iPhone 4S 16GB in White Review
By Ruben Corbo on November 1st, 2011
The iPhone 4S comes with all the same basic features as the previous two iPhone models (with slightly more capable multitasking). It does, however, also bring with it some brand new features. The phone ships with the new iOS 5, delivering better optimisation and performance. In addition, it introduces iCloud, notifications and a new inbuilt Apple messaging service that is akin to the IM system on Blackberry. The messaging service appears as a ‘Message’ application on the iPhone. It can be used to send free messages to any other Apple device, including iPads. In a similar way, the notification feature is similar to that seen on Google’s Android. It is a slide-down menu at the top of the screen which notifies you of any updates with you phone’s main apps, including messages, calendar and e-mail.
Through the iOS 5, both of these features can also be obtained on previous models of the iPhone. What is exclusive to the 4S, however, is Siri. This is an advanced piece of voice activation software which works as a virtual PA. It not only works like traditional voice activation software (i.e. you can give it commands to find things on your phone), but can also be used to ask questions about the weather, date or any other information you require day by day.
The 4S’ camera is one of the phone’s biggest attractions. The iPhone 4 made a big jump ahead from its predecessor with a 5-megapixel camera, over the 3-megapixel camera used by the 3GS. The 4S takes this a step further with an 8-megapixel camera, with autofocus, flash and a backside-illuminated CMOS sensor. Apple professes that the camera performs 33% faster than the previous model of iPhone. In addition, the A5 processor uses a built-in image processor which offers superior face detection. The pictures are of a very high quality, making it one of the best phone cameras currently featured on the market.
With the 4S Apple promised that its new A5 dual-core processor would offer 7 x graphics performance over the iPhone 4. There is certainly a noticeable difference between how efficiently the two phones operate. The 4S is capable of performing under high demand and when it comes to higher resolution games, the difference is really felt.
