In less than two days, iPhone 4S will start being shipped to over one million people who pre-ordered it in the first 24 hours. Some lucky guys have received iPhone 4S before launch date and media outlets have received demo units from Apple. Therefore the very first iPhone 4S review and hands-on are now cropping up on the internet, some of which we're going to discuss down below.
The iPhone 4S was announced at a media event on October 4. While no cosmetic changes have been made, the iPhone 4S comes with some really significant improvements under the bonnet. We've already reviewed iPhone 4S in detail but to be specific here, iPhone 4S has a dual-core A5 processor, 512MB RAM, 8 megapixel camera, iOS 5, iCloud and Siri Voice Assistant. Regardless of the fact that iPhone 4S is a minor upgrade over the iPhone 4, there's something oddly interesting about it that just might become its selling point.
Walt Mossberg from ATD debates that, in his review:
Despite Siri, the iPhone 4S isn’t a dramatic game-changer like some previous iPhones. Some new features are catch-ups to competitors. I sense Apple chose to focus more on software and cloud service than on hardware. But, in my tests, the iPhone 4S performed very well.
The iPhone 4S is one of Apple’s less dramatic updates, but, when combined with the Siri, iOS 5 and iCloud features, it presents an attractive new offering to smartphone users. Some may be content to skip the new hardware and just enjoy the software and cloud features with older models. But those buying the phone will likely be happy with it.
One must not forget the fact that iPhone 4S didn't turn out to be the completely redesigned and featured packed next generation iPhone that most people were expecting. Basically, what Apple has done with the iPhone 4S is catch up with its Android competitors and integrate its new services in the exact same popular design of the iPhone 4. The New York Times agrees with us:
Apple had a lot of catching up to do, even some leapfrogging. There are some rough spots here and there; for example, every now and then the 4S’s camera app gets stuck on its startup screen. And while the battery still gets you through one full day, standby time is shorter than before (200 hours versus 300). But over all, Apple has done an excellent job.
The question isn’t what’s in a name — it’s what’s in a phone. And the answer is: “A lot of amazing technology. And some of it feels like magic.”
The camera on iPhone 4S is one major selling point for the device. Its an 8 megapixel camera with five lenses that capture breathtaking photos and records full 1080p HD video with auto image stabilization. Sure enough, there hasn't been such an advanced point and shoot camera on a smartphone till date. TechCrunch concedes beautifully in just one line:
If the point-and-shoot market wasn’t in trouble before, it will be now.
Siri Voice Assistant undoubtedly is the best thing about iPhone 4S. Its your own personal assistant on your iPhone 4S. You can accomplish any tasks that you want, within these boundaries, by simply saying the correct command out loud to Siri, which does all of the work. It can set your reminders and alarms, can reply and read back your emails and messages, can play your music for you, can search Wikipedia, Google and WolframAlpha if you ask it to. Siri can do a lot more for you as well. Macworld explains:
Siri, which replaces the Voice Control feature introduced with the iPhone 3GS, allows you to speak commands to your phone and have it do your bidding. You even activate Siri the same way as you did Voice Control: by holding down the home button on the iPhone itself, or by holding down the control button on your wired or wireless headset.
What I’ve described actually sounds just like Voice Control, but Voice Control’s speech-recognition engine was severely limited. It required a strict vocabulary and couldn’t do much more than dial your phone or play music. Siri doesn’t require a strict vocabulary—if talk like Yoda even you try, it’ll generally figure out what you’re trying to say. That one leap makes interacting with Siri seem much more natural.
So there you have it. Some of the very first iPhone 4S review and hands-on experiences from around the web. Gathering what we can from this, it looks like despite that fact people were disappointed that iPhone 5 wasn't launched, the future looks bright for iPhone 4S, considering the fact that it was pre-ordered over one million times on the first day alone, beating the iPhone 4 pre-order record by 400,000 units. If you're getting yours on October 14, do let us know what you think about the device in your comments below.