iPhone 4S first impressions

The iPhone 4S was launched today, and unfortunately we weren’t present at the event for a hands-on, first impression of the phone; but we’ve scoured the internet looking at reports from people who were there and here’s what we’ve learned so far. The general consensus seem to be disappointment in the lack of the heavily redesigned, larger screened “iPhone 5”. However, if we were to take a page from Apple’s history – they did release the 3GS after the 3G, so I guess in hindsight, this announcement should have been expected. But it does leave us wondering – why was there a significant delay in today’s launch? Perhaps Apple was busy getting iOS 5 and iCloud ready.

But reading first impressions of the phone, people seem pretty pleased with the 4S’ improved speed and responsiveness thanks to its A5 dual-core processor. Siri definitely pleased most of the crowd and rightly so. It is one impressive piece of technology, no doubt about it. But honestly, can you see yourself voice commands when your hands are free to type/press buttons?

I’m not entirely sold on the concept of voice commands yet – but then again I haven’t played around with Siri for myself. The only time I ever use voice commands is when I text on the road (it’s a lot easier to speak a message than to type on the touchscreen with one hand on the wheel) and that’s about it. I don’t think I’ve ever used voice commands for anything else before.

The main improvements this time around is definitely in the software side of things. iOS 5 and iCloud bring a whole load of improvements to the iPhone 4S and if they weren’t available for the older generation devices, they would warrant an update by themselves. Fortunately they are, and the 4th generation iPhone and iPod touch won’t feel that outdated when the new generation models launch.

While the jump from the iPhone 4 to the 4S is not that much of a difference, folks with the iPhone 3G and 3GS will probably jump on this opportunity to upgrade their devices. I can also see a lot of folks picking up the original iPhone 4 which will have a price cut. And of course, let’s not forget the Sprint customers who will finally get to use the iPhone. For those of you who wanted the iPhone 5, you’ll just have to wait another year. What are your thoughts about the iPhone 4S? Do you think it’s a worthy upgrade to your current iPhone 4, or will you be skipping this one?

George Wong
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: Apple Inc, icloud, iOS, ios 5, iPhone, iPhone 4S