# iPhone 5s

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-5s/

13 people recommended iPhone 5s in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 12 months, in 8 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend the 5s for its compact form factor, long software support, and reliable typing and daily use. Main caveat: support has ended, forcing upgrades to newer phones.

Summary written by Claude from 20 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Compact form factor, well built (3 comments in the sample): "IMHO the 5S form factor was perfected, any change after that is unnecessary" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47230608)) "What an excellent form factor and construction" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49634981)) "iPhone 5s was peak form factor IMHO" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49632768))
- Long software support from Apple (3 comments in the sample): "i'm mildly impressed, even if this update is only to keep the lights on and nothing else." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46774359)) "this degree of legacy support is a case of Apple doing a good thing and deserves praise" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46774594)) "iPhone 5S (or SE?) running iOS 6 is still the best combo ever." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50109111))
- Reliable typing and daily use (2 comments in the sample): "The iPhone 5S is the last one I can reliably type on." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50215227)) "when I used the iPhone 4S and 5S I had no problems" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49631449))
- Enjoyable camera (2 comments in the sample): "I used to adjust exposure a lot on phones like the iPhone 5s" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49284321)) "I remember really enjoying the camera in my iPhone 5s." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49284294))

## Other smartphones people recommend

- [Apple iPhone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone/): 438 recommend, 190 mixed, 789 criticize
- [Fairphone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fairphone/): 110 recommend, 42 mixed, 94 criticize
- [iPhone 13 mini](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-13-mini/): 105 recommend, 32 mixed, 44 criticize
- [Apple iPhone Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-17-pro/): 90 recommend, 45 mixed, 138 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "iPhone 5s", https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-5s/ (13 recommend, 1 mixed, 2 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.