Yep, I realise this isn't the current model. But still the cheapest 5S anywhere for the Apple fans.
May already be unlocked, but if not, should be just a matter of jumping on chat with Telstra.
iPhone 5S 16GB Space Grey $499 Outright (Telstra Prepaid) @ JB Hi-Fi & Telstra Stores
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@noramando: Mate, I have iOS, Android and Windows Phone based devices. Some Android devices might be slightly better, but most Android devices don't exactly give you an easy path to a certain Android version either.
The thing with Apple fans is they mostly have to be seen with the latest model, or at least one that resembles it (6 looks much the same as 6S for example) so the enormous street cred having an iphone provides is realised. Therefore even among Apple fans I would suggest there may be limited appeal in this. Good phone maybe, but not the latest look!
As others have said many better options in that price bracket and lower for those who can live without an iphone.
Even Apple fan won't find this cheap. At this price should be at least a 64GB. 16GB is just just a joke.
Wow 2 year old phone for $500 ….bargain….. I own 5s while my better half owns Lumia 640….($99-$129 phone)
There is no comparison….
My iphone has better range of apps by miles and that is it as far as pros…..
while Lumia which is 5x cheaper haslarger and nicer screen….
SD card
battery lasts 3x longer
interface is very nice and fast…
Both cameras are on par….Apple……. this should be $150 max….
What is the $200 trade in deal with JB Hi Fi? I have an iPhone 4 which I would not mind trade in for something new like Nexus 5X.
Not really on-topic, but they will give your trade-in phone value as store credit towards buying a new phone outright. AFAIK you can't use it for prepaid deals, and you can't use it on carrier plans. The trade-in value depends on the model and condition of your phone; it's not always $200 except when they have special deals like the Galaxy Edge one the other day.
You can get some indication of your phone's trade-in value on other sites like Mazuma and Boomerang, but you'd probably get a better price selling it on Gumtree.
That's what I thought, sounded too good to be true.
I like Apple, but … you'd be crazy to pay this much for this hardware in this market. iOS isn't as far ahead of Android as it used to be. I just switched from an iPhone to a Xiaomi Mi4i running the latest MIUI and have been very impressed. If you're willing to do some work regarding which ROM you install, playing with root and bootloader etc, I think you can have an even better UI/UX, more custom and tailored experience, with Android than iOS. I'm glad I switched, not least because I saved a considerable amount of money doing so.
Google's blob emoji are bloody awful though. Sorry for the ramble, just thought I'd give anyone thinking of spending this much money on an old phone a nudge to take a fresh look at Android before doing so.
it's about apps, if there are apps you like on a platform that can be a driving factor. Although you can get "similar" apps on both. My son has an iapd and an android tablet …. he can't get all the apps he wants on one platform.
So comparing apple vs android isn't a hardware thing ….. it's an app thing, which platform has the apps that you want …. you pay for the software support as the differentiator , not the hardware.
bit like ps4 vs xbox … if a game you want is only on xbox e.g halo ….. then it's not about is ps4 better then xbox.
My sons redmi note 2 is a great piece of hardware for under $200, but it doesn't support all the apps he wants so he has iPad also for his iOS games.
It's still a good deal.
Value of something is really based on demand. There is clearly high demand for iPhone 5s even after 2 years of release.
I've recently sold my girl friend's 2 years of iPhone 5s 16gb for $450 on Gumtree.
Sold a scratched up 5S 32GB for $400 on Gumtree, could of sold it 4 times in 2 days.
bah, if only this price was for the 32GB model! would be on it in a flash for my Mom! 16GB storage is rubbish on any phone these days!
apple tried to catch the thrift market with the 5c ….. it was a flop, be interesting what they replace the 5s with eventually ….. cut down 6 ?
Flop to you, but you should check the top 5 handsets from AT&T and Verizon for the few quarters the 5c was sold, pushing out other non iPhones from the top two or three. Meanwhile it pushed even more to buy the 5s while the larger 6/6 Plus were waiting in the wings.
Apple never went after the "thrift" market.
If you can live with 16GB this is a good price for a great phone, especially considering the devaluing Australian dollar. It's rumoured that Apple are considering releasing an updated model in a similar form factor to the iPhone 6, but as this model will lack 3D touch the main differences will be processor and form factor.
3D Touch - one of those "what's the point" features. Having used it for the last few months, it's the one feature I would miss most if I were to consider this mythical new 4-inch iPhone!
As for 16GB, I couldn't live with that. I could however, live with 64GB now that I've invested $1.50 a month for 50GB iCloud storage for my iCloud Photo Library.
Despite having owned the 6 (now with the wife) and 6s, the iPhone 5s is still my best iPhone!
Small phones fit in pockets
This is an ok deal for a potentially unlocked iPhone 5s as far as Apple's pricing goes. It would be a much better deal for 32GB as others have noted.
It does not mean the iPhone 5s is a bad phone however. A lot of people under appreciate how iPhones fit in better within existing iOS and OS X ecosystems, not to mention a better fit in the hand for those who find the 6/6s too big. I went back to the 5s after six months with the 6 at launch, and now I'm using my 6s from launch last year, but I still play with the 5s. There's just something about the size I prefer. iOS 7 was pretty good on the 5s, iOS 8 not so much, but now as I run iOS 9.3 public beta on it, it's very serviceable.
If you haven't spent much on iTunes/Apps purchases, you should definitely check out other options. Good enough nowadays is actually way more than most people need. Note if you have a large Google Play library with movies, songs etc, the native Google apps on iOS are pretty decent so you won't have to "lose" your investment.
Still a great deal, the iPhone 5S shows its age but demonstrates its technological superiority over similar android phones with its 326 ppi resolution and advanced A7 SoC which runs iOS 9 smoothly.
TL;DR: the phone is free to unlock if it's not unlocked already, though you may need to insist.
I got this for my mum for Christmas. I was told it would be locked, and the fee would be something like $50-100… don't recall, there were a few different reports at the time.
I called Telstra and asked them to unlock it, and they said it should already be unlocked from the start, and that they would look into it for me, so it would be unlocked within two hours if it wasn't already.
24 hours later it wasn't unlocked yet, and I had to deal with 20 minutes of "Are you sure it's locked? Are you sure you know what you're doing? Let me explain in baby words." before they realised that oh, no, it isn't actually unlocked after all. And then they unlocked it for me right then and there.
Classic "left hand doesn't know what the right is doing" Telstra, but they got it sorted eventually.I bought one in December, JB staff said it's locked and will cost up to $80 to unlock. After my credit expired, I spoke to a Telstra rep via their online chat and they said it's unlocked. Upon trying my Optus SIM, I received an error "SIM Not Valid". I then called Telstra and they said it's definitely unlocked but couldn't explain my error. I even gave them my IMEI to check and they still said it's unlocked. I then asked to be put through to their "unlocking team", the person I got actually knew it was locked, upon answering some questions and providing my IMEI again they unlocked it for free. So many idiots working there I'm surprised they're in a position to help.
My 5S came with iOS 9.1 which I regrettably updated to iOS 9.2, I've since noticed a reduction in battery life - not as bad as some though, I can still go to bed with a full charge and wake up with one. If you do intend on purchasing one, I'd advise you not to update!
Try it again or maybe with iOS 9.3. When I used it as a backup device without an active mobile connection, the battery lasted for days! I think a weak mobile signal really affects battery life adversely.
Does anyone know where is the cheapest to get the 32GB or 64GB model? Interested but the 16GB is way too low for storage
If you have a decent data plan you could consider moving everything to the cloud. Stream your music, upload all your photos and videos.
BUT if you play a lot of large games, have the need to save large files offline or watch videos away from a data connection (on a plane) then 16GB isn't much.
Voted hot for whoever wants/needs iPhones. I am a proud owner of Meizu metal, it does the same stuff as iPhone 6/plus but only cost me a quarter plus free music app 😁
but you don't get access to the ios ecosystem… I have hundreds of ios games and apps that I've collected over the years, one of the main reason why I want the iphone
Yes it's true, but I find the same app on Android and if I need any iOS app I just use iPads. I have given my iPhone 5 to me 13 years old daughter, as it seems only Samsung or apple are the "cool" gadget. The Meizu is much better device for my needs, but my husband prefers iOS. Personally I can't see the point anymore in buying apple products, as I'm quite technology savvy I can fix software issues myself. Hence Android is best for me, because I don't want to pay a ridiculous amount of money
The ecosystem is not just about apps, but synching data and content between devices via iCloud (and others). This obviously benefits some more than others.
I'm tech savvy too, but I don't want to waste my time fixing software issues. I have better things to do with my time.
Also, depends what handset you actually get - some Meizu models run up to $800 on eBay.
@dbun1:
I got a Meizu Metal for $250 and now that is all set up I don't have any problems. All my stuff is connected via google /dropbox anyway. Generally if there is a small issue (mostly software) I rather do it at home than having to go to a shop.
Historically, do many phones sales occur around Straya day?
Australia day you mean? No idea
hallo
Can you hear me? I'm in California dreaming 😁
I preferred you singing in the car with James.
Why? Now I'm cross 😂
I'm thinking of buying this for an overseas friend of mine, if I get it unlocked, do these things come with any other kind of locks that restricts them to be used in a specific country only?
Hi, Thanks for the reply, LTE bands match, will there be any other restriction though?
Shouldn't be if it's unlocked.
People here keep saying it's expensive for 16gb, but I'm not seeing any other alternatives which are better value.
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@netsurfer: Get an Android device. Every 2 OS upgrade, you need to get a new device. If you analyse carefully, irrelevant to iOS or Android OS, there is a pattern after every upgrade. Fast, Slow, Fast, Slow….., then won't install app because the OS is too far behind. Upgrade phone and restart the cycle again. It's fun and keeps the economy going.