A lot of people are disappointed by the iPhone 4S. I’m not, so I tried to understand the disparity. The easiest thing to do is to look at the numbers. Numbers tell a lot, but not everything. As can be seen from the CPU clock speed wars and later the camera megapixel wars. So with that in mind, I laid out a side-by-side for comparison against the de facto Android flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S2.
What the numbers tell me is that the Galaxy S2 has set the bar and that the iPhone 4S merely matched it. But that’s by the numbers. People who are numbers fixated were disappointed because of this. But the previous generation Galaxy S more or less matched the iPhone 4 in specs. Yet, in sales it was pretty far behind. This can be attributed to marketing and the merits of the phone. How much of each, or even simply which one, depends on your particular bias. Other people were caught up in the hype and were disappointed. They practically set themselves up for it.
The iPhone 4S shouldn’t have been surprising. Apple has followed that recipe with the iPhone 3G with the 3GS, even the iPad with the iPad 2. So it would follow that they would do the same with the iPhone 4. But that is if there little or no competition. Android is here and the competition has heated up… immensely Which is why most people, including me, were expecting an iPhone 5.
This led me to believe that the iPhone 4S is a stopgap measure, possibly for a delayed iPhone 5. My bet is that the iPhone 5 is just around the corner. Maybe by the third or even second quarter next year. For sure it’s in Apple’s HQ already. Phones don’t just magically appear overnight.
But for now, take heart. Although for some, it’s not enough reason to upgrade from an iPhone 4, the iPhone 4S is a good phone. Equal to or even better than the Galaxy S2. It takes an already good phone, upgraded the bits that matter, and made it better. And no, that’s not by the numbers.
| Samsung Galaxy S2 | Apple iPhone 4S | |
| Size | 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm | 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm |
| Weight | 116 g | 140 g |
| Network | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| HSDPA 900 / 1900 / 2100 | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 | |
| CDMA2000 1xEV-DO | ||
| Display | Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors | LED-backlit IPS TFT, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
| 480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches | 640 x 960 pixels, 3.5 inches | |
| Processor | Dual-core 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, Mali-400MP GPU, Exynos chipset | Dual-core 800 MHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU, Apple A5 chipset |
| RAM | 1 GB RAM | 512 MB RAM |
| Internal Storage | 16/32 GB | 16/32/64 GB |
| External Storage | Up to 32GB | No External Memory |
| Data | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | v3.0+HS with A2DP | v4.0 with A2DP |
| NFC | none | none |
| Operating System | Android OS, v2.3.4 Gingerbread w/ TouchWiz 4.0 | iOS 5 |
| Camera | 8 megapixel AF, BSI sensor, LED flash, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization | 8 megapixel AF, f/2.4 aperture lens, BSI sensor, IR filter, LED flash, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, image stabilization |
| Video | 1080p at 30fps, LED video light | 1080p at 30fps, LED video light |
| Apps | About 500K from Android Market + access to non-market apps | About 500K from Apple app store |
| Battery | Standard battery, Li-Ion 1650 mAh | Standard battery, Li-Po 1420mAh |
| Standby | Up to 710 h (2G) / Up to 610 h (3G) | Up to 200 h (2G) / Up to 200 h (3G) |
| Talk-time | Up to 18 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 8 h 40 min (3G) | Up to 14 h (2G) / Up to 8 h (3G) |