Apple 
There’s no device as hyped up as the iPhone. Whether you’ve a fan or despise it, there’s no denying the impact that Apple’s phone has made on what we use as mobile phones today.
The iPhone 4S, is the fifth of the Apple smartphones, since the first iPhone was launched back in 2007. When you think about how Apple is currently the top smartphone maker in the world, and compare that to Samsung or HTC which released more than 5 devices in the last 6 months, you kinda have an idea of how well the iPhones have all done so far.
Sales records have been broken but the device itself has not really changed that much since it’s last iteration. Or so you would think. Is the iPhone still ground breaking, or is Apple just playing catch up? Read on for our review.
The iPhone 4S box is pretty identical to the iPhone 4 box and all iPhones before it.
There’s the headphones, usb cable, charging adaptor, and manuals along with the MicroSIM-card-tray remover pin. You can check out our iPhone 4S Unboxing post for more details.
The iPhone 4S basically has almost exactly the same design as the iPhone 4. This lack of a complete redesign follows Apple’s trend previously used for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, where the devices looked exactly the same but the internals were tweaked.
The only real change in design on the 4S, is that the mute switch has been moved up slightly, so it’s closer to the volume up key. As a result iPhone 4 cases dont fit the iPhone 4S very well. We put up a gallery of the iPhone 4 vs the iPhone 4S that you could check out for more info.
But it’s hard not to look at that sandwich of glass and metal and not think that the iPhone is beautifully designed. That being said, the edges are a bit sharp and might not be very comfortable held up against your ear for long calls, but it’s not really like that small detail will prevent you from buying this, would it?
There’s Black and White versions of the phone available, both having brilliant build quality, feeling solid in the hand. There’s no creaks or squeaks and pressing the menu button or volume keys feels precise in movement. If you dont drop it, it might actually last you for a while. But alas, as premium as it feels, it is a bit delicate because of all that glass, so it’s common to see all that beautiful design hidden within a case or cover. A real shame, but honestly Nokia is the only manufacturer that makes beautiful devices that dont need a cover.
Coming to the Display, you have the same 3.5 Inch 960 x 640 resolution, 326ppi retina display, one of the sharpest available nowadays. The viewing angles are great, and color reproduction is good. Things do tend to appear just a tad warmer on the iPhone 4S than the iPhone 4 though, and the whites are a slightly yellow-ish as a result compared to the iPhone 4. Some people prefer that.
Personally I love the size of the screen but folks used to a 4 inch screen (or larger) might find it a little cramped. But it’s worth noting that you dont lose out on any functionality because of the screen.
The main update in the iPhone 4S, is the A5 1Ghz Dual core processor with an estimated RAM of 600MB since Apple doesnt release those specs. It’s been running great on the iPad 2 for the last couple months, so it’s no suprise to see Apple bring it over to the iPhone 4S. Rival Android devices are all dual core nowadays, so it does bring you up to speed with the competition.
So it’s more powerful than the last generation iPhone, which brings new capabilities with it. iOS 5 runs fantastically smooth, and Apps start up and multitask quickly, so there’s no need of a 1.5Ghz dual core processor, or 1GB of RAM. The user experience is top notch.
Using the iPhone 4S next to my iP4, it was apparent how much of a performance increase the newer device brings
Using the iPhone 4S next to my iP4, it was apparent how much of a performance increase the newer device brings. Apps start a lot faster, which is saying something considering the iPhone 4 isnt really a slouch itself. The faster processor also helps run the new 8 Megapixel Camera on the back of the phone, and Apple’s new voice assistant, Siri. No doubt there will be more games (like Infinity Blade 2) and apps making use of it too.
Apple’s managed to cram a pretty decent 8 Megapixel Camera into the iPhone 4S, and I have to admit, when I first heard of it, I thought it’d be nothing better than the 5 Megapixel unit on the iPhone 4.
But boy was I wrong. The new processor and gpu helps deal with the new Backside Illumination aspect, which coupled with the fantastic sensor makes the iPhone 4S camera pretty excellent.
In good lighting, the camera is pure fantastic
Yes, the new Image sensor has a different design compared to previous units, handling light better, and less prone to noise. Basically just more efficient overall. It’s considerably better than the iPhone 4, with less noise in photos, better rendered colors, more details and sharper images overall. In good lighting, the camera is pure fantastic. In low light it’s pretty good, and in dark environments, that led flash is really of no use. To be honest, not counting the flash as a factor, I’d say the iPhone 4S camera was only second to the Nokia N8. It’s that good.
Something to note though, is that you have no camera settings. You have an option to turn on HDR mode, or the onscreen grid, but that’s about it. You cant change resolution, or tweak exposure or saturation, or any built-in effects for that matter. The only things you do have, is pinch-to-zoom, and touch-to-focus, with the added benefit of being able to use the volume up key as a one-stage dedicated camera button.
Things get even better in video capture mode, where you can record in Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels at 30fps. Like the photo-mode, you have no options to change the resolution or add any effects but the results are surprisingly good for a phone. I only wish Apple let us change the resolution to 720p, because a 30 second 1080p clip can run well into the hundred MBs which takes up a lot of space on your phone, if you take a lot of videos. The only option you do get, is the touch-to-focus. There’s no continuous autofocus during video recording, but you can touch-to-refocus while filming.
To say the iPhone 4S camera impressed me, would be an understatement. As a guy who loves to take pictures, I fell in love with the camera on this phone. Check out our iPhone 4S Camera Samples post for more details.
iOS 5 bought a lot of new things to the iPhone, while remaining visually more or less exactly the same as previous iterations of the OS. You have apps laid out on an series of pages that you can swipe across, or you can place apps into folders to organize things. Really, the interface is basically unchanged.
There are subtle tweaks under the hood though, with more integrated services and a couple new apps. We’ve already covered what’s new with iOS 5 in a seperate review so I’ll talk about what’s new here on the iPhone 4S, and if there are any significant changes with the new OS.
The first real significant change is the redesigned handling of notifications thanks to the drag-down notification tray, similar to Android’s offerings. If you can even choose to get notifications as banners instead of the universal alert that dominates the entire screen. You can also unlock the screen and go straight to that particular message or app.
The drag-down notification tray offers a weather and stock widget but it’s not possible to ‘add’ widgets to the tray yet. Well, not unless you jailbreak atleast. But let’s not go there.
There’s also iCloud and Wifi syncing with iTunes now, so for the first time ever, you can set up your brand new iPhone without needing to connect to a computer. It also means that you can backup your Calendars, Contacts and more to the iCloud. So you can basically backup your entire device (barring iCloud’s space limitations) and restore it to a replacement iPhone.
I’ve not had any problems with Wifi syncing with my Mac, though I’ve heard Windows users saying that they find iTunes launches in windows every time their iPhone gets in range of their Wifi. Managing your device through iTunes is still a chore though, but admittedly it does help keep things organized and backed up incase you’re not a fan of the iCloud.
There’s also a new messaging service, aptly called ‘iMessaging’ which is pretty much the text version of Facetime, operating from iDevice to iDevice, using a data network. All you need is the other person’s Apple ID. Suprisingly, inspite of WhatsApp being the preferred form of free textual communication nowadays, I still found many of my iOS friends using iMessaging instead. If you have an iPhone and an iPad, you’ll receive the message at both location, or if you prefer you can just turn iMessaging off.
Twitter is also now integrated as a sharing option, which makes it easy to tweet those photos or share that website on twitter. The twitter app can also help you do this, but the inclusion on the options menu makes it a whole lot more convenient.
The fact that no other social network get this privilege is very telling. If you want to share something on Facebook or Flickr, you’ll have to use the respective app. In contrast, Android lets almost any app be included in the sharing option, but iOS 5 stays tidy with the limited choices, if that’s any consolation. Personally I’d still want to have the ability to tweak the sharing option to include Flickr, or even Instagram if possible.
one thing that iOS trumps most other mobile operating systems is…
Taking into consideration all the new additions, one thing that iOS trumps most other mobile operating systems, is that it’s stable, fast and reliable. In those terms Windows Phone is the only OS that comes close, if not on-par. You get the occasional hiccup but it’s a rare scenario, and slowdowns are never a problem. There’s plenty of apps to choose from as well, all of which are fast to open thanks to the new processor on the 4S.
There’s hardly any physical change to the iPhone 4S from the iPhone 4, so much of the focus has been on Siri, the new voice-activated personal assistant service that’s been integrated with core apps. However, much like Google’s Voice Search on Android, it requires a data connection to understand what you’ve said.
Siri can be very useful for hands-free usage, giving you complete voice control. Though some times it returns responses on the display, such as calendar appointments or an address. For example, you can dictate a text message and send it to a contact, all without ever touching the screen. You can basically ask any questions or set reminders, etc.
Unfortunately not all of Siri’s functions are available outside of the U.S.A currently, but you can still use Siri to use Safari to find local business information. Not as polished but until those siri functions release outside of the U.S later this year, it gets the job done.
the novelty of Siri wore off on me after the first week
Learning to properly use Siri takes a little time but it’s the most important thing. Once you get it working for you, it becomes part of your normal phone interactions quickly. Especially if you’re using a headset, which makes it less socially awkward to use in public. That being said, the novelty of Siri more or less wore off on me after the first week. I did use the service a lot to “Wake me up in one hour” or to “remind me to call my Dad tomorrow at 4 in the afternoon.”
Siri is also quite the party favourite.
The App scene on the iPhone 4S remains pretty much unchanged compared to previous iPhones, but that’s a good thing. You have access to a gazillion high-quality apps, and chances are whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find it in the Apple app Store.
Coming to the browser, again that’s another aspect that is unchanged on the iPhone 4S vs the iPhone 4. The browsing experience is fast and the high resolution display means fine text can be resolved. There’s no Flash support ofcourse.
Apple notoriously chose to leave that out with the first iPhone and now other mobile operating systems are following suite. This does mean though that you cant go to just any website on the internet and watch video like on Android, but chances are most website owners have an iOS-compatible version of their website that is served up. Or their own app.
The poor battery life on the iPhone 4S has been in the spotlight lately around forums across the internet. Even in standby the iPhone 4S seemed to use a lot of battery, which means you have to be quite objective about how you use the phone, similar to how Android users have become nowadays. Annoyingly you cant even turn off 3G on the iPhone 4S currently, which is usually the main battery drainer on current smartphones.
Apple has stated that they will send out a software update to fix things but as it currently stands, the iPhone 4S on moderate usage, with the screen on full brightness, barely managed to get through 18 hours. If you get one, you’ll most definitely want to get a portable charger too. A huge difference from my iPhone 4 which manages to get through a day’s usage just fine.
Call Quality is pretty average, though that new antenna has improved reception somewhat. Caller quality was loud and clear, and I definitely liked the fact that iOS is clever enough to recognize if a number is shared between two of your contacts, or in such a scenario it would say ‘Dad or Mom calling’ instead of just going with one person.
Here’s a big ol’ 14 minute long video overview I did for the iPhone 4S. Just to give you a better idea. Comments welcomed!
Much thanks to Airtel India for the review unit! Check out their iPhone offers over on Airtel.in.
The iPhone 4S is just as excellent a smartphone as it’s recent predecessors. It delivers a huge range of functionality along with an entire ecosystem that all together makes it one of the best phones in the market right now. Things like AirPlay, which I’m a huge fan of, are neat little features incorporated which Apple has done a good job of pushing. And accessory-wise you’re spoiled for choice with an iPhone.
Admittedly, noone is really a huge fan of iTunes as a software package, but there is a bit of convenience in having a backup of your entire device, along with one app to deliver your music and video. With iOS5 you can choose to just sync to the iCloud anyway.
That all being said, it’s easy to criticize the iPhone 4S. The in-box headphones are poor, the screen could have been bigger, the battery life would have lasted longer, and there is no NFC, Expandable memory or Flash support. It could have gone with a different design than the iPhone 4, and iOS could be more open. I also have issues with the insanely expensive pricing of the iPhone 4S in India.
If these things are important to you, there’s plenty of choices elsewhere. There are more exciting smartphones out there that might draw your eye.
But if not, the iPhone 4S is most likely just exactly what you’re looking for.
Neat design
iOS 5 has competitive features
iCloud
Siri
Fantastic Camera
Not much change from the iPhone 4
Battery life is almost Android-levels of bad
Premium build quality, but super delicate because of all that glass
Might not be the most thrilling update, but Apple’s small tweaks have made a big impact. Siri can be useful, and that Camera is great. Best iPhone yet indeed.
Clinton is currently based in New Delhi, India and is executive editor for UnleashThePhones. He is responsible for all editorial decisions, and covers all forms of Mobile and mobile-related accessories.
Cj is addicted to caffeine, social media, and technology. Always up for a good conversation, you can reach him through the contact form, his website, on Google Plus 
or on Facebook or Twitter: Follow @clintonjeff
18 hours? Holy cow. Even as little as 3 years ago, less than 3 days was considered unacceptable, and 7 days was considered the shoot for point. How has less than a days usage become acceptable?
18 hours? Holy cow. Even as little as 3 years ago, less than 3 days was considered unnaceptable, and 7 days was considered the shoot for point. How has less than a days usage become acceptable?
iPhone 4s doesnt shoot 1080p videos??? when i see the detail of video file (shooted via 4s), it shows resolution of 568x320 and not 1920x1080. why? although hd mode is selected. Although when i download video from gsmarena review of 4s, it also shows resolution of 854x480 and not 1080p. why? also gsmrena hasnt posted video of 4s in its video comparison section... so some biasness is seen from gsmarena side??? can anybody help???
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