Apple iPhone 5s

My plan is to keep my 2016 iPhone 5s for 10 years. It just work perfectly still. It adds friction, but I can do all I need to do. The battery being busted force me to be mindful with my usage on the go. ( and have a battery pack just in case I need a 3am Uber ride )

I would agree that Lightning feels somewhat better designed. I have a USB-C port for docking my laptop and a USB-C phone and both are somewhat flakey. If I move the cable in a certain way it disconnects. I've tried replacing cables, but to no avail, so it definately seems like the connector is the issue. I had an iPhone 5S for 5 years before this phone and never had any issues, other than dust getting in, which was easily cleaned.

>If in October 2013 you bought a just released Google Nexus 5, you would have had official updates until December 2016. Wait a second are you sure about that? The last official version released was 6.0.1 which was released in October of 2015. I remember this because the Nexus 5 was the phone that finally sealed the deal for me in leaving the Android ecosystem for good. These "engineers" on the Android team did not QA their software so when I upgraded to 4.4.4, it broke the camera such that every video I recorded had messed up garbled audio. It totally ruined a special eurotrip where I had taken tons of video. I guess it was my mistake for trusting Google enough to update right before the trip started. Anyway seeing that there is a section on Wikipedia devoted to all the hardware/software issues of the Pixel line, I think I made a wise choice to stop wasting my time with this ecosystem. Went to a used iPhone 5S and ended up using that phone for 5 years. Was the best phone I ever owned.

I use a iPhone 5s. Works fine and I have no reason to upgrade at all. I think I have it for like five years now. I did get the battery replaced last year though

Apple already doesn't turn on new features on old phones that "can't support" them. The new features being talked about are ones that make an old phone slower. I owned an iPhone 5s and updated to the latest iOS version for 4 years and never noticed any slowness. So, basically, (2) means I would miss out on new features because other people complain about slowness that I don't notice.

I think a lot of it really depends on how often and for how long you use the phone. I spent $500+ for my iPhone 5s and I've used it for almost 2 years now with a cheap Virgin Mobile plan. I use it daily (maybe too much even) and once I upgrade from it, I'll continue to use it periodically as a testing platform for my web development. I'll probably get another year or two of use out of it for that purpose before testing for the 5s isn't worth the trouble. And honestly I can't stand the cheap Android phones. Android is a solid OS, but the cheap devices it often appears on are just awful. It causes a lot of headaches...at least $500 worth to me at least :)

I wish. The iPhone 5S is the last one I can reliably type on. Idk what they did to screw up the hitboxes.

The iPhone 5 size was designed for people who use smartphones a healthy amount, ie not very much, usually in pocket and often one-handed for a small task. At some point, that was no longer how smartphones were most often used. I kept my 5S as long as possible, until my carrier wouldn't even provide cell service to it.

> Honestly if anything it’s still a bit too big. Stumbled on my old iPhone 5S in the back of a drawer recently and could not believe how good it felt in my hand, even having only used 12 and 13 Mini models since 2021. What an excellent form factor and construction. Would happily pay a big premium for a modern version of it. Dreaming of a sub-mini phone trend. Sell me a $1500 Zoolander phone—not even joking!

I used to adjust exposure a lot on phones like the iPhone 5s, so I would, for example, get the highlights exposed properly and have the rest be nice and dark. Can't do that anymore, or not as well at least, because my modern phone will bring those shadows back to make it all even. I really miss those older phone cameras.

Still using it, it’s fine performance wise, maybe needs another new battery in a year or so. Apple Pay, authenticators and messaging apps are working. Was hoping for the new iPhone Fold (with Touch ID even) to be small but looks like it’s going to be a really weird ratio when folded. Of course there are caveats: - Spotify not getting app updates anymore (but still playing fine) - some websites do not support the Safari version, e.g. GitHub - most banking apps are not supported

iPhone 4 was a beautiful piece of hardware, but it felt indulgent. Just too heavy (it’s still my second favorite iPhone design). The iPhone 5 and 5S were a better compromise in terms of performance and design per gram. I contend they were the peak of utilitarian industrial design. Plus lightning port, and touchid on the 5S. Maybe the finest example of the “naked robotic core” that you stuff in the case of your choice.

Back when I had the iPhone 5S (7.6 mm vs the 5.6 mm of the iPhone 17 Air): It provided value in terms of feel. It felt like a piece of art meeting cutting edge technology. It wasn't about showing off. It was also so light that it felt safe to use it without a protective case. And not that expensive.

Just one anecdote, but I've reliably used fingerprint unlocking since the iPhone 5S all the way up until a few days ago when I switched to an iPhone 13 mini. Facetime doesn't actually feel more convenient to me. Oh - I thought I was going to be providing you with one counter-example, but I've just thought of something which means I'll have to switch to agreeing with you. When it's raining and my fingers are even slightly wet, it's all over for fingerprint unlocking for me.

I miss really small phones. My favourite two small iPhones were the small-by-contemporary-standards iPhone 5S and SE. My favourite phone ever, small or large, was the Sony Xperia Mini Pro (the second of the Xperia Mini devices, with the slide out keyboard). An absolutely amazingly useful, chunky little device with a super keyboard, an unusually good camera for the time, and an actual shutter button for it. I'd have used that phone for a couple of years longer had the ambient light sensor not failed. Hard to use a phone that doesn't turn off the touchscreen when it's pressed against your ear.

Related—I still use my old iPhone 5s with Libby, WNYC, and SoundCloud apps—all for streaming audio. SoundCloud made an update last year, and something broke. I emailed the support line at SoundCloud and it was shortly fixed. Can’t say they ‘support’ iPhone 5’s, but they didn’t balk.

I broke iPhone 4, 5, 5s and 1 st. Gen. SE. All of them are quite small, and all also the 4th are light as well. I use cases, but those light ones, so they don’t add weight and add some protection. Mostly from scratches. In my case, all of them fell from some surface onto the floor. Usually it’s a metre distance. I think I never dropped a phone from my ear height, so not even 2 m.

My last smartphone was an iPhone 5S (which IMO is the nicest of all iPhone designs). The battery eventually died... I still think about reviving it. In any case I then got a cheap (30 quid IIRC) dual-sim little Nokia which takes a French and a UK sim card (pay as you go) and quite cheap for regular calls. Works like a charm, the battery lasts for days, and I don't worry if I lose it. Separately I have an iPod touch which gives me some control over smartphone addictive behaviour as it only has wifi. And it has the headphone jack :) I absolutely refuse to buy a device without one. I used to joke with friends about "smartphone zombies" in the streets but now it is no longer a joke. It's genuinely scary to be on a train or subway and see everyone glued to their phone without looking up. Mothers and kids each staring at screens instead of interacting. I was a big Steve Jobs fan when he was alive, but now wonder if the iPhone (and its competition) are destroying society the way automobiles destroyed much of the physical world.

I think people are just holding on to their devices longer. The mobile market is hitting that maturation point where people aren't upgrading the high-end models every 1-2 years, it's turning into more like the PCs, they'll upgrade every 3-5 years. I used to upgrade every two years but stopped that since I got my iPhone 5S, it's good enough for me. I didn't need anything until the battery life started to decline and when ATT had a good deal for two iPhones for price of one installment plan, I got an iPhone X. I would've stay on iPhone 5S for 5 years, no doubt. I suspect the same for X, I will be staying with it for 5 years.

> When removed from the mathy gibberish of "tech specs" meant to convince you that you're getting something you should've had in the first place—"processing power," Ummm what? CPUs are faster, ram is bigger, storage is bigger now than it was before. Because time passed. And this is as it should be. This is the way technology works. I have an iphone 6s, and it's ok, I guess. The battery life is terrible (which the author completely neglects). Physical home button is, again, ok. Someone I know has an iphone 7, and the home button isn't...groundbreakingly different. If anything it's nicer since I don't have to take the time to fully press down on it. I used to have an iphone 5s, and it was way tough, like a tank. I dropped it all the time and it was fine.. My 6s is way more fragile.

It's great that it gets security updates, but these are updates for a 2015 operating system (Marshmallow). It is extremely sad that I device from 2014 with an $800 introduction price does not get the yearly Android updates beyond 2015. For comparison, my iPhone 5s (that I recently replaced) from 2013, received iOS 10 and was still butter-smooth [1]. It will most likely also get iOS 11 this year. tl;dr: you should expect/demand more from a device that almost costs a grand. [1] I replaced it because I wanted more storage and live photos.

I have the same to say even for the iPhone 5, which I'd been using for several years and was recently a delight to use with iOS10. I actually just bought myself an iPhone 5s to replace it because the iPhone 5's battery life finally became unusably short after many years, but I didn't want a big phone to replace it. My 5s is also performing very well with iOS10. My 5s is a second-hand refurb, markedly cheaper than the SE, which I was reluctant to buy after several of my acquaintances complained of the device expiring days after purchase. My comparably old Android phone won't even allow a software update and is still on Android 4. My partner prefers Android and has a Moto G (and has a tendency to drop phones hence why I suggested something cheap to replace) and it also won't update to the latest Android version. So while the Pixel might be the shiniest, I would be reluctant to invest in something which will not have the effective lifespan of an iPhone. I really wish Google would make a great Android phone so I could have better integration with my Chromebook and G-Suite. Android phones can be used to unlock Chromebooks in lieu of password entry, which would be a cool feature. I use G-Suite for my business so it would be better for that too. I've never owned a Mac computer and I've little loyalty to any company. The iPhone 5s was simply the apex in terms of phone-to-pocket-size/toughness/tactility/features (for me personally).