Class of 2014! :D

[anna.xo]

Iphones are the shizzzz! I've been using iphones since year 9 and to be honest they are the best phones I have ever used. You may see numerous people with smashed screens but if you take care of your phone, the glass is unlikely to smash (having dropped my phone on concrete a few times, I can assure you that it doesn't break as easily as it seems).

It's always cheaper to buy Iphones outright if you're thinking about purchasing the ones with less storage, being the stingy person I am I have done the calculations to compare the cost of monthly plans to buying it outright with a prepaid plan (the latter ends up cheaper majority of the time) 

When it comes down to whether you should purchase an earlier edition i.e.. Iphone 4, Iphone 5 or Iphone 6, I would recommend going with what you're going to use your phone the most for. For example, if you're looking for something with great camera quality you are better off purchasing either 5 or 6 (both seems to have practically the same pixels, Iphone 5s are much cheaper too), Iphone 4's camera quality is so crap that I can take better photos with my 5 years old samsung.

But if costs aren't really a concern, I would definitely recommend Iphone 6. THEY DO NOT BEND UNLESS YOU PHYSICALLY BEND THEM (just like books will fall apart if you rip out the pages one by one). Iphone 6's are super light weight and everything works smoothly, I've never had one problem with it. They are supposed to be much more durable than the previous editions too 

Hey thanks for all of this !

Haha yeah, I was definitely planning to buy it outright cause the plans for iPhone are ridiculouuuus ! Also, about storage..my current phone had internal storage of like 1mb or something and then I added an 8gb storage card which is still super empty. So I was thinking of getting 32gb ? 64gb gets a little too expensive for me and I don't think 16 would cut it. Do you have any recommendations ? Then again, I have a friend saying don't buy iPhone because storage sucks :/

I was thinking about getting the 5s. 6 I don't like the physical shape, it doesn't feel that comfortable in my hand and I just like the overall design of 5s much better. Are the features just as good as 6 ? Camera is super important and after that, I use mostly messaging apps. I don't really use it for games that much anymore haha.

One more thing about iphones, I've always seem people like "upgrading" their phones so when a new model comes out they get that one ? How does this work ? Do you just have to keep buying it outright or does it work some other way ?

Also, how long would an iPhone typically last ? Like with android, after about 2 years, it's basically gone. Unusable..mostly lag issues and the processor starts to slow down a lot ! Does this happen with iPhone ?

THANKYOU for all the information so far ! As it so happens, my phone has come back to life this morning bahaha ! Still saving up though, reaaaally over all the issues with android phones -.-

[Coralista]

Hey thanks for all of this !

Haha yeah, I was definitely planning to buy it outright cause the plans for iPhone are ridiculouuuus ! Also, about storage..my current phone had internal storage of like 1mb or something and then I added an 8gb storage card which is still super empty. So I was thinking of getting 32gb ? 64gb gets a little too expensive for me and I don't think 16 would cut it. Do you have any recommendations ? Then again, I have a friend saying don't buy iPhone because storage sucks :/

I was thinking about getting the 5s. 6 I don't like the physical shape, it doesn't feel that comfortable in my hand and I just like the overall design of 5s much better. Are the features just as good as 6 ? Camera is super important and after that, I use mostly messaging apps. I don't really use it for games that much anymore haha.

One more thing about iphones, I've always seem people like "upgrading" their phones so when a new model comes out they get that one ? How does this work ? Do you just have to keep buying it outright or does it work some other way ?

Also, how long would an iPhone typically last ? Like with android, after about 2 years, it's basically gone. Unusable..mostly lag issues and the processor starts to slow down a lot ! Does this happen with iPhone ?

THANKYOU for all the information so far ! As it so happens, my phone has come back to life this morning bahaha ! Still saving up though, reaaaally over all the issues with android phones -.-

It depends on what you want to store on your phone to be honest, for me having just 16GB is enough as I don't store music (I just use an app which downlaods music and stores them in the app). I have well over 1000 photos (shameless selfies being the majority of them  ), about 20 videos and over 30 apps and I still have about 2GB spare.

I do agree that Iphone 5's appearance is much more attractive than iphone 6, however I've never owned one of those so I can't evaluate the features accurately You could have a look on the Apple website I'm pretty sure they have a comparison page where you can compare the two models. I'm pretty sure only 5s has the finger print feature though.

In regards to upgrading iphones, I have friends who are on monthly plans and whenever a new edition comes out they just switch the plan to one with the new phone, but basically they're gradually paying more and I certainly do not think it's worth it. I switched from Iphone 4 to Iphone 6 and skipped Iphone 5 because I simply don't see the point of it as my Iphone 4 was still working perfectly fine.

Iphones generally last for 2-3 years, that's when they start to deteriorate, you can tell by how slow they become.. However they are certainly still usable. I still use my Iphone 4 and I've had it for 3-4 years now, it's just a little slow. I've heard that Apple intentionally slows down your iphone after a certain amount of period just so customers will continue purchase their newest editions. Not sure if it's true but I wouldn't be surprised.

Generally they are awesome phones. They are on the pricier side but certainly worth it in my opinion. 

[~V]

Also, on a side note, is anyone here good with technology ? My phone just broke tonight and now I need to buy a new one (or save up for a new phone haha). I had a Sony xperia for about 5 months before it broke, and a HTC desire z for about 2 years before it died. I'm starting to get sick of all the issues with Android phones and thinking about just biting the bullet and buy an Iphone ? Any thoughts/suggestions/tips/comments/etc are more than welcome !

anna.xo i think you just have bad experiences with android phones. I see the models you mentioned you have owned and tbh they are not top android smartphones hence why they die early, as expected for the price you pay. Phones like Samsung galaxy s5, Samsung note 4, Samsung note edge, HTC one m8 and even older models like Samsung s4, note 3, s3 are top notch phones. Each time a new Samsung comes out there's always a new wow factor about them. For example, Samsung s3--> s4, there's 8MP camera to 13MP camera, faster process, double RAM, larger battery, larger screen, Air gesture and AirView. From s4--> s5, the biggest change is that the s5 is waterproof, dust and shock proof and a 16MP camera. Compared to Apple, there's minimal upgrade but just a bigger screen, lighter weight for example. In terms of storage, the iphone 6 is 16gb, 64gb then 128gb. i believe it increases by ~$100 for each amount of storage. But for android phones, just get the one with the least storage which also is the cheapest and chuck in a micro SD card and you just have as much. Also with operating systems, iOS is pretty rigid and boring i suppose all you can really do is shuffle apps around and put them into a category. Android on the other hand is very customisable and flexible, for example widgets.
With all the being said, I really do like Apple's design though, love how it's so light and the option of a 6 or 6 plus as i don't like huge phones. I was glad the iPhone 6 is 4.7" and light, kinda sick of phones going all big eg. 5"+. Only Apple can pull off those great colours as well, there is a Samsung s5 gold which i'm not a fan of, just isn't as classy as Apple's gold lol.

[shadows]

Hey thanks for all of this !

Haha yeah, I was definitely planning to buy it outright cause the plans for iPhone are ridiculouuuus ! Also, about storage..my current phone had internal storage of like 1mb or something and then I added an 8gb storage card which is still super empty. So I was thinking of getting 32gb ? 64gb gets a little too expensive for me and I don't think 16 would cut it. Do you have any recommendations ? Then again, I have a friend saying don't buy iPhone because storage sucks :/

I was thinking about getting the 5s. 6 I don't like the physical shape, it doesn't feel that comfortable in my hand and I just like the overall design of 5s much better. Are the features just as good as 6 ? Camera is super important and after that, I use mostly messaging apps. I don't really use it for games that much anymore haha.

One more thing about iphones, I've always seem people like "upgrading" their phones so when a new model comes out they get that one ? How does this work ? Do you just have to keep buying it outright or does it work some other way ?

Also, how long would an iPhone typically last ? Like with android, after about 2 years, it's basically gone. Unusable..mostly lag issues and the processor starts to slow down a lot ! Does this happen with iPhone ?

THANKYOU for all the information so far ! As it so happens, my phone has come back to life this morning bahaha ! Still saving up though, reaaaally over all the issues with android phones -.-

I have the iphone 5s and when comparing to the iphone 6, I actually prefer the 5s. It's size makes it ideal for one handed use and it's more pocketable than the 6.
As for speed, the 5s is fast. You won't realise a difference from the iphone 6 unless you are constantly playing high detail 3d games (something that requires high processing power) Web browsing, social media, youtube all run very smooth- even with like 10+ apps open)
As for camera, the 5s camera is very good. Don't be fooled in thinking that more megapixels means better camera. The 8mp sensor of the iphone is comparable to the s5, xperia z3  with 16 and 20.7 megapixels respectively. Don't worry too much about specs with an iphone. It only has a dual core and 1gb ram competing with android flagships with 2 or 3gbs of ram and quad or even octocore cpus, and the iphone performs about the same as those androids in benchmarks.
Get the 6 if you want the bigger screen, it's slightly faster better camera abit more battery life. The iphone 6 might also be a good option if you want a futureproof phone.
The 5s is cheaper, a smaller screen, and you will not realise a difference in speed for ordinary use. I'd think the difference in camera is negligible since the iphone 5s camera is already superb.
The 16gb will be enough if you don't have a lot apps and use a cloud service to store your data, and don't have a lot of music, photos stored on your phone. (I mainly just use spotify)
Get the higher storage options if you want a lot of apps. (3d games and apple apps such as keynote, numbers, pages, garage band, imovie all take 500+ mb each)

As with getting with ios vs android.
IOS is simple, not a lot of things you can customise. It's easy to use and things just work. Apple do support their products (give updates and bug fixes) more frequently and to more older devices than android competitors like samsung, or sony etc. I have an ipad 2 from 2011 and a few months ago I updated it to the latest ios 8.
This is because unlike android, apple is in charge of its software and hardware.

You get a lot more options with android phones, like microsd storage expansion, water proof hardware. With android there's a lot more things you can customise. (Like icons, themes, fonts). I've know people who insist on getting an android (even windows phone) because they really wanted fm radio (most sony models will have radio) on their phone.
Generally android phones are cheaper outright. Although with apple, you get better service, more updates and warranty and customer service is far more superior. (If you change your mind within 14 days you get your money back. If somethings wrong with your device and they need to send your phone to fix it, they provide you with a replacement model)

Windows phone are also an option. They are probably in general more affordable than android, and operating system and hardware is very solid. An option if you don't care too much about apps since the Windows app store isn't as good as apple or android's.

I have a friend who's still using the iphone 4 and it's still in great condition. (although he only uses it for youtube and social media and texting, no games)
My advice is to always make sure you get a case and a glass screen protector which you can find cheap on ebay. If you end up dropping your phone on the screen, it will most likely prevent the actual screen from shattering.

Go to tech stores (apple store, jb hifi, dicksmith) to checkout the phone, the operating system, camera quality, speed and how it feels in the hand before you buy.

lol, I'm a tech nerd.

[anna.xo]

It depends on what you want to store on your phone to be honest, for me having just 16GB is enough as I don't store music (I just use an app which downlaods music and stores them in the app). I have well over 1000 photos (shameless selfies being the majority of them  ), about 20 videos and over 30 apps and I still have about 2GB spare.

I do agree that Iphone 5's appearance is much more attractive than iphone 6, however I've never owned one of those so I can't evaluate the features accurately You could have a look on the Apple website I'm pretty sure they have a comparison page where you can compare the two models. I'm pretty sure only 5s has the finger print feature though.

In regards to upgrading iphones, I have friends who are on monthly plans and whenever a new edition comes out they just switch the plan to one with the new phone, but basically they're gradually paying more and I certainly do not think it's worth it. I switched from Iphone 4 to Iphone 6 and skipped Iphone 5 because I simply don't see the point of it as my Iphone 4 was still working perfectly fine.

Iphones generally last for 2-3 years, that's when they start to deteriorate, you can tell by how slow they become.. However they are certainly still usable. I still use my Iphone 4 and I've had it for 3-4 years now, it's just a little slow. I've heard that Apple intentionally slows down your iphone after a certain amount of period just so customers will continue purchase their newest editions. Not sure if it's true but I wouldn't be surprised.

Generally they are awesome phones. They are on the pricier side but certainly worth it in my opinion. 

Fair point regarding storage. I'm just a little apprehensive because Apple phones don't have the feature for a sd card which I used to use in all my previous phones to overcome the storage issue. Which is why I'm considering getting the 32gb over 16gb.

Haha fair enough. It's mostly the size which appeals to me about 5s over 6..6 feels too big and uncomfortable in my hand haha. Plus the aesthetic of 5s was one which immediately appealed to me whereas the 6 didn't. And sure, I'll check out that page

Ah okay..so basically I would have to keep buying the phones outright. I've heard that once you start using the iPhone you never go back haha

I wouldn't be surprised if that was true either haha..would be so typical of Apple ! I definitely think their phones are on the pricey side and if I'm forking out that much cash, I want this thing to last a while. 3 or 4 years would be good, and 5 would be amazing ! By slow, do you just mean a lot of lag or like apps crashing and stuff ? Because I have frequent app crashes and a bit of lag, plus the phone feels slow currently so if that's what you mean, I think I'll be okay !

Thankyou for the very extensive information, really appreciate it

anna.xo i think you just have bad experiences with android phones. I see the models you mentioned you have owned and tbh they are not top android smartphones hence why they die early, as expected for the price you pay. Phones like Samsung galaxy s5, Samsung note 4, Samsung note edge, HTC one m8 and even older models like Samsung s4, note 3, s3 are top notch phones. Each time a new Samsung comes out there's always a new wow factor about them. For example, Samsung s3--> s4, there's 8MP camera to 13MP camera, faster process, double RAM, larger battery, larger screen, Air gesture and AirView. From s4--> s5, the biggest change is that the s5 is waterproof, dust and shock proof and a 16MP camera. Compared to Apple, there's minimal upgrade but just a bigger screen, lighter weight for example. In terms of storage, the iphone 6 is 16gb, 64gb then 128gb. i believe it increases by ~$100 for each amount of storage. But for android phones, just get the one with the least storage which also is the cheapest and chuck in a micro SD card and you just have as much. Also with operating systems, iOS is pretty rigid and boring i suppose all you can really do is shuffle apps around and put them into a category. Android on the other hand is very customisable and flexible, for example widgets.
With all the being said, I really do like Apple's design though, love how it's so light and the option of a 6 or 6 plus as i don't like huge phones. I was glad the iPhone 6 is 4.7" and light, kinda sick of phones going all big eg. 5"+. Only Apple can pull off those great colours as well, there is a Samsung s5 gold which i'm not a fan of, just isn't as classy as Apple's gold lol.

Haha you're a Samsung girl, yes ?

Yes, I agree with you about my phones. I should also mention, my parents don't ever buy phones for me..instead, the models I mentioned have been passed down to me from their plan when they get a new one..so they're about 2 years old already when I get them.

Hahaha but thanks for the advice (and shameless promotion)

I have the iphone 5s and when comparing to the iphone 6, I actually prefer the 5s. It's size makes it ideal for one handed use and it's more pocketable than the 6.
As for speed, the 5s is fast. You won't realise a difference from the iphone 6 unless you are constantly playing high detail 3d games (something that requires high processing power) Web browsing, social media, youtube all run very smooth- even with like 10+ apps open)
As for camera, the 5s camera is very good. Don't be fooled in thinking that more megapixels means better camera. The 8mp sensor of the iphone is comparable to the s5, xperia z3  with 16 and 20.7 megapixels respectively. Don't worry too much about specs with an iphone. It only has a dual core and 1gb ram competing with android flagships with 2 or 3gbs of ram and quad or even octocore cpus, and the iphone performs about the same as those androids in benchmarks.
Get the 6 if you want the bigger screen, it's slightly faster better camera abit more battery life. The iphone 6 might also be a good option if you want a futureproof phone.
The 5s is cheaper, a smaller screen, and you will not realise a difference in speed for ordinary use. I'd think the difference in camera is negligible since the iphone 5s camera is already superb.
The 16gb will be enough if you don't have a lot apps and use a cloud service to store your data, and don't have a lot of music, photos stored on your phone. (I mainly just use spotify)
Get the higher storage options if you want a lot of apps. (3d games and apple apps such as keynote, numbers, pages, garage band, imovie all take 500+ mb each)

As with getting with ios vs android.
IOS is simple, not a lot of things you can customise. It's easy to use and things just work. Apple do support their products (give updates and bug fixes) more frequently and to more older devices than android competitors like samsung, or sony etc. I have an ipad 2 from 2011 and a few months ago I updated it to the latest ios 8.
This is because unlike android, apple is in charge of its software and hardware.

You get a lot more options with android phones, like microsd storage expansion, water proof hardware. With android there's a lot more things you can customise. (Like icons, themes, fonts). I've know people who insist on getting an android (even windows phone) because they really wanted fm radio (most sony models will have radio) on their phone.
Generally android phones are cheaper outright. Although with apple, you get better service, more updates and warranty and customer service is far more superior. (If you change your mind within 14 days you get your money back. If somethings wrong with your device and they need to send your phone to fix it, they provide you with a replacement model)

Windows phone are also an option. They are probably in general more affordable than android, and operating system and hardware is very solid. An option if you don't care too much about apps since the Windows app store isn't as good as apple or android's.

I have a friend who's still using the iphone 4 and it's still in great condition. (although he only uses it for youtube and social media and texting, no games)
My advice is to always make sure you get a case and a glass screen protector which you can find cheap on ebay. If you end up dropping your phone on the screen, it will most likely prevent the actual screen from shattering.

Go to tech stores (apple store, jb hifi, dicksmith) to checkout the phone, the operating system, camera quality, speed and how it feels in the hand before you buy.

lol, I'm a tech nerd.

I agree with you about the size of 5s, it feels much better in your hand and is one of the main reasons why I prefer it over the 6.

I don't use my phone for games as such anymore, mostly just texting, and internet browsing, among some other social media things. Nothing really heavy or intense, so I think the speed will be fine
The camera is something that's important to me. The camera on my current phone (front facing) is garbage..can't take a sharp photo, is really blurry. I want something which will take a good, sharp photo with the front facing camera and obviously back, which I think will be fine from what you've said.
Speaking of battery..how good is the battery life of the 5s ? Enough to get me through a 9-5 day without requiring a charge halfway through ?

Last question, promise..how good is the life of the phone ? Like mentioned above, I want it to last a few years if I'm paying that much..5 would be amazing but 3 or 4 at minimum. Is this likely ?

And thanks for the comparisons with android and windows as well and everything else, reaaaally appreciate it ! Thanks again

[shadows]

I agree with you about the size of 5s, it feels much better in your hand and is one of the main reasons why I prefer it over the 6.

I don't use my phone for games as such anymore, mostly just texting, and internet browsing, among some other social media things. Nothing really heavy or intense, so I think the speed will be fine
The camera is something that's important to me. The camera on my current phone (front facing) is garbage..can't take a sharp photo, is really blurry. I want something which will take a good, sharp photo with the front facing camera and obviously back, which I think will be fine from what you've said.
Speaking of battery..how good is the battery life of the 5s ? Enough to get me through a 9-5 day without requiring a charge halfway through ?

Last question, promise..how good is the life of the phone ? Like mentioned above, I want it to last a few years if I'm paying that much..5 would be amazing but 3 or 4 at minimum. Is this likely ?

And thanks for the comparisons with android and windows as well and everything else, reaaaally appreciate it ! Thanks again

I'm not a heavy phone user, I mainly use it for checking emails, texting, phone calls, taking pics etc. I'm not someone who constantly checks their phone when I'm having lunch with a friend (lol it really annoys me how many ppl do)
I always charge my phone before I go to sleep. On light days it could probably last me 2 days. It should last you a full day no problem unless the phone screen is always on like watching a movie
Although if battery does become an issue, you can always get a portable power bank (you can find one for under 20 dollars, some with the capacity to fully charge the iphone 2-3 times).

Keep in mind that in general: larger phones have more space to fit bigger batteries, therefore have better battery life. (iphone 6, 6+, samsung 5s all have better battery)

The 5s Front facing camera is 720p quality. (Exactly the same as iphone 5 and 5c) So it should look something like this.
http://www.everythingicafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/iphone-5-4s-self-portrait-camera.jpg  (just a random pic i got from google)
It's very good and it doesn't get grainy in low light. (Same with the rear facing cam)

Finally, to answer your last question: Most of the time, phones last much much more longer than the amount of time people who hold onto them before they get a newer one.
Phone life really depends on the individual. In terms of hardware problems, if you take good care of it it should last a long time.
Although there is the rare hardware fault here and there, most people who upgrade to a new phone who haven't smashed, lost or water logged their phone upgrade because
1. their phone contract has ended
2. new tech features (better camera, bigger better screen)

I have an ipad 2 from 2011 (Almost 4 years now, and it still gets firmware updates from apple), I use it mainly for web browsing and watching movies. It still works 100%, despite the fact the it on occasional crashes when I'm on some new more intensive apps. But all normal apps most people use run fine.
There's some lack of features like siri and airplay.
I know quite a few people with the iphone 4 and 4/s (which was released in 2010 and 2011). Also my nokia brick phone I got in 2009 still works fine. (It's probably like much older than that)

Technically the iphone 5s could last you like 10+ years, but in 2025 theres probably going to be like 5g internet, dslr like camera etc, high end console level graphics etc, and most apps wouldn't support 10 year old hardware, so although it would work you probably couldn't much with it. (Think about the phones in 2005)

[Coralista]

By slow, do you just mean a lot of lag or like apps crashing and stuff ? Because I have frequent app crashes and a bit of lag, plus the phone feels slow currently so if that's what you mean, I think I'll be okay !

Mostly it's just the apps taking a bit longer to respond, other than that it's not too bad. 

[anna.xo]

Mostly it's just the apps taking a bit longer to respond, other than that it's not too bad. 

Ah, thanks

[Yacoubb]

Hey guys! This is a shout out to melb uni peeps!

Guys we should meet up on campus tomorrow!! Shall we organise a time/place??

[Rod]

Hey guys! This is a shout out to melb uni peeps!

Guys we should meet up on campus tomorrow!! Shall we organise a time/place??

Morning would be good! And somewhere at the uni?!

[Mieow]

I'd love to meet up with you guys! Just give me a time/place and I'll be there

[Yacoubb]

Hpw about student union house just outside subway!?

[ealam2]

Hpw about student union house just outside subway!?

That'd be great but I've got one session after another for the whole day

[Rod]

Yeah wednesday is pretty busy for everyone because we have subject lectures and stuff. Want to make it thursday/friday then?

[auds]

How about Friday? I have something on till 11:30, but I'd love to meet up with everyone