Four months ago today many of us here at iMore were either waiting for our brand-new iPhone 5s to show up at our doors, or lining up to get our hands on it immediately. There was a gold rush, and the usual amount of online fuss. Most of us flat out loved the iPhone 5s, but over time it stopped being new and simply became our phone.
Then, last week, at #CESlive I went back to using an iPhone 5 on Verizon (to avoid roaming fees) and I immediately noticed the difference. First, yes, lack of Touch ID makes me feel like an animal. But the difference in low-light photography was startling. I ended up fishing out my iPhone 5s over and over again just to get the shots I'd come to take for granted. I also noticed how chipped and scratched my iPhone 5 had become, even though I'd barely used it. My iPhone 5s, however, which I've used all day, every day for the last four months is still in near-mint condition.
Battery life is okay. I want more, always, but I usually manage to last most of the day on a single charge. Once in a while my iPhone 5s will get hot and start to drain, at which point I curse the carriers, kill everything, and reboot, and that often fixes it. (Unless I'm in the U.S., of course...)
Kevin Michaluk, our fearless network leader and the guy who paid $1.5K for his gold iPhone 5s on launch day, however, has been complaining a lot about the 16GB limit he ended up with. (He likes to Instagram and video a lot.) I'm happy with my color and size choice, but obviously not everyone is.
At the same time, iOS 7, which launched the same day, hasn't really come as far and as fast as I hoped. I'm still getting way too many Sprinboard (and maybe Backboard?) crashes. iOS 7.1 is still in beta, and a host of small glitches and wacky behaviors remain to be fixed and features to be filled out.
So let me ask you this — four months later, how's your iPhone 5s (or iPhone 5c, if that's how you roll!) and iOS 7 holding up? What's making you happy, and what's making you crazy? What are your pain points, and what's pure pleasure?
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