The first time we heard the news that Apple was coming out with the next iPhone, we were as giddy as schoolchildren. We all hoped that that it was going to be a game changing iPhone 5. But, alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Instead, and with much fanfare, we got the iPhone 4S and we could only help but ask – is it just an iPhone 4 with a few more bells and whistles? Would it truly be worth the long wait in line?. Was the 4s destined to be revolutionary or evolutionary? Below is a brief look at the 3 most noticeable upgrades found in the iPhone 4S.
Software
One of the most noticeable areas of improvement appear in the amount of speed and power that the 4S commands. Apple announced that the iPhone 4S has seven times the graphical prowess of its predecessor and is twice as powerful. It features the iPad 2’s dual-core A5 chip making opening apps, loading the web browser, scrolling through home screens and countless other operations smoother and faster.
Siri
Probably the most compelling reason to upgrade to the 4S is the addition of Siri – a “personal assistant” who can parse the information you tell it through a mere conversation. For instance, should you tell Siri, “Please tell Jodi that I’m running late”, it would know who Jodi is and which meeting you’re talking about, and contact her to reschedule. It’s a pretty cool feature when it works. However, when Siri doesn’t work, it makes you realize that it’s still a work in progress. Although Siri shows its personality in its humourous answers to questions it can’t yet answer, you just want it work. For more on the topic, visit http://www.forbes.com/sites/benzingainsights/2011/10/17/is-siri-seriously-awesome-or-seriously-flawed/
iCloud
iCloud is Apple’s replacement of MobileMe. It is available on all new iPhone, iPad and Mac purchases, and automatically and securely stores everything on your device’s hard drive. Access to music, apps, photos is much easier from any other device. One pitfall, though, is that some MobileMe users have found that after MobileMe created its own user ID, it has been difficult for them to “sync up.” Equally frustrating is the fact that iCloud doesn’t recognize other mail accounts that don’t contain a me.com email address. Again, like Siri, one would hope that these issues were hashed out before the launch.
In the final analysis, the iPhone 4S will of course be a huge commercial success. But, are the upgrades worth the wait? In the end, it depends on who you ask. If you’re a Mac-addict, forever in need of the most up-to-date and coolest toy, then of course, it’s worth the wait. With its improvements in power, efficiency, speed, software and upgrades, the 4S is an impressive machine. However, if you’re able to get all you need from your old 3G(S), there’s really nothing completely revolutionary about the iPhone 4S. As an evolutionary device, it’s still pretty cool.
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