Opinion: Seeing Through Apple's "New" iPhone 5c Illusion

[patrickboyle]

Did Apple get sick people hiding their shittily anodized so cratched to hell iphone 5's hiding behind cases?

Reminds me, how 'champagne' is 'champagne' going to be after a few days in the pocket with some keys?

See? the plastic 5c IS better

 

[wildkitten]

They just threw in the newer camera from the 5s and made a new battery (probably to fit the plastic case). I guess it depends on what you consider "upgrade" to mean. To me, if both the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c are on the table, both free, which one do I grab? Not even a question.

As far as the Moto X, I just checked, MotoMaker is still AT&T-only, so what don't I know about it exactly? It's a carrier-specific gimmick, until that opens up, that's all it is. And if that sways you to sign an AT&T contract, then god help you.

The 5 battery was 1440 mAh, the 5c is 1510. While a minor improvement, it is still an improvement.

Is Apple cheating the consumer? No, they aren't. If they had made no changes to the iPhone 5 and done with it what they had done with prior years models, the price would be exactly where it is. Making 2 improvements to the phone, no matter how you and others try to shrug them off as meaningless, is still something they did that added cost to the phones build, yet did not add into the cost of the phone. The plastic body is not some cheap plastic, but a quality one not unlike used in many current flagship phones that sell for a lot more than $99.

Essentially what your complaining about is Apple doing something to allow them to market their product better. Well let me ask you this. Do you have the same animosity to Motorola marketing the Droid Mini? I mean the Droid Mini is nothing more than a stripped down version of the Maxx and Ultra.

 

[adamovera]

Wow, terrible article from Tom's. I admit I've not been following this site for long, but I absolutely love their tech reviews and articles. I hope this doesn't become a regular thing.

The root of this article seems to be the perception that the 5c is an inferior version of the 5. It's not. Apple has been hiring plastics experts left and right for the past few years and has been putting a lot of R&D into perfecting the plastic shell for this phone. By most accounts the phone looks and feels great; a far cry from the plastic 3G/3GS phones.

The author claims that Apple is trying to improve their profit margins by releasing an inferior phone instead of last year's 5. Saywha? How is spending millions of dollars in R&D, factory tooling and manufacturing to bring a new phone to market better for the profit margin than just sticking with the existing iPhone 5 that costs them nothing extra and that they can now manufacture very cheaply?

So we've got a phone with an improved chassis, better camera, bigger battery while getting just 1.4mm thicker for a price that you would previously pay for it's predecessor and that's a raw deal? Insanity.

The camera was made for the 5s, and I'll bet we'll see it in all the rest of the updated iDevices, so the company already had that. Going off the tons of iPhone 5 users reporting decreased battery life in iOS 7, the batteries were probably made bigger to compensate for iOS 7 hogging more juice - it would have looked bad if the 2013 models got worse battery life than the 2012 models on their respective release days, no?

As far as spending money up front on the plastic process, sure, but those $30 rubber cases should help ease that this year. Next year, using plastic over metal is all money in the bank. I mean, you think they didn't spend money on special processes and coatings for the metal cases? C'mon.

 

[adamovera]

The 5 battery was 1440 mAh, the 5c is 1510. While a minor improvement, it is still an improvement.

Is Apple cheating the consumer? No, they aren't. If they had made no changes to the iPhone 5 and done with it what they had done with prior years models, the price would be exactly where it is. Making 2 improvements to the phone, no matter how you and others try to shrug them off as meaningless, is still something they did that added cost to the phones build, yet did not add into the cost of the phone. The plastic body is not some cheap plastic, but a quality one not unlike used in many current flagship phones that sell for a lot more than $99.

Essentially what your complaining about is Apple doing something to allow them to market their product better. Well let me ask you this. Do you have the same animosity to Motorola marketing the Droid Mini? I mean the Droid Mini is nothing more than a stripped down version of the Maxx and Ultra.

See the previous reply on the camera/battery/case.

The Droid Mini is a smaller version of the Maxx/Ultra (hence "Mini"), not last year's Maxx/Ultra constructed with cheaper materials. Not the same situation at all.

 

[rohitbaran]

Beautifully written article, cutting through crApple's Reality Distortion Field. I hope to see more articles from you good sir.

 

[teh_chem]

Been saying this since the release note. It's their way of rebranding the iphone5 as a "new" device whilst saving money on the hardware (i.e. the aluminum chassis). No doubt people will still flock to get the 5c without for a second thinking that they would have gotten a superior version (i.e., the standard aluminum chassis vs. the cheaper plastic one) for the same price each and every year prior.

Don't get me wrong, I don't care if a phone does have a plastic chassis, but I wonder about the lingering effects of this move; Apple is no longer seen as the "premium" hardware supplier. While the margins on the 5c will be higher than selling the 5 at an otherwise similar point in time, I wonder how the perception of this move will be seen in the eyes of investors and analysts--because, sadly, that's the biggest factor in the share price.

 

[Bloob]

Tbh, I prefer the polycarbonate (assuming it's like Nokia's and the color runs through the material), to the painted aluminium which rubs / chips off easy (not to trumpet Nokia too much, but I still have an E7 which has flawless aluminium coating). Polycarbonate is largely a better material for mobile devices (needs to be a little thicker to get the same sturdiness as aluminium though).

 

[Cons29]

Apple is brilliant, as much as I hate them, esp in marketing. Imagine, using cheaper materials while maintaining the price, more margin. And either apple's marketing ability, fans will still buy them.
And this makes the non-c even more premium, social status anyone?

 

[bemused_fred]

Low end phones cost 450$? Holy kittens, I've been living under a rock!

It's cheap for an apple product. For sane people, yes, it's expensive.....

 

[bemused_fred]

A better battery equates to 20 extra minutes of Angry Birds in the subway. Also bearing in mind that iOS7 has proven itself to be a battery whore already, then they knowingly had to put a new battery in so that people wouldn't complain when the battery level sinks faster than the titanic.

I say! That's quite unfair! Wikipedia tells me that the Titanic took at least 2 hours and 40 minutes to sink....

 

[soundping]

"No microSD or removable battery." Why are people settling for less?

 

[flong777]

Wow - you come across just like one of snotty Android owners. It is just a shame that you wrote an article to parrot their negative comments.

Apple has made no secret that the 5c is very similar to the iPhone 5, but it is not the same. The 5c does have some improvements. Now pricewise, you say that $100 is too much. Hmmmm, the iPhone 5 is still one of the best phones on the market and the 5c has several improvements and $100 is too much????

Apple offers a colorful phone and the article stoops to smartass remarks about "Shriners," that is just sad.

Really you should take this teenage review and throw it in the toilet where it belongs. I realize this is "opinion" but really, shouldn't you have someone older than 13 write your articles?

 

[Kingpin007]

One of The best articles of all time on tomshardware..

 

[vertexx]

Instead do doing an opinion/rant, wouldn't it be more effective to do a proper product review that draws the same conclusion through your standard performance/quality/value analysis? I tend to agree with the point in this article. But the true indicator will be market acceptance or not.

 

[flong777]

Instead do doing an opinion/rant, wouldn't it be more effective to do a proper product review that draws the same conclusion through your standard performance/quality/value analysis? I tend to agree with the point in this article. But the true indicator will be market acceptance or not.

Excellent point - that is what "professional" websites do instead of making juvenile cracks about "shriners."

 

[flong777]

A better battery equates to 20 extra minutes of Angry Birds in the subway. Also bearing in mind that iOS7 has proven itself to be a battery whore already, then they knowingly had to put a new battery in so that people wouldn't complain when the battery level sinks faster than the titanic.

I say! That's quite unfair! Wikipedia tells me that the Titanic took at least 2 hours and 40 minutes to sink....

What is very clear is that you and several Tom's Hardware article writers have not taken the time to read the professional reviews on the 5c and 5s Iphones. Several professional reviews complement the battery life and you know what, they actually have used the phone. A couple do complain about it, but that complaint extends to all other smart phones except the Moto X.

The iPhone 5 battery life and the 5s can easily last a working day, even with heavy use. The 5s also competes well with all top smart phones except the Moto X which blows everybody away.

So your comments are simply ignorant and so are you.

 

[flong777]

Wow, terrible article from Tom's. I admit I've not been following this site for long, but I absolutely love their tech reviews and articles. I hope this doesn't become a regular thing.

The root of this article seems to be the perception that the 5c is an inferior version of the 5. It's not. Apple has been hiring plastics experts left and right for the past few years and has been putting a lot of R&D into perfecting the plastic shell for this phone. By most accounts the phone looks and feels great; a far cry from the plastic 3G/3GS phones.

The author claims that Apple is trying to improve their profit margins by releasing an inferior phone instead of last year's 5. Saywha? How is spending millions of dollars in R&D, factory tooling and manufacturing to bring a new phone to market better for the profit margin than just sticking with the existing iPhone 5 that costs them nothing extra and that they can now manufacture very cheaply?

So we've got a phone with an improved chassis, better camera, bigger battery while getting just 1.4mm thicker for a price that you would previously pay for it's predecessor and that's a raw deal? Insanity.

The camera was made for the 5s, and I'll bet we'll see it in all the rest of the updated iDevices, so the company already had that. Going off the tons of iPhone 5 users reporting decreased battery life in iOS 7, the batteries were probably made bigger to compensate for iOS 7 hogging more juice - it would have looked bad if the 2013 models got worse battery life than the 2012 models on their respective release days, no?

As far as spending money up front on the plastic process, sure, but those $30 rubber cases should help ease that this year. Next year, using plastic over metal is all money in the bank. I mean, you think they didn't spend money on special processes and coatings for the metal cases? C'mon.

Hmmmm, I own the Iphone 5 and so I am not speaking from stupid ignorance like you. I have real-world experience with the phone. The iPhone 5 is the best smart phone I have ever owned by far. It is exceptionally fast, its camera and video capabilities are amazing and most importantly, it doesn't break down or freeze up every 10 minutes like some non-IOS phones. I have yet to scratch the screen and I did not even bother to get a case. It has what is probably the top rated screen in the smart phone industry with the biggest sole complaint being it is not a 5" display. It has an IPS screen and has the most accurate color in the business. The camera and video both have excellent low-light capability. The iPhone 5 is also one of the fastest phones on the market right now and it is over a year old.

The 5c is a slightly improved version of the iPhone 5, and it only costs $100. That price will probably go down. So tell me again, why is the 5c such a bad choice for a consumer? And BTW, Apple has not made it any secret that the 5c is nearly the same as the iPhone 5 - so where is the deception or "false" sales pitch? Answer, there isn't any!

 

[flong777]

You're claiming a better quality front facing camera and an improved battery is not performance enhancements? Sorry, but I think any rational person could see that a camera that takes better pictures, and a battery that makes the phone last a bit longer would in fact be performance enhancements, and likely ones that are more expensive then the aluminum of the case, something of which adds nothing to the performance of any phone.

As for my Moto X comment, you're right, I did bring it up when comparing the color aspect. There is nothing wrong with another company wanting to capitalize on something that is popular at the moment. But the fact that you write an article for a tech web site and don't know about one of the big features for one of the most highly anticipated tech devices in a long time is what makes me question your credentials to be such a writer for a tech site. It also brings into question your knowledge of the area of cell phones of which you are writing.

And for the record, I am not an iPhone user. Everyone one of my smartphones has been Android. But I think it's ridiculous to bash a company for improving on a previous product and selling it for the same price that they would have anyway had they not improved on it at all.

They just threw in the newer camera from the 5s and made a new battery (probably to fit the plastic case). I guess it depends on what you consider "upgrade" to mean. To me, if both the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c are on the table, both free, which one do I grab? Not even a question.

As far as the Moto X, I just checked, MotoMaker is still AT&T-only, so what don't I know about it exactly? It's a carrier-specific gimmick, until that opens up, that's all it is. And if that sways you to sign an AT&T contract, then god help you.

Actually try to read an iPhone 5s review before you comment, then you just might have something intelligent to say. I recommend Anandtech's review.

BTW I am no fan of AT&T but they just won JD Powers award for best cell phone service and so you are behind in this area also.

 

[flong777]

For everyone saying "They did make improvements: A better battery, and a batter front facing camera."

A better battery equates to 20 extra minutes of Angry Birds in the subway. Also bearing in mind that iOS7 has proven itself to be a battery whore already, then they knowingly had to put a new battery in so that people wouldn't complain when the battery level sinks faster than the titanic.

As for a better camera, better than what? The only people/time that uses the forward facing camera is your Skype or other video chat App and the quality is actually dictated by your shitty internet upload speed, most of which can barely manage more than 640x480 at 15 frame per second. (Unless you are very very lucky to have a decent upload, but most are not)

So realistically, you may *feel* like they've thrown you a bone with the new iPhoneC but actually it's meaningless in a real world situation. They knew people would have this argument and thought, what's the LEAST we can do, to make people forget we're actually fleecing them of hundreds of millions of dollars thanks to saving that by not using aluminum.

Hey rocket scientist, the phone is still one of the best smart phones available and it costs a $100. Just how is this "fleecing" anyone? So many people commenting in this thread have never even used an iPhone 5 and are really just making ignorant bigoted remarks like you. Really, it is just sad.

 

[flong777]

I never thought I'd say that Apple botched a marketing campaign, but they did on the iphone 5C

well, it may not really be the fault of the marketing team, but the phone is perceived as cheap, while the internals are far from that. This article points out all of this, and it comes down to the fact that Apple made a phone that people are only willing to buy at a lower profit margin to Apple...

The price will drop further and the 5c will be offered free with a two year contract and Apple will sell millions of them. People who could not afford an iPhone before will get what is still one of the best smart phones on the market. So who is the loser here? Where is the deception or ill will from Apple? Even now with a contract, the phone is only $100 which makes it the cheapest NEW iphone ever, and the 5c is slightly improved over the 5s. So again, tell me how this phone is "overpriced."

 

[flong777]

Not sure what the criticism is. As the author pointed out, Apple isn't doing anything different than it has all along. The 5c is at the same price point as the 5 would have been had they followed their same pricing from previous years, but the 5c does have some upgrades over the standard 5 which the author also pointed out.

As for the case, sorry, not everyone prefers metal. And people can't praise the Moto X for it's colors on the one hand and then criticize Apple for doing it as well. It's still a very solid, well made phone. My S4 is made from a very good plastic and I prefer it, no matter how many people criticize it.

Samsung and Motorola don't take the same phone, rename it and sell it at the same price while also making it using cheaper materials.

While the 5c has some upgrades its still not the "quality" nor is it anything "new".

In all honesty, as much as I dislike Apple and have never been a fan of Steve Jobs, we all know he never would have let the 5C fly.

I also have a S4 and love it. People say the HTC One is better due to the aluminum body but act as if changeable batteries or a microSD slot is not a benefit. I guess when their battery stops holding a charge they will think different.

Look at the S4 LTE-A. Not only does it sport a faster 4G LTE it also has a better CPU (the Snapdragon 800 vs 600 in the original S4) clocked higher with a better GPU. But Samsung also has lower end models which are not S4s.

I guess it all comes down to how Apple markets BS to people and the ignorant ones eat it up.

Where is the "BS" from Apple, they very honestly tell you it is a slightly better version of the iPhone 5 and is priced at only $100. Just how is that dishonest?
Samsung sells all sorts of cheap phones that aren't worth a damn and no one accuses them of "BS." Yet the iPhone 5c is one of the highest quality, fastest smart phones on the market. Again how is Apple cheating anyone?
BTW, I am betting that the 5c price will go down in a few months and a lot of people who have wanted an iPhone but could not afford it have a chance to get one of the best phones in the business. Who is the loser here?
I just don't get negative people like you.

 

[flong777]

While most of the tech press seems to have been awed by Apple’s colorful "new" iPhone 5c, I’m not biting. It's definitely not cheap, it's made of plastic, and it's hardly new. But of course, this was all obfuscated by Apple’s usual dog and pony show.

Opinion: Seeing Through Apple's "New" iPhone 5c Illusion : Read more

Exactly how did Apple "obfuscate" concerning the 5c? They have clearly told EVERYONE in the world it is a slightly improved iPhone 5 at a killer price ($100) and this price will probably go down. The iPhone 5 is still one of the best phones on the market and it competes very well with the S4, the Z1 and the Moto X and it is just $100 bucks. Exactly what is Apple's great "lie" here?

Wow some people just live to criticize and be negative.

 

[rb420]

Not sure what the criticism is. As the author pointed out, Apple isn't doing anything different than it has all along. The 5c is at the same price point as the 5 would have been had they followed their same pricing from previous years, but the 5c does have some upgrades over the standard 5 which the author also pointed out.

As for the case, sorry, not everyone prefers metal. And people can't praise the Moto X for it's colors on the one hand and then criticize Apple for doing it as well. It's still a very solid, well made phone. My S4 is made from a very good plastic and I prefer it, no matter how many people criticize it.

If you aren't sure what the criticism is, go back and read the article again. If you still don't get it, go out and buy an iphone 5c, come home and ask siri to explain it to you. Idiot.

 

[Mousemonkey]

While most of the tech press seems to have been awed by Apple’s colorful "new" iPhone 5c, I’m not biting. It's definitely not cheap, it's made of plastic, and it's hardly new. But of course, this was all obfuscated by Apple’s usual dog and pony show.

Opinion: Seeing Through Apple's "New" iPhone 5c Illusion : Read more

Exactly how did Apple "obfuscate" concerning the 5c? They have clearly told EVERYONE in the world it is a slightly improved iPhone 5 at a killer price ($100) and this price will probably go down. The iPhone 5 is still one of the best phones on the market and it competes very well with the S4, the Z1 and the Moto X and it is just $100 bucks. Exactly what is Apple's great "lie" here?

Wow some people just live to criticize and be negative.

I don't care how much you love Apple but I have found some of your comments a bit insulting to the author and further insults will result in a perma ban.

 

[d_kuhn]

APPLE HAS ALTERED THE DEAL... PRAY THEY DON'T ALTER IT AGAIN... (obscure adult swim reference)