Daily driving an iPhone 5s in 2025
Info
The iPhone 5s came out all the way back on September 20, 2013 it is almost 12 years old
Software
Shipping originally with IOS 7
IOS 12 was released to the public on September 17, 2018, the latest IOS supported is now IOS 12.5.7 a security update which came out on January 23, 2023.
Apple has a great track record of long term software support for their iPhone, which might make using old iPhone’s easier than android. As android at the time only came with 1-2 years of software update plus 1 more year of security update.
Android has gotten better with software update but not as good as apple. But with android there is a possibility of installing a newer custom android rom, but it comes with some devices don’t have a custom Rom port, not able to unlock bootloader, bricking device, unlocked bootloader (security risk), able to trust custom Rom maker.
Background info
I have used an iPhone SE 1st gen before, it has the same housing but newer internals basically an iPhone 6s internals inside an iPhone 5s housing.
I have a spare iPhone 5s I can swap parts with only the motherboard being a bit broken making it an cheap and easy repair if anything breaks on my iPhone 5s
Recently the battery in my iPhone 13 Pro was expanding the screen and the iPhone 13 Pro battery replacement official from Apple out of warranty cost couple hundred dollar just to replace the battery
I have gone down a privacy rabbit hole like Linux, open source, self-hosting, etc
I want to use my phone less, to me waste of our precious lives scrolling on phone which bringed me no beneficial thing to my life, for me the pros outweighs the cons. Out in public I hate seeing people just always looking down at their phones. Plus I also calculated how much time we spend on our phone and the number was sickening to me.
I’m not totally against smartphone, I think it can make people lives easier and do so much more, but I feel like people are using it less as a tool but to waste their lives.
I use an dedicated camera to take photos plus last phones I used the camera didn’t work software wise.
My requirements
My requirements of a phone currently comes down to 3 categories, which can be reduced down using a separate devices, but because I don’t have a good alternative or know what to replace it with I stick to these 3 functions.
Communication: At the minimum is the basic of a phone, calls and text with a sim card
Music: As the name implies my local music library which is only couple gigs, I don’t use streaming services
Navigation: Basically the only really high tech I think is essential in our modern society, this includes map and maybe public transportation
I could get away with a basic phone that can do calls and text, then get an iPod or mp3 player for music, but I always get stuck on navigation.
First Impressions
The screen is really small, but it is easy to use one handed
A lot of apps are not supported on IOS 12 a lot requiring IOS 13 or newer, but can still download older version of the apps
Hardware
Screen size
The screen is small by today standard even zooming two fingers on the map is hard, and typing with two hand creates typo so one handed typing was more accurate for me
Home button
The fingerprint button was introduced with the iPhone 5s, I forgot how hit or miss it the fingerprint button was and eventually having to enter the passcode especially if your fingers were a little wet. I also think face id is also annoying.
Lightning connector
iPhone 5s was the 2nd generation with the lightning connector which was first introduced with the iPhone 5 in 2012 Still used the lightning connector until the iPhone 15 which came out in 2023
Storage
I have the base model with 16GB, iPhone 5s came with either 16GB, 32GB or 64GB I have used around half of the storage with mostly being IOS system itself and just music
Setup
I Uninstalled all the defaults apps (at least the ones that let me) except maps Signed in with iCloud account to be able to download third party apps from the App Store
Installed third party apps
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Public Transport app (addition to maps even though you can check public transportation in the maps it gives me peace of mind and more details in this app)
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Discord (communication not really needed)
Usage
The battery dies pretty quick due to being small and/or being old
Having used newer IOS version for years since iOS 12 I had to use things the old way but it was easy getting used to
Slow for apps to load but does what it needs it do
Calls and messages worked perfectly
Navigation worked well
Bluetooth turns off and on and Bluetooth devices doesn’t connect or have trouble staying connected, probably a hardware fault on my iPhone 5s
The Amperfy app bugs out once in a while, not able to play music or even freeze up then the app restarting
Other than that for me it does what I need it to do and I can just get on with my life without it getting in my way
Conclusion
For my needs I can get away with a 12 Year old phone for some people they might not be able to
For me it shows how an old iPhone I got for free, can save time spending less time on your phone with small battery, slow, small screen discouraging from using it but good enough for essentials. Also saving money not shelling out hundreds or thousands on a new phone every couple of years, for what? better camera? better screen? when the phone you already have is more than good enough? Also newer phone repairs cost more with anti-repair tactics and enshittification.
If there is one thing I want you to take away from this is take a step back and reevaluate your phone usage and think does it really matter at the end of the day and give value to your life?