iPhone 4S: Experiences

[Scorbing]

I had (still have) an HTC Inspire. I went out this morning and got the iPhone 4S to replace the Inspire. Although I think Android has a lot of potential and the phone part of the phone never gave me a single issue, the apps really suck. Badly designed, buggy as hell. The Inspire tends to slow down after a while for some reason. I was just fed up with it. I rely of some apps a lot for work and they were simply an epic fail on the Android device - Example: WellsFargo, Squared to mention some. They crashed on Android.

The only thing I am going to miss of the Inspire is the 4G. Other than that, the iPhone 4S is fine. iOS5 is great. I like that iCloud thing but I like the camera the most. Check out that sample photo I took this morning while at Dennis having breakfast. Amazing quality. The 8 meg camera on the Inspire won't even come close.

[Scorbing]

Very annoying this.

LOL...LOL...Nothing is perfect my friend. I am sure they will fix it soon. I just told Siri: "I love you" and it replied back: "That's nice. Can we get back to work now?"............LOL...Too funny.

Hey I just told Siri: "You are beautiful" and it replied: "You say that to all the virtual assistants."

LOL...LOL...LOL...LOL

[KeR]

I'll do a review for Neowin if you guys want? I still have my iPhone 4 and can do comparisons...if anyone has anything specific they want me to compare just say so in this thread.

[Scorbing]

I'll do a review for Neowin if you guys want? I still have my iPhone 4 and can do comparisons...if anyone has anything specific they want me to compare just say so in this thread.

I'm sure most people here would be interested in seeing benchmarks between the two and the difference between videos and photos, etc. That would be nice of you yes.

[bugsbungee]

Upgraded from iPhone 4 (which was actually still worth a bundle).

First impressions were, meh it's the same thing really. But after using it now for a day - Siri is amazing (despite not having traffic, business and map lookups in the uk) - being able to set reminders/appointments and alarms by voice is really cool.

The device is so snappy compared to the iPhone 4, even just browsing the app store it is noticeable - haven't tried any games yet (the missus wants to play infinity blade on it I think so that will be a decent test).

The camera is also very much improved, especially under low light which was pretty hopeless before (even with a flash).

Actually very happy now despite first impressions.

[protocol7]

What's the situation with the glass front and back? Have they changed that from the iPhone 4? Good to hear that the antenna issue has been fixed.

[kiddingguy]

I'll do a review for Neowin if you guys want? I still have my iPhone 4 and can do comparisons...if anyone has anything specific they want me to compare just say so in this thread.

Yes that would be very nice.

A comparison in day-to-day apps with iPhone 4, some gaming, business like apps and so on. And maybe even compare it with a 3GS?? ;)

[badb0y]

I'll do a review for Neowin if you guys want? I still have my iPhone 4 and can do comparisons...if anyone has anything specific they want me to compare just say so in this thread.

compare to Samsung Galaxy S2

[SMELTN]

I was in line at 5:30 yesterday morning to get mine and I LOVE it.. I am coming from a Samsung Galaxy S, and this thing is great. Now I do already own an iPad and my wife owns a iPhone 4, so I knew what to expect. I put hers and mine side by side and we took photos, played games, loaded apps etc, and the 4s is definitely faster.

Siri without a doubt is the best part of the 4s though. Honestly if they release Siri for the 4 and iPad,there will be no real reason to have a 4s.

[PyX]

Honestly if they release Siri for the 4 and iPad,there will be no real reason to have a 4s.

People always forget that the entire planet does NOT have an iPhone 4 or equivalent in our pockets already. The 4S is visibly not targeted to iPhone 4 owners.

[Joswin]

compare to Samsung Galaxy S2

I have a galaxy s2, and just got my 4S yesterday so maybe I can share a few comments on that. If people are interested.

My S2 is an amazing phone, really great device. However after a few minutes with the 4S I do regret jumping to Android from my 3GS instead of just waiting - though to be honest i had never tried an android device before and was curious.

iOS5 is very slick, and feels much more polished. There is an almost intangible quality to the OS. By comparison the interface on my S2 feels nice but more rough round the edges. Some parts have animated transitions, some have abrupt changes, some parts look different in style to other parts. It does not flow as well, and some options are hid away in strange places. Though one thing the S2 does excel on is many many options!!

The screesize is the big difference of course, and the S2 has an amazing screen for web browsing, but really too big for everything else. The iPhone feels much nicer in my hand. I can easily operate it one handed, where as I really struggle with the S2. The iphone screen is noticeably sharper to my eyes. With more neutral/natural tones. The galaxy can almost burn my retina's out with some apps (pingchat! the green! it burns!). Though you cannot beat the blacks on the S2. AMOLED+ is awsome.

Speed wise. Comparible. Not been that extensive but both are nippy, and both offer games with some really nice graphics. Though the graphics do have plus points on both devices. S2 has a bigger screen making it more of a pleasure, with brighter colours. The iphone has a sharper screen, but smaller. I bought Infinity Blade yesterday especially to try, and it looks amazing, but I feel the S2 could easily reproduce this if it was given the chance (which it wont as they have said IB is never coming to android).

Usage. I find my signal (wifi and cell) to be stronger on my iPhone than the S2. Especially Wifi. I do a lot of typing on mine and you'd think the S2 would be better for that (bigger screen!) but I actually frequently hit the '.' key on the S2 because the space bar is just too small! However you can replace the keyboard if you so wish so this probably isnt an issue (except if u are looking stock for stock). The major difference is what i said about being able to type with one hand, and not. Its a big struggle doing anything one hand on the S2. It's slim form does not help that either.

I do find typing a better experience on the iPhone as well, because of the spellcheck/magnifying. It does similar on the S2 but its buggy... and not as refined. I often have the copy/paste/cut STUCK on the screen. Or the little blue bar you have to drag around wont go in the right place and highlights something a line up.

Apps. Most major apps are there on Android. But the general quality isnt as good, and they seem to lag behind on updates (which is a real shame). Even the same apps over both devices are not always the same quality/functionality wise. If you are a mobile gamer (I am!) then there is far far more available in the AppStore to satisfy you. Something I hate about the market place is that there are loads of Gamesloft games that are incompatible with my S2..... yet Gamesloft have versions on their site that do with with it??

Not sure if any of that is helpful/etc. But as I said, I had never used Android till I got my S2. I have been using an iPhone 3GS since 2009 (before that I had a Nokia N95!)

[SMELTN]

my exact feelings RobertH. Speaking of blacker blacks.. My wifes iPhone 4 has darker blacks than my iPhone 4s.. I seen this in a video review from thisismynext but was hoping they just got a bad unit.. Guess not

[StandingInAlley]

The screen on iPhone4 and 4S is not exactly the same. One of the reviews has this thing covered. They found a difference in the screens. I mean both are IPS Panel and Retina displays but still colors and contrast vary on both the phones.

[kinetix63 Veteran]

The ONLY issue that really bugs my about the iPhone 4S is this: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/15/iphone-4s-lacks-enable-3g-switch/

Seems that the iPhone 4S doesn't allow you to disable 3G. Which is EXTREMELY annoying. Whether or not it's carrier specific I don't know, but have asked other friends here in the UK on T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2 and you can't disable it. It can be argued that the phone is intelligent enough to switch between the different good signals. In practice, it doesn't work. I live in an area with very variable 3G, but extremely good quality 2G. So I'll be sat here happily, 5 bars of GPRS signal, then all of a sudden there'll be 2 bars of 3G. It lasts for all of a moment before dropping down to 1 bar, and flicking back over to 2G, and it has a habit of dropping calls on me when it does it.

Fortunately, Vodafone are sending me out a femtocell free of charge to solve the problem for now, but it's extremely irritating and I'm really surprised they removed this from the 4S.

[Scorbing]

The ONLY issue that really bugs my about the iPhone 4S is this: http://www.engadget....able-3g-switch/

Seems that the iPhone 4S doesn't allow you to disable 3G. Which is EXTREMELY annoying. Whether or not it's carrier specific I don't know, but have asked other friends here in the UK on T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2 and you can't disable it. It can be argued that the phone is intelligent enough to switch between the different good signals. In practice, it doesn't work. I live in an area with very variable 3G, but extremely good quality 2G. So I'll be sat here happily, 5 bars of GPRS signal, then all of a sudden there'll be 2 bars of 3G. It lasts for all of a moment before dropping down to 1 bar, and flicking back over to 2G, and it has a habit of dropping calls on me when it does it.

Fortunately, Vodafone are sending me out a femtocell free of charge to solve the problem for now, but it's extremely irritating and I'm really surprised they removed this from the 4S.

Why would you want to disable 3G?

[SMELTN]

Why would you want to disable 3G?

Most people I know who do it, do it to save battery life

[vanx]

Why would you want to disable 3G?

Because being in a border-line area where the 3G is barely there can lead to missed calls since it won't failover to 2G automatically.

[Joswin]

I turn 3G off unless Im actually browsing the web etc to conserve battery. Its not on my 4S either but them im on the Three network XD lol

[Menge]

I always turn 3G off on my iPhone 4 in order to save battery. 3G is only on in my iPhone 4 when I want results fast.

[zeta_immersion]

I have a galaxy s2, and just got my 4S yesterday so maybe I can share a few comments on that. If people are interested.

...snip

I have the same (SII and iP4 not 4S) and I tend to like and be drawn more to SII while the wife to iP4. I find the iPhone to be too minimalistic and to me sometimes confusing too closed and rigid. While it looks nice and is polished, outstanding craftsmanchip is not unique and gets old and bland fast.

The wife loves the iPhone and is very happy with it and she feels overwhelmed with my SII though she does not mind it.

[Stetson]

First of all i have been wanting to buy iPhone 4s no big deal about prices for 64 Gig but i have seen few Videos 1080p Samples on You tube and unfortunately i am extremely disappointed by the video quality if compared to Samsung Galaxy S2.

check this out :

https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1032509-samsung-galaxy-s-ii-vs-apple-iphone-4s/
[/CODE]

[Scorbing]

For those whining about the iPhone video quality, take a video yourselves then watch it on your Apple TV (if you own one). The video does not look bad at all. YouTube and all those other video sharing services don't do it any justice. A lot of quality is lost when you upload the videos to those sites. I took a video today and played in on my 55" Plasma and it looks fantastic.

[cyrl]

For those whining about the iPhone video quality, take a video yourselves then watch it on your Apple TV (if you own one). The video does not look bad at all. YouTube and all those other video sharing services don't do it any justice. A lot of quality is lost when you upload the videos to those sites. I took a video today and played in on my 55" Plasma and it looks fantastic.

I read about an article long time ago that the color settings and such is changed automatically when videos are uploaded to youtube. Made darker.

About the topic I wish I could get an iPhone as well but our country isnt listed to get it. :(

[systemx]

What is the raw video file size of a 1 minute recording done in 1080p on the IP4S? Can anyone try and post back the results please? Thank you!

[Scorbing]

I read about an article long time ago that the color settings and such is changed automatically when videos are uploaded to youtube. Made darker.

About the topic I wish I could get an iPhone as well but our country isnt listed to get it. :(

Do you have any friends in the U.S.A that can probably get it for you and mail it to you? Apple is going to sell an Unlocked iPhone version in November