Sticking with My iPhone 4. For Now.

My first iPhone was the 3G. I waited several hours in line the day it released. So a year later when they launched the 3GS, I was still within my contract. But I didn’t mind, because I didn’t think the upgrade was really worth paying the full non-subsidized price. I knew I’d be better off waiting another year for the 4. Of course at that time I had no idea what the 4 would entail, but I was pretty certain it would be more revolutionary than the evolutionary 3GS was.

Fast forward to 4-Oct-2011, and it’s deja vu all over again. I currently have the iPhone 4 and am presented with yet another evolutionary upgrade option: the iPhone 4GS. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the 4GS (or the 3GS even). If I wasn’t under a 2 year contract and could get the fully subsidized upgrade price on the 4GS AND know that when the iPhone 5 comes out I could still upgrade to it at the fully subsidized price, then I’d be all for it. Unfortunately, the carriers don’t allow this. As it stands now, I got the iPhone 4 the day it released and won’t be eligible for a subsidized upgrade until November. And if I upgrade then, I certainly wouldn’t be in a position to upgrade to the 5 when it releases.

Paying a higher (non-subsidized) price for an iPhone 4GS just isn’t worth. I have absolutely no idea when the iPhone 5 will come out or what it will be like. But Apple’s now-standard release schedule would indicate the 5 will release next summer and be more revolutionary than the 4GS. But there are 2 factors that make me think that Apple may forgo the typical schedule and release the 5 even sooner:

1. In the build-up to iPhone 4GS, there has been a lot of consistent speculation about an iPhone 5. This leads me to believe that the iPhone 5 is well underway in development, much more so than the 4 was when the 3GS launched.
2. True 4G. There are so many Android smart phones taking advantage of LTE. Despite what the 4GS launch would like us to believe about HSDPA, it is merely an enhanced version of 3G. And even though many argue that LTE isn’t true 4G either, it is certainly faster than HSDPA. With Android LTE phones already in the market, Apple will need to release a competitor sooner rather than later. And next summer in my opinion is too late.

Bottom Line: If you have a 3G (or older) iPhone, or any other phone without a contract, then by all means the 4GS is a fine phone to get. But if you have an iPhone 4 and value your money, wait for the iPhone 5. Your wait might end up being shorter than you think.