Unlike other iPhone upgrades, the upgrade to the iPhone 4S hasn't radically changed the world of smartphones. Neither did it look anything like the teardrop-shaped iPhone 5 rumors that we heard about. Yet, nevertheless, I'd still consider the iPhone 4S a substantial upgrade from the iPhone 4, with Siri, much better performance, longer battery life, and a much better camera.
Apple has succeeded in what their goal likely was with the 4S, bringing the specs of the iPhone up to that of many Android phones so that consumers have almost no reason to get an Android phone (unless they prefer the operating system or want more screen real estate), because the design of the iPhone is much nicer than what its competitors offer. Hit the read more button to see our full review of the 4S:
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Many people are disappointed that the iPhone 4S looks exactly the same as its predecessor, the iPhone 4, but I'm glad that Apple didn't tinker with the case this time. Apple really hit the jackpot with the iPhone 4's case. It was a contrast to their previous products, which all had slight curves on the back. Instead, it was a curved block of aluminum that felt incredibly sturdy and solid in your hand. Its dense feel was much more satisfactory than the airy, plasticky complexion of most Android phones. So, they cleverly kept the same exterior that the iPhone 4S users loved, only moving a the controls by a few millimeters and adding 0.11 oz of weight.
Now, I know what you're probably all wondering by this point; did Apple fix the antenna problem? The answer, fortunately, is yes. While there are still two antennas, Apple added a nice feature to the 4S that lets it switch between the antennas in real-time; even if you're in the middle of a call. The difference is easy to see; you'll get more bars, and the iPhone 4's reputation of a call dropper hasn't been passed on to the 4S.
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Siri
In 2010, Apple bought the company that made Siri, an app for the iPhone that was essentially a personal assistant. I had this app on my iPod Touch before it was available on the iPhone, so I'm able to compare the two versions, and I feel that it's much nicer having Siri baked into the operating system. It felt rather clumsy to have to open an app to talk to Siri, but now you can just hold the phone up to your ear and Siri starts listening.
Siri proves to be quite helpful, considering the range of things she can do. You can send text, email, or call someone, set reminders, get directions, play music, check the weather, call a taxi, and much more. But what really amazes me is her ability to understand speech that is usually used in conversation context. Unlike other similar programs, you don't have to use straightforward talk like "Directions to home". You can say "How do I get home?", "Give me directions to home", or "Where's home?"
What's even more impressive is her ability to remember things. You could say, "Tell my wife I'll be home at 6" and Siri will send the message. But how does Siri know your wife's number? Well, Siri doesn't at first, but as you start using Siri more, she starts remembering things like that. She even starts calling you by your name, though I find that feature slightly scary.
You'll notice that I've been using "she" to describe Siri, though the developers really made an effort to keep Siri gender-neutral; the name "Siri" doesn't imply a gender, and while her voice sounds more like that of a woman that it does of a man, it really could be either. I even tried asking Siri "Are you a man or a woman?", but she curtly responded "I'm not sure we have time for this". You could call Siri an "it," but it doesn't sound good calling something with a name an "it".
You might be wondering why Siri also responds to phrases that don't give instructions like the one asking her which gender she was. And if you test her out with more phrases, you'll be surprised at her performance. When asked if she knows any good jokes, she'll respond, "Two iPhones walk into a bar... I forget the rest." Yet the thing that makes her seem more human is that she doesn't only have one answer for these types of questions. She might also respond "no" or "unfortunately not" to this question. When asked the gender question, she sometimes responds "I wasn't assigned a gender" or "none".
More thrilling yet is her ability to use the context of a conversation to complete a task. Siri doesn't view each thing you say as an individual prompt. For example, if you ask Siri "Do I have any new emails?" and she shows you a new email that you have, you can say, "Reply, Ok, that's fine by me" and she'll reply for you.
As far as Siri goes, the only bad news is that she only works on the 4S. Apple claims that this is because a fast processor is needed for voice recognition, but because you need an active data connection for Siri (even for the commands that don't require the internet, like adding a reminder), that must mean that all of the processing is taking place in a cloud in Apple's headquarters, which would mean that other iDevices would be able to run her. But even if what they say is true, that doesn't explain why they didn't put Siri on the new iPad, which has the same specs as the 4S.
As far as Siri goes, the only bad news is that she only works on the 4S. Apple claims that this is because a fast processor is needed for voice recognition, but because you need an active data connection for Siri (even for the commands that don't require the internet, like adding a reminder), that must mean that all of the processing is taking place in a cloud in Apple's headquarters, which would mean that other iDevices would be able to run her. But even if what they say is true, that doesn't explain why they didn't put Siri on the new iPad, which has the same specs as the 4S.
Performance
Apple basically reworked the internals of the iPhone 4S, most notably using an A5 processor. They tell you it's dual-core, but they don't tell you that it runs at 800 MHz, a step down from the 1 GHz it runs on on the new iPad. In addition, the memory options are doubled (iPhone 4 came in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB models, and the 4S comes in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB), though I would've liked to see an upgrade from the current 512MB of ram.
In addition, you'll almost always be connected to 3G with the 4S; it works on quad-band UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, GSM, and EDGE networks, as well as dual-band CDMA. Sadly, the phone doesn't support 4G networks, which many of us were hoping for. However, AT&T's HSPA+ network is supported.
On SunSpider 9.1 JavaScript benchmark, a web rendering test, the 4S really wowed us; it scored 2,200 ms, as compared to the 3,700 ms that the iPhone 4 clocked in at (lower is better). Amazingly, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 also gets 2,200 on that test, though the iPad 2 blows away the competition with a remarkable 1,700.
While you'll notice that web pages and apps load faster, the graphics on the iPhone are amazing. Scrolling is extremely fluid, and games like Infinity Blade have absolutely mind-blowing graphics. However, if LTE were available on the 4S, that could significantly boost internet connection speeds (though they are quite fast already), which is why this was a disappointment for us. The iPhone 5, however, will almost certainly have LTE.
Many people say the reason why Android phones aren't doing as well as the iPhone is that they aren't designed as well. But then again, the only reason why Android phones are competing is that they have better performance and larger screens than the iPhone. So while some people are disappointed that the visual design of the iPhone didn't change at all in this update (especially after all those teardrop-shaped iPhone 5 rumors), I don't see it that way. In my eyes, this update was just to have the iPhone's performance match that of the high-level Android phones. And with a new processor, a new camera, and Siri, this was a job well done.
While you'll notice that web pages and apps load faster, the graphics on the iPhone are amazing. Scrolling is extremely fluid, and games like Infinity Blade have absolutely mind-blowing graphics. However, if LTE were available on the 4S, that could significantly boost internet connection speeds (though they are quite fast already), which is why this was a disappointment for us. The iPhone 5, however, will almost certainly have LTE.
Battery Life
Apple claims that the iPhone 4S gets 8 hours of talk time on 3G, which is up from just 7 on the iPhone 4, a change resulting from a slightly bigger battery. Interestingly, standby time is just 200 hours on the 4S, down from 300 on the iPhone 4. The other numbers haven't changed; 14 hours of talk time on GSM, 10 hours of watching video, and 40 hours of music.
Camera
We learned a few months back that the iPhone 4 was the most used phone for uploading photos on Flickr, and apparently Apple decided to give their users yet another reason to use their iPhone; an 8 MP camera with full HD (1080p) video. The image sensor is backside-illuminated, and the aperture has improved to an f/2.4. HDR was introduced in iOS 4.1, and it remains available for the iPhone 4S.
The speed of the camera is simply amazing. With HDR off, I was able to shoot photos at a rate of 1.5 photos per second. With HDR on, however, that diminished to 0.4 photos per second. Focusing is very accurate and quick, even when macro shots.
Conclusion
Ever since the first iPhone came out back in January 2007, it has been the biggest competitor in the smartphone market. Even when Samsung, Motorola, Sony, and many other companies made their own faster, larger, and lighter phones running Android, the iPhone still held its place. And to this day, it's extremely hard to go out in public without spotting one.Many people say the reason why Android phones aren't doing as well as the iPhone is that they aren't designed as well. But then again, the only reason why Android phones are competing is that they have better performance and larger screens than the iPhone. So while some people are disappointed that the visual design of the iPhone didn't change at all in this update (especially after all those teardrop-shaped iPhone 5 rumors), I don't see it that way. In my eyes, this update was just to have the iPhone's performance match that of the high-level Android phones. And with a new processor, a new camera, and Siri, this was a job well done.
