Wed, 12 Oct 2011 iPhone 4S review
Apple's latest S stands for Siri, speed boosts, and improved snapshots
- Manufacturer: Apple
- Pros: Faster, better camera, slightly cheaper than iPhone 5 and mostly the same features
- Cons: Smaller 3.5in screen than iPhone 5
- Price:
- £449 Unlocked
- From free on contract
- Star rating:
Macworld Buying Advice
For those upgrading from an iPhone 3GS (or older), the iPhone 4S will be a big deal. Sure, there’s a dramatic speed boost, but for my money the best feature they’ll gain is the shockingly bright and clear Retina display. There’s also a front-facing camera for video chat, a dramatically improved camera with HD video recording capability. For users of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S’s charms are a bit more subtle. There’s no doubt that the iPhone 4S is faster—though the iPhone 4 is not exactly poky. The 4S camera is definitely better, but the big leap came from the iPhone 3GS to the iPhone 4. The jump from 4 to 4S is a bit more incremental. Siri is certainly intriguing, but in its beta state it’s unclear just how useful it will be in the long run. Over the next few months we should get a better idea about how Siri is evolving. If you struggle with typing on your iPhone, the new dictation feature could be a huge reason to upgrade. (Though I’m still disappointed that this feature isn’t available on older models.) In the end, the iPhone 4S follows Apple’s recent trajectory of iPhone releases: It’s an object of some appeal to people who last upgraded their phones a year ago, and over the next year a great many of them will find it worthwhile to upgrade to the iPhone 4S. But to all those people who’ve been hanging on to their iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS, the wait is over: It’s time to upgrade without any hesitation whatsoever. The iPhone 4S has speed, a great camera, some cool voice-recognition features, and the same beautiful industrial design that was introduced in the iPhone 4. It’s destined to be immensely popular. The S, in this case, seems to stand for “sure thing.”
< PREV | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6


It's easy and free to get the latest news headlines, reviews and opinions straight to your email inbox. Sign up NOW to make sure you receive the latest Mac news, reviews and tutorials on your favourite topics.




