[John O]

I’m confused. Does this thing make phone calls that much better than the previous version (or than any other version) that it is worth people spending that much money on it?

[justlurking]

Does this thing make phone calls that much better than the previous version (or than any other version) that it is worth people spending that much money on it?

Making phone calls just barely the most popular single activity on a smart phone:

Not just for talking, smartphones are hubs

Of an average 114 minutes per day using a smart phone:

1. 23 minutes talking
2. 20 minutes texting
3. 18 minutes emailing
4. 16 minutes surfing the web
5. 11 minutes on social networks

If you were keeping score, that adds up to 88 minutes, leaving 36 minutes for things like:

• Navigating
• Taking photos or videos
• Playing games
• Checking the weather

Add all the activities requiring a data connection, and phone calls fall into a distant second place. And faster data connection usually mean a better experience. Both the 5C and 5S support more LTE bands, which means they can use LTE in more locations.

The 5S has a better camera, and better flash. The new CPU and graphics processor are each about twice as fast in the 5S, compared to the previous version.

If you are just using a smart phone for making phone calls, you are wasting your money.