iPhone 5s Is Still The Best Apple Smartphone In The Market — Here’s Why

It was too easy for people to forget how awesome the iPhone 5s actually is, and obviously, the flashy release of the iPhone 6 and 6 plus is to blame.

As soon as Apple released the newer models late last year, consumers were quick to jump on the bandwagon, just as many of them do every time the company churns out newer editions of — quite frankly — basically the same phone every few months or so. However, for those who still haven’t made the crucial decision of upgrading to the newer iPhone, here is something important to consider: you still might want to hold on to your beloved 5s until the 7 comes out in a few months time.

Don’t let the allure of a bigger screen tempt you into shelling out a thousand bucks for the new iPhone. In many ways, the iPhone 5s still remains to be the superior Apple smartphone. Out of these many advantages, one simple, non-technical edge the 5s has over the 6 and the 6 plus is perhaps the most important of them all.

The single feature that makes the iPhone 5s a better phone than the two newer iPhones is, ironically, its smaller size. The iPhone 5s’ 5- by 2.5-inch dimensions make it an actual, mobile phone in the classic sense. It isn’t a pretentious hybrid of a tablet and a phone. It’s just a mobile phone, plain and simple, and that is what’s awesome about it.

iPhone 5s’ smaller size makes it incredibly convenient for users to carry, make phone calls, and tuck in pockets. Consumers have sadly forgotten that the main point of a mobile phone is to be able to call and text, and to be able to surf the internet with ease. With the iPhone 6 and 6 plus, these essential purposes aren’t as easily accomplishable.

Fans of the newer iPhones insist that you can easily get used to these inconveniences over time. They say you would hardly notice the annoyances — having to stretch out your thumb to Timbuktu just so you could reach the letter A, the bulky aluminum in your pocket, and the constant worry of it slipping off your teeny, tiny hands when you’re texting on the street — in just a week’s time. Of course, if you just poured out a thousand dollars to have the newest iPhone, you’d have to force yourself to get over these hassles.

Why pass through all these inconveniences if you can essentially accomplish almost everything the 6 can do on the 5s? Despite slight technical upgrades, which even to a Gizmodo contributor and iPhone aficionado is almost indistinguishable. The iPhone 5s can definitely do most things the newer ones can do — without all the physical hassles, to boot.

When purchasing any gadget, a consumer’s main priority must always be convenience. Gadgets exist to make our lives easier. We shouldn’t have to adjust to them; gadgets must adjust to us and our needs. When talking about convenience, iPhone 5s is clearly the champion over most phones in the market right now, especially against the newer, bulkier Apple smartphones.

[Image from Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images]