iOS 5, iCloud – The Reasons For The Delayed Launch?
Before explaining iPhone 4S’ detailed functions and other details regarding its launch, we must talk about iOS 5 and iCloud, the improved operating system and the cloud feature offered to iUsers. It seems that iCloud and iOS 5 are the main reasons for the iPhone 4S delayed launch. It makes sense when you think about it. The iCloud was announced at the WWDC in this June, but, obviously, Apple still had a lot of work to do with its servers. Changing the entire way users relate to file storing isn’t an easy thing to do, one must admit that. And it seems that the works at this important improvement, not only for the iPhone line, but for all of Apple’s product, needed to be delayed. And what you get when you postpone the launch by almost half an year? Yes, that’s right, free buzz and gratis marketing all over the web. While the “mob” is doing the free marketing for them, Apple’s team of engineers can silently work at their plan “to take over the tech world” and improve the iOS, releasing the fifth version. So, think about it for a moment, iPhone 4S, with improved characteristics, voice recognition software that can remind you to call your wife or book places at restaurants, add to that the iCloud feature of saving directly on Apple’s server. One could think that a totally changed, evolved iPhone 5 would have been just too much and too good for the waiting users. Both services will be released on October, 12. Hey Apple, what about the Android army?
iPhone 4S Features
It looks like we will have to wait for one more year to see the iPhone 5 and we have to wonder how will it look like? Until then, we really need to get acquainted with the iPhone 4S and what it can do. By the way, Tim Cook had a successful presentation, albeit we were pretty surprised to see that he didn’t reveal the iPhone 4S details. He didn’t seem shy, that’s what I can tell you for sure.
Performance
With every update of Apple’s products, I have to wonder: how do they manage to keep improving performance, there are always 7X this, 2X that. Did we imagine 5-10 years that such a tiny piece of technology will embed so many functions and, along the years will perform them to unthinkable levels? If iPhone 4S has already incredible gaming experience, what should we expect from iPhone 5, the one that we were waiting for? At the performance level, they have done a great job, take a look at the detailed list below
Dual-core A5 chip Dual-core graphics 2X more processing power 7X faster graphics Safari page load quicker
Without no doubt at all, the gaming experience will take the iPhone experience to new heights and dedicated consoles for gaming should reall worry now. At the event, Phil Schiller referred to the iPod Touch as the most popular gaming device. Can iPhone 4S use that legacy to build a name on its own? Infinity Blade and God of War were the games tested on the iPhone 4S. From what we can tell at this point, the iPhone 4S acted like a real gaming device, performing far better than other handsets designed especially for this, like the Sony Ericsson Play.
Is iPhone 4S’ Battery Weak?
I must tell you that the battery life is one of the minuses the iPhone 4S has. Obviously, an A5 chip, with seven times faster graphics will drain the battery much quicker. Have they done anything to seriously improve it? Not quite, I am afraid. Here are iPhone 4’s battery specifications and here are those of iPhone 4S We have the same video and audio playback time, the same talk time on 2 G and the same Internet use time on 3G. The battery has improved with 1 hour at talk time in 3G, from 7 to 8, but has increase with almost 100 hours in standby time and 1 hour in Wi-Fi. So, this means we are 1 hour ahead, 101 behind? Yes, many will see that it’s great they could keep it at the same level while improving the gaming and overall performance, but how will consumers react to that? Will iPhone 4S be proclaimed as the best iPhone ever or Apple will have to find a solution for its weak battery?
The Camera and Video
Yes, as everybody out there was expecting, it will be a 8 megapixel camera, it will have also backside illuminated CMOS, with 73% light improvement over the iPhone 4. From the photos obtained at the event, we can see that the quality is up to high standards, but I am sure that we will see more pictures soon enough. Another impressive improvement was the full HD 1080 recording which basically transforms your iPhone 4S into a portable camcorder, with good quality. Did you know that iPhone’s camera is the most used one for uploading photos on Flickr?
Camera
8 megapixel sensor, 3264 x 2448 resolution, 60% more pixels than iPhone 4 Backside illuminated CMOS, 73% more light than iPhone 4 33% faster capture Hybrid IR filter for improved color accuracy and uniformity 5 lens elements, making it 30% more sharper Image Signal Processor for face detection 26% better white balance Larger f/2.4 aperture Refined LED flash HDR photo Use volume buttons to take a photo
Video
Full HD 1080p Temporal noise reduction Video stabilization Use AirPlay to watch on TV Tap to focus
The pictures below are taken with iPhone 4S’ camera (let’s hope Apple staff didn’t photoshop them). Feel free to go here and see a HD recording made with the same iPhone 4S. I am sure that as soon as the shipping will start, we will see here and there pictures and videos take with the improved camera/video of the iPhone, so, be patient for 2 more weeks.
The wireless system, a world phone
Incredible download power and navigation speed, this is what the new wireless system from Apple will offer for the iPhone 5. And yes, the iPhone 4S is a world phone which means this speed is available both for the CDMA and GSM networks. This new wireless system is said to make iPhone switch between two antennas to transmit and receive. This means 2X download than the iPhone 4. The improved speed equals iPhone 4S with Atrix, Thrill, and Inspire 4G. The fact that iPhone 4S is a world phone could mean that Apple could partner this year with even more carriers across the world. On the other side, though, a fresh report comes to suggest that this speed will actually not help consumers benefit from it as Sprint and Verizon Wireless don’t support it.
AirPlay Mirorring, AirPrint
Imagine holding a small iPhone in your hand, playing some awesome games and being apple to display all this to huge screen in your living room? AirPlay Mirroring can make that happen and this move is obviously made as a straight attack to gaming consoles. Also, you can AirPlay your photos and HD videos. Whenever you want to share with your family some nice pics or videos you’ve taken, invite them all around the big screen and watch together. And it can even be done wireless! It seems that Apple is trying to transform the iPhone into a do-it-all gadget! Now, you can even store all the important documents that you need to print in your phone (or you could use iCloud for that) and whenever you feel like, you can wirelessly print them! The single thing that separates you from printing your urgent documents is a single tap. However, at the moment, there are only a few AirPlay enabled printers.
Siri, iOS 5 With iMessage, Cards App
I was impressed by the Cards app, to be honest. A simple, yet so ingenous application: whenever you want to send a card to somebody, be it for its birthday or for any other occasion, use the app, indicate the address and Apple will later bill you for that, not more than $2,99, and also, depending on where you want it shipped. About Siri we won’t talk too much, as it is pretty obvious what this voice assistant can do, the video that Apple posted explains pretty much everything there is need to be known. What will Siri’s effect be on the market? If you look from another angle, it seems just like Siri is one of those robots from Star Trek that were able to command the shuttle by voice commands. If iPhone 4S has already Siri, what will iPhone 5? Also, let’s not forget that it is still in Beta stage, which means it isn’t officially launched. Will Siri change the way we related to computers and smartphones? Can Android reproduce this feature? iOS 5 will be officially available on October 12, with more than 200 new features amongst which you will find these features:
FaceTime iMovie Notification center Reminders Twitter integration iMessage PC Free Newsstand Game Center Tabbed browsing
For me, personally, one of the most interesting features is the iMessage one; as somebody calls it, “the BBM for iPhone”. I really have no problem with Apple “stealing” the iMessage idea from BlackBerry and the Notification center from Android. Why not gather into one single smartphone specific features of your opponents?
iPhone 4S Price and Availability
As for prices, iPhone 4S will come, for the first time, in 64 GB storage, at $399, 32GB for $299 and16GB at $199. The previous iPhone 4 is now $99 for 8GB and the 8GB 3GS will be free on contract. The “no-carrier” price hasn’t been announced, though. You can already pre-order the iPhone 4S on Friday as it will become available on October 14. The first launch wave will hit US, Canada, Australia, UK, France, Germany, and Japan. You probably know already that it will be carried on Sprint as well; no luck for T-Mobile users, maybe because the company could become a part of AT&T. On October 28, iPhone 4S will be launched in the following countries:
Austria Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Mexico Netherlands Norway Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland
