensor and a better flash to the 5S, so you should expect better photos in low light. Plus, burst mode, image stabilization and slow-motion video are unique to the new phone. But other new camera features are available in iOS 7. These goodies include new filter effects, a Square mode for Instragram-friendly pics and a new Photos app that automatically group images into collections based on date and location.
5. The iPhone 5 is already fast
Are you going to notice if an app takes .8 seconds to load instead of 1.6 seconds? The new A7 chip on the iPhone 5s is supposed to make it twice as fast as the iPhone 5. But unless you’re as impatient as the Flash, the increased speed won’t mean much, especially since the A6 chip on the iPhone 5 already delivers speedier performance than most smartphones in real-world use.