[John Smith161]

TLDR; skip first paragraph

I had one but it got stolen a couple of years back and boy did I like it.
So the main 2 reasons I wanna get it again are
1 I don't have a phone at the moment
And the second reason is I would of gotten iPhone 4s-5s by saving some moneys but to be honest the iPhone (1st gen) and iPhone 4 are the only iPhones that really wow'd me and still do, and also because it's the last iPhone Steve Jobs introduced and I don't think everything would be the same as it is now (iOS 7 graphic GUI overhaul as my best example) if he could work on them and introduce them
This is probably where people start using the word "fanboy" but I don't think I fit the label just for adoring an ambitious innovative human being, company and their product.
In fact I still get goosebumps if I re watch the introduction of the first and fourth iPhones. In a perfect world where I can also afford it I would collect/own iPhone 1st,3G,3GS and 4.
From a perspective of a guy who used iPhone 4 for a while and knows a bit about hardware and software I'd say for a tiny device, a handheld, that is packing 1Ghz processor and half a gig of RAM along with SSD, runs apps that weigh kilobytes to less then a gig, I think this phone even in 10 years would still be that phone that you just don't really need a better newer version of. It's just... what's the world, unnecessary? Assuming all apps that are currently supported, stay supported, there's too much content with or without jailbreaking that you can explore and have fun with. Ofcours if you want to play the most cutting edge PS3-like graphics games then you gotta do what you gotta do. But my point is it's powerful and futuristic enough that it's usually unnecessary to have a better one.

So my main concern is old iPhones are losing basic App Compatibility.
Not only does the original iPhone not support Multitasking (completely understandable) but it can't support Skype, Facebook, etc. (Not understandable)
What's the chance that in 10 years you won't be able to play Angry birds, use skype or facebook and all the other bazillion apps that iPhone 4 can use now?

[Just_Me_D]

In the technology world, a year is similar to 5. Although the iPhone 4 is still a darn good phone to use, it's capabilities are shrinking. I understand that it, along with the original iPhone, wowed you, however, being wowed does not equate to having a capable device. It is severely limited by today's advancements, especially in regard to apps & games. Therefore, in my opinion, it is unwise to buy an iPhone 4 at this point in time and expect it to be able to run various apps that more than likely will be updated to only run only newer devices.

[Highrisedrifter]

I have to agree with JustMe'D. The iPhone 4 is a tremendous device and was really world leading when it came out. But don't forget it was released in June 2010, over four years ago and a year is a very long time in the fast moving world of technology.

Technology has moved forwards at such a great rate that the phone would be unlikely to keep up and it would possibly frustrate you; not an ideal situation to be in.

The iPhone 6 will launch in about six weeks or thereabouts, at which point the previous incarnations, the 5 and 5S, will be easier and cheaper to find second hand. If money is a factor, consider waiting until then.

Still, if you really want the iPhone4, and as I said it's a fine device, be prepared to not have the full current iOS experience. For instance, the iPhone 4 does not have the capabilities to use Siri.

[the_tech_eater]

Completely agree with D! In about a month when iOS 8 is released, the iPhone 4 will basically be obsolete.

[John Smith161]

Well I'm not sure about the iPhone 6 rumors... But I get your point and it's why I made this thread.
I think it's very silly and even though the technology of what's inside the phones is increasing in a broader rate then I imagined (didn't know A7 could be faster then Quad Core of android, and still 1GB of RAM) I still think from a tech-head point of view this is a strong *** device and the only reason it would lose support is because Apple and/or Developers choose. Which really sucks because it IS capable AND fast, when it comes down to it, it's very controversial whether or not iPhone 4 or 5s are so different in speed. Also the bad thing about iPhones is after 5 years they become collectibles... Goodluck buying a new iPhone 1st gen for basic calling, it's more expensive then the 5s. But still I can't shake it that the 4 has great architecture and capabilities that allow it to run those already working Apps (Angry Birds, Infinity Blade 1 & 2, frigging candy crush, skype, facebook, twitter), basically all this stuff that works now flawlessly and it pretty much all does. I think it's horrible that such a good thing can be neglected just because 5 years have passed and it deserves to be useable in 10 years 'cause Multitasking, Retina Display and other hardware... It's being taken lightly if such solid tech is forsaken. Even in 5 years from now. In reality it is all-capable of supporting all the apps that it supports now and runs them as it should.

[Just_Me_D]

Well I'm not sure about the iPhone 6 rumors... But I get your point and it's why I made this thread.
I think it's very silly and even though the technology of what's inside the phones is increasing in a broader rate then I imagined (didn't know A7 could be faster then Quad Core of android, and still 1GB of RAM) I still think from a tech-head point of view this is a strong *** device and the only reason it would lose support is because Apple and/or Developers choose. Which really sucks because it IS capable AND fast, when it comes down to it, it's very controversial whether or not iPhone 4 or 5s are so different in speed. Also the bad thing about iPhones is after 5 years they become collectibles... Goodluck buying a new iPhone 1st gen for basic calling, it's more expensive then the 5s. But still I can't shake it that the 4 has great architecture and capabilities that allow it to run those already working Apps (Angry Birds, Infinity Blade 1 & 2, frigging candy crush, skype, facebook, twitter), basically all this stuff that works now flawlessly and it pretty much all does. I think it's horrible that such a good thing can be neglected just because 5 years have passed and it deserves to be useable in 10 years 'cause Multitasking, Retina Display and other hardware... It's being taken lightly if such solid tech is forsaken. Even in 5 years from now. In reality it is all-capable of supporting all the apps that it supports now and runs them as it should.

I understand what you're saying, but this is business. Companies invest a great deal of time, energy and money into improving its products and services as well as developing new and innovative products. Having said that, they'd like a return on that investment in the form of customers purchasing their new stuff. Maintaining lifelong support of the old is impractical, unprofitable and risky, especially when there's a continuous outcry for something new and better.

[warcraftWidow]

Well I'm not sure about the iPhone 6 rumors... But I get your point and it's why I made this thread.
I think it's very silly and even though the technology of what's inside the phones is increasing in a broader rate then I imagined (didn't know A7 could be faster then Quad Core of android, and still 1GB of RAM) I still think from a tech-head point of view this is a strong *** device and the only reason it would lose support is because Apple and/or Developers choose. Which really sucks because it IS capable AND fast, when it comes down to it, it's very controversial whether or not iPhone 4 or 5s are so different in speed. Also the bad thing about iPhones is after 5 years they become collectibles... Goodluck buying a new iPhone 1st gen for basic calling, it's more expensive then the 5s. But still I can't shake it that the 4 has great architecture and capabilities that allow it to run those already working Apps (Angry Birds, Infinity Blade 1 & 2, frigging candy crush, skype, facebook, twitter), basically all this stuff that works now flawlessly and it pretty much all does. I think it's horrible that such a good thing can be neglected just because 5 years have passed and it deserves to be useable in 10 years 'cause Multitasking, Retina Display and other hardware... It's being taken lightly if such solid tech is forsaken. Even in 5 years from now. In reality it is all-capable of supporting all the apps that it supports now and runs them as it should.

A 4 year old tech device is more akin to a 20+ year old car. I wouldn't buy a car today without lots of airbags, stability control, anti-lock brakes etc. and for the most part you can't buy a car without those things. Everything is just accelerated in the smartphone/computer world so things change enough in 4 years for the technology to be observe. But like a well maintained 20 year old car that still runs beautifully but you can't have stability control retrofitted into it, a 4 year old iPhone will still work but not get the latest and greatest updates and apps.

[Flow39]

Buying an iPhone 4 now, IMO, wouldn't be a good idea or investment. Even though it is a great phone, the components in it are old and it won't be supported because iOS 8 is just around the corner, which the iPhone 4 won't get. Personally I wouldn't buy anything less than a 5c right now. The 4 is just too old and slow to remain relevant any more, unfortunately.

[the_tech_eater]

Well I'm not sure about the iPhone 6 rumors... But I get your point and it's why I made this thread.
I think it's very silly and even though the technology of what's inside the phones is increasing in a broader rate then I imagined (didn't know A7 could be faster then Quad Core of android, and still 1GB of RAM) I still think from a tech-head point of view this is a strong *** device and the only reason it would lose support is because Apple and/or Developers choose. Which really sucks because it IS capable AND fast, when it comes down to it, it's very controversial whether or not iPhone 4 or 5s are so different in speed. Also the bad thing about iPhones is after 5 years they become collectibles... Goodluck buying a new iPhone 1st gen for basic calling, it's more expensive then the 5s. But still I can't shake it that the 4 has great architecture and capabilities that allow it to run those already working Apps (Angry Birds, Infinity Blade 1 & 2, frigging candy crush, skype, facebook, twitter), basically all this stuff that works now flawlessly and it pretty much all does. I think it's horrible that such a good thing can be neglected just because 5 years have passed and it deserves to be useable in 10 years 'cause Multitasking, Retina Display and other hardware... It's being taken lightly if such solid tech is forsaken. Even in 5 years from now. In reality it is all-capable of supporting all the apps that it supports now and runs them as it should.

You're very mistaken my friend. The iPhone 4 and 5s have a huge speed difference. There is absolutely no controversy about whether the 5s is fast than the iPhone 5, let alone the iPhone 4! The 4 is extremely slow on iOS 7, most of the UI elements lag... It may run the apps you mentioned, but what about experience? I can pull a semi trailer with a F-250...

[cwbcpa]

I used a 4 briefly about a month ago while I was waiting on my 5s and I can tell you it is rough. It's just slow. If all you need is phone and iMessage then you are fine but apps run slow. That was my experience at least. I would get a 5 at minimum at this point. That won't be too far behind.


Sent from my iPhone using iMore Forums

[John Smith161]

iOS 7 slow with iPhone 4's fault = Apple's fault. Either fix it or lock it at the latest iOS 6. If old iOS works better then the new one, it's just unnecessary.
There's no controversy whether 5s is faster then the 4. The controversy is just how big the difference is in action. And those videos that do 1 time opening apps isn't as accurate as opening them side by side 10 times and then getting an average difference. But, obviously, newer is faster.

iOS 7 was known to be a horrible update for the iPhone 4 and that's in no way the iPhone's fault. If you know more about hardware then just looking at the differences between model names and cores, you know this is already spec-wise strong enough to actually run Windows Vista. Which was a bad OS in terms of requirements.

All in all - my *only* worry is that the million basic apps it can already run for example Doodle Jump Infinity Blade 1 + 2 Angry Birds Candy Crush Facebook Twitter iMovie. etc. will suddenly not support it. Just like you need to jump through hoops to run Skype on iPhone 3G which is silly. Yes Apple make great products but if they required to be able to run on all iPhones as long as it meets the requirements just like they require to have 4 inch version after iPhone 5 release, it would age just as good as Diablo 2 or a classic Impala.

There is literally no reason for this fine piece of product to be neglected just because 20 years have passed. Unless the Facebook app requires 2 cores for whatever reason which is irrational from a programming perspective. It's like how they made Vista's Aero so graphically consuming (At the time).

[Ledsteplin]

I used a 4 for about a 1 1/2 years. I upgraded to the 5 last August. I never experienced the 4 on iOS 7. But I thought it did well on iOS 6. I had my 5 on iOS 6 for a month. During that time, I only noticed a small increase in speeds over the 4. iOS 7 made the bigger difference. A 4 on iOS 6 for someone who's not into apps might work ok for a few more years. There are, after all, still some using the 3GS on iOS 4.x.x. But if you have a choice, aim higher than the iPhone 4. Even the 4s would be better if you prefer the 3.5" screen.

[John Smith161]

I used a 4 for about a 1 1/2 years. I upgraded to the 5 last August. I never experienced the 4 on iOS 7. But I thought it did well on iOS 6. I had my 5 on iOS 6 for a month. During that time, I only noticed a small increase in speeds over the 4. iOS 7 made the bigger difference. A 4 on iOS 6 for someone who's not into apps might work ok for a few more years. There are, after all, still some using the 3GS on iOS 4.x.x. But if you have a choice, aim higher than the iPhone 4. Even the 4s would be better if you prefer the 3.5" screen.

That's pretty much what I'm saying.
Also, it's not that I'm not into apps, but the hundreds of thousands of apps that are out now and work on iPhone 4 dropping their support would be very disappointing from Apple. You can still play Diablo 2 and use Skype on Windows XP and probably Windows 2000. I see no valid reason to allow paying customers lose their Apps which they can rightfully run. In the case of an update taking into account new horsepower and features of new devices, it's understandable but it's also a good deed to make the latest version before that still able to be downloaded on the older devices. I'm no programmer or computer technician but I've been merely fixing my computer and learning about the parts when I would upgrade it so when I look at the iPhone 4 I still see a great snap

From the App Store website in Skype's App page:
Compatibility: Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

I don't think this is right. This literally means I have no choice but to use iOS 7 which I don't even like and works worse then iOS 6 specifically on iPhone 4. In a device that debuted Infinity Blade and has the power to emulate consoles taking out such basic Apps is not fair at all. Without this philosophy of distribution it is a pretty much timeless device with all the stuff it's supportive of right now, ignoring the fact iOS 7 is a necessity.

As someone who uses Skype a lot, and knows a tad bit about what's inside these handsets, I can tell you for a fact that Skype does not require 2 cores and a gig of ram to run and with fast SSD it doesn't require having to make it available to the newest iOS exclusively.

[warcraftWidow]

That's pretty much what I'm saying.
Also, it's not that I'm not into apps, but the hundreds of thousands of apps that are out now and work on iPhone 4 dropping their support would be very disappointing from Apple. You can still play Diablo 2 and use Skype on Windows XP and probably Windows 2000. I see no valid reason to allow paying customers lose their Apps which they can rightfully run. In the case of an update taking into account new horsepower and features of new devices, it's understandable but it's also a good deed to make the latest version before that still able to be downloaded on the older devices. I'm no programmer or computer technician but I've been merely fixing my computer and learning about the parts when I would upgrade it so when I look at the iPhone 4 I still see a great snap

From the App Store website in Skype's App page:
Compatibility: Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

I don't think this is right. This literally means I have no choice but to use iOS 7 which I don't even like and works worse then iOS 6 specifically on iPhone 4. In a device that debuted Infinity Blade and has the power to emulate consoles taking out such basic Apps is not fair at all. Without this philosophy of distribution it is a pretty much timeless device with all the stuff it's supportive of right now, ignoring the fact iOS 7 is a necessity.

As someone who uses Skype a lot, and knows a tad bit about what's inside these handsets, I can tell you for a fact that Skype does not require 2 cores and a gig of ram to run and with fast SSD it doesn't require having to make it available to the newest iOS exclusively.

That's Skype's choice not to support other iOS versions. Not Apple. And if you are on an iPhone 4 and you did not update to iOS 7 and you have an older version of Skype, it may still work. If the older version that works with iOS 6 no longer works, that would be because Skype changed something on the backend and chose to not make it compatible. Again that's on Skype not Apple.

[John Smith161]

That's Skype's choice not to support other iOS versions. Not Apple. And if you are on an iPhone 4 and you did not update to iOS 7 and you have an older version of Skype, it may still work. If the older version that works with iOS 6 no longer works, that would be because Skype changed something on the backend and chose to not make it compatible. Again that's on Skype not Apple.

Apple made a new policy to not approve any apps that don't support the 4 inch display, in the same way they did not make a policy that apps that currently work on older devices will be kept working with a slow method of storing the last update before the developers dropped their support. What this creates is within 5+ years the phones that they stopped manufacturing and selling a couple of years back would become obsolete except for the basic apps that come with iOS. Not a bad business decision but not a good customer experience which is Apple's priority when designing a product. So maybe the majority doesn't care this happens as they want to upgrade their phone to one of the latest models but it doesn't make the customer experience for those with older iPhones better. Like I said iPhone 4 spec-wise and software wise (iOS 6) is excellent with great snappy performance. Put iOS 7 on it and it's 50% slower - 100%. Use iOS 6 and you can't even IM on Skype.

This is about Apple allowing this to happen and what we know now Apple knew 2-3 years ago.
If you bought a good Mac when Snow Leopard came out or you have Windows XP you can still run Skype and other *basic* stuff.

[warcraftWidow]

We're just going to have to disagree. I still mainly "blame" app developers. If you had iOS 6 and an older version of Skype it doesn't matter that Apple says all apps must support 4" display because you have a version already on the iphone. Now Skype may change their backend so that that old version of the Skype app can no longer communicate with the server, but I still see that as being Skype's problem. But we can disagree .

[Ledsteplin]

The iPhone 4 is just not a good phone on iOS 7. Apple probably should have left it off iOS 7. Many did update it to 7, but many also had lag and app problems. And it's only going to get worse moving forward. Your much better off getting a 5 or up. You'd be happier and glad you did.

[User788]

For a start, to answer the question: Yes, the iPhone 4 is still worth it. Why? Well it simply does everything you need. I am a regular user of a iPhone 4 and it still works great. It has all the apps, it's fast and it's comfortable. It also isn't stupidly large like today's majority of smartphones. It's the perfect size, it still works well, it looks great, and will continue to get long support just like the Windows XP example you gave.

Also you will save plenty of money - you'd have to shell out about £500 for a 5S or upcoming 6, whereas you can fetch a used iPhone 4 for as low as £100. Think about your economy! You also noted that yours was stolen - you'd be a lot more dissappointed if you'd pay so much for a latest iPhone and have it stolen again, rather than have a iPhone 4 get stolen.

However, iOS 7 is absolutely horrible on iPhone 4, so if you're gonna buy one make sure it comes with iOS 6 (and remember to save the SHSH blob to avoid being stuck with iOS 7 should you accidentally upgrade)

[berrydroidapple]

I personally don't think it would be a wise decision if you plan to use it as your daily driver. However, I'm actually purchasing a 32GB model as I write this, but it's only to have one Apple device in my Google world and use on Wi-Fi only. The price it's extremely low, less than $100, so it's not an issue.

Posted via the iMore App for Android

[rjlawrencejr]

I bought a 6+ and now my 4 is a backup. I did a clean install and now iOS 7 runs like butter (whereas before it did lag with dozens of apps, thousands of pictures, text messages, and the like) on the phone. However I am not much of a gamer. I use the old phone mainly for the web (Chrome) and the Google Office apps.

It was time for a new phone, but if the 4 could have been LTE capable and able to run FaceTime over cellular (without a jailbreak), I might have saved my money. :-)