The Apple iPhone 4S is official and it will be landing Oct. 14 for AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. This device sports the same design as the previous model but features some boosted internals. What did the IntoMobile team think of this? Glad you asked.
Simon Sage
Although I’m sure a lot of people were hoping for something big from today’s Apple announcement, I think it was unrealistic to expect some giant LTE, NFC-toting phone. The standard rhythm usually intersperses big, new products with small iterative upgrades, and this is one of those smaller upgrades. Let’s be fair: an 8 megapixel camera and dual-core processor are nothing to sneeze at, and Apple has been quick to put their Siri acquisition to use. Despite there only being a few updates, I’m sure the 4S will enjoy popularity among existing iPhone users, if not winning folks over from the Android crowd.
At this point, I don’t think we’ll see many more surprises from Apple when it comes to smartphones. We probably won’t see another iPhone for another year, at which point a bigger screen, LTE connectivity, and NFC wouldn’t be much of a surprise. Right now, those features aren’t essential, though they would have certainly been nice to have. I’m sure it’ll be a perfectly nice phone, but the iPhone 4S is really hard to get excited about.
Daniel Perez
I’m surprised at today’s announcement of the iPhone 4S. Just like the rest of you, I’ve been following all of the rumors, leaks, and speculations and this is not what I expected out of Apple today. I expected a revolutionary device that would make life worth living again and not just be a few tweaks to the iPhone 4. Even though it isn’t the huge step I was expecting, I’m still excited to see what Apple’s A5 chip can do inside the iPhone 4S in terms of gaming performance. The iPhone 4 already delivers some impressive visuals, and having a chip in the iPhone 4S that can perform 7x better than its predecessor will surely guarantee I’ll get an iPhone 4S when it launches.
This next iPhone will probably be just the current iPhone, but with a better 8 megapixel
camera and the dual core A5 proccesor that’s in the second generation iPad. The next version of iOS is something I’m greatly looking forward to, not because of the new Android style notifications, to tell you the truth I don’t have any beef with the current notification system, but because of “Newsstand”. Carrying around magazines and newspapers
in my pocket sounds absolutely sublime.
What will it take for me to buy the new iPhone? If it doesn’t have NFC, I’m not buying it. Simple as that. If it does, my girlfriend will get my current iPhone for her birthday later this month, it’ll be a huge upgrade considering she uses a 2 year old Nokia 6700 Slide, and I’m going to get myself the fifth generation Jesus Phone.
Dusan Belic
Overall I’m impressed with how Apple managed to present its evolutionary step forward as revolutionary. Hardware wise, the iPhone 4S is pretty much on par with other high-end Android smartphones. Sure it doesn’t have an extra large screen but it does have its advantages like that dual-mode GSM/CDMA connectivity that will be especially appreciated in the United States.
Where the new iPhone truly shines is in the software and services department. Voice controls may not be a new thing, but that was also the case with video calls — even before Apple introduced FaceTime, 3G phones (not just smartphones) allows users to see each other, though not that many folks actually used it. I believe the same will happen with voice controls with users flocking to use not only the services that come bundled with the iOS 5 (Siri) but also other solutions that will undoubtedly be rolled out in the near future. Similarly some of the existing voice-based apps will suddenly get a wind in the back.
So the conclusion is – the iPhone 4S is a step forward in the right direction. However, the lack of a bigger screen is a big turn off point for me. I’m sticking to my Galaxy S II for now…
Marc Flores
I can’t say I was overwhelmed, but I’m not underwhelmed, either. The iPhone 4S keeps the same sexy design of the iPhone 4, but with dramatic improvements to the hardware. First, the antenna switching sounds like it’s going to be tremendously helpful for consistent and optimal connectivity, and you can’t really deny that this is a big deal. Secondly, the dual-core A5 processor and improved graphics chip will make the iPhone 4S feel much faster than the iPhone 4. All pluses and bonuses in my book.
Everyone knows I’m a photography nut, and the new camera on the iPhone 4S seals the deal for me. Historically, the iPhone has always taken great photos, but with the larger sensor and new optics, coupled with the wealth of photo-editing apps I use, this is really a new feature I can’t turn away from. In addition to better still photos, I’m very curious to see how the 1080p video with image stabilization and noise reduction will fare.
Oh, and because I take so many photos and videos and I have a large iTunes library, the fact that the iPhone 4S comes in a 64GB model is also a big selling point for me. I mean, consider it done.
Blake Stimac
Half way through the announcement I began to realize that not everyone was getting all that excited about the iPhone 4S. I found it hard to complain because the handset is now officially up to par with many Android phones today and at the time I was certain that another iPhone would be announced. Well, that didn’t happen and while I’m not terribly upset with what I saw, it seems like the real announcements don’t have much to do with iPhone 4S at all.
The real news to me is that the 4S will be available on Sprint, a 64GB option will be available, iOS 5, and free 3GS. Other than that, most of the announcement seemed underwhelming to say the least. While one could easily put that up to my preference for the Android OS, I knew I wasn’t the only one left wanting when one of IntoMobile’s very own who was very excited about the new iPhone said, “Time for me to go buy that Galaxy S 2.”
With the A5 inside the thing, I was also hoping to see a bigger screen but guess we’ll see that in iPhone 8. Introducing the 4S on Sprint and not including WiMAX at all is almost laughable. Of course, this doesn’t mean that this handset won’t sell well. With the new camera, better CPU, and neat new elements of iOS 5, this will undoubtedly be enough for Apple to have it’s most successful year yet.
I won’t even get into Siri.
Marin Perez
I’ve been doing this for long enough where it’s tough for me to really get excited about new phone launches but it definitely does happen. The iPhone 4 announcement was incredible even though the device itself had leaked out earlier and Motorola’s CES press conference this year got me jazzed in a major way. That’s why it’s kind of odd that I get a major sense of “meh” from this iPhone 4S announcement, even though I know it’s going to go on to sell tens of millions of units by the end of the year.
I have a case on my iPhone 4, so I don’t really get to admire the beautiful industrial design of the iPhone 4. The iPhone 4 retains that but adds a much better camera, a stronger processor, better graphics and the voice-controlled Siri. All of these are good but I wanted more: I wanted NFC, a larger screen, some form of 4G support. Give me more Apple.
The major caveat to this is the Siri voice assistant, as I’m not really seeing how amazing it is but all the first-hand reports suggest this will be incredible. Once I have it in my hands and actually use it, I may change my tune but for now, I’d likely drop my hard-earned money on the Nexus Prime instead.