While the Android world went big-screen, Apple stuck resolutely to its more pocket-friendly iPhone 5S. It may have been replaced by the larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and the subsequent iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, but this phone is still on sale in many high street retailers, although once the next iPhone is released, we’d imagine this phone may fall by the wayside, only popping up smaller online stores. Still, it’s the last 4in phone Apple made and those with smaller hands or smaller pockets.
There’s also the iPhone 5se to consider. Yes, we’re clenching too at the thought of recommending a phone that might not even exist, but the rumours in this case are pointing towards a March 2016 launch for the 4in, colourful device. If you’re thinking about buying an iPhone 5s right now, it might pay to wait just a little longer to see whether the 5se is a legitimate product and how much it costs. After all, buying a two-and-a-half year-old device is always going to be a bit of a gamble.
Pricing versus newer phones
As a fairly old device, the iPhone 5S is getting cheaper by the day. The deals listed on the Carphone Warehouse are fairly attractive, although it’s worth bearing in mind that those headline tarrifs don’t have much data included so may not be great for heavy users. The minimum we’d want would be 1GB of data, which you can get on EE for an upfront ost of £60 and £20 per month for two years with a 16GB iPhone 5S. Compare that to the iPhone 6, the next-cheapest iPhone. On O2 you can get 1GB of data, no upfront cost and £32.50 per month, which is obviously substantially more expensive over two years.