iPhone 5s vs. iPhone 5c vs. iPhone 4s: Which iPhone should you get?

2013 IPHONE BUYERS GUIDE: HOW TO CHOOSE THE PERFECT HIGH-END IPHONE 5S, LESS-EXPENSIVE IPHONE 5C, OR ZERO-DOLLAR IPHONE 4S FOR YOU!

Once you know you're getting an iPhone and now, you need to decide which iPhone you want to get. While some might consider the the latest, greatest iPhone 5s a no brainer when it comes to their next purchasing decision, others might think the funner, less expensive iPhone 5c, or even the hold-over iPhone 4s is a much better value. If you're on-contract, you'll be paying a couple thousand dollars over the next couple of years anyway, so a few hundred for up-front may not matter to you. However, if you don't have that couple extra thousand up front, especially if you're going off-contract, up-front cost really will matter. It's important to really run the math on this and see what suits you best. So, premium, popular, or passé, which one should you get?

Products and price points

Apple's 2013 iPhone lineup consists of 3 different models, the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, and iPhone 4s. Here are the models and price points, both on and off contract.

• $0/$450 - iPhone 4s 8GB
• $99/$549 - iPhone 5c 16GB
• $199/$649 - iPhone 5c 32GB
• $199/$649 - iPhone 5s 16GB
• $299/$749 - iPhone 5s 32GB
• $399/$849 - iPhone 5s 64GB

Yes, the 32GB iPhone 5c is the same price as the 16GB iPhone 5s. One has more storage, the other higher specs. Price, it turns out, isn't the only factor!