Yesterday Apple presented the iPhone 4S , a reissue of the iPhone 4 with new technical characteristics but that maintains the same design. The discontent caused among users who expected something more innovative was noted quickly, the expectations in this presentation were very high and what we expected to see was a terminal with a dramatic redesign and performance much higher.
Although the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 may appear to be the same at first glance, there are some differences . We are going to analyze the novelties of the new model with respect to its predecessor in a comparison .
Design and display
Little to comment on in this section. As we have already said, both terminals have the same design with a glass coating on the back and front, and steel edges. The only difference that can be seen is that the weight has changed. The iPhone 4S weighs three grams more than the iPhone 4 .
One of the big disappointments is that the screen has not increased in size, the new iPhone was expected to include a panel of at least 3.7 inches and could go up to 4 inches diagonally. Instead of this, the new model includes exactly the same type of panel as the iPhone 4. To refresh your memory, let's remember that it is a 3.5-inch screen, 960 x 640 pixels of resolution and a concentration of 326 pixels per inch , which has earned it the display name Retina .
Connectivity
In this section there are already some news. The original iPhone 4 operated on GSM networks and later the model compatible with CDMA networks was introduced , by the US operator Verizon . That is, there were two iPhone 4 models, one for GSM and the other for CDMA . For example, in countries like Japan the network standard is CDMA , so an iPhone 4 GSM would not work in that region.
The new iPhone 4S is a world phone, being compatible with the two types of networks there will only be a single model that will work without problems, regardless of where we are. However, this aspect is not an advantage for users, not so much for Apple that with this move you can take your terminal anywhere in the world without having to adapt it.
When it comes to connecting to 3G mobile networks , the iPhone 4S has doubled the download speed of its predecessor reaching a maximum of 14.4 Mbps. Although it is a significant improvement if we compare both terminals, it is far behind if we look at others smartphones , which offer up to 21 Mbps of download speed.
The rest of the connections do not present differences except for the Bluetooth wireless port that in the iPhone 4S has reached version 4.0. This technology ensures a longer range and has optimized the battery consumption.
Camera and multimedia
The camera is one of the functions that has been improved the most, remember that the iPhone 4 came with a five megapixel sensor, integrated LED flash, automatic focus and offered the possibility of recording videos in HD720p quality at a rate of 30 frames per second. . For its part, the i Phone 4S introduces an eight megapixel sensor that provides 60% more pixels than the previous model. Of course it also includes an LED diode and the same autofocus system .
At first glance it may seem that the only thing that has improved has been the number of megapixels, something that does not ensure higher quality images. But if you dig a little deeper, we found that the sensor of the iPhone 4S is type Backside Illuminated, this translates into more sharp images even if the lighting conditions are not favorable to the capture up to 73% more light. The response time of the camera - or what is the same: the speed with which the photos are taken , and that depends largely on the processor - has been reduced to 1.1 seconds with the first image and 0.5 seconds with the following, placingahead of other super mobiles such as the Samsung Galaxy S2 or the HTC Sensation . Just in front of the sensor is a filter that blocks infrared and promises more faithful and uniform colors. In addition to the sensor, Apple has made an effort to improve the quality of its images by including a five-element lens that offers images up to 30% sharper. The lens is also much brighter with a maximum aperture f / 2.4.
In the presentation some images made with the iPhone 4S were shown and it must be recognized that the result is truly spectacular .
The video section has not been neglected and it has doubled its quality by allowing captures in HD1080p , what we know as FullHD . The frequency remains at 30 frames per second and has added a video stabilizer to minimize annoying tremors in the image produced by our hands.
The multimedia section remains the same and both terminals play the same audio, video and image formats. The difference comes with the new Airplay Mirroring function , which allows us to mirror the content of the iPhone 4S screen on a television. This function can be activated wirelessly via Airplay or via cable .
Processor and memory
Another of the strengths of the iPhone 4S is undoubtedly its powerful processor . While the previous model includes a single-core A4 chip at 1 Ghz clock speed, the new Applephone has doubled the speed of the CPU including the dual-core A5 processor , which is already present in the iPad 2. According to data from Apple , the graphic performance will be up to seven times faster , something that we will notice especially when we enjoy games or certain applications that require greater fluidity.
With regard to storage capacity , the new iPhone 4S is available in three models of 16, 32 and 64 Gb respectively. For its part, the iPhone 4 was available with 16 or 32 Gb of internal memory, we say it was because now it is only marketed in a new 8 Gb version that covers the mid-range of the Apple catalog .
Operating system and applications
The iPhone 4S leaves the factory with the new delivery of the iOS 5 mobile platform , a version that will be available for download on other devices such as the iPhone 4. In this sense there will be no substantial differences in the operating system. iOS 5 introduces new improvements such as the free iMessage messaging application , the new notification center, integration with Twitter , improvements in the camera application or the new Find My Friends function , which is used to locate our contacts.
However, we must highlight the new and complete voice control system that will be exclusive to the iPhone 4S. We are talking about Siri , a function that will act as a personal assistant since it will be able to respond to voice commands and allow the use of the phone without hardly touching it. For example, we can create events in the calendar, obtain information about the weather, send text messages or emails and it will even give us definitions of specific concepts thanks to the integration with Wolfram Alpha. These are just some of the tasks that Siri will do for us. The system isone of the strengths of the new applephone, although it has the great disadvantage that - for the moment - it is only available in three languages (French, English and German).
Autonomy
During the presentation of the iPhone 4S , special mention was made of the battery life that has increased compared to the previous version. Although if we compare the data from both terminals, we find that it offers 8 hours of talk time on 3G compared to 7 hours on the iPhone 4 , therefore the improvement is not remarkable.
Conclusions
It is true that the new iPhone 4S includes some attractive improvements such as the more powerful processor, the quality of the camera or the voice control system. However, the fact that it maintains the same design and has not increased the size of the screen are some of the most criticized aspects of this version, which some already baptize as the great disappointment of Apple.
The terminal is a slight update of the previous model that has not come to surprise as expected, especially considering that it bursts in at a time when the market is full of terminals that surpass it in performance.
