Photo from v3.co.uk
Making the decision between the iPhone 5C and the iPhone 4S is really a no-brainer. Usually we have the conclusion of a comparison between two phones at the end of the article, but this comparison is like no other. At Sprint for example an iPhone 4S is free with a two year contract and the iPhone 5C is also free with a two year contract. The iPhone 5C may not continue to be free at Sprint, but it would only cost $100 even later down the road. Other stores such as Verizon charge $50 for the iPhone 4S and $100 for the iPhone 5C.
iPhone 4S: Photo from Marshall Bock
Since a two-year contract charges you for a $700 phone no matter if you buy an expensive phone or not, it would make sense to take advantage of the opportunity every two years. With a contract upgrade you can get a $650-700 phone for only $200.
Also what’s the point of buying and iPhone 4S today? It will be outdated within a year. Some may argue that the iPhone 4S is already outdated. The iPhone 5C on the other hand has another 1-2 years left in it. It is obvious that buying the iPhone 5C for $0.01-100 makes more sense than getting the iPhone 4S for $0.01-50. Yes, some stores and carriers actually sell the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5C for one cent.
Colors and material
The iPhone 4S has a glass back and comes in black and white. The iPhone 5C on the other hand is made of plastic and comes in white, pink, yellow, blue and green.
Size and dimensions
From the photo above you can tell that the iPhone 4S is shorter than the 5C. This is because the iPhone 5C is 4.9 x 2.33 x .35 inches while the iPhone 4S is 4.5 x 2.31 x .37 inches.
Whereas the iPhone 4S weighs 4.9 ounces, the iPhone 5C weights 4.65 ounces.
Processors
The iPhone 5C has an A6 1.3GHz chip that is twice as powerful as the A5 .8GHz chip in the iPhone 4S. The graphics power of the iPhone 5C is also greater than the 4S. A lot of people already are complaining that certain apps aren’t compatible with the older iPhone 4S model. If you want any app on the app store to run on your phone, then you would go with the 5C instead of the 4S.
RAM
The iPhone 4S only has half a gig of RAM, while the iPhone 5C has a full gig of RAM. This is a really huge difference, and when coupled with a processor that is twice as fast, the iPhone 5C easily beats the iPhone 4S in any processing category.
Cameras
The rear camera quality of the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5C are the same. The only difference is that the iPhone 5C has a sapphire crystal lens cover which protects the glass underneath from being scratched. Also another great feature of the iPhone 5C is that it lets you take a photo while recording HD video. The iPhone 4S doesn’t let you do this.
Photo from iMore
The iPhone 5C even lets you zoom in up to 3x, while the iPhone 4S does not.
Whereas the front camera of the iPhone 4S has a .3MP camera and doesn’t shoot in 720p video, the iPhone 5C has a 1.2MP camera and shoots in 720p.
Battery
The iPhone 4S has up to 8 hours of talk time on 3G, while the iPhone 5C has up to 10 hours of talk time.
Verdict
The iPhone 4S just isn’t worth it. Even when it came out, it was still outdated when compared to other phones in its same price range. If you want a bigger screen, longer battery life, and 2x as fast performance, than the iPhone 5C is worth the extra $.01-100 you have to spend in comparison to the iPhone 4S.
If your carrier is offering the iPhone 5C for free for a limited time, then it would be a good idea to jump on that opportunity as soon as possible.