This is an un-jailbroken iPhone 5c running iOS 10.3.3. Results could be different if jaibroken. My main everyday phone is an Oppo Find X2 Pro (2020 release), so that will be my frame of reference for comparison.
My technical review of the iPhone 5c can be found here.
Day 1 - The basics
Calls and texts
First things first, I had to make sure the cell service was usable. It was, but the signal wasn't as strong as my regular phone. Phone calls were patchy at best, and unreachable at worst, and some texts would take about a minute to get to my phone. Sending images via text would take over 5 minutes in some instances. The service signal was 1 or 2 bars most of the time, unlike the usual 5. The only way to reliably make and receive phone calls was to enable Wi-Fi calling. This meant I could only rely on this phone if I was at home. All these issues happened in locations that usually gave me 5 bar connectivity with the same sim on my regular phone.
| This was my first experience with iMessage. Texting other iPhone users was pretty straight forward as I didn't have to worry about emojis and effects looking different on either end. However, being on iOS 10 meant I still couldn't see all the features newer iPhone users were sending me. (Sent with Echo?) |
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Texting Android users was where the difficulties began. Making group chats didn't work. Recipients received my group text, but their replies came back to me as direct messages that only I could see. And in some cases, when an android user would reply to me in a group, only the 3rd member, and not me, would receive the reply.
On my android, I'm able to send texts to anyone via wifi, which comes with features such as read receipts, typing bubbles, and custom text reactions. The iPhone 5c is limited to the 6 basic reactions, and those don't translate well to all androids. Reacting with "haha" could tell one android user that I reacted with the "😂" emoji, while other android users would receive a standalone text saying "Laughed at [quote text message]". Not ideal when you want to be sure you and the recipient are seeing the same thing.
Apps
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The texting issues above could've been solved if I was able to use WhatsApp, but unfortunately the app doesn't work on the iPhone 5c because the iOS version is too old to support it. I tried other social apps like Twitter (X...) and Snapchat, which downloaded successfully, but wouldn't let me use them due to the outdated software (the Twitter/X website works on Safari, but images don't load). This left only regular and texts and iMessage to communicate with people.
The YouTube app doesn't work, but watching YouTube videos via Safari works. However, this lacks features we are now used to, such as double-tap to skip 5-10 seconds, or precise rewinding.
Having established that most key features I needed weren't available on this phone, I started testing other miscellaneous things.
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Google Maps could not be downloaded on this phone, so I had to rely on Apple Maps instead. To me, I need a map app to be able to show me bus schedules and routes, predict traffic, and show me business opening times. Could Apple Maps do this, and accurately? I set a start and end point, specified the time of arrival, and chose the mode of transportation (in this case, the bus). The results were mixed - some suggested routes included buses that weren't part of the public transport system, or weren't even buses at all. Had I not been familiar with this route already, I would've been mislead and waited for buses that I can't actually use. So while Apple Maps can plan a route, I wouldn't rely on it if it was my first time visiting a location. |
| The Mail app wouldn't allow me to sign into Gmail, but I was still able to log in via Safari. Not being able to access emails on this phone would've been a dealbreaker if this was really going to be my main phone in the longterm, but since the browser works (slowly, but it does) and I spend most of the day on a computer, I decided it would be tolerable as I could check my emails on the computer anytime anyway. |
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At the end of day 1, I decided this phone isn't totally unusable, so I continued using it, but I still had to keep my regular phone charged just in case.
Day 2 - What CAN you do?
Well, there's not much you can do on the iPhone 5c nowadays, but to me, that's a good thing. What I like about older phones is their simplicity and that I'm less likely to get distracted opening several apps. Back in the 2010s, this may have been a usable smartphone just like any other, but in 2024, this phone serves more as a simple calling/texting device that can play media with ease thanks to it being a touchscreen smartphone. However, some tech-savviness is still required if you're looking to download free music, movies, books, etc, or download/sideload apps that aren't already in your iCloud purchase history.
The iPhone 5c's battery runs out pretty quick even when on standby, so constant charging is a must to avoid worrying it will die suddenly. Battery health will vary between devices, but mine reached around 20% by midday just from a few texts and calls. It was usable, as long as I kept a charger or powerbank nearby.
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I spent this day playing iMessage games with other iPhone friends, and taking photos of my cats. The camera quality is not the best, but one good thing about it is its very fast shutter speed. Sometimes, I don't mind the quality of an image as long as I'm able to capture the exact second my cat does something funny. |
| Aside from that, there wasn't much to do on this phone so far aside from text, call, check emails, and watch YouTube videos. One complaint about YouTube is the limited video quality. Most videos wouldn't load past 360p despite being uploaded in 1080p. |
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Most games I tried to download didn't work, but I switched between Temple Run and Solitaire when I got bored.
On the second day, I discovered that the control center wasn't customizable. It was useful at times, but the settings I frequently needed, such as turning mobile data on/off, changing keyboard settings, and volume, required going into the settings app itself and finding everything manually. That said, I did really like the silent button on the side of the phone - it was super accessible and made silencing/unsilencing the phone easy and quick.
Unfortunately by the end of day 3, it became abundantly clear that the iPhone 5c's cell service wasn't reliable at all. I received calls from multiple people who told me they could barely hear me, or the call would cut off. The cell service was probably good back in 2013, but it doesn't hold up well in 2024.
Day 3 - A phone without calls...
Sadly I had to take my sim out of the iPhone 5c on day 3. I'd been missing calls due to the poor service, so I had to put it back in my regular phone.
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| Heartbreaking moment as the sim migrates to its old home. |
Despite this, I continued using the phone's other features as normal.
The camera started to show more of its limitations too, especially in low light.
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| Should I be scared? |
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| Red-eye issues in early morning daylight |
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| :3 |
Having established that most key features I needed weren't available on this phone, I started testing other miscellaneous things.
Day 4 - I am bored
With most apps not working, I got getting bored and started testing random websites.
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I had previously established that the Twitter app doesn't work, but the website (kind of) does. It allows me to log in and tweet, but most images on the site don't load, and everything else is generally laggy. It also wouldn't let me tweet anything with pictures attached. | |
| I was playing Animal Crossing and had to look up some hints and when I did, I noticed that the iPhone 5c seems to struggle to load images across most sites. Upon opening this website, no images loaded. I switched to desktop view and some images did load, but not all. I encountered the same issue when opening this blog on Safari too. |  |
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Then I got so bored I clicked on this Tips notification (it was also boring.) |
Day 5 - More photos
With nothing else to do on the final day, I wanted to see how well the iPhone 5c could capture colors. It's easy to play with the camera settings and capture a nice photo in a minute or so, but I wanted to see the camera's output from the point of view of the average user who just wants to snap a quick shot and move on. The results were varied.
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| In a dimply lit cafe, the camera wasn't able to focus very well and produce a sharp image. The colors of are slightly dull, especially the parts of the photo where light wasn't shining (the labels and banners). |
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| The leaves were moving in the wind, so I'm surprised the photo came out as clear as it did, but the contrast is poor and makes the photo look very flat. The saturation is okay, but not impressive. |
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| This photo was taken near a window on a sunny afternoon, so the brightness and saturation came out looking great. Still, the camera wasn't able to capture all the different shades of red the strawberries had in real life. |
Conclusion
The iOS exclusive features like iMessage games and polished interface were fun for a while, but they didn't compensate for the lack of other features I'm used to such as unrestricted app downloads, customizable settings, and most importantly, reliable cell service. Websites were slow to load, if at all, and moving between apps would sometimes cause the phone to lag. My thoughts on the camera are mixed. On one hand, it is capable of taking nice photos in good lighting. The shutter speed is great and you can take multiple snaps in a single second. On the other hand, image quality isn't guaranteed if the environment isn't perfect. If you're just trying to capture some memories, it might be fine. But if sharp, beautiful photos are your aim, this phone is likely not ideal.
This phone will always be special to me despite its shortcomings because I've wanted it ever since it first came out. I think its exterior is beautiful.
