iPhone 4 to 4S: My Take

24 Oct 2011

Tags: iphone iPhone 4s iphone review

So, most people who know me understand that while I generally love Apple products, I take a fairly realistic view, knowing that they aren’t always the best and that competition is good.

That said, I have always been a proponent of the iPhone, especially when compared to Android. While I won’t expound on that here, because others have done a much better job of it, I would like to cover my experience with upgrading from an iPhone 4 to 4S.

The Reason

I’ve always wanted a white iPhone 4. For some time I’ve eyed it, but decided to wait because I figured the new one was coming soon. It looks so damn good and is, to me at least, the pinnacle of mobile phone design today. Also, my wife needed a new phone and my 4 would be a great upgrade for her. Lastly, SIRI is awesome.

The Upgrade Experience

Outside of having 7 browser windows on two computers and an iPad along with the Apple Store on my iPhone open when trying to preorder (I’m not a fanboy, just relentless), it was basically painless. Got the phone on the launch date and activated a few hours later. Doing everything on the phone was simple, easy and pretty much idiot-proof. My only gripe is there is no way to get to your MAC address on the phone if you have a filter set up on your WiFi.

The Phone Itself

Besided being utterly gorgeous, the phone is really a tremendous step up from the 4. A lot of pundits would have you believe it isn’t, but it truly is quite a leap. Everything is snappier, photos are instant, the phone actually starts calls instantly…I could go on. Literally EVERY function of the 4 is substantially faster in my experience.

I was quite amazed; the dual core really blows away the competition in a heartbeat. My friends’ android phones are slower and with less battery life than this - and they have the latest ones.

SIRI is also an absolute joy to use. I hardly use my keyboard any longer for text messages (the fun Japanese emoji are the only things I use it for with iMessage). I do think SIRI will become the killer iOS feature very soon, despite being in its early stages. The only gripe I have is that it seems to only use the 3G connection, not WiFi, meaning that it won’t work in one part of my house (but I don’t hang out in that room much anyway).

Should You Buy It?

In a word: YES.

They have done a tremendous job with this phone and it really shows. I think that the 4S is exactly what they have always wanted an iPhone to be. Beautiful, fast, slick and second nature. I have yet to find any other phone that comes close.

If you have a 3G or 3GS, just upgrade now. If you have 4 and can upgrade without the penalty like I did, do it as well. If you’re stuck with an extra fee to upgrade, then you could easily wait unless SIRI is going to be essential for you.