The Death of iPhone5 Myth: Meet The All New iPhone4S
Ok, so here we go – the cellphone world would have been subjected to the endless rumors running rife across the last one year ever since some popular tech blogs and forums started their very own speculations about what Apple would bring to their next iPhone device. So much so that even there was a big noise about its name as well – iPhone4S or iPhone5?
Some people believed Apple would release two different iPhone devices to cater to the different consumer segments and fight the competition to increase its market share.
With so much of anticipations, speculations and predictions, the world had been waiting for Apple announcement with bated breath, until they actually announced it yesterday.
The iPhone5 Myth Was Finally Busted – They Call It iPhone4S
Yes, most people (actually many of them) carry an iPhone device that clearly stands out not only in terms of functionalities but also in terms of its appearance, design and even brand name. When Steve Jobs announced the brand-new iPhone4 back in 2010, there was a mad rush outside the stores to touch and feel the device as it was visually, functionally VERY different from its predecessor.
With Tim Cook announcing their new iPhone, there was an understandable disappointment across the audience and even the fan followings. Why?
Because, they expected, if nothing else, a NEW design, not the old design. In order to call it a new device, they expected a brand-new design to see the light of the day. But it didn’t! Some expectations weren’t met – many would love to flaunt their new iPhone devices and unless the new device had a new design, it would almost go unnoticed. Plus, they can’t call it an iPhone5 – the rumored name.
Ok, now that the world has come to terms with the death of the iPhone5 myth, let’s take a realistic look of what the all new iPhone device has to offer and whether it’s worth upgrading to at the moment.
Features of The New iPhone4S You Should Pay For
The Design: Same As iPhone4?
iPhone4S is very similar in external design to the iPhone4, but its real selling power is what’s inside. Apple honed, polished, boosted, adjusted, extended, and pushed the capabilities of the iPhone 4S to the max. Apple made a point of mentioning the antenna in the presentation, saying it now does intelligent antenna switching to maximize the way it handles incoming and outgoing signals.
The Software: Powered by A5 Processor
The new 4S has an A5 processor, as expected, bringing the same dual-core processing power the iPad 2 sports to the iPhone. Alongside that comes a better graphics processing unit, which Apple says provides “up to 7x faster graphics”–a fact they used to demonstrate the game Infinity Blade 2, an almost game-console quality advancement on one of the games they used to promote the iPhone 4.
Apple even said the radio systems of the new phone can cope with 14 Mbps download data rates, meaning that it’s almost approaching some 4G speeds–even though it’s definitely a 3G-tech device.
The Camera: Is iPhone4S Mostly A Camera Phone?
Not only is it an 8-megapixel sensor with 60 percent more pixels than the one in the iPhone 4, but it is also designed to capture 73 percent more light 33 percent faster. The camera includes a high end infrared filter as well as five layered lenses which should improve the sharpness of pictures by up to 30 percent. Phil Schiller even said the pixel count was just a part of the game, and the optics and other aspects of the camera–like Apple’s choice of a back- illuminating sensor, with a design that means 75% boost in light performance–matter most. The physical changes mean the iPhone 4S’s camera can handle low-light situations much better than its predecessor (including incorporating a dynamic noise suppression system).
And since the camera is one of the most used features on the phone, double-tapping the home button now opens the camera. The time it takes to get off your first shot is 1.1 seconds, and half a second for each shot after that. Add in 1080p video capture, image stabilization in video-mode, face recognition–a whole kettle-full of excitement all by itself–and the camera really threatens your traditional point-and-shoot cameras. The process to tweet out new images is just a single tap at the screen, and with iCloud the photos are automatically shared to a backup, features most cameras can’t match.
The Apps: Siri Assistant – What The Heck It Is?
The biggest new piece of software that takes advantage of the A5 chip is the Siri Assistant, a voice-controlled assistant you can call up anytime by holding down the home button for a few seconds. You can ask it the weather, time, directions from Yelp, schedule a meeting on your calendar, reply to messages, play a song from iTunes, or ask any factual question via Wolfram Alpha. All with voice commands. Siri will only work on the iPhone 4S and it’s a beta-install for now, with the beta meaning something akin to “expect more development imminently.”
So is iPhone4S is Worth Upgrading to? Here are some opinions across the Web:
Nathan J. Brauer • Top Commenter • Lincoln, California
People love being noticed for the “cool” things they have. “Oh you have the new iPhone, can I try?” It makes people feel good. Every trained sales person knows this and will/should play to this regardless of the product they’re selling. I do think Apple should have made at least a minor, noticeable change to its design somehow.
Max Schmitt • Top Commenter • Bern, Switzerland
This announcement just made me diecide to go ahead and get the Galaxy IIs, which still has far better data speed AND the better display than the fruit phone.
Andrew Holt • Stanford University
I’m having a hard time understanding how Apple thought it was a good idea not to build a 4G-capable phone. Time to switch to Android I guess.
Jim Silverman • Hoboken, New Jersey
the numbers in the keynote were so ridiculously theoretical, especially for a phone being offered on multiple networks. this whole keynote felt like april fools’ day.
James Stevens
Did you all really think they were going to re-desgn the phone, when they JUST over hauled the entire thing no more than a year ago? I am actually quite glad they didn’t change the design…I happen to love the look of the iPhone 4.
Daniel Rakhamimov • Top Commenter • CUNY Baruch
Apple should have kept iOS 5 under wraps till today. If they revealed the 4S with iOS 5 it would have met people’s expectations. I don’t see the 4S selling as well as the 4 did.
. I will keep you posted on the flip side later, but I guess let me take it to a honeymoon for a week and see if it has some.
