iPhone 4S: The Gadget Guru's Hands-On Review
It’s what’s on the inside that matters!
See full photos of the new iPhone 4S
There has been much consternation amongst the Apple fanboi community that the latest mobile offering from the Cupertino based company has merely added an S to the number 4 for the new iPhone which hits stores in a couple of weeks.
Looking at the phone, it’s difficult to see any difference. That’s because on the outside, little has changed. But inside, it’s a different story.
iPhone 4S has a new dual core A5 chip which runs the phone. In fact it’s the same as processor that runs the iPad 2 and promises dramatically fast graphics response, web browsing and multi-tasking. Other improvements include a new antenna system (inspired no doubt by the wish to avoid the grip of death debacle Apple endured last year), improved battery life and Siri, a digital assistant. More on that later.
The biggest single improvement is the camera. The iPhone 4 is already the most popular camera source on websharing sites like Flickr. iPhone 4S has a brand new optics system with an extra lens, an 8 megapixel sensor (up from 5mp) and 1080p HD video recording. The new A5 chip gives the iPhone 4S the power to offer much faster shutter response times, imagine stabilisation, and multiple face detection, HDR photo technology, photo editing and more. It seems Apple are aiming this phone at photo enthusiasts who’d rather not have to carry around a point and shoot camera around in their already over-loaded pockets.
iPhone 4S also comes with iOS5, the new operating system. This is a major and long over due update to the system that runs iPhones, iPads and the iPod Touch and improves email, social networking, messaging and notifications dramatically. However, this update will also be available for iPhone 3 and 4 users as well as the later iPod Touch models, so iOS5 in itself is not a major reason to upgrade your current Apple phone.
Then there is Siri. ‘Your wish is its command’ states the marketing strapline. The idea is that you ask your iPhone 4S a question and it will answer it. Would you like to know what meetings you have today? Well as it and it will, hopefully, tell you. When a new email arrives, Siri will read it to you. Apple are keen to state that Siri is currently in Beta (testing) mode and will learn and improve over time. We’ve been promised voice recognition systems that work many times over the years and we’ll have to test Siri out thoroughly to discover whether Apple have devised a system that actually works.
Finally, there is the free iCloud service. The idea with iCloud is that everything you do on your iPhone (or iPad, Touch, Mac etc) is stored on a cloud (a virtual computer somewhere else on the planet) and copied onto every other iCloud compatible device. Take a photograph on your iPhone and it will appear instantly on your computer and iOS device. Buy a track from iTunes on your phone and it will appear on your iTunes account at home automatically.If your kids or partner has an iOS device, you can use Find My Friends and track them down. Great if you’re worried about their safety, not so great if you’re up to things you’d rather your partner didn’t know about! iCloud will store your documents too. Start work on a new project on your Mac, when you pick up your iPad or MacBook, the document will be ready on to work on that device too. If it works as well as it sounds, iCloud should be a genuinely useful innovation. Again, it will work with iPhone 4 and other iOS devices as well as the 4S.
So in conclusion, there is more to the iPhone 4S update than meets the eye. I’ll reserve critical judgement until I’ve road tested it for a few weeks and while some may be disappointed that the screen size hasn’t been increased or that the device isn’t slimmer, those still working with the iPhone 3 and 3GS may be tempted finally to upgrade.
What I like: Great new camera, faster chip for improved response times and improved battery life.
What I would have liked: Bigger screen and thinner form factor.
Also worth considering: HTC Titan and the HTC Sensation.