After months of speculation, leaks and incredible competition, Apple has finally officially introduced the iPhone 4. You’ll be able to get a spiffy new iPhone June 24 for $199 or $299, but is it worth it? Read on after the jump for IntoMobile’s take on the latest smartphone from Apple.
Editor-in-chief Will Park:
iPhone 4 is what the iPhone 3G was to the original iPhone. In other words, it’s the same basic idea repackaged into a badass new form factor. The stainless steel frame construction and the hardened glass display and backplate give the new Phone 4 an in-hand feel that’s only rivaled by the likes of the Nexus One and the HTC Legend – both of which use Aluminum unibody construction.
The iPhone 4 rocks the highest pixel-density display in the smartphone world – Apple calls it the Retina Display because it so so high-res that the human eye can’t distinguish individual pixels. The 5-megapixel camera has image sensor pixels that a big for drawing in more light and the new A4 processor should make things lickity-split quick. And, with the new iOS4 bringing Folders, FaceTime video calls, multi-tasking, iMove and iBooks apps into the fray, the iPhone 4 promises to be the perfect marriage of hardware and software. Classic Apple.
Even the whole Gizmodo kerfuffle failed to deflate today’s WWDC announcement. The thing that struck me as the most innovative thing with the device is the use of the exterior bezel as antennae. I’m no engineer, so have no clue how that will affect reception and quality, but I’d be very curious to find out. The display sounds like it’ll be leap-frogging most of the top-tier smartphones available today, and is genuinely setting the bar for display quality. I worry for BlackBerry at times like this – they have something reliable, with a strong installed base, but it never manages to create this amount of excitement and uproar. I would go so far as to say that BlackBerry OS 6 is a bigger deal to RIM than iPhone OS 4 is to Apple, but we’ll have to wait to see if that comparison pans out.
I’m a sucker for high resolution screens, so I’m already a huge fan of the next iPhone. Quad-band 3G is also very impressive, and may mean that T-Mobile USA may start offering the iPhone. What’s not impressive is that after three years the iPhone is still sold as a locked device. Yes, I could import one from Italy, or Belgium, but I’d rather save the money, and frankly there has to be a better way. I hope more phone manufactures start using microSIM cards too so that the newly gained internal space could be used for things like better camera sensors or bigger batteries.
Gizmodo kind of ruined Jobs’ keynote because they leaked everything … but at the same time I’ve always known I wasn’t going to buy this thing anyway. Sigh, maybe next year. Oh and one more thing … iPhone 4 is a terrible name.
I’m actually very impressed and disappointed at the same time, but mostly impressed. The new features are rock solid and well executed, as expected by Apple. I’d have liked to have seen a bigger screen, as well as streaming iTunes, but these aren’t deal breakers in any way. The look of the device overall is sexy as ever, and the addition of FaceTime (although I’m not sure why they didn’t name is iChat mobile, or something of the sort) looks very appealing, even if it is only available on WiFi at the moment. With the the new Retina Display, front-facing camera, and updated back camera, these are enough for many 3GS users to get the new one, easily. I won’t be jumping ship for this device though. I’m an Android loyalist, and I’m still not looking to sign my life away to Apple. Still, the iPhone 4 delivers, and as usual, this thing will sell like hot-cakes.
As Steve has said it, it’s an A+ update to the iPhone 3GS. However, despite the super-awesome screen resolution, I would appreciate a bigger screen size. At the moment, the Samsung Galaxy S tops my wish list because the Korean company managed to make a 4-inch screen-equipped device easy to carry around (unlike the HTC Evo 4G/HD2 – the 4.3-inch display makes the phone super bulky). The rest of the iPhone 4’s features pretty much rock – HD video is there, A4 processor, better camera with a flash, and so on … All in all, I expect Jobs & Co will move quite a few units in record amount of time!
What’s my first take on the iPhone 4? First, I like the design changes. Was a bit surprised to see the addition of more buttons … This seems to be something that Mr. Jobs would be against because less is usually more with him. That said, the new buttons look to be welcome (and smart) additions.
In terms on in-hand feel, I can’t wait to see what the iPhone 4 is like. Glass on the front and back of the device, a steel bezel around the outside … couple that with the fact that it’s 24% thinner than the iPhone 3GS, and I think what we have here is a very sleek and sturdy device. From what I’ve seen thus far, the build quality and fit-and-finish look superb. This should be a win.
The other big thing I want to experience is the display. The new “Retina Display” manages to pack-in 326 pixels per inch, and it looks fantastic. The designer in me can’t wait to see what photos, videos and web pages look like on this bad boy.
FaceTime video calling seems really cool, however I can’t see myself using it much, if ever, at least for the remainder of 2010. Video calling will only work over WiFi from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 in 2010 … I think FaceTime is going to need a year or two to gain carrier acceptance and become part of my daily life.
In terms of any disappointments, I suppose the biggest one would be the lack of availability in my country! Being Canadian and all, it looks like I’m going to have to wait until July to get my hands on it. Honestly, it’s a bit of a shame that Canada was left out of the first batch of countries getting iPhone 4 … However, I suppose a big *heck ya* should go out to the folks in the United States, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Japan, as it’ll be available in your country on my birthday, June 24th!
Will I pick one up when it becomes available? YES. The only question I have now … white or black?
Apple’s keynote this morning left me for the most part pleased with what is coming to the iPhone 4. We already had an inkling of what the iPhone 4 was going to have, but the recent leaks didn’t take away much of its thunder.
Having the antennae built around the phone’s structure is a cool idea as it frees up more of the device’s innards for other things like a bigger battery and gyroscope. I think once developers play around with the gyroscope, they’ll be able to offer a much better experience for games and other apps that use the iPhone’s accelerometer. I’m also excited to see how the new screen looks with the new Retina Display, although since the entire outside of the iPhone is for the most part made of glass, I already expect to leave a ton of fingerprints on it.
I’m at a crossroads right now as I might be more excited about the iPhone 4 launch on the 24th than I am for my birthday on the 23rd. Decisions, decisions!
The new hardware is impressive. I think I’d be a little more excited if most of the news today was truly a surprise, but getting an in-depth explanation from Jobs himself on the hardware sheds more light on the iPhone. High definition displays matter to me; nothing irks me more when I can see pixels, so the new Retina Display is something I’m excited to see in person. Another big one is battery life and it looks like the new iPhone will deliver on that end.
I’m also a photo junkie. I take pictures of everything and everyone wherever I go with whatever camera I have. The 5-megapixel shooter on the iPhone looks impressive and it seems Apple has the right idea about low-light shooting, but I’m going to wait and see what photos with flash look like before I get too excited. Couple all that with 720p HD video recording at 30fps and I’m just about sold.
The leaks may have taken away some of the excitement but I’m still pretty impressed with what Apple has done with the iPhone 4 and iOS 4. It seems to have addressed all the major complaints with the hardware and software (it can’t really do much about reception in large metros though). I would like the screen to be a bit bigger but I’ll take quality over quantity any day. The slim design is starting to appeal to me and I’m eager to see how well the new camera works in real life, especially compared to the crazy shooters on the Droid Incredible and EVO 4G.
The gyroscope is an interesting new addition that will probably find its way to other phones in the future. I’m not a huge mobile gamer but this gives developers more options for controls, which is always a good thing. FaceTime seems cool enough but I don’t care that much about video chatting, so that’s neither here nor there for me. I’m still a little concerned about how the new AT&T data plans will impact this phone’s everyday usage but I’m seriously considering buying one of these.
Overall, I’m pretty impressed with what Apple did with iPhone 4. I don’t think it’s as far ahead of the competition as the original iPhone was but it’s still in the lead, in my eyes.
Okay, you’ve heard what we’ve had to say, now let us know what you think. Leave us your thoughts in the comments, tweet us (@IntoMobile) or shoot us an e-mail.