On October 4th, Apple announced the new iPhone 4S, set to be released on October 14th. Many users expected the new iPhone to be known as the iPhone 5 and to come with such common Android features as 4G LTE connectivity and a bigger screen. These users were greatly disappointed in Apple’s announcement that the iPhone 4S would come in the standard screen size of 3.5 inches and would come with 3G connectivity.
However, I was not disappointed in the announcement. In fact, I was glad that Apple decided to play things the way that they did. Being an iPhone user since January 2009 and an Android user since October 2010, I have a feel for both platforms as well as their strengths and weaknesses.
One of the things that I have always admired about Apple is their commitment to not releasing products with serious faults. If there’s one thing you’ll notice about Apple products, it is their ability to not only work, but work well. In the nearly 3 years I have been an iPhone user–first with the iPhone 3G and then with the iPhone 3GS–I have had very few problems with the phone. It has worked and it has worked well.
Contrast that with my Android experience. I have a Droid X, a phone that was considered to be quite good when it came out in 2010. Unfortunately, I have had nothing but problems with the phone. It’s sluggish, it frequently crashes and unlike my iPhone, it sometimes doesn’t work when I need it the most.
Believe me, I wanted to like Android. I hate Mac computers and have no plans to ever own one. I’d rather have a phone that integrates seamlessly with another platform I regularly use, Google. Android was/is supposed to do that. Unfortunately, it is a platform with flaws and one that is not nearly as stable as Apple’s.
Now, back to the announcement. For Apple to introduce 4G and a bigger screen with this device likely would have been a mistake. 4G has not yet reached its peak and is available in less than 200 cities at this point. It is also a major drain on battery life. As for the issue of a bigger screen, one of the great things about the iPhone is that it is so compact, without being too tiny. A bigger screen would have ruined this.
There are 5 main reasons why I think the iPhone 4S is worth buying for both iPhone and Android owners alike. These are:
- The camera. The iPhone 4s camera is a huge upgrade over the iPhone 4’s camera. It is 8MP. As any photographer will tell you, however, megapixels aren’t everything. This explains why so many Android phones with an 8MP camera are found to be quite lacking. However, one thing that Apple has always done right is the iPhone’s photo taking abilities–the software is quite simply flawless. Even with the iPhone 4’s 5MP camera, it still regularly takes far better pictures than the Droid X and many other 8MP phones. I have seen pictures taken with the iPhone 4S camera and it is nothing short of incredible. This could easily replace a standard point and shoot camera.
- The camcorder. Like the camera, this is also improved. Videos can now be shot in 1080p. Ever noticed how videos shot with a cell phone tend to be all over the place? Apple has. The iPhone 4S comes with a built in stabilizer, which makes a huge difference in how good the videos shot with the 4S look. These two features alone make the camcorder a huge improvement over the one found in the iPhone 4.
- The processor. The iPad 2 came with an A5 processor chip, and so does the iPhone 4S. For those reading who aren’t too knowledgeable about processors, essentially, the better the processor, the faster the device. The A5 is considered to be one of the better currently available processor chips, so yet again, this is an improvement over the last model of the iPhone.
- The speed. Apple has reported that the iPhone 4S is two times faster than the iPhone 4. What that means is that the iPhone 4S will be less likely to behave sluggishly when used, and will be able to handle more tasks at once. If you’ve ever noticed your iPhone is behaving sluggishly, you probably won’t have that issue with the 4S.
- Siri. Siri was the one new feature most talked about after the announcement. For those who haven’t heard of it, it is basically built-in voice activation designed to handle a variety of tasks for users. Those who are slow at typing or are looking for a hands free device will no doubt find Siri to be incredibly useful. Even those like me who tend to hate voice activation will find Siri to be useful. As Apple advertised, Siri is like having a personal assistant in your hand whenever you need it. While Siri likely won’t be able to perform all tasks a user may need, it is certainly something that could be a game changer, especially as Apple continues to add new functionality to it.
