iPhone 4S

Design

As a matter of fact, there are already three different versions of iPhone 4, they are the original one, the Verizon iPhone 4for CDMA networks and a slightly different design and the white iPhone. The latter has a different proximity sensor and some users claim there are more differences. A friend of mine says that the white iPhone 4 has a longer battery life. We know that they use very same batteries so the better battery life might be the work of the improved proximity sensor which works awfully on the original iPhone 4 – during conversations I often turn off the mic or end the call and sometimes the screen just won’t go off. So the new iPhone 4S is just another version of the popular iPhone 4.

It’s fascinating how other manufacturers easily sacrifice the design of their flagship phones but Apple’s situation is different – they offer very few products and the latest one becomes the flagship. In Nokia phones design legacy can be traced for some bestsellers like Nokia 1100 or 6700, Sony Ericsson are always trying to come up with something new while there is not much to sacrifice in Samsung phones as their products are quite simple in terms of design. Samsung also likes to seek inspiration in others’ work. There is always plagiarism and especially when it comes to touchscreen phones. Apple have been working for a long time on the design of iPhone 4 and it would be a terrible waste not to use it considering that iPhone 4 is still in short supply. Since iPhone 4 was released no other manufacturer managed to deliver such an elegant combination of metal and glass and iPhone 4 remains the only phone with such a long life image factor and I find it weird when people say that they won’t buy iPhone 4 because everyone has got one but the iPhone hype has lost its edge nevertheless.

However, the release of iPhone 4S will boost iPhone’s popularity once again. It will be available in black and white, its dimensions will be 115.2 х 58.6 х 9.3 mm / 4.5 x 2.3 x 0.37 in, and it will weigh in 140g / 4.9 oz. – it’s the same size but it’s a bit lighter than the predecessor. All the accessories you have for your current iPhone will work fine with the new one from cases to stereo systems at least for a year when the next iPhone arrives. Judging by the first pictures the design has not changed – metal and glass, the audio jack and the buttons are on the same places. The phone will be bundled with the same headset, AC adapter, USB cable and a manual.

The screen is also the same – you can read my review of it in the article on iPhone 4. I’d prefer to talk about what’s new.

Everyone remembers the antenna issue of iPhone 4 so iPhone 4S uses a dual reception/transmission system. Eldar Murtazin has already voiced his doubts in this solution, as for me, I don’t trust Apple anymore and I will report on the efficiency of this system only after testing it.

Camera

I have had all iPhones since the moment each of them was released and I can tell you that the very first iPhone had a terrible camera, the 3G and 3Gs had mediocre cameras while iPhone 4 can easily substitute a point and shoot camera – and in my articles I often use pictures I made using iPhone 4. I upload pictures with Instagram every day. Photo and video shooting with its 5MPix camera is a very strong trait of iPhone 4.

iPhone 4S uses an 8MPix camera with autofocus which can be set by touching the screen, facial recognition, an LED flash which also makes a good flashlight, 1080p video recording, geotags etc. Photo Maximum resolution is 3264 x 2448, it features new and better software, new lenses. The A5 processor can make the first picture in 1.1s. – you can compare this result to iPhone’s rivals in the table.

CPU

iPhone 4S uses the A5 processor and Apple claims it’s twice as fast as its predecessor and not just in regular apps but in games also. If you remember the performance difference between the 3G and 3Gs I think the performance gain is easy to believe in. Apple also promises better battery life time but we’ll have to put this to a test.

Storage

Good news here, besides the 16GB and 32GB versions there will be also the new 64GB variant. Those of us who have a lot of apps, video and, especially, games and who have learned to save storage space will certainly appreciate the extra 32GB.

Assistant

Android also has voice control features but just like Apple did with Face Time (video calls existed long before it) it is far more important the way you present it and Apple presented their voice control as something brand new. The Siri system can answer your questions about weather, it can help you type a message or a memo, create a route etc. Apple have been experimenting with voice control for a long time – there are a lot of such features in iOS right now even iPod Shuffle can boast of having a few of them.

Bottom Line

Most importantly:

• iOS 5 will be available for download on October 12 for iPhone 3G/4, both iPads, iPod Touch 2G/3G
• iPhone 4S will be released on October 14 in a number of countries
• I am going to tell you about iCloud and its applications separately and we already have a brief description of iOS 5 features on our website – we will publish a test of iOS 5 on iPhone 4 around October 13 or 14
• The fact that Apple preinstalled a Twitter client tells us that the company sees a future for this social network. It’s funny, but during the conference Twitter was the only reliable source of the news as many websites were down at the time
• The new Infinity Blade!!! And I am not even ashamed of those exclamation marks as I think that this is one of the greatest mobile games ever. It develops organically – there new features though one might say there is nothing to improve.
• Naturally, there is Face Time and lots of other features. All in all, it is the good old iPhone 4 made even better